SECTION FOUR n»<] to load Jack's letter to both Tibbie and Dan before I introduced Kikki." "I wieh vou wouldn't allude to Captain Stanhope as Mack.' It argues a familiarity which does not exist.'' "Tf you are speaking of the young gentleman who hailed you after chnrch today, 1 should say you were justified in that remark," putin Schwartz. That showed the man's bad taste, but it told me something more. Since the morning his manner toward tlie Guv'nor had altered. Peo ple say I am cruel when I play with a mouse, forgetting that 1 must practice every tricky twist and sidelong spring or I shall not be able to kill mice at all. However that may be, I can recognize the trait when I see it in others, and Schwartz looked and talked like a man who has another man under his thumb. Although her father may speak sharply to Minkie at times, he very strongly resents such a liberty being taken by an outsider. Perhaps he thought Schwartz regarded the allusion to a monkey as a personal matter. At any rate, when the parrot told 'Evangeline togo and boil her head there was a laugh, and the incident passed. Of course I knew Minkie far too well to believe that she mount to let Schwartz say what he liked, but I did not expect her to drop such a bombshell on the table as sl.e produced after the pudding appeared. "Talking of monkeys, W r. Schwartz," she said when there was a pause in the conversation, "are there many in West Africa?" "Swarms," he replied, rather* snappy, because he noticed that Minkie gave his name the German sound, which is funnier than our English way of saying it. "Do they worship them?" "No; they eat them." "Then why should they make one of their most powerful ju-jus like a monkey?" I imagine that for a moment Schwartz really forgot where lie was. His eyes bulged forward, his face grew red, and big veins stood out on his forehead. "What—do you—know about it?" he gasped, glaring at her aa though he wanted to run round the table and wring her neck. "Nothing," she answered meekly. "That is why lam asking you." "But you have some motive. Such a question is impossible coming from a child. Who told you anything of a ju-ju resembling a mon key ?" Schwartz was almost shouting now, and the Old Man gave Mam an imploring glance. Mam tried to press Minkie's toes under the table, but Minkie just tucked her legs beneath her chair out of harm's way, and not a soul could catch her eye, because she and Schwartz were looking straight at each other. "After the affair last night I read about ju-jus and fetichism in th* encyclopedia," she said. "That was very interesting, but I really had in my mind what Jack—l mean Captain Stanhope—told me today. Prince John assures him that if the ju-ju you took from his people is not sent back before the spring rains there will be a rebellion in that country. So I felt certain it must be a monkey headed one made of ivory, with a little beaded skirt, as that is the most powerful ju-ju known among the Kwantus." I wonder Schwartz did not leap at her there and then. Ilis eyes positively .glittered. He exercised all his powers to regain his self control, but his hands shook, and there was a curious tremor in his voice. "This information is indeed valuable to me," he said, dropping his tone to the ordinary level again. "No, I beg of you, Grosvenor, let v-. Millicent continue. Do I gather that Captain Stanhope is in league with the negro thief who made his way to mv room last night?" "Did I say that?" inquired Minkie, smiling at Schwartz in a way that those who knew her dreaded. "You implied it. Evidently your military friend enjoys Prince •John's confidence." "Oh, if you put it that way, you are right. Prince John is staying at the manor house, and Captain Stanhope is using his influence to keep him quiet." "lie told you that." "And I believe him." "Did he actually describe the ju-ju to you?" "No." "Then how are you able to hit off its appearance so exactly?" "Because I'm a good guesser. Isn't that so, father, dear?" The Guv'nor didn't seem to realize that Minkie had deliberately pulled him into the conversation. He was dreadfully upset, and he tried to cover his confusion by tackling her on the question of diso bedience. "I told you to have nothing further to do with the manor house people," he said, and his voice was very harsh and stern, "yet it is evi dent you met and talked with young Stanhope today without my cognizance." CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 19 >8 "Yes. I mot him near the Four Lanes. You said, father, dear, that we were not to exchange post cards and winks, and that was all." "You knew quite well that I meant you to cut iho acquaintance entirely. Millicent, what has come to you that you should disregard my wishes in this way ?" "I am very sorry, Dad. I did not think 1 was doing wrong. 1 promise now that I shall not speak to Captain Stanhope again until you give me permission. If I had really meant to .disobey you I would hardlv have told you so oj>enlv at table. My idea was that you would like to know all about this ju-ju which Mr. Schwartz has lost and tho queer effect it may have in causing a West African war." Poor Mam was nearly crying, and Dorothy's face was a study. She was terrified lest Minkie should blurt out the fact that she, too, was at the Four Lanes. As it happened, Minkie could not have men tioned a worse locality. It was the Four Lanes warren which first led to the quarrel between old Mr. Stanhope and the There was a lawsuit about the shooting rights, which ought to have gone with our estate, but Mr. Stanhope's lawyers made out a flaw in a copyhold, whatever that may mean, and we lost. I wonder why men invented law. If they followed our example and fought in the good old way, our Old Man would now own that warren. There might have beeen more unpleasant things said had not Polly yelled suddenly: "Fire! Murder! Per-lice! 'E dunno where 'e are!" The mongoose had just discovered that it was the parrot who was growling nasty remarks at Evangeline because she took the nuts from the sideboard without giv ing him any. Naturally, being a newcomer, Rikki was surprised, so he jumped onto the window sill to have a look at this queer bird. Minkie was told to put the mongoose in hia box, as Evange line declared she wouldn't touch "such an awful objec','' not for a million pounds. While Minkie was out of the room the Guv'- nor tried to recover his good humor. "You must not pay heed to my little girl's way of expressing her self, Schwartz," he said. "We have rather encouraged her to be out spoken, and she has always been remarkably intelligent. Try that port. You will find it good, a '74, the last bottle, worse luck." "Here's to Holly Lodge and its owner, his wife and his charming daughters. May we all be sitting here this time next year!" cried Schwartz, lifting his glass and glancing at Dolly. It was a pleasant enough toast in its "way, but again I had that feel ing under the fur that the words meant a lot more than they ex pressed. Dan naturally said he saw nothing particular in them, but you will find I was right. I noticed, too, that Schwartz drank two glasses of the wine in quick succession, though ho had declined -a liqueur the previoui evening. I mentioned this to Dan, but he only growled: "You see a sparrow behind every bush. Schwartz is a rotter, but lie is behaving himself. Why, I have known Jim shift a quart of beer after he had 6aid li* wasn't thirsty, because Mam told him to get some lemonade." Mam and Dorothy went to the drawing room, but Schwartz, who was listening intently, heard Minkie go into the morning room, whither I had followed her to study the mongoose at leisure. After a minute or two he made the excuse that he wanted to show the Guv'nor a letter which he had left upstairs, and he came out, though I heard Poll warbling "Kiss me and call me your darling." lie closed the door, walked across the hall to the foot of the stairr. and tiptoed back to the morning room. Minkie looked at me, and I looked at Minkie. "Now for it!" she whispered. Schwartz entered. Tie had the glint in his eyes which I feel when I have a young thrush within range of a spring. He never turned hi head, but kept glaring at Minkie while he fumbled with the lock till the door was shut. Then ho crept rather than walked toward her. "Now, you young devil," he hissed, "give it to me or I'll strangle you!" That was the right opening. I began to feel nervous, and when I say "nervous" I don't mean "frightened." Had Dan been in the room during the next few minutes he would have alarmed the house by his stupid barking, because any one could see that Schwartz meant mischief. Certainly Dan would have bitten him first, whereas I hid under the leather chair. But the species of nervousness I experienced was shared by Minkie. It was a kind of spiritual exaltation, a bracing of the muscles, a tuning of the heartstrings which carries one through a desperate crisis. For Schwartz was primed with wine and maddened by the knowl edge that he had been tricked by a girl, a girl who was able to survey his mean soul and appraise its mis- erable insufficiency, lie thought to frighten her by letting the beast in him peep forth at her. Even if she screamed for protection lie counted on either securing the ju-ju or learning its whereabouts before her father could come to her rescue. Then lie would ex- ; j»lain that lie was joking, while Minkie would receive scant sympathy i .vhen it became known that she had kept mum as to her possession of | an article which lie prized so greatly. Of course he was sure she had the ju-ju, and Minkie did not commit the error of pretending she did not understand him. "Even if you were able to strangle me I could not give you what ! I have not got,'" said she very quietly, standing straight, with her j hands behind her back. ! noticed that the fingers of her right hand t were lightly resting in those of her left, with thumbs crossed, and ♦hat showed she was not going to struggle. I was -<une\vhat surprised, j because with those wiry hands of hers 1 have seen her bend a stout ! poker across her knee, and she eotild vault astride Hob's back from the i ground by taking a twist <>f his mane in them. Minkie could have landed on Schwartz's shoulders and tapped the bald spot on his head with one of ihe fire irons at one and the same ! instant if she had meant to fitiht. ■ Her attitude •■(■< nied to uie to be rather foolhardy. Xo matter what you may say nhout tlu; triumph of inind over matter, I believe in having the brute force ~ide of the thesis ready for action if necessary. Schwartz, however, thought ehc win afraid, which provc» conclusively that he was a man of limited ideas, even if he were rich as Croesus. He did not believe her, though a gentleman should always pretend to believe a lady, even though he knows she is telling a fib. His mouth opened, and he held his tongue between his teeth. He came nearer, carrying his hands up like a hawk's talons. This was partly pantomime and partly real. The pantomime was essential in Dale End. Had Minkie been in the Kwantu bush she might have seen more of the reality; but, then, under the latter conditions she would havo shown Schwartz a savate kick which I taught her, and he must have bitten off the end of his tongue in