6
The Mystery
OF
Carney-Croft
By
JOSEPH BROWN COOKE
(Copyright. 1907, by Story-i'ress Corporation.)
CHAPTER XXll.—Continued.
An iron ladder, very much rusted
and weather worn, but apparently per
fectly strong and secure, was attached
to one side of this shaft, and, after
waiting for a few minutes until my
eyes had become accustomed to the
blackness of the hole, I could see that
it was about 12 feet deep and opened
into the arched roof of a tunnel of
some kind, the floor of which, as well
as the sides and top, was constructed
of massive masonry.
At times the most level-headed and
eveTily balanced man is tempted to
do some foolhardy thing, and, while
I make no claim to any unusual de
gree of personal bravery, and have
not a dare-devil trait in my disposi
tion, I was suddenly seized with an
irresistible desire to descend into this
forbidding looking pit and investigate
it for myself, then and there.
My revolver was fully loaded and I
also carried a small pocket-lamp which
had been given me some time before
and which I had found useful on sev
eral occasions; less strenuous, how
ever, than the one at hand.
With these thoughts in my mind
and, it must be confessed, with many
misgivings which I strove to keep
down and ignore, I propped open the
lid of the manhole and descended
boldly into the underground passage,
holding my revolver firmly in my hand
and ready to light my little lamp as
soon as I reached the bottom of the
ladder.
Once in the tunnel I stepped to one
side in the direction of the river,
where I could not be seen by anyone
looking in from above, and tried to
accommodate my eyes to the darkness
of the place and avoid, if possible, the
use of my lamp.
After a time I found that I could
eee fairly well and that I was in a
long, narrow tunnel of brick and stone,
about six feet wide and seven in
height, which sloped gradually down
to the river, where it ended in the
(flight of stone steps that I had seen
and which were entirely under the
Isurface of the water. There was a
'damp, noisome odor to the place and
I soon recognized in it the same
graveyard smell that I now knew so
iwell and dreaded so much.
I had, however, expected something
of this sort, and nerving myself to al
most anything that might be disclosed
in my search, I proceeded cautiously
and stealthily along toward the steps,
'thinking I would explore that part of
the tunnel first, before going in the
other direction.
I saw nothing of interest until I got
near the water, where I found a heavy,
iwarm coat neatly folded and, on it, a
'•whisky flask with the cork loosened,
awaiting their owner and in
dicating clearly that he purposed re
turning by the route he had taken
when he left.
Leaving these as they lay, I re
traced my steps and passed once more
lunder the open shaft and on up the
jgentle slope of the passage-way, hold
ling my pistol well in front of me and
wondering at what moment some
ghastly sight would meet my gaze and
account for the constantly increasing
fetidness of the place. I had not
lighted my lamp, for the faint glimmer'
that filtered in tisj*»ugh the river
"water and the illumination from the
'shaft enabled me to see with reason
able distinctness.
As I proceeded up the tunnel, how
ever, objects began to grow dimmer
and dimmer and 1 was on the point of
striking a light when I heard a sudden
icrash and saw, to my horror, that the
lid of the manhole had fallen shut
rwith a bang, leaving me in total dark
ness.
Before I could ignite my lamp or
even collect my thoughts, there was a
rush of foul air from the upper end of
the tunnel and then some heavy, lum
bering creature brushed past me,
breathing iato my face a hot breath
of unspeakable suggestiveness and
wheezing and mumbling like a fretful
lion just after a generous meal.
1 shrank close to the wall of my
prison, for such it now was, not know
ing what to do or which way to turn,
when, to my great relief, the beast, or
whatever it was, shuffled awkwardly
past me again, still making horrid gut
tural sounds and breathing deeply as
before.
A rat, or some similar little animal,
Bcuttled over my feet at the same mo
ment, stopping long enough to bite my
ankle sharply, but I made no sound
and held rny breath until the more
formidable creature was well beyond
me and left me a free course to the
river.
As soon as I felt that the coast was
clear and that I could not be over
taken, I sped down the inoline toward
the steps and plunged headlong into
the water, which glimmered faintly
green before me. Striking out under
the surface, I swam as far away from
the entrance as I could, and, coming
to the top at last, I made for the shore
and dashed onto my room for whisky
and dry clothing.
CHAPTER XXIII.
Another Escape.
It was still early in the evening and
such was my anxiety to solve this
problem without unnecessary delay
that, in spite of my experiences of the
day, I resolved to return again to the
manhole and see how it happened to
have fallen shut and if anything new
could be learned from a superficial in
spection of the place after dark.
1 stopped long enough in the hall
way to dispatch a servant to the rail
way station with my letter to Mac-
Ardel so that it would catch the late
mail and then, leaving word that I was
going out for a short stroll, I put on a
heavy coat and left the house.
There was an icy chill in the air
that betokened snow in the near fu
ture, and I had heard one of the na
tives say the day before that we would
have a storm and a "gol dummed big
one, too," before the end of the week.
As I started down the path to the
river I could not doubt the accuracy of
the fellow's prophecy, and I drew my
coat collar well about my neck and
shivered fitfully as the rigorous blasts
of the coming winter reached through
my garments and chilled my very
bones.
A sudden drop in temperature, fol
lowed by heavy snow, in the early
autumn was not uncommon in this cli
mate, as I knew full well, and it was
usually a serious matter to the farm
ers, whose fall crops were ruined and
many of whose cattle perished; but
this year was destined to see such a
storm as had not been equaled in many
a decade.
The wind howled and whistled
through the trees and over the hill
tops and then, when a lull would come,
it was emphasized by the dull, heavy
moaning of the pines and hemlocks
far away in the distance beyond the
river. At times I even thought I could
feel occasional flakes of snow striking
me in the face as I strode on over the
turf on my way to tbe tunnel en
trance, but I could not be sure, and it
might have been only the dust and
Descended Into the Underground Passage.
other small bits of matter that were
picked up in the gale and whirled
viciously through the air.
When I reached the manhole I was
not at all surprised to find that some
one had been there before me and
again covered it with leaves and bits
of grass but, as I tried to raise it once
more, never doubting that I could
make my escape across the lawn if 1
were detected in this, my astonish
ment was profound at discovering
that it was securely fastened down
from below.
While I was kneeling down on the
ground and tugging at the lid to make
sure that it was locked, 1 thought I
heard a step behind me and turned my
head quickly to see if anyone was ap
proaching. It was, however, apparent
ly nothing more than the snapping of
a branch due to the fury of the wind,
and I again turned to the manhole,
hoping vaguely that, even if I could
not open it, I might perhaps hear some
conversation through the grating that
would serve as a sort of a clew to the
grewsome doings beneath.
As I laid my hand on the iron work
again it touched a cold, heavy object
which had certainly not been there a
moment before, and, picking it up and
holding it between me and the sky, I
saw, to my amazement, that it was my
own revolver, to the handle of which
was tied a bit of folded paper.
For an instant my heart seemed to
stop and I remained rigid on my knees
with my arms upraised as I had held
out my pistol for inspection, fearing to
move through very terror of my ovi
shadow. My breath caught in my
throat and then came in short, heavy
gasps, while the wind alternately
moaned and roared about me and oc
casional thick damp snowflakes lightly
touched my ashen face.
There certainly had been' no sound
CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THORSDAV, AUGUST 22, 1907
or motion In front of me where I
found the pistol, and I had convinced
myself that the crackling I had heard
at my back, and which was some dis
tance away at best, had been due to
nothing more than the wind.
At length, and with trembling fin
gers, I removed the paper from the
stock of the weapon and stuffed it into
my pocket, so that I could examine it
later, and was about to rise nervously
to my feet, when 1 again heard a slight
disturbance in the shrubbery to one
side of me and saw a man approach
ing stealthily and apparently on all
fours.
With no thought of the consequences
and in an actual frenzy of terror, I
raised the pistol and fired at him point
blank, but the cartridge failed to ex
plode or else the chambers were
empty, and, with a frantic shriek, I
sprang to my feet and threw myself
headlong upon him.
He seemed entirely unprepared for
this attack, but he made no sound and
strove manfully to defend himself as
I grappled at his throat and we rolled
over and over down the velvety lawn
to the river.
I was considerably hampered by my
overcoat and having no desire togo
into the water with him, I relaxed my
efforts somewhat, when, with almost
superhuman strength and emitting a
cry that indicated a degree of terror
equal to my own, he tore himself from
my grasp and sped away in the direc
tion of the turnpike.
Feeling, now, that I was his master,
I dashed madly after him, pulling off
my coat as Iran, and I was gaining
slowly upon him in spite of the re
doubled efforts that he made, when, on
the sharp incline that led down to the
road, he stumbled and fell and I was
upon him again in a moment.
My victory was short lived, however,
for as he struggled fiercely to free
himself from my grasp and I, with
equal fury, strove to choke or beat
him into a state of submission, we
again rolled over and over in the grass
until, as luck would have it, my leg
caught in a strand of the barbed wire
fence that enclosed the property at
this out-of-the-way point, and once
more he succeeded in freeing himself
and tore down the road in the direc
tion of the village.
My clothing was torn and mud
stained, my hands and face were
bruised and bleeding, I ached in every
limb and was well nigh exhausted with
the furious and protracted encounter,
and I was hatless and coatless into the
bargain, but I at least had one cause
for congratulation.
In my second wrestle with my hith
erto unknown assailant I had been
able to get a sufficiently good view of
his face to identify him positively and,
in spite of the remarkable protesta
tions of ignorance concerning the Car
ney-Croft mystery which I had heard
him make to the widow only the night
before, and which I was now forced to
believe were but part of a little com
edy gotten up for my special delecta
tion, my lusty antagonist was no other
than the long-suffering Jenke.
CHAPTER XXIV.
The Doctor Explains It.
When I returned to the house my
first thought was to read the note
which I had found tied to the pistol
and, as I had expected, it was in the
Bruce woman's hand and was evident
ly intended for Jenks, whom I had de
tected as he was coming to get it. It
was brief and to the point and read:
"Try and return this pistol to Mr.
Ware's room. Be cautious. Get her
to manage It. Do as she says."
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
Complain of Beavers.
There is a movement in Maine to
permit an open season for killing
beavers, because of the damuge to
standing timber caused by the little
animals. Lumbermen lay all sorts of
depredations at the door of the dam
builders.
A TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE.
How a Veteran Was Saved the Ampu
tation of a Limb.
B. Frank Dorcmus, veteran, ot
Roosevelt Ave., Indianapolis, Ind.,
says:"l had been
t showing symptoms of
kidney trouble from
the time I was mus
tered out of the army,
but in all my life I
never suffered as in
1597. Headaches, diz
ziness and sleepless
ness, first, and then
dropsy. I was weak
and helpless, having
run down from 180 to 125 pounds. I
was having terrible pain in the kid
neys, and the secretions passed almost
involuntarily. My left leg swelled un
til it was 34 inches around, and the
doctor tapped it night and morning
until I could no longer stand It, and
then he advised amputation. I refused,
and began using Doan's Kidney Pills.
The swelling subsided gradually, the
urine became natural and all my pains
and aches disappeared. I have been
well now for nine years since using
Doan's Kidney Pills."
For sale by all dealers. 50 cents a
box. Foster-Milburn Co.. Buffalo, N. Y.
HIS FOOT ON THE TREADMILL.
Mr. Joacker Tells of One Sentenced to
Hard»Labor for Life.
Said Mr. Joacker, who was reading
the paper: "Another poor wretch has
Been given a life sentence at hard la
bor."
Said Mrs. Joacker, who was em
broidering blue roses: "Probably he
deserves it. What is he guilty of."
"Fraud and no visible means of sup
port. He obtained clothes and a fine
turnout with no money and nothing
collectible. He seems to be larger and
stronger than most of that class, yet It
is plain that he has never done a tap
of work, though he has managed to
live well, so far. But the poor fellow
takes his sentence hard and cries
piteously, protesting his innocence."
"The wretch! He must have dealt
with perfect fools!"
"No, his victim Is our own friend,
Jack Smith."
"That clever lawyer! Do read to me
all about it!"
" 'Born to Mr. and Mrs. John Smith,
a 12-pound boy.' " —The Bohemian.
SETTING THE BRIDE AT EASE.
"Widder's" Sympathy Went Out to
Fellow Passenger.
A couple recently married had just
entered the train that was to bear
them to the mountains on their honey
moon, when they became aware of the
close scrutiny of them by a female pas
senger, who had evidently "spotted" a
bride and groom. The young wife, on
opening her handbag, let fall some
rice on the floor, and the woman
smiled. The other passengers regard
ed the couple with Interest. Seeing
that the bride was every moment be
coming more flushed and uncomfort
able by reason of their scrutiny, the
woman in the goodness of her heart,
leaned across the carriage.
"Never mind, my dear!" she said.
"I'm a widder now, but by this time
next week I'll be in the same fix my
.self!"
In Extremis.
The yacht was heavily becalmed.
There were but ten bottles of cham
pagne in the lockers. Their last signal
of distress had been sent up, without
bringing any response.
"Gentlemen," exclaimed the commo
dore, in a quavering voice, "I can no
longer conceal the hideous truth from
you. Sobriety stares us in the face!"
It was a wildly various scene which
ensued. Some blasphemed, some
prayed, some, in an access of frenzied
wantonness, sang songs, while some
sat stoically by, awaiting their fate
with at least an outward calm. —Puck.
High=Priced Meat
may be a
Blessing
If it gives one the chance to
know the tremendous value of
a complete change of diet.
Try this for breakfast:
A Little Fruit
A. dish of Grape-JWutsand Cream
-A Soft- "Boiled E.gg
■Some JVice, Crisp Toast
Cup of Well-made
Postum Food Coffta
That's all, and you feel comfortable
and well-fed until lunch.
THEN REPEAT,
And at night have a liberal meat and
vegetable dinner, with a Grape-Nuts
pudding for dessert.
Such a diet will make a change in
your health and strength worth trial.
"There's a Reason."
Read "The Roail to Wellvllle," In pkge.
FINALLY ROUSED UP UNCLE.
How a Crowd of Villagers Stirred the
Sage of the Cracker Barrel. *
There was the usual crowd of vil
lagers sitting on the postoffice stepa
waiting for the mail to be distrib
uted, and among them was Uncle
John. He had joined the sitters with
out saying a word, and at the eud of
fifteen minutes one of the men winked
at the crowd and said:
"Well, Uncle John, have you heard
about the big earthquake in Vermont,
with 10,000 people killed?"
Uncle John looked at him in a
weary way and .shook his head.
And the cyclone in Connecticut yes
terday and 500 houses blowndown?"
continued the man.
Uncle John yawned and was not
the least interested.
"The Ohio river rose 200 feet of a
sudden the other day and carried the
city of Cincinnati down stream. Tens
of thousands of people lost their lives.
Any of your relatives down there.
Uncle John?"
The old man slowly shook his head
and reached down to pick up a sliver
and pick his teeth with it.
"And the whole state of Pennsyl
vania is caving in," said the Joker,
"and by to-morrow there will be a
great lake where 5,000,000 or 6,000,000
people have lived."
Uncle John took the news without
a word. In fact, he yawned and
Btretched over it.
"By thunder, but there goes a rat
nnder that pile of lumber across the
street," exclaimed the joker as he
rose up. "Say, you fellers "
But he got no further. Uncle John
was across the street and had a club
In his hand, and. within the next tea
minutes he had done a half day's
work tearing down the pile to get at
the rat. He had been aroused at
last. —Kansas City Journal.
TWO WAYS OF LOOKING AT IT.
Wife's Sneering Comment Met with
Sharp Answer.
Gelett Burgess at the recent dinner
of the American Booksellers' associa
tion of New York said: "I once knew
a San Franciscan who married a girl
for her money. She was not a pretty
girl, and as time passed and love
cooled, she developed a rather tart
tongue.
"One day her husband bought with
his quarter's allowance a 20-horse
power automobile. He took the car
home gayly and brought his wife out
to the front door to look at it She
gave one sneering glance, and then
aald:
" 'lt's very fine, but if it hadn't
been for my money, It wouldn't be
here.'
" 'Well, Mamie,' said the husband,
quickly, 'if it hadn't been for your
money you wouldn't be here your
•elf.'"
USED BY THE DOCTORS.
Ninety Per Cent of the Drugs Pre
scribed Are Patent Medicines.
Despite the opposition of physicians,
especially of those whose experience
has been neither far reaching nor
profitable, to "patent" medicines, nine
ty per cent of all drugs that physi
cians use are put up and compounded
by manufacturing concerns, —are, in
fact, "patent" medicines just as truly
as if they were advertised in the
newspapers.
The average doctor knows little or
nothing of pharmacy and is, there
fore, glad to depend on the very medi
cines, which in public he condemns,
Just as he is obliged in many cases
to depend on the diagnosis of the pa
tient himself, even while publicly de
crying what he calls "self-diagnosis."
How rapid has been the growth of the
professional use of "patent" or "pro
prietary" medicines is shown in an
article written for the Jourr.al of
American Medical Association for
September 29, 1906, by A. Jacobl, M.
D., LL. D. He relates that 50,000 pre
scriptions, compounded in several
drug stores were carefully examined.
From 1850 to 1870 no prescription was
found for "patent" or "proprietary"
medicines. In 1874 but one prescrip
tion In 1,500 called for ready-to-use
remedies. Between 1575 and 1880 the
number calling for "patent" or "pro
prietary" medicines equalled two per
cent of the total. This increased to
5 per cent in the period between ISSO
and 1890. In 1895 it was 12 per cent,
in IS9S it was 15 per cent, and in 1902-
1903 was from 20 to 25 per cent.
Dr. Jacob! says that in a large
store he was assured that 70 per cent
of the prescriptions were for "patent"
or "proprietary" medicines, and this
probably is approximately the correct
proportion at the present time. From
this it would seem that if the "patent"
and "proprietary" medicines are good
enough for physicians to prescribe in
seven cases out of ten they are good
enough for family use in cases of
necessity and where the symptoms
are well known and as under
stood by the people as by the doc
tors.
Always the Politeness.
A Germantown woman was not long
ago watching a workman as he put
up new window fixtures in her house.
"Don't you think that you have placed
those fixtures too high?" asked she,
having reference to the curtain rolls
last putin place. The workman, a
stolid German, made no reply, but
continued to adjust the fixtures.
"Didn't you hear my question?" de
manded the lady of the house. "How
dare you be so rude?" Whereupon
the German gulped convulsively, and
then replied in the gentlest of voices:
"I hai my mouth full of schrews, und
I could not spheak till I svallow
some!" —Harper's Weekly
HEALTH NOTES FOR
AUGUST.
August is the month of internal
catarrh. The mucous mem
branes, especially of the bowels,
are very liable to congestion,
causing summer complaint, and
catarrh of the bowels and other
Internal organs. Pe-ru-na is an
excellent remedy for all these
conditions.
Painting for
No one will question the superior
appearance of well-painted property.
The question that the property-owner
asks is: "Is the appearance worth
the cost? "
Poor paint is for temporary appear
ance only.
Paint made from Ture Linseed Oil
and Pure White Lead is for lasting
appearance and for protection. It
saves repairs and replacements cost
ing many times the paint investment.
The Dutch Boy trade mark is found
only on kegs containing Pure White
Lead made by
the Old Dutch
SEND FOR 112 =?§» ]
BOOK V J
"A Talk on Paint."
give* valuable in for- y&r
subject All trad parked in
upon requott. J9u7 bears thio mark.
NATIONAL LEAD COMPANY
in whichever of the follow
ing cities is neansf you.
New York, Boston, Buffalo, Cleveland,
Cincinnati, Chi<TiKO, Bt. Lonls, Philadel
phia [John T. Lewis A Uroa. Co.J, i'ittaburgh
[National Load & Oil CJo.l
SIOK HEADACHE
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graqg They also relieve Dia
fifcfeS SXTiLSF tress from Dyspepsia, In-
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■rjj S tjj E* B* Eating. A perfect rem-
Sf?. n | ■ edy for Diiziuess, Nau
■ fl sea, Drowsiness, Had
Taftte in the Mouth, Coat
s'c<* Tongue, Pain in the
teJLd.t-ayggaOM | Side, TOUPID LIVER.
They regulate the Bowels. Purely Vegetable.
SMALL PILL. SMALL DOSE. SMALL PRICE.
PAQTEa?I Genuine Must Bear
mh Fac-Simile Signature
™SITTLE _
H PILLs!
REFUSE SUBSTITUTES.
HIOjK'S
CAPUDINE
B B C 3) T™ It removes the cause,
B. m (■« |F» soothes the nerves and
a J relieves the aches and
COLBS m GRIPPE S3
headaches and neuraleia also. No bad
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r»ni OlOAnn Is the greatest mining Suite
I»ULI>nAUO i„ (l,e Union. Hut do you
know, Colorado farmtrs will produce doltarn
while her mines produce cents?
We sell land lliut never fails lo return big
interest on the Investment; land that will
double In value soon. Colorado is booming.
Buy now before prices go up, ns they are
bound to do. Write for our descriptive litera
ture. Local and Eastern references If desired.
C. J. JOHNSTON, L. K. MI'LFORD,
r. Farm Dept. Colorado Denver, Colo.
DEFIANCE STARCH— "eT. c "j:
—other itarche» only 12 ouncofl—aatr o price and
"DEFIANCE" 18 6UP€RIOR QUALITY*