6
THE MAN BEHIND THE PICK.
Ther* h*s t>cen all kinds of gush about the
anari who is "behind"—
Ac-i the man behind the cannon has been
toasted, wined and dined;
. TliTa's the man behind the-musket, and
the man behind the fence;
And the man behind his whiskers, and the
snan behind his rents;
dc-i the man behind the plow beam, and
the man behind the hoe;
Htui the man behind the ballot, and the
■nan behind the dough;
nAod the man behind the counter, and the
man behind the bill;
A the man behind the pestle, and the
man behind the pill.
AaS the man behind the jimmy, ar.d the
man behind the bars;
,An-.l the Johnny that goes snooping on the
stage behind the "stars;"
AcJ the man behind the kisser, and the
man behind the fist;
jLd the girl behind the man behind the
(run is on the list;
the man behind the bottle—and when
they were short of men,
Th<re was some small rhymester warbled
of the man behind the pen;
Bttt they missed one honest fellow, and
I'm raising of a kick,
'EExat. they didn't make a mention of the
man behind the pick.
Co the rugged mountain side a thousand
feet he t ikes his way,
Or as far into the darkness from the cheer
ing light of day;
" ; f.« !s shut out from the sunlight, In the
glimmer of the lamps;
He Ik cut off from the sweet air in the sick
ly fumes and damps;
He mu.-=t toll in cramped positions; he must
take his life In hand,
Far he works in deadly peril that but few
can understand.
Sat he does it all in silence, and he seldom
makes a kit #:,
Which Ifi why 1 sing the praises of the man
behind the pick.
. lie unlocks the bolted portals of the moun
tains to the stores
Hi>i in nature's vast exchequer in her treas
ure-house of ores.
Hie applies a key dynamic, and the gates
art: backward rolled,
AtJ the ancient rocks are riven to their
secret heart of gold.
rt"r.gs of comfort ar.d of beauty and of
usefulness are mined
Sy this brave and quiet worker—he's a
friend of humankind;
Who. though trampled down ar.d under
paid, toils on without a kick;
&j I lift my hat In honor of the man behind
the pick.
—Colorado Springs Gazette.
My Strangest Case
BY GUY BOOTHBY.
Author of "Dr. Klkola," "The Beautiful
White Devii," "Pharos, The
Egyptian," Etc.
J
[Copyrighted, 1901, by Ward, Lock & Co.]
CHAPTER III.—CONTINUED.
Fie had scarcely gone before one of
«!jr clerks entered the room and
i.tnded me a card. Chi it was printed
' J»c name of Mr. Edward Bayley, and
ia the left-hand bottom corner was
foe announcement that he was the
•aiaanging director of the Santa Cruz
Mining company of Forzodu in the
Argentine Republic.
"Show the gentleman in, Walters,"
I said.
In a few minutes a tall, handsome
man, irreproachably turned out, en
tered the office. lie seated himself in
a. chair the clerk placed for him, put
his hat and umbrella 011 another, and
then turned to me.
"My card has made you familiar
with my name, Mr. Fairfax," he be
gan, "and doubtless, if you are at all
familiar with mines and mining, you
are; acquainted with the name of the
company 1 have the honor to repre
*en t. ?"
*"I am very much afraid the min
ing market does not possess very
si»'.icli interest for me," I replied. "I
Save to work so hard for my money,
that when I have got it I prefer to
Jeivest it in something a little more
reliable. May I inquire the nature
of your business with me?"
"I have crime to see you, Mr. Fair
fax," he said, speaking very impres
sively, and regarding me deliberately
as he did so, "on rather a delicate
subject. Before I explain what it is,
sr<a.y I ask that you will treat what
S am about to tell you as purely con
fidential?"
•""My business is invariably a confi
dential one," I answered for the see
ded time in two days. "I venture to
tijisik that this room lias heard more
aecrets than almost any other in
England. But though they say walls
hjive ears, I have never heard it said
that (hey have tongues."
"It is sometimes a good thing that
they have not," he replied. "And
skj'w let me tell you what business
r«s brought me here. In the first
place, if you do not already know it,
£. tnay say that the company I repre
««»t is an exceedingly wealthy one,
■*ai, as our business lies a long way
from Threadneedle street, if 1 may
at> put it, it is necessary for us to
■fcrust very largely to the honesty of
war employes on the other side of
t&e. world. Of course we make all
-sorts of inquiries about them prior
engaging their services, and it is
needless to say that we keep a
sharp eye on them when they have
entered our employ. Nevertheless.it
is quite possible, all precautions not
withstanding, for an unscrupulous
man to take advantage of us. As a
matter of fact, this is what has hap
pened, and what has also brought
me to you. For some considerable
time past we have had our suspicions
that our manager at the mines has
laeeH in league with a notorious ras
za! in New York. In proof of this,
112 might say that our returns have
chown a decided falling off, while
• our manager has, so we have lately
discovered, within the past, year be
eome rich enough lo purchase prop
erty to a considerable extent in the
United Stales. Unforlunately for us,
owing to a lack of direct evidence,
• vre are unable lo br'ng his defalea
- 'ions home to him, though of course
we are as certain of our : T aets as we
can well lie of anything."
"I think I understand,"' I said,
uus/iucaa with tuc ta eJaceuv
or to induce me togo out to the
Argentine and make inquiries on
your behalf with the idea of bring
ing this man to book. Is that not
so?"
"That is my errand," he replied,
gravely. "If you care to undertake
the task, we, on our side—and I
speak as the motrthpiece of the com
pany—will be prepared to pay you
very high terms for your services; in
point of fact, almost what you may
ask in reason. The matter, as you
may suppose, is a most serious one
for us, and every day's delay is add
ing to it. May I ask what 3'our
terms would be, and when would you
be prepared to start?"
"Your offer is a most liberal one,"
[ said. "Unfortunately, however, I
fear there is a considerable difficulty
in the way of my accepting it."
"A difficulty!" he exclaimed, rais
ing his eyebrows as if in astonish
ment. "But surely that obstacle can
be removed. Especially for an offer
of such magnitude as we are pre
pared to make you."
"Excuse me," I said, somewhat
tartly, "but, however great the in
ducement may be, I never break faith
with my clients. The fact of the
matter is, only yesterday I prom
ised to undertake another piece of
business which, while not being so
remunerative, perhaps, as that you
are now putting before me, means a
very great deal to those who are, for
the time being, my employers."
"Would it be impertinent 011 my
part to ask at what time yesterday
afternoon you arrived at this mo
mentous decision?"
"Shortly after four o'clock," I an
swered, but not without a little won
derment as to his reason for putting
the question. For my own part I did
not see what it had to do with the
matter in hand.
"Dear me, how very vexing, to be
sure!" he observed. "This is certain
ly another instance of the contrari
ness of fate."
"How so?" I asked.
"Because it was my intention to
have called upon you shortly after
lunch yesterday on this matter," he
answered. "Unfortunately I was pre
vented at the last moment. Had I
been able to get here, I might have
forestalled your more successful
client. Are you quite sure, Mr. Fair
fax, that it is out of Ihe question
for you to undertake what we
want?"
"If it is necessary for me togo at
once, I fear it is," I answered. "But
if it would be of any use to you, I
could send you a most trustworthy
subordinate; one who would be quite
capable of undertaking the work,
and who would give you every satis
faction."
"I fear that would not he the same
thing," he said. "My firm have such
implicit faith in you that they would
not entertain the idea of anyone
else going. Now think, Mr. Fairfax,
for a moment. If you are prepared
togo, I, in my turn, on behalf of my
company, am prepared to offer you
your expenses and a sum of £5,000.
You. need not be away more than
three months at longest, so that you
see our offer is at 'the rate of £20,-
000 a year. It is princely remunera
tion."
I looked at him eioselj'. It was
plain that he was in earnest—in
deadly earnest, so it seemed. Even
a defaulting manager would scarcely
seem to warrant so much zeal.
"I am very much flattered by your
offer," I said; "and believe me, I
most truly appreciate the generosity
of your company; but, as I said be
fore, if it is necessary for me togo
at once, that is to say, before I have
completed my present case, then I
have no option but to most reluc
tantly decline."
"Perhaps you will think it over,"
he continued, "and let me know, say
to-morrow?"
"No amount of thinking it over
will induce me to alter my decision,"
1 replied. "You must see for your
self that I have no right to accept a
retainer from one party and then
throw them over in order 1o favor
another. That would not only be a
dishonorable action on my part, but
would be bad from a business point
of view. No, Mr. Bayley, I am ex
ceedingly sorry, but 1 have 110 option
but to act as 1 am doing."
"In that case I must wish you a
very good morning," he remarked,
and took up his hat and umbrella. I
could see, however, that he was still
reluctant to go.
"Good morning," I answered. "I
hope your affairs in the Argentine
may brighten before very long."
He shook his head gloomily, and
then left the office without another
word.
When he had gone I answered some
letters, gave some instructions (o my
managing clerk, and then donned my
hat and set off for the office of the
shipping company that had brought
Gideon llayle to England.
Unfortunately it transpired that
they were not in a position to do
very much in the way of helping me.
Mr. Bertranv had certainly traveled
home in one of their steamers, so the
manager informed me, a boat that
as a rule did not carry passengers,
lie had landed at the docks, and from
that moment they had neither seen
nor heard anything of him. I in
quired for the steamer, only to learn
that she was now somewhere 011 her
way between Singapore and Hong-
Kong. This was decidedly disap
pointing, but as most of the cases in
which 1 have been ultimately success
ful have had unpromising beginnings,
1 did not take it too seriously to
heart. Leaving the shipping office, I
next turned my attention to llatton
Garden, where I called upon Messrs.
Jacob and Bulcnthall, one of the
largest firms 111 the gem trade. We
had had many dealings together in
the past, and as I had hud the good
fortune on one occasion to do them
: a i.ci'vice, 1 knew thai
CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, MAY 8, 1902.
would now do all that they could for
me in return.
"Good day, Mr. Fairfax," said the
chief partner, as I entered his snug
little sanctum, which leads out of the
main oftice. "What can I have the
pleasure of doing for you?"
"1 am in search of some Informa
tion," I replied, "and I think you
may be able to help me."
"I will do all that is in my power
to render you assistance," he re
turned, as he wiped his glasses and
placed them 011 his somewhat fleshy
nose. "What is the information you
require? Has there been another big
robbery of stones, and you think it
possible that some of them may have
come into our hands?"
"There certainly has been a rob
bery," I replied, "and the stones may
have been offered to you, but not in
the way you mean. The fact of the
matter is, I want to discover whether
or not a large consignment of uncut
rubies and sapphires of great value
have been placed upon the market
within the last two months."
"Uncut rubies and sapphires are
being continually placed upon the
market," he observed, leaning back
in his chair and rattling his keys.
"But not such stones as those I am
looking for," I said, and furnished
him with the rough weights that had
been supplied to me.
"This is interesting—decidedly in
teresting," he remarked. "Especial
ly since it serves to offer an explana
tion 011 a certain matter which we
have been interested in for some lit
tle time past. On the 16th of last
month, a gentleman called upon us
here, who stated that he had lately
returned from the far east. He had
had, so he-declared, the good fortune
to discover a valuable mine, the lo
cality of which he was most careful
not to disclose. He thereupon
showed my partner and myself ten
stones, consisting of five rubies and
five sapphires, each of which weighed
between 55 and GO carats."
"And you i>urchased them?"
"We did, and for a very heavy sum.
I can assure you the vendor was very
well aware of their value, as we soon
discovered, and he was also a good
hand at a bargain. Would you care
to see the stones? T shall be pleased
to show them to you if you would."
"I should like to see them im
mensely," I replied.
Thereupon he crossed the room to
a safe in the corner, and, when he
had unlocked it, took from it a wash
leather bag. Presently ten superb
gems were lvini* before me on the
table.
"There they are," he said, waving
his hands towards them, "and, as you
can see for yourself, they are worthy
of being set in the crown of an em
peror. Jt is not often that we are
enthusiastic in such matters, but in
this case we have very good reason
to be. When they are properly cut,
they will be well-nigh priceless."
"Do you happen to know whether
he sold any more of a similar kind in
London?" I asked, as he returned
them to their place in the safe.
"I know that he Sold 15 smaller
ones to Henderson & Soli, and three
almost as large as those I have just
shown you to a firm in Amsterdam."
"If he is the man 1 want to get
hold of, that accounts for 28," 1 said,
making a note of the fact as I spoke.
"Originally he had 93 in his posses
sion."
"Ninety-three?" the merchant re
plied, as if he could scarcely believe
TEN SUPERB GEMS WERE LYING
BEFORE ME.
liis ears. "Why, his mine must be a
source of unlimited wealth. I wish
I had known this before."
"So do I," I said. "And now per
haps you can go further and furnish
me with a description of the man
himself. 1 shall then be able to tell
you whether my gentleman and your
customer are one and the same per
son."
"I can describe him to you per
fectly weW. He was tall, but some
what sparely built, very sunburnt—
which would be accounted for by his
long residence in the east —his hair
was streaked with gray, he had dark
eyes, and a singularly sharp nose."
"Did he wear a beard?"
"No, only a mustache. The latter
was carefully trimmed, and, 112 think,
waxed. Of tjiis, however, I am not
quite certain."
"And his name?"
"He would not tell us that. We
pressed him to disclose it, but he ob
stinately refused to do so. He said
that if his name became known it
might lead to the discovery of his
mine, and that he was naturally
anxious that such an event should
not occur."
"But what guarantee had you that
the stones were not stolen?"
"None whatever —but it is most
unlikely. In the first place, they are
uncut; in the second, we have had
, Uieiu iu o-r #os>aessioa lor. some
time, and you may be sure have matfa
the closest inquiries. Besides, there
are such few stones in Europe, and
what there are are safely in the pos
session of their owners. Surely you
are not going to tell me that they
were stolen?"
In the man's voice there was a
perceptible note of alarm.
"I don't think you need be afraid,"
I said. "They were stolen by the
man from his two partners, and all
they want is to get hold of him in
order to make him disgorge their
share of what he got for them."
"I am glad indeed to hear that,"
was the reply. "I was beginning to
grow uneasy. And now is there any
other way in which I can serve you?
If so, 1 shall be only too pleased to
do it."
1 informed him that if I had any
thing else to ask him I would call
upon him again, and then took my
departure. While I was in a great
measure satisfied with the informa
tion, I had gained, I was not alto
gether easy in my mind. The ques
tion to be answered was, was the
man I was after the same individual
who had sold Jacob and Bulenthall
the stones? The description given me
varied in several particulars to that
furnished me by Kitwater. My client
declared him to possess black hair;
the merchant had said gray; the one
had declared that Hayle possessed a
beard, the other that he had only a
waxed mustache. The figure, how
ever, was in both cases identically
the same.
Having satisfied myself that he had
no more to tell me, I thanked him
for his courtesy and left the office.
A fresh idea had occurred to me
which 1 thought might lead to some
thing, and I resolved to put it into
practice without any further waste
of time.
[To Be Continued ]
DOCTORS HAVE TROUBLES.
Some of Whlvh May He Avoided by
a Judlcioux I mc of Dis
cretion.
As a rule you can never take a worn- j
an at her word. A Louisville woman j
and her husband went on east for re- j
cuperation. It was their intention of J
interviewing a leading physician before
they came back in order to get his
opinion of the wife's health. She had
been far from well, and finally con
cluded nothing would satisfy her but
the verdict of this medical celebrity,
relates the Louisville Times.
Accordingly, husband and wife called
by appointment upon this specialist.
"Now, doctor," said the woman, "I
want your honest opinion. I like can
dor and don't wish to make the trip
here to be told any falsehood about
myself."
This sounded very open and coura- |
geous, so the expert went to work. He j
looked at her well, asked questions, j
made a minute examination of the case !
and finally inquired: "Did any doctor j
ever tell you you had so and so?"
"Only one, the horrid brute," was >
the reply. "I have been to ten or [
twelve, and he was the only one who [
was so ignorant and rude as to tell me !
such a thing, and 1 discharged him at 1
once."
"Discharged him!" exclaimed the j
expert. "Why, madam, he was the only J
one of the lot who told you the truth." I
Speaking of Wet DlanUetn.
When a miserable, selfish, unsocia- i
ble person joins a party and puts a
damper upon their spirits he is de- j
scribed as a "wet blanket." Literally, i
however, a wet blanket can do far
more than put a stop to mirth. In the
days of the old muskets the Indians of '
North America ust'd them to stop the
flight of bullets. This is hardly to lie
believed, but it is said that the Mexi
cans were once defeated by this plan.
Their general was trying to put down
a rising of Yaquis. At first he was |
amused to see the Indians advance un
der cover of their blankets, held up like
shields. Finding that their progress
was not stopped by his men's fire, he !
was at last forced to retreat, but not j
till the Yaquis, in their turn, had |
poured into his ranks a terrible fire i
at cfose quarters. The Indians, it was !
thought, had found out by accident
that a wet blanket, when held up clear
of the ground—allowed to hang, so to»
speak, as on a cloJhes line—could not
be pierced by a bullet. Dry blankets
were useless, and of course wet blan
kets would also be useless against the
rifles and bullets of the present day.—
Chicago Tribune.
KiiiK Oscar Askn Stranger to I.tincli.
A more simple and homely king than
the king of Sweden it is impossible to
find. M. Gaston Bonnier, the cele
brated botanist, tells of how once,
when he was botanizing near Stock
holm, he met a stranger similarly oc
cupied. The two botanists fraternized,
and M. Bonnier suggested that they
should lunch together at an inn. "No;
come home.and lunch with me instead,"
said the stranger, leading the way to
wards the palace gates. M. Bonnier
was naturally astonished, but his new
acquaintance was most apologetic.
"I'm sorry," he said, "but I happen to
be the king of this country, and this
is the only pla«e I've got to entertain
anybody in." So they went in and
lunched, and talked botany together
all the afternoon.—Chicago Tribune.
To He Envied,
Castleton —I envy you!
Clubberly—What for?
"Didn't you say you were obliged to
attend a deep philosophical discussion
lasting several hours?"
"But I don't see that's anything to
envy me for."
"Well, I've got togo to a society
function and talk about nothing."—
Detroit Free Press.
AnloiiUlilnK.
It is astonishing the number of rela
tives of a rich man bob up after his
tleatli.—Washington (La.) Democrat.
AN EXCELLENT DEVICE.
For HniiKlni; I ■» Hon* the Contriv
ance Here Described Una Hut
Few Superior*.
Erect a strong post about eight or
nine feet high and attached to it
four stationary arms, as shown in
the cut. The post should extend
about two feet above the arm and at
its to]) an iron pin 1 % inches in di
ameter should be driven in the post.
The top piece that the pin goes
through is a piece of scantling three
by four with a pulley wheel at one
end. This end should extend out
four or five inches farther than the
'
FOR HANGING UP HOGS.
arms. The rope is fastened in the
scantling back from the pulley wheel, j
then passes through the movable )
pulley over the pulley wheel and |
i drops to the ground, where it is !
j ready to lift with. The back end of [
| the scantling is fastened to the arm
below by means of a rope tied just
I the right length, which can be sliift
i ed from one arm to another as need- J
| ed. The hook on the movable pulley j
: Is hooked on the gambrel when the !
hog is raised to the arm, nnd the J
' pulley is then turned to the next j
arm, and so on as needed. A hog J
weighing 450 pounds can easily be j
raised by this method.—Meritte S.
Atkins, in Agricultural Epitomist.
FEEDING SCRUB CATTLE.
It In lin wly a Speculation, nad One
Tlmt Harely I'nyn n .Satisfac
tory Profit,
In an able article written by Mr. T. j
F. 1?. Sotham, and published in the an- i
nual report of the Kansas state board \
of agriculture, he says: "Highly satis
factory results have been recorded j
| from feeding the grades of all the beef
j breeds. What a significant lesson is !
: taught by the preeminent fact that not !
i one single instance of a profit with '
! scrubs is recorded. Men who feed !
scrubs do jiot care to advertise their I
I methods; a profit from them savors j
too much of sharp practices. Men who
| claim to have made money feeding
| scrubs are few, and they are sly in
; their operation. They buy anything
! cheap; bulls, which they castrate and j
I dehorn; cock-liorned, stunted three- '
! year-olds are dehorned, in the expec- !
tation of palming them off as year- J
lings—anything to improve appear- j
| ances. Yet the operations of these '
feeders, if carefully investigated, will
show that they never get above innr
ket price for their corn, and men who
have borrowed money to buy this sort
of cattle and fed purchased corn in
variably lost money, while for every \
dollar pro'fit made on scrub feeding
the same would have yielded fargreat
er results if fed to good stock. If in
isolated cases any real profit lias been
made from feeding scrub cattle, it has
been invariably by owners of large
tracts of rich corn lands feeding their
portion of corn, which is mainly raised
by renters. In a majority of years it
is safe to say they do not receive
through their cattle the market price
for this corn, and in profit-yielding
years they have such large numbers
that a small average profit realizes a
large sum. In this these big feeders
of cheap cattle are like the packers,
who, killing thousands of cattle per
day, are satisfied with so small a profit j
that a small slaughterer cannot live in \
competition. Feeding scrub cattle is
largely a speculation. Where feeder
does not own the corn, debt free, he
runs a dangerous financial risk. Scrub j
cattle should be allowed to fill the
tins, off of grass, and that grass must ]
be cheap grass, in a country where it j
is so plentiful and valueless that#attle \
can be kept the year round for a pit- i
tance. In such a section they may be
kept with only the loss of the profits j
of "what might have been" had better
stock been kept in their place.
Distemper Anionic Morse*.
Distemper is a disease common to [
horses that, as a rule, requires no j
treatment, as it runs out and the ani- i
mal gets well in about ten days. It is
recognized by swellings under the jaw
and sometimes below the ear, that j
form abscesses containing pus, and if j
not lanced will in time burst of them
selves. The animals should not lie
worked, but fed on good food, with
plenty of fresh water, and if bowels i
are constipated a quart of raw linseed I
oil should be given carefully as a j
drench by the mouth, never by the :
nose, and if the kidneys are sluggish 1
give a teaspoon ful of powdered salt- j
peter once a day for several days.—
Midland Farmer.
If tempted to let the cows' stable go
without being cleaned out every day
just because the cows are in a shorter
time than in the winter, don't yield,
but clean it out, more thoroughly than
' &v#.\
SURGICAL OPERATIONS
How Mrs. Bruce, a Noted Opera
Singer, Escaped an Operation.
Proof That Many Operations
for Ovarian Troubles are Un
necessary.
" DEAR MRS. I'IN Kir AM : —Travellings
for years on the road, with irregular
meals and sleep and damp beds, broka
down my health so completely two
years ago that the physician advised a
complete rest, and when I had gained
MRS. G. BRUCE,
sufficient vitality, an operation for,
ovarian troubles. Not a very cheerful'
prospect, to be sure. I, however, was
advised to try Liydia 10. I'iiikham's
Vegetable Compound ami San
ative Wash; I did so, fortunately
for mo. Before a month had passed I
felt that my general health had im
proved ; in three months more I was
cured, and I have been in perfect
health since. I did not lose au engage
ment or miss a meal.
" Your Vegetable Compound is cer
tainly wonderful, and well worthy the
praise your admiring friends who have
been cured are ready to give you. I
always speak highly of it, and you
will admit I have good reason to do
so."— MRS. G. BRUCE, Lansing, Mich.
SSOOO forfeit if about! testimonial is not genuine.
The fullest counsel on this
subject can be secured without
cost by writing to 31 rs Pink ham,
Lynn, Mass. Your letter will be
entirely confidential.
SLICKERS?!
SKWSSw
W&MC°ur«?
I) • (1 THE STAMPARD BRAND OP
|( I WATERPROOF
Ij <* U| OILED CLOTHING
| ra YOU HAVE ALWAYS BOUGHT
I H Made in black or .yellow
aL of the best materials and
Bj&Ji sold with our warrant by
■M reliable dealers ever/where.
A. J. T6WER CO.. BOSTON, MASS.
ESTABLISHED IflSfi. a
Buy your good# nt
Wholesale Prices. I
Our I.OdO-pape catalogue will be sent
upon receipt of 15 ccn's. This amount
does not even pay the postage, but it is
sufficient to show us that you arc acting
in good faith. Hotter send for it now.
gicighbors trade with us why not
50 ?
CHICAGO
ic house that tells tho truth.
mil, i iiTri-rnriMr'.T-^TiaTTwwfmiiiri
Good enough
for anybody!
Havana Filler |
"FLORODORA"BANDS are I
of same value as tags from I
"STAR: "HORSE SHOE: I
"SPEARHEAD: STANDARD NAVY: |
'OLD PEACH & HONEY" J
and J. T. Tobacco.
HENRY C. BLAIR, Philadelphia, makes a
TEETHING NECffLAGE
which is a blessing to children. Price 60 cents.