learning it One acquires a lot of capital dodges, I assure you, when defending the top of a wall on a dark night. But she stood there quite motionless, » slight, elegant figure in white surah silk, with black stockings and nice shiny shoes, on which were a pair of her Grandmother Faulkner's paste buckles which Main had just given her as a Christmas present. Her flaxen hair was tied with a ribbon of almost the same tint, and sho wore a strip of the rib bon as a waist belt. I wish somebody could have drawn her as she faced Schwartz, who was well dressed, of course, but whose leering face was like the satyr's in our garden. And he had called her a devil! Well, tastes differ, as I have remarked previously. Being only a cat, I don't know much about these things, but my money goes on Schwartz if there is a prize competition for a model of old Hoof and Horns. I have taken my time over this part of the story to enable you to realize the suspense, the wolfish aspect, the stealthy threatening of> Schwartz's advance toward Mipki«. Obviously the mere clock ticking was short enough. "You lie 1" he breathed again, so close that his wine laden breath was offensive to her. Then he grasped her arms a«d began to pass his coarse hands down her body. lam telling you the simple truth. Ho actually searched her clothes, pressing them to her limb 3 to make sure that liis precious ju-ju was not secretsd somewhere about her. I held 1 my breath, and I really had it in my mind to jump up at his staring eyes, when I chanced to catch Minkie's contemptuous smile. Thoji 1 knew that she had fooled Schwartz again—had, in fact, expected him to adopt some such futile dodge and had put the fetich in a secure hiding place. Disappointment nearly drove the man off his balance. He was so enraged that he shook her violently. "You must give it up," he said hoarsely. "I am determined to have it, now, this instant." Minkie remained quite passive. "If I call my father he will horsew r bip you," she said coolly. "Give me that ju-ju," he almost whimpered, such was his fury. "You have satisfied yourself that I have not got it," she answered. "Take your hands off me or it will be bad for you. If you ever dare to touch me again, you will never see it. If you try to behave as de cently as you know how, I may perhaps discuss terms." It was ludicrous to watch his change of attitude. From a V * 1 lion he became a cringing jackal. He almost wept with relief at the mention of the word "terms." "Anything you like," he cried eagerly. "What do you want —money, diamonds, anything? But I must have it now!" The man was crazy, talking that way to a girl just turned fourteen. Had she been ten years older she might have listened; twenty, and she might have closed the deal straight off. But Miu kie was young enough to be chivalrous, and she meant to make Schwartz eat mud. "You cannot obtain it now," she said, speaking as calmly as she does to Mole when she wants the tennis net fixed. "You had better cool down rap idly, because you will not see your ju-ju until Now Year's day." "What!" liq yelled, forgetting himself and trying to grab her again. This time Minkie adopted tactics which I fully approved of. Sho sprang back and sideways, placing my chair between Schwartz and her self. Then she seized a heavy glass ink well. "One inch nejirer, and you receive this in the face," she said. "And I never miss," sho added, seeing that Schwartz halted. Of course I had to move quickly too. As I passed Rikki's box I saw him gazing out with such a puzzled expression. It did not occur to me previously that ho understands Ilindoostanee better than Eng lish, which is a pity, as we never before havo liad any real excitement like this at Holly Lodge. It was as good as a play to see Schwartz glowering at Minkie and estimating the effect of a two pound ink pot if applied to his nose with a velocity of ten miles per second. Talk about motor traps and policemen's stop watches-—he made a lightning cal culation I can assure you, and it was dead against any forward move ment. "Suppose we abandon hostilities and discuss matters reasonably," l he said, with another violent effort at self control. "To begin with, I 1 can compel you to hand oveV my property." • "It is not your property. You stole it. It belongs to the KwantUl tribe. Tf I were to act with strict honesty I would hand it trt Prineff' | John." Schwartz fell into the net like the silliest bunny that ever ran for ; a hedge. He assumed instantly that Minkie could be bribed. "You are too young to judge of such matters," ho sneered. "Moreover, I have only to appeal to your father" — "You will find him in the dining room." Poor Schwartz! I was beginning to pity him. Even the mon goose saw the joke and grinned, because we bunting animals know all about bluff. We meet with lots of it down our way. He deter mined that it was advisable to deal with Minkie herself, which was | precisely what she wanted. You see, these rich men think money will buy anything. "Why New Year's day?" he asked anxiously, while I noticed that his collar was limp with perspiration. "Why not tonight? havo plenty of money in notes. And if more is needed I would never | dream of stopping a check once it is written." "I cannot give you the ju-ju before this day week," said Minkie., "I have my reasons, and I decline to state them. Nor can I tell you i my terms until two or three days have passed. But I want £SO ncrw' for expenses. If you have not that sum with you I can wait until tomorrow or the day after." >. Schwartz ga«ed at her with amazement. He was burning to nelcj
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers