6 The Mystery i OF = Carney-Croft By JOSEPH BROWN COOKE (Copfrlfbt, 11107. by Story t'ress Corporation.) CHAPTER X.—Continued. "We thought it was he and Mrs. Bruce that we saw last night," said MacArdel, pleasantly. "We were out enjoying the moonlight when they drove down the road." "Didn't see nuthin' else, did ye?" asked Hoskins, in a confidential tone. "Why, no!" laughed MacArdel. Why do you ask?" "Wal," said Hoskins, drawing near er and speaking seriously, "Jenks says th' ghosts wuz abaout agin' an' they went past him, daown th' road jest as he wuz a-turnin' into th' pike. His hoss give a jump as they went scootin' by, an' it threw him agin th' dash an' cut his hand some. He called me up teh git him a rag teh tie araound it an' he looked scared enough to ha' seen 20 ghosts." "Was his hand badly hurt?" I asked. ' Nuthin' teh speak of," said Hos kins. "Jest a little nick along the side like he'd gouged a piece aouten it." "See here. Hoskins!" said MacArdel sharply. "Wo didn't see any ghosts last night, and all your friend Jenks could have seen was ourselves, in our shirtsleeves, walking back of the hedge by the river road. You remem ber how his horse jumped and ran, don't you, Ware?" "Certainly," 1 replied, obediently. "We wondered what the trouble was, at the time." "Now, then, Hoskins," continued MacArdel, looking at his watch and speaking rapidly. "Don't let Jenks hear a word about this business. He don't know that I had a trunk at the station, and, if we can get back here before lie wakes up, he needn't even know that we've had his wagon." "No fear of his wakin' up fur a good bit yet," grinned Hoskins. "He wuz so scared when he got in that he liked teh ha' finished a pint o' whisky 'fore I could stop him." "So much the better" said MacAr den, gathering up the reins. "Now, re member what I say, and keep this business to yourself. We'll have some fun with liim before he gets through!" We drove as rapidly as the tired beast could carry us, until we reached 1 lie gate leading into the stable grounds, when MacArdel pulled up suddenly and said: "Let's dump the trunk in here. Wo can carry it up to the house after we get this horse and wagon back where they belong. No one will touch it here." As soon as tfie trunk was on the ground by th# side of the roadway, MacArdel dragged out the parcel from under the blankets and, opening it on the grass, began to examine the pieces minutely. After a moment he straightened up and exclaimed: "it's just as I thought. It's the same stuff that we found last night, and (ho scoundrel went back and got 'em all after we had gone to bed!" CHAPTER XI. The Ghosts Captured. Replacing the parcel under the blankets in as nearly as possible the same condition and position as when we found it, we drove rapidly back to Hoskins' stable and were successful in safely housing the horse and wag on before Jenks putin his appear ance. "Now," said MacArdel, "all we have to do is to tip off that man at the sta tion, and we can keep Jenks in the dark until we are ready to bring him up with a round turn." We walked the short half mile to the railway and found no difficulty in bribing the fellow to silence con cerning the trunk, laying stress on the alleged joke that we purposed practicing on the driver of the "ex press." "You see," said MacArdel, as we strolled leisurely along the grassy roadside "the whole business is plain enough now. This Bruce woman start ed a ghost story when she first came here purely in a spirit of idle gabble and to impress the wondering natives with the knowledge of the homes of the nobility in England. Then, when her boy was killed, she tried to make trouble by again circulating these yarns and frightening the men off the place." "Well," I replied, "she ought to be satisfied now, at any rate. Miss Car ney gave her a good bit of money in a lump sum, and provided her with a comfortable house and a generous plot of land around it. I don't see what more she wants or what she hopes to gain, and, to tell the truth, I'm about as much in the dark as 1 was at first." "Well, it's plain enough!" continued MacArdel. "You gave her the money in a lump sum, you say, so she has nothing more to expect in that direc tion. You'd liave done better if you had given her an annuity instead, and kept control of her funds in your own hands " "Wo do In a way," T returned. "We givo her (he use of the house ami land, you know." "That's where the whole trouble lies now!" exclaimed MacArdel. "Don't you see, Ware, she and this fellow, Jenks, are going to be married. She's got a good house and farm on the estate, and, just as they are about to seitle down for better or for worse, you come along with a scheme to oust her, bag and baggage, and turn her place into golf links." "What of It?" I replied. "We are going to provide for her elsewhere and she will be better off than she is now." "You know that, but she doesn't," continued MacArdel, "and there may be other reasons why she does not want to move. This seems to be a pretty prosperous community, and ap parently no one about her is espe cially anxious to have the house open." "No reason why they should want it open," I said. "Practically all the serv ants are brought from the city and al most nothing is purchased in the vil lage, so the natives don't derive any material benefit from the place." "But they may when it's closed up," MacArdel insisted. "There's fruit and nuts and game and grass and timber and other things that can be picked up and never missed from one year's end to another when the house is unoccu pied and no watchman or caretaker is about. I tell you, Ware, these people don't want the Carneys to come back, and they are playing this ghost game for all there is in it to frighten them away." "They'll have a fine time doing it," I said. "Miss Carney isn't afraid of anything under the sun, and even if she returns before we are able to make out a case against them, she'll stay here and fight it 01V. to the last." "What's That Got to Do with It?" "Hope she likes to do housework,** said MacArdel." "What's that got to do with it?" I snapped. "Well," he returned, grinning, "she'll have to live here without serv ants until you get this business clear ed up. She may be satisfied that there is nothing supernatural about these midnight visitations, but she won't get a servant to stay on the place while there's any hocus-pocus going on." We were on our way back from the railway station, and, coming to the brow of the hill, we could look down across the valley and see the grim gray walls of the Carney mansion through the occasional openings in the foliage as it waved in the gentle morn ing breeze. To one side, and less than a mile away, was the Widow Bruce's cottage, and I pointed it out again to MacArdel. "Let's go over there," he said, brief ly. "I want to see her." We tramped across the fields and over the fences of stone and brush, soiling our boots, tearing our clothing, and decorating ourselves with a gen erously distributed collection of burrs, which clung to our garments with a tenacity wonderful to believe. A sharp knock at the cottage door was answered by a pleasant-faced, motherly appearing woman of about 45, who spoke with a marked English accent. MacArdel took the initiative and introduced us without delay. "This is Mr. Ware," he said, "the at torney of the Carney estate, and I am his friend, Dr. MacArdel." The widow bobbed up and down like a duck in a puddle and invited us into the house with a great show of cere mony. "No, thank you," said MacArdel. "We won't come in. We've just been taking a morning stroll over the hills and we stopped to ask if you could do some washing for us. You know we've been stopping over %t the house for a couple of days and the sheets and things are so musty that we thought we had b"tter have some of them CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 1907. washed and aired out. Wo can set along to night again, but if you could got some of the things back to us to morrow we wish you would." Mrs. Bruce was quite willing to do us this favor, and MacArdel told her to call for the things at six that evening, explaining that we would not return to the house until that hour. . As we left the cottage and wan dered on down the liil', MacArdel said: "She don't look half bad, after all. I confess I expected to see a very different sort of woman." A moment later he muttered as if to himself: "We'll get the story out of her, though, or I'll miss my guess," beyond which sage remark lie became absolutely uncommunicative on the entire subject. We kept our word about returning to the place before evening, and, after lunching at Hoskins' and taking a row on the river in the afternoon, we ar rived at the house a little after five to await the appearance of Mrs. Uruce. MacArdel had been far from talkative for some time, when sudden ly he said: "Ware, g6 back to the village right away! Send two or three meaningless telegrams to your office within an hour or so. Tell it around that unless you receive a reply before ten o'clock we, will both have to return to town on the midnight train. I'll stay here and attend to the widow when she comes." "Of course I won't get any reply If my messages are meaningless," I ex claimed, in amazement. "What on earth are you driving at?" "Never mind about that," said Mac- Ardel. "Just do as I tell you and be mighty careful to so word your mes sage that no one can make any sense out of them, but be sure to send them to your own office. Then they'll look like cipher dispatches. Now, when tei, o'clock comes and no answer, get hold of this fellow Jenks and make him drive up here along with you to get our things, lie may pretend he's afraid, but he'll come willingly enough, especially if you offer to pay him well." I did as 1 was told, and shortly after ten o'clock. Jenks and I drove up to the house and found MacArdel wait ing for us on the veranda. "Hello, Ware!" he called out, cheer ily. "Didn't you get that message from town?" "No," I responded shortly. "I wired them throe times myself, but I could n't get any reply." "S'poso we'll have to get started to night, then," said MacArdel. "The trunk is all ready. Will your horse stand, Jenks?" "Will ef some one holds him," said Jenks, sullenly. "All right," said MacArdel, ignoring the fellow's surly manner. "Get hold of his head, Ware, and Jenks and I will fetch the trunk." The man clambered down from his seat, slowly and unwillingly, and as he did so the moonlight fell on his in jured hand and illuminated the crude ly applied bandage. "Why, what's this, man?" exclaimed MacArdel, with interest. "Have you hurt yourself?" "Nothin* but a scratch," replied Jenks, gruffly. "Got dragged agin a nail iu th' barn last night." "Let mo look at it," said MacArdel. "I'm a doctor, you know,"and he reached for the injured member and grasped it firmly at the wrist. An in stant later Jenks went spinning through the air with MacArdel astride of his cheat, holding him firmly to the ground. "Wonderful what an hour a day at the gymnasium will do for a fellow," said MacArdel, wheji he had regained his breath. "There's a bit of rope there on the step Ware. Giv« it here and help me tie him. He's wriggling like the devil." (TO EE CONTINUED.) 1 \ 112 *' *r ' 'j% ) Heroines the Battlefield By Anita N. McGee Four Hundred Women Enlisted as Soldiers in Civil War—Cri mean War Gave Stimulus to Idea of Training Women Nurses Florence Nightingale's Work Interesting Facts About the Use of Term " Red Cross"—Wide spread Misunderstanding as to Its Meaning. (Copyright hj J. B. Bow tel.) (Dr. Anita Newcomb McOee is the one woman in this country who lias held a commission as an officer of the United Slates army. During the Spanish-Amer ican war, as director of the hospital corps organized by the Army and Navy chapter of the Paugliters of the American Revo lution, of which society she was vice-pres ident-general, Dr. MeGee was regularly appointed assistant surgeon of the army. During the war she was constantly on duty, visiting hospitals and battlefields in her capacity of director and supervisor of the army's trained nurses. She was prominently connected with the Japanese hospital service during the late war with Russia. Dr. McUee studied abroad at Cambridge and the University of Geneva. She was graduated from Columbia uni versity of Washington in ISBH. Later she took a special course at Johns Hopkins hospital. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.) An army has always two parts. One part is the actual fighters, who work, suffer and die and at the end receive all the glory. The other part is those who provide for the fighters. They also work and suffer and die, but at the end they are ignored and afterward forgotten. There are naturally very few wom en who have achieved glory in the fighting part of an army, though the amazons are well known and Sernira mis, Zenobia and Jeanne d'Are were commanders of armies. In former times, however, many a woman con cealed her sex and took her place in the ranks as a man, though, from the nature of the case, not many of their names are kno#n. Among those who enlisted in our revolutionary army were Deborah Sampson, Elizabeth Canning and Molly Macauley, and the last-named won the grade of sergeant before being discovered. It has been estimated that during our civil war no less than 400 women contrived by some means or other to enlist as sol diers. The most recent instance of fighting women was in the Transvaal war when many a burgher's wife han dled a weapon at his side and many were taken prisoners, some of them bein£ dressed as men. It is quite common for the royal women of Eu rope to-day to hold honorary commis sions, generally as colonels, and al though not expected to take command in time of actual war, they do wear their uniforms and ride with their troops on occasions of ceremony. But, after all, the true story of women in armies relates to their part in providing and caring for the fight ers. The present elaborate organiza tion of armies is of comparatively re cent growth, and originally the greater part of the cooking and of the nursing of soldiers was done by their hardy female relatives, who were as well able as themselves to bear the fatigues of the campaign. It is al ways easier to procure a new soldier than it is to cure one who is sick or wounded, and the humane medical corps, as one of the departments or an army, was a growth of the last century. During the middle ages the care of tlio sick was largely left to the great catholic order of knights and the orders of sisters who were affiliated with them. On the continent of Europe to-day, although a large majority of army nurses are men, yet in most countries there are a few sisters of catholic orders who not only continue to follow the troops in time of war, but who servo as head nurses in large army hospitals in time of peace. About the beginning of the last cen tury the idea of systematic training in the principles and practice of ear ing for the sick had its origin in Ger many, where one of the earlier stu dents of the art was Florence Night ingale. Like untold thousands ol women before her, she went forth to the great battle with death in the hospitals, taking with her to the Crimea :»S women, of whom 18 were sisters of catholic or protestant or ders. Other nurses joined her later. This war gave a great stimulus to the idea of training nurses, and it ultimately led to the introduction into the British army of a regular corps of women nurses. These "sisters," as they are called, are of course grad uates of hospital training schools and their work consists essentially in the supervision of the nursing in large hospitals where the details are car ried cut by men enlisted for the pur pose. In some respects the English system is well organized, as the rules are explicit regarding increase of pay with length of service, with provision for retirement and pensions. The most important post in this service is that of woman superintendent of Netley hospital, there being no woman at the head of all the nurses. There exists also an independent Indian nursing service of secular "sisters." At the outbreak of the South African war the number of English sisters was fixed at 79, of whom 63 were employed in the British isle 3 and 1G at Gibraltar, Malta and Egypt. In addition to this small number pro vided for peace times there was a corps of reserve sisters, although ap pointments to it were unfortunately not under the control of the war of fice. As the nursing sisters of the reserves nun bered only 93, hasty ap pointments were made, and some women who were entirely without knowledge of a nurse's duties sue- ! ceeded in obtaining appointments. ' Of course the trained nurses who j were sent to the Transvaal worked j nobly and well, though the investiga- j tion of army hospitals has shown a j most distressing insufficiency in j number. The United States is looked to as a i country whose system of women I nurses may, in many respecU, Ue \ used as an example. Our nurse corps is a matter u! quite recent growth. There were, of course, a large number of women employed during the civil war, most of them ap pointed by Miss Dorothea Lynde Dix, who was then superintendent of women nurses, but their services, as well as the work of the helpers who held no regular positions, came to an end at the closo of the war. A vast amount of good was done by these women individually, but there was no lasting effect on the army Itself. In our country, with its prevailing independence, army assistance may ! be rendered by any one who chooses j to offer it and no organizations are ! recognized as those through which j alone such assistance will be re- ! ceived. It is true that there was be fore and during the Spanish war a j committee acting under the name of j the"American National Red Cross," which was allied with the interna- J lional committee, but it had no ex> j elusive recognition from our govern- j ment, nor had it, any organization as j a general society. | Nothing I Ate Agreed Mrs. Lonora Bodenliamer, It. F. D. 1. | 80x99, Kernersville, N. C., writes: " I suffered with stomach trouble anil ; indigestion for some time, and nothing | that I ate agreed with mo. 1 was very nervous and experienced a continual ; feeling of une aslness and tear. I took I medicine from the doctor, but it did me no good. I found in one of your Peruna books a description of my symptoms. I then wrote to Dr. Ilartman for advice. 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