6 YEARS AGO—A BOY'S PLAINT. I reckon years and years ago To be a boy was bully fun; You Just was born, and '.hen you'd prow And keep on growing till you'd done. You went to school awhile, I know. But mostly you'd just grow and grow. The pies and things they used to make! (I've often heard my father tell) The pies and dumplings and the cak(* The cookies, tarts and Jam as well! Of course, corn-bread they'd also bake. But mostly It was pies and cake. You went In swimming every day— In summer-time at any rate. The other beys wauld come to play; You had a gun; you'd coast and skate. Some work there was.of course—but say- It mostly was Just play and play. Twas nuttlng-ttme the whole year through, And Fourth July would last a week; Old Santa Claus was really true, And drove his reindeers like a streak. Of course, there were the chores to do— But who would care with Santa true? And then the people who were grown. They gave a boy a little rest; A fellow then was let alone, And went to bed when he thought best. Sometimes your father'd scold, I own. But mostly jrou were let alone. ■Twould been more fun I really know (A mother's club is my ma's forte) If I'd been born some years ago. (My pa he reads my school report!) Borne things, of course, were pretty slow- But I'd 'a' chanced It years ago! —Hayden Carruth, In Woman's Home Companion. The KIDNAPPED MILLIONAIRES A Tale of Wall Street and the Tropics By FREDERICK U. ADAMS y , Copyright, INI, by Lothrop Publishing Company. A(l right* reserved. CHAPTER XVIII. ' MR. PENCE DISCOVERS GOI.D. With much difficulty Mr. Simon Pence scaled the heights overlook ing the bay, and, aided by Vincent, finally reached the top. He cast one lingering look behind, and followed his young and sturdy companion into the half-jungle which lay before them. They found it possible, by following the cliffs along the ocean, to make fairly rapid progress. Their inarch was hindered by frequent gorges, but they proceeded laborious ly but steadily in a southern direc tion. Shortly after noon they ate their luncheon. They rested on a ledge fronting the sea. Two miles to the south a huge crag reached out into the blue water, and beyond no land was visible. They decided to make an attempt to climb the promontory, believing that it would afford a view of the south shore, and perhaps a general survey of the island. The brush thickened. They slowly forced their way through a thicket; Mr. Pence in advance. Suddenly he gave a cry of terror, and fell over Vincent in his wild retreat. Before them stood a monster —the grotesque figure of a human being, with outstretched arms, hideous face and protruding teeth. At a glance Vincent recognized it as a stone im age, and shouted reassuringly to the fleeing explorer. In the open space before them were the massive ruins of temples and palaces; the tomb of a city which had flourished and decayed long before the dawn of recorded ■history. On mound and terrace were crumbling relics of a former grandeur. The ruins covered many acres, and lay back from the cliffs a distance not exceeding 100 .yards. There were traces of ancient fountains, with figures half-buried in the mud and slime of what once were pleas ing pools. In the center of the ruined city was a pyramidal mound, surmount ed by the wreck of what once must have been an imposing structure. Vincent climbed up this mound and gazed with awe on the grewsome figures which were scattered in odd postures around the stone floor of the temple. In one corner the floor had caved in and revealed a subter ranean vault or chamber of un known extent. Vincent lowered him self to the floor below. At first it was ■o dark he could not survey his sur roundings, but his eyes became ac customed to the glqom. He stumbled over the uneven surface and entered a passageway leading to the left. Mr. Pence cr.!led to him from over head, and Vincent answered; his voice sounding sepulchral as it echoed through the corridors. A fallen stone block half closed the opening into a smaller room. Vin cent lit a match and entered. The walls were covered with a growth of fungus, but his eyes were riveted to <i collection of carved figures of various size which lined three sides of the wall. They evidently wore images or Idols, and were ugly enough to have ■eared the worshippers into any con fession or belief. They rested on a stone shelf formed by the top oJJ ( « mosaic wainscoting which project ed from the walls. Vincent picked up one of the smaller images and started back to examine it more carefully in the daylight. It seemed remarkably heavy, but he imagined It to be bronze or copper, tarnished by the rust of ages. Vincent found Mr. Pence looking down into thie hole, but making no move to quit terra firma. "Bee what I have found," suid Vincent, iiitnrfing the idol to Mr. Pence. "What a singularly ugly thing," remarked the capitalist as he han dled it gingerly. "It's awful heavy. What's it made of?" Vincent pulled himself out of the j hole and brushed the mold from his clothes. Mr. I'ence looked intently at the image. He "hefted" it judi ciously. It was of a rusty brown color, but smooth and well pre served. "Remarkably heavy!" said Mr. Pence. His eyes glittered and he was much excited. "Let me take your knife," he satd. Vincent produced a knife and opened the big blade. Mr. Pence dug into the flat nose of the idol. lie gave the knife a circular motion, and on the end of the blade lay a shining yellow chip. "Gold!" lie shouted. "Gold! Solid gold! Solid gold, and it weighs more than ten pounds!" The face of the millionaire was a study. For a moment it shone with the splendor of the gold shaving 1 which rested in the palm of his hand. At that in&tnnt he was oblivious to his surroundings. He clenched the image tightly and regarded it wit}i a rapt expression such as a mother lavishes on her babe. Suddenly his attitude changed. He recovered him self with a start. His face darkened. He glared at Vincent and drew back from him as in aversion. "Where did you find this?" he al most shrieked in a voice harsh and trembling with excitement. "Back in there," said Vincent, wav ing his hand away from the mouth of the cavern "There's lots of them back there." "Take me there! Take me there!" ne dropped his voice almost to a whisper. He glanced around as if expecting some one might see or hear him. "They belong to us," he said, lay ing his hand affectionately on Vin cent's shoulder. "To us; do you un derstand, to us. We found them— you and I. They are ours, Vincent, all ours. We will divide them be tween us two —just you and I. Help me down there. Let me see them. Are you sure there is a lot of them? Perhaps they are not like this one. Bigger, did you say? Which way is it? How awful dark it is! Take hold of my hand!" Before the magic of the touch of gold the natural cowardice of the el derly millionaire disajipeared. Twice he fell and bruised his hands, but % THEY WERE UGLY ENOUGH. he did not care. They came to the vault. Vincent went in first and lit a match. Mr. Pence gave an exclamation of delight. He rushed to one of the images, lifted it, ran his fingers lovingly over the sur face and laughed with joy. The match burned out and the room was dark as midnight. "Light another, quick!" shouted Simon Pence. "I'll tell you what you do," he exclaimed, as the match lightened up the gloom. "I will stand outside and you hand them to me, and I will carry them where we can see them." Vincent did as he was told. He started at one end of the shelf and felt his way around, and handed the images to the outstretched hands of Mr. Pence, who carried them along the corridor and placed them in a corner of the outer room. It took an hour or more to do this, at the end of which time Vincent de clared that all figures were re moved. Mr. Pence began testing the images. As he dug into each idol and found it gold his joy knew no bounds. Vincent also was de lighted. He owned a half interest in more property than he ever had hoped to obtain, unless by chance some of his cherished plans should find a financier. Both forgot the flight of time. They counted the idols and images and found there were 63. They then attempted to estimate the weight of their treas ures. They calculated the smallest one at ten pounds and the others ranged all the way up to one esti mated at not less than 70 pounds. As nearly as they could judge, aft er carefully estimating the weight of each image, the total was about 1,575 pounds. "How much is gold worth a pound?" asked Vincent, as he held an idol out at arm's length. He re membered that he could "hold out" a weight of 30 pounds, and this one required nil of his muscular effort. "Gold is worth about $224 a pound," said Mr. Pence. "That Is based on the amount of gold in coins. This looks like jmre gold to me. It is awful soft. Don't rub that image like that; you will wear it out. What time is it?" Vincent had no watch; neither had Mr. Pence, but tliey thought it was about three o'clock in the afternoon. "We must be going back at once," said Vincent. "What are we going to do with those things? We can't carry them with us. Let's each take two of the smaller ones and start along. We can get help to-morrow and carry the rest of them to the bungalow. In the meanwhile we will put tliem back in that •vault." CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, APR IL, 16, 1903. "What nro you talking about, man?" exclaimed Simon Pence. "Go and leave this gold here? Never! Never, sir, never! Go away and leave $350,000 in gold unguard ed? I cannot think of it. You go back to camp and get help. I will remain." "Who is going to find it or steal it?" demanded Vincent. "The chances are that no one has been here before in a thousand years. If they had been, the gold would not be here. It is as safe as in a vault in New York. Come along, Mr. Pence. How dark it is getting! What is that moaning sound? We must go back. It is going to storm." "1 will never leave this gold here!" said Mr. Pence. "It is not safe. You go back and I will remain. 1 am not afraid. I will stay all night if necessary. Come back in the morning and bring help and food." "That is foolish, Mr. Pence," said Vincent. He had climbed out of the cavern and stood facing the sea. "Come on,"he said. "There is go ing to be an awful storm. It looks like a hurricane. Come on; you must not remain here." "Go back, and let me alone," said Mr. Pence. "I will never, never leave here alive with this gold un guarded. I have a gun. I am not afraid. Goon back to the camp. Tell them the gold is ours—all ours. If I stay here and take care of it, I ought to have more than half of it. Go ahead, before the storm breaks!" It was useless to argue with him. Vincent bade him good-bye and started on a run for Morton's Bay. He had not gone a quarter of a mile before the storm struck the is land. The first blast swept him from his feet. A falling tree half buried him in its branches, and hla face was scratched and bleeding. A few rods away was a gully. Strug gling to his feet he ran and crawled in that direction. He remembered reaching the edge of the gully. There was a crash and a roar; Vin cent saw a flash of light and lost consciousness. How long this lasted he did not know. He awoke with the rain beating on his face. There was a dull pain in his head. The rage of the storm was demoniacal. Crawling along the ground, guided by the incessant flashes of light ning, he reached the shelter of a rock, which he shared with an igu ana and a huge rock python, whose shiny scales glistened in the flame from the heavens. The two reptiles cuddled up to the explorer. The big snake ran his flat head between Vincent's coat and his back, and lay motionless. The lizard was more nervous, and ran back and forth along the nar row ledge, but lay most of the time with his crested back resting against Vincent's right arm. "I was not afraid of them," Vin cent explained later. "The storm was so much more frightful than they that I did not mind them. I knew that both of them were harm less, though that snake was big enough to swallow a deer or a man. But he was as scared at the storm as I was, and I tell you any com pany was welcome that night. I went asleep finally, and when I woke up the storm was over and the snake and lizard were gone." Simon Pence was venturing out of his dungeon when the storm swept in from the sea. He heard the roar and dropped back in time to miss a palm tree, torn up by the roots and hurled over his head. An instant later one of the huge monoliths fell from its pedestal and crashed through the floor to the south of where he stood. lie ran back and forth shouting and waving his hands in terror. From a hundred crevices the rain poured in streams upon the floor. At first it ran down the black corridor, but as the storm increased it began to rise. Inch by inch it rose. The millionaire splashed through the muddy flood and took refuge on a slab of stone which had fallen from the floor above. Here he remained all night, the waters steadily creeping toward him until at last it seemed to find an outlet to the west and remained station ary. The idols and images in the far corner were half buried in de bris and water. The larger one lifted its head above the flood, and his wicked eyes gleamed in their sockets in the flashes of lightning. Blue flames of electrictiy ran along the walls of the cavern; balls of fire and tongues of phosphorescent flame glowed in its depths. Above the roar and turmoil of the storm, Mr. Pence could hear wailing cries as of some soul in torment. It was prob ably his imagination, but there were sounds as if giants were struggling on the shattered floors above his head. Through the long night Mr. Pence remained in this cavern and heard the storm lashing above his head. No sleep came to his ej'elids. When day came and the last rumble of the thunder died away in the north, he was so cramped he could hardly move. He succeeded in wading through the water, and after much effort crawled out into the open air bringing one of the idols with him. In the warmth of the sun his clothes soon dried. He sat down beneath a tree where he could watch the opening of the cave. He closed his eyes for a moment and fell asleep. When Vincent awoke and found himself alive and not much injured, except for a contusion on the back of his head, he bunted for the idols and soon found them. He was just starting to return to the ruined city when lie heard a shout to the north, and the next instant the report of a gun. Vincent shouted in return, and in a few minutes saw Sidney Hammond and Palmer J. Morton coming towards him. Briefly lie ex plained what had happened, and th# three set forth for the temple where Mr. I Vnce was guarding the treas ure. The indignation of Sidney and Mr. Morton was tempered by a fear that the millionaire had not sur vived the fate which his avarice hod tempted. They soon reached the temple. At first they did not observe Mr. Fence. Vincent had erawled down into the cavern and announced that no one was there before Sidney discovered the slumbering guardian under a calabash tree. It was a pathetic figure which these three men approached. His hat had fallen to the ground, and the matted gray hair half covered the eyes of the sleeping financier. One hand was firmly clutched to the idol. In the relaxed fingers of the other hand was a stout club. The linen clothes were bedraggled in mud and slime. The right foot was in a pool of wa ter. Were it not for the slight but regular heaving of the soiled shirt bosom they would have thought him dead. Mr. Morton pushed the idol with his foot. The hand of the sleeper instinctively tightened its grip. He awoke with a start, and with sur prising agility sprang to his feet "Back! back!" he shouted. "Yon shall not have it! I will die first!" He brandished the club defiantly and swung a blow at Mr. Morton, who stepped back, and narrowly evaded it. "Wake up, Mr. Pence," said Sidney Hammond. "You are all right! Come out of your trance; it is time togo home." Simon Pence blinked his eyes, ran his hand over his forehead and came to his senses. He threw himself into Sidney's arms and gave way to his emotions. When he recovered there was no difficulty in persuading him togo back to the bungalow. In fact, he was eager to go. The ex periences of the night had overmas tered his rapacity. Each of the four carried one of the images, and an hour later were on the raft and soon after all the members of the Social Island Colony once more were be neath the roof of the bungalow. After a meal they repaired to their rooms and enjoyed several hours of refreshing sleep. It was late in the afternoon before the castaways re covered from the effects of the hur ricane. [To Bo Continued.] Two Storlea by a Preacher. Eev. Dr. Parkin, in his address be fore the Ministerial union at Wither spoon hall one Monday, told two good stories. The first was of a young min ister in the coal regions who had an impediment in his speech. He tried many remedies without avail, till at last, after saving a goodly proportion of his salary by denying himself the comforts of life, he came to Philadel phia to be cured, because he had heard there were so many "speak easies" here. The other was a min ister whose education in business matters had been sadly neglected. He had a small charge also, and eked out a living by writing for the papers. One day he received a check for sls, made payable to his order. He took it to the local bank, and, handing it in, was told to indorse it. He hesi tated a moment, and then, taking up the precious document, wrote on the back: "I heartily indorse this check." —Philadelphia Telegraph. Overmatched. An amusing incident was witnessed in a cigar store the other afternoon. A newsboy, having picked up a cigar stump, walked in and, address ing the man behind the counter, said: "Say, boss, give us a match." The The man behind the counter, looking down, said: "My young friend, we are not here for the purpose of giving away matches; we sell them." "How much are dey?" was the question. "One cent a box," the clerk an nounced. The urchin stuck his hand into his pocket and produced, after a great deal of hunting, a penny and handed it to the man. He received his box of matches, and, taking one out, lit the "butt." Returning the box to the man back of the case, he said: "Say, put dis box on de shelf, and when a gentleman comes along and asks you for a match, why, give him one out of my box." —Cincinnati Enquirer. Old-Time VotiiiK in Ilultlmore. Andrew Simpson, one of the oldest voters in Baltimore, recalls with much amusement an incident at an election in the city in know-nothing times. A visitor to Baltimore was walking near one of the polls with his wife when he was approached by some of the know-nothings and asked to vote. He replied that he did not live in Baltimore, but they said that did not make any differ ence and hustled him up to the polls and made him vote. Then they threw him into the street. Another party came along, brushed the mud off him, declared it was a shame to treat him so, and asked him to vote again. He protested that he had just voted, but that made no difference, and he voted and was again thrown into the street. In that way he voted three times. —Baltimore Sun. A Mlrncle. An English contemporary tells the following good story of rr.uscular Christianity: In a smoking room of a hotel in Dublin, where sat a huge priest, some men were scoffing stupid ly about miraoies. Up rose the priest and offered to perform a miracle. He seized the most blatant of the scof fers, carried him to the door, and kicked him into the street. When I the unhappy youth returned the i priest asked, "An' did ye break your j back?" "I did not," was the answer. "Well, it's a miracle ye didn't," an ' swered the pi*lest.—N. Y. Tribune, THE IMPRESSIONS OF A WOMAN What a WtDUB About Wrilcri Canada. Although many men have written to this paper regarding the prospects of Western Canada, and its great pos sibilities, it may not be uninterest ing to give tho experience of a wom an settler, written to Mr. M. V. Mc- Innes, the agent of the Government at Detroit, Mich. If the reader wishes to get further information re garding Western Canada it may be obtained by writing any of the agents of the Government whose name is attached to the advertisement ap pearing elsewhere in this paper. The following is the letter referred to: Hilldown, Alberta, Feb'y. 5, 1903. Dear Sir: I have been here now nearly five years, and thought I would write you a woman's impression of West ern Canada—in Alberta. There are several ranchers in this district who, in addition to taking care of their cattle, carry on farming as well. Their herds of cattle number from 100 to 200 or 300 heads, and live out all winter without any shelter than the poplar bluffs and they come in in the spring in good order. Most of the ranchers feed their cattle part of the time, about this time of the year, but I have seen the finest fat cattle I ever saw that never got a peck of grain—only fattened on the grass. You see I have learned to talk farm since I came here —farming is the great business here. I know several in this district who never worked a day on the farm, till they came here, and have done well and are getting well off. I think this will be the garden of the Northwest some day, and that day not very far distant. There has been a great change since we came here, and there will be a greater change in the next five years. The winters are all anyone could wish for. We have very little snow, and the climate is fine and healthy. Last summer was wet, but not to an ex tent to damage crops, which were a large average yield, and the hay was immense—and farmers wore a broad Bmile accordingly. We have good schools, the Govern ment pays 70 per cent, of the ex pense of education, which is a great boon in a new country. Of course, churches of different denominations follow the settlements. Summer pic nics and winter concerts are all well attended, and as much, or more, en joyed as in the East. Who would not prefer the pure air of this climate with its broad acres of fine farms, its rippling streams, its beautiful lakes, its millions of wild flowers, its groves of wild fruit of exquisite flavor, its streams and lakes teem ing with fish and its prairies and bluffs with game, to the crowded and stiff state of society in the East. I would like togo home for a visit Bometime, but not togo there to live, even if presented with the best farm in Michigan. Beautiful Alberta, I will never leave it. And my verdict is only a repetition of all who have settled in this country. This year, I believe, will add many thousands to our population. And if the young men, and old men also, knew how easy they could make a home free of ell incumbrance in this country, thousands more would have settled here. I would sooner have 160 acres here than any farm where I came from in Michigan; but the people in the East are coming to a knowledge of this country, and as they do, they will come West in thousands. All winter, people have been arriving in Alberta, and I suppose in other parts as well, which is unusual, so we ex pect a great rush when the weather gets warmer. We have no coal famine here; coal can be bought in the towns for $2 to $3, according to distance from the mines, and many haul their own coal from the mines—getting it there for 50 cents to a dollar a ton. Very truly yours, (Signed) Mrs. John McLachlan. Rough Talk Not So Expensive. A Kansas City telephone girl has ■been awarded $12,500 damages be cause the manager shook her, not figuratively, but literallj', says the Chicago Record-Herald. Moral: It is better just to talk to a telephone girl. Time to lierorni. It is claimed by a St. Louis lady that she knows 500 women in that city who gamble. She ought to break away, says the Chicago Record- Herald, and try to get into a moral "set." CLOSE TO THE PEOPLE. Doan's Kidney Pills have leaped Into Public lavor because the people can write direct (o the makers and secure a trial free. Thus has been builded the greatest tame and largest sale known to any Kidney medicine in the world. CURTICE, O.— I had such severe pain in my back that I could not walk. I used the sam ple of Doan's Kidney Fills with such good re sults I sent to Toledo for another box, and they cured me.—SAKAU E. COTTHELL, Cur tice, O. FAT.MOHTN, VA. — I suffered over twelve months with pain in the small of my back. Medicines and blasters gave only temporary relief. Doan's Kidney Fills cured me.—F. S. BROWN, Falmouth, Va. WEST HAVEN, CONN. — Eight months ago I took a severe pain in my back. The sample box of Doan's Kidney Pills helped ras so much I purchased two boxes ; am on my sec ond box. My heart docs not bother me as it used to and 1 feel well. — SAKAU E. BRADLEY, No. 377 Elm Street, West Ilaven, Conu. HOUSTON, TEX. I took the sample of Doan's Kidney Pills with such great, benefit I bought a box at our druggist's. Used over half and stopped, because my urine which before had only como dribbling, now became so free. I had medicine enough. I had lum bago and tho pills rid me of it.l should have written sooner, but you know how soon a well person forgets about being si<k. —Mr. 11. IIOENCKB, No. 2319 Mclxeuuy Ave., Houston, Tex. BACKACHE. Backache Is a forerunner and one of the most common symp toms of kidney trouble and womb displacement. READ MISS BOLLMAN'S EXPERIENCE. " Some time ago I was in a very weak condition, my work made mo nervous and my back ached frightfully all the time, and I had terrible head aches. " My mother got a bottle of Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Com pound for me, and it seemed to strengthen my back and help me at once, and I did not get so tired as before. I continued to take it, and it brought health and strength to me, and I want to thank you for the good it has done me." Miss Kate Boi.lman, 142 nd St. & Wales Ave., New York City.—fSOOO forfeit if original of above letter proving genuineness cannot be produced. Lydia E. Pinkbam's Vegetable Compound cures because it is the greatest known remedy for kidney and womb troubles. Every woman who is puzzled about her condition should write to Mrs. Pinkliam at Lynn, Mass* and tell her all. UpAS^T ! THE NEXT MORNING I FEEL BRIGHT AND NEW AND MY COMPLEXION IS BETTER. My doctor nays it acts gently on the atomacb, livet and IcidnajH and is a plnaMant laxative. 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Doan's Kidney Pills remove calculi and graveL Relieve heart palpitation, sleeplessness, headache, nervousness, dizziness. FREE —CRAND FOR SPRING KIDNEY ILLS* Ci j FosTFTt-MiuitTKS Co., Buiralo, N. Y. Please send me by mail, without charge j trial box Doan's Kidney I'ilU. ji Name i | State Ii (Cut out coupon on dotted IITIPH nnd mail to Fostor-Milburn Co., llutTalo, N. Y.) i AlcUical Advico Free —Strictly Confide aUaL*
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers