EVENING LEDGER-PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1915:
15
FU-MANCI1U&G0MPANY
V THE COUGHING HORROR
By SAX
r was nearly black, and his ryes
HIS
Pi
I project! from their sociieiH norrimy.
.tcrlng my repugnance, I seized the
Iai, niece of bleeding nnntnmy nnd
itj ii- ...,....
Jin:
hideous plte
. tn release It
It delicti nil my
fforls In Imi" ll ,vni' ns ",lncnhle n9
life 1 I"" knlfe from "1V Pckcl'
' d tendon l.y lendnn, rut away that
uncanny urlP from '"Ke- throat
But my tabor nn In vain. Uurke was
Cfn.i,i,,lc I failed to realize this for sorao
t till IK ' .'"',"' . .ilrklmr rlnminllv
time, si v no n- "":,-.;:. "..i;.ii.;
fcl 1 was Inthcd In perspiration,
i .Hnklnir futlounU, t clutched nt t10
t the Vliiloa. avoiding the bloody
n lei. 'irm. Ihe ledge, nnd looked out
P?I? ihn roofs to where. In the more
dt.mn hpBnWtlon. I could hear excited
voices "at lintl bfcn V1? mP"n,,n? ?f
kI Mrrenm whin. I had heard but to
to my
which Hi mv frantic state of mimti rrati
Mid comparatively Utile attention?
There wa KrPilt tlrrlng nil about
m "mlll''" t crlr, from ,he l'ow!
"smlt"' lor nl,'s snUf wl.T10 ?rf yo,t.
rootMeps "'" rnclnff l!'' th0 nl7-
him me the door burnt open nnd Nay
lind Smith Humbled Into the room
Thunder- he said, nnd atntted bade
llou'got It. Smith?" I demanded
hoarsely In safet's nnme what Is It-
'ome'downstnli p." replied Smith quiet
1,. -'am! see for yourself " He turned his
he'nit aside from the bed.
Vert unstcadilv 1 followed h m down
the stairs nnd through the rambling ..Id
house out into thr stoiicp.ived courtyard.
There were figures ntovInK nt the end of
lone nllevwnj between the glass houses,
a,, I one earning a lnntcrn. stooped oyer
.onething whUI. lay upon the Krminil.
"That's Ilurke's cousin with the lan
TAM nn old woman, nnd the children
jof today appal me. Why are they not
content t be merely the Indies and gen
tlemen! their forebears were? The unrest
seems to l.e growing I go to call on my
old friend Mm In Washburn, and llnd her
weeping softly because her son has sat at
table wlllr an anarchist. I Might from my
carriage nt n crowded corner and discover
a Colbj girl olforlng for snle nn nbsurd
suffluBe hniidblll, Jostled and scoffed nt
by persons who should he ns far from her
s the poles I Rno out through tho
transparency view of a Swiss chalet In
mv window, and see n daughter of tho
Aik-r.- going down Into the slums t
preach to the soiled and the hopeless.
IM-cst nmong the children of the poor
I lou.d understand, but urn est nmong tne
children of Ho-ton's llrst fuinlll'n Is 'I'r'to
besond m comprehension. Wo Bluebot
tles had our experience with it when
Minerva, mj brother Hogor'o daughter,
uotc a pln nmi actually dinggcd thu
reieied Bluebottle mime into tho theat
rical limelight It was not exactly happy.
Ao were nil relieved when the play wns
withdrawn and Minerva devoted her time
to getting engaged to young Kdward
Wells. Voi.ng Kdwnrd Is essentially
harmless lie has no Interest whatever
In tho lower classes, except to hnve them
get out of the way of Ills automobile. Wo
all thought the problem of the uneasy
womnn"-as the public prints call her
had bten forever solved in our family, and
v,c were vry glud indeed.
And then- II began .on n dark November
aflcinoou. It hud been my day ut home,
and over m enellent tea t had dlsiussed
wlln l'ro.'essor Bangs his forthcoming pa
per for thr M Mower Descendants' Bul
letin on John Banyan's liiflucnri ns seen
In early rusilin documents; hnd consulted
with Cousin .ah over tho proposal to
give to the lusto n-al society the old Bluo
bottle homesn-iK at Plymouth, and had
heard from n friend who had recently Is
Ited there the p.nna for the winter caro
of the tinner bulbs at the Ailiuietum. I
like to chat thus with my own circle over
the Issues of tho day, ns It keeps me
breast of the times, but there Is no de
nyhg It gives one a headache, and I was
on the point of taking a brisk walk down
Beaton street preparatory to dinner when
Minerva came in.
"How are you, Aunt larclnda?" she In
qulud. With her was the youngest Washburn
jlrl, Clcil, an "advanced" cronturo who
prates of "soilnl Justice," attends lec
tures, and otherwlju follows paths that
should not concern her. was grieved to
see a lady of tho Bluebottles In her com
pany "We've had the most exciting time"
Clcily burst out, and then I noted that
Minerva's cheeka were very pale, and
her eyes very bright nnd staring us
though they hail Just looked at a very
trong light
They hnd a brief and brainless squnbblo
to who should tell of tho ndventure,
and Mli.ervn's voice hnd the sound ot hys
terics. In It. With a sense of Impending
doom I reached for the teapot that was
my great gtur.dmother'a pride.
"Vou Rr,j,uiit I.uclnda," my niece be
Jnn, "v'iiiiy invited mo to go to a lecture
by a yoi.riK Socialist "
"Siiih a hancjBomo man!" cried Clcily,
"w-ui.doilul tuacK eyes all the suffering
or li.u wonu in them "
"A leiiure about what?" 1 asked
thai plj
"Mviiig eonaitions In our tentllo towns,"
explained Minerva "This man Arthur
lomelhrng a faielgu name has lived and
uurkrd in suina of the up-State woo) and
cotton centres And his talk was about
thu pitiable c.nnlillun of the neoDlo there
-tlai small wages- und all that."
"A hiBhit colored narrative, I have no
nyult," i .pjjiifd (.01 j know these agl-
tatUlb. how tnt flp.r pnnutnntlu tn 111
iflaiiit ,-lass against cluas. to gain maudlin
1,8 sympathy arid mono, which late- I do
not question goCs into their own pockets.
And t looked ul I'lLlly Washburn. Her
"rally I, us never been noted for tact. It
a3 her moti.e. who told Professor Law.
j: in eiiiu.eni Historian, that In her
opinion all histories were written by liars
""v in an tne record of Washburn tact
Uunei. i had seen nothing .to equal
jaw. Clcily Washburn, taking to a lec
ture, calculate by untruths und fntse
colon to put In an unpleasant position
noiders of stock; In woolen mill, my niece
0r, as eVervhodv In Rnalnn Vrtnu.a V,a
r?m'u mllU at aj;ton furnish the Hlue
eottie iniome. NV'ero It not for them
ogr would owrn no motors; I could not
rapon my tea direct and snuander a lit.
' now and thten on, some raro edition.
L.rk.many y'ar, wa have subsisted hon
orably nn thu .11., J .-,.,.. ..
pjiorubly and iyell.
..Airulyou Mted nothing this young
IiX M,d' 1 remarked, leoklns hope-
.iij at mv niece.
Mini 1tta "t'jf-eloquent," answered
Ium. . ."He drew Bome harrowlnc pic-!-""
life in jth mill towns. He told
w Pale vvmen dpi girls working Tor pit
trnlfat;Uan8er9u '"aohlnes, of families
!. ., . ,' one 'room, of men flghtlog to
?,, elr babl" on " week-all this
ir. I 9t the ?red ot be owners for
minuidouy dividends. And while lie talk.
troa or 2l X'na t "; That Isn't
jru 0, 8lxt0& .ftien iu,idenly he said
I worked in Barton, too -
W.m, thr,ile-J sursled that Idiotic
n,l. Aunt Luot N k s.4i aJ-toa
KOHMER
tern," whispered Smith In my can "don't
tell him jet."
1 nodded, nnd we hurried tip to Join
the group t found myself looking down
nt one of lhoe thMtset Hurmans whom
f nlxvnvB associated with Kit Mnnchu's ac
tivities, lie lay unite tint, face downward;
but the hack of his head was a shnpclesa
blood-clotted mass, and n heavy stock
whip, the butt end ghastly because of the
blond nnd hnlr which clung to It, lay be
side him. I Htnrted buck appalled as
Smith caught my nrm.
It turned on Its keeper!" he hissed In
my ear. "I wounded It twice from below,
nnd ou Bevercd one arm; In Its Insensate
fury, Its unreasoning malignity. It re
turnedand there lies Its second victim.
"Then "
'It's gone. I'etrle! It han the strength
of four men ern now. I.ookI"
He stooped, and from the clenched teft
hand of the dead Hurman extracted a.
piece of paper nnd opened It.
"Hold the lantern a moment," he said.
In the .vellow light he glanced nt the
strap of paper.
" s I expected n leaf of Ilurke's note
book; It worked by scent." lie turned to
niu with nn odd expression In his gray
eyes. "I wonder what piece of my per
sot.al property Ku-Manchu has pilfered,"
he said, "In order to enable It to sleuth
me?"
Smith met the rare of the man holding
the lantern. "Perhaps you hnd better re
turn to the hotite," be said, looking him
sqliaicly In the eyes.
The other's fare blanched. "Sou don't
menu, sir you don't mean "
"lirace up'" said Smith laying his hand
upon his shoulder. "Itemctnbcr he chose
to play with tire!"
One wild look the man cast from Smith
THE BLUEBOTTLE DIVIDENDS
By EARL DERR DIGGERS
was the worst of all. He nnn too bit
ter. He said tho dividends paid by our
mills were the highest In tho State. Mleic
In lioMon.' lie said, 'people In furs and
jcweln mntiT t receptions and bulls'- his
Ideas of our lllo were really quite crude
'the.v e.-it rich foods and drink mm wines
und whose money pns the bills? Any
morning mi may see them stnggeiing
slcp'ij-eycd to the monotony of work
underfed, underpaid, underhnppy the
hopeless army of tollers who pay for tho
Inoloitt ,iuil Mowers und wines of the Bos
ton Bluebottles.' "
"What:" I cried, "the brute mentioned
us by name?" I was astounded.
"He did," Minerva leplled, flushing,
"nnd when he said that It seemed to me
thnt every eje In tho plncc was on me
I was wild with anger at the Injustice of
his accusation."
"So she stood up-right there nt that
meeting" interrupted dells .
"Vs, I stood up," tald my niece. "The
"We've Iiail the most exciting time!''
crowd turned to look nt me. The lecturer
stopped. I wasn't afraid. I was too an
giy. I said: 'I beg your pardon, but I nm
Jllneiva Bluebottle, and I want to tell
you that what jou nro saying H untrue.'
Tho lecturer smiled. 'How do you know
it is? ho asked. 'I know,' I told him,
becuubo I hnve asked my fnthei, and ho
has said that these charges are without
foundation ' "
Minerva paused, and I looked at her
with admiration. Surely sho was a Blue
bottle. While I deplored the publicity of
tho wholo nlfnlr. It moved me deeply to
bo thus assured that no lady of the Blue
bottles would sit silent while her family
wns attacked.
"I sat down." Minerva went on. "Tho
lecturer was still smiling In a very wlso
way, as though he know so much more
than any ono eUc. 'Your father' ho he
gun, then stopped. 'I should like to talk
to you after tho lecture,' ho said. And he
turned to other topics. But heforo ho
ended, ho spoKo of n revolution that was
coming. 'And the mill owners know It is
coming,' ho said, 'for about the mills of
Snxton you will see miles of high Iron
fences which no man can scale. Whut do
these fences mean? Does tho man who
deals honestl with his fellows need such
protection? No those Iron spikes nre tho
outward sign of guilty consciences. The
mill owneis know that sooner or later
tho mob will clamor for justice ut their
doors. And they are ready." "
"It wns a dnndy lecture," contributed
tho Washburn girl.
"After the lecture,"' said -Miner' a, "we
went up to talk to him "
"Minerva." I shuddered "A Socialist!"
"Why not?" asked my Incomprehensible
niece. "He was very courteous, even If
ho did say some pointed things. He told
me to nek father the size of our dividends
last year. Ho told me to abk him how a
man was to support a family on the aver
age wages at Caxton JS.J6 a week. He
said I should tla father in u chair, and
then read him what the government je
ports. written by unprejudiced experts,
said about living conditions In the wool
towns of tho State. Arid he said I should
ask about that Iron fence."
"What about It?" I cried, aroused. "Has
a gentleman no right, to protect his prop
erty from the wolves of the slums Mlrred
up by these cheap orators?"
"And he said," Minerva went on, her
voice strangely vibrant, her eyes thought
ful, "that every time I stepped Into my
motor I was to think of those other wo
m'n In the mills. While my maid did my
hair, I was to think of them. At dances,
nt the theatre, I was to think of them.
He arked me to come down to Saxton
and look at some of them, so that when I
thought of them I could picture them
more easily."
"Hank anarchy," I cried. "Minerva,
you ought never to have listened to him."
"But I did listen," said Minerva, "and
I am going to ask father the questions
he told mo to. Also, I may go down to
Saxton."
I aUhed. In the old days I should have
expostulated vigorously! fmt'somehow we
of the older generation have come to
know how little Is the use. I pictured the
Interview between Minerva and Roger.
Itoger Is apoplectic, intolerant, set; to
mention the question of our dividends to
him Is equivalent to putting a lighted
match to a skyrocket When I sighed the
second time. It was with good reason
The glrU stood up to go. I looked at
them illy Washburn Is a noisy little
boly, sj-gs 'ur pew a4veii'"s? Jo Social
JcjkA
to me, then went off, staggering, toward
the farm "Smith," 1 began.
tie turned to me with nn Impntlcnt Res
tuie "Weymoiith has driven Into Up
mlnsW," he snapped; "and the whole
district will be scoured before morning.
Thev probably motored here, but the
sounds of the shots will hnve enabled
whoever wo with the car to tnnke good
his escape. And exhausted from loss of
blood. Its capture Is only a matter of time
I'tlrle."
NnjlAnd Smith returned from the tele
phone. Nearly twenty-four hours had
elapsed since the awful death of tturke
"No news, Petrle," he snld shortly. "It
must have crept Into somo Inaccessible
hole to die."
I danced up from my notes. Smith set
tled Into the white cane armchair and be
Ban to surround himself with clouds of
aiomatlc smoke. I took up a half sheet
of fonlscnp covered with penciled writing
In my friend's cramped characters, nnd
transcribed the following, In order to
complete my account of the latest I"u
Mnnchu outrage:
"The Amh.irun. a Semitic tribe allied to
the l-'alashas. who have been settled for
many generations In the southern prov
ince of Shon (Abyssinia) have been re
garded as unclean nnd outcast, apparently
since tho dnjs of Menelek son of Suley
man and the Queen of Sheba from whom
they claim descent. Apart from their cus
tom of rating meat cut from living beasts,
tlity are nceursed because of their al
leged association with the Cynceplinlus
himindryns (snered baboon). I myself
wns taken to n hut on the banks of the
Haw-ash and shown n crcaluro
whose predominant trait wns nn unrea
soning maltglnlty toward nnd a
ferocious tenderness for the society of Its
fuiry brethren. Its powers of scent w-cro
fully equal to those of a bloodhound, while
Its abnormnlly long forearms possessed
Incredible stiength. A Cynccpha
lyte such ns this conlrncts pthlsls even
In the more noilhcrn provinces of Abys
sinia." (Tim UND.)
ism nnd thnt sort of thing, but selfish,
shallow, and quick to drop any creed that
might Interfere with her own comfort.
But Minerva' She stood there In my
drtivv lug-mom with eyes Biich as Joan of
Arc nilulit have turned on the wnvliiK
battlellegs. Her grandfather was nn
Abolitionist despite tho sneer s, even
blows, of his neighbors. With a Bluebot
tle n creed in u passion, nnd I trembled
foi the future.
The moment the girls had gone I went
t i tho telephone nnd got Hogor at his
club. I Mought tn be diplomatic nnd gen
tle, but bnroie I knew It my skyrocket
brother wns i-oaring in the heavens "Agi
tators," "demagogues," "damnable false
hoods," roared over the wires. He as
sured me he would attend to Minerva.
I knew very well he wns Incompetent to
bundle the situation, but I could only give
him some sharp advlco which he didn't
llltcn lo, and hilplessly ring off.
Two dajs parsed, and I heard no more
of the sir nation In my brother's house
hold. On Friday night I wns due to dine
tl.eie, and I arrived to bear Minerva hum
ming a checiful little song nn she ar
ranged the Dowers on tho table. She
greeted me aflcctloniitcly.
"Aunt I.uclnda," she cried, "you have
conn- to a house divided. You must be
piepnred to take Bides."
'I have no doubt your father knows
best" T began.
'Without even knowing what the war
Is. about," she laughed. "I'm afraid you
don't come with an unprejudiced mind.
Its all about the mills, Aunt laicinda. I
have dlscoveied that 1 called n man n
liar without good and sufficient cause."
"What man?" I asked.
"The Socialist, Arthur Sabotky," nn
sweiod Mlnervn, and 1 groaned inwardly
"I asked father the questions Mr. Sa
botky suggested, and ho told me If I
didn't drop the whole matter r couldn't
have that trip to Italy this winter. Thnt
looked bad. Blackmail, I call It. I called
it that to father, ond his face got so pur
ple I was afraid of u stroke. So I did
drop the matter as far as father wns con
cerned. But I arranged to go to Saxton
with Mr. Sabotky."
"Minerva!" I cried. "What are you
thinking of?"
(CONTINUED TOMORROW.)
A NEW DEPARTMENT FOR
FARMER SMITH'S RAINBOW CLUB
Dear Children Our club is Kottinpr nlone; famously. And such beautiful
letters! Only wo should have more of them, for wo want to have our Squnds
organized. Just to tell you how tho Squads work I must tell you nhout tho
Postcard Squad in Paterson, N. J where I have another Rainbow Club. I
asked my Postcard Sqund to send postal cards to all the children in the Gen
eral Hospital in that city, and hat do
hospital wrote the club a beautiful letter, tellinpr how pleased tho children in
tho hospital were to get the postcards.
We must Ret our Postcard Squad arrnnc;ed and organized right away so
that we may send postcards to the hospitals of Philadelphia for Christmas
Day.
We will tell you where to address your cards, nnd all you will have to do
will be to write the address on the postcard und put a stamp with stick-a-lage
on it and you will make some child happy.
Don't wet your pencil or get ink on your fingers, but address
FARMER SMITH,
Children's Editor, The Evening Ledger.
FARMER SMITH, Tho Children's Editor,
Tho Evening Ledger, Philadelphia, Pa.
I wish to become a member of your Rainbow Club and ngreo to
DO A LITTLE KINDNESS EACH AND EVERY DAY,
SPREAD A LITTLE SUNSHINE ALL ALONG THE WAY,
Name , , . . . , , , , ,
Address , ,...,....,,
Age - , . ,
School I attend ,.,,,...,...,,,,,,.,
GREAT DOINGS
"Oh, dear!" said Mrs. Santa Claus
one morning. "That dog Catsup has
been up to mischief ngain. What
shall I do, what shall I do?"
"Whatsermatter?" asked Sugar
Plum, Santa Claus "handy man."
Just then Catsup came around the
corner and Sugar Plum started after
him. Away they went, through the
toy factory and all over the place
until Catsup jumped into the Lollypop
River and Sugar Plum had to stop.
When Sugar Plum came back to
where Mrs. Santa Claus was, he
found the dear old lady quite upset,
for the telephone wires had been
broken and Santa Claus could not hear
what was said.
Then what DO you think happened ?
Sugar Plum took hold of tho wires
and the words came out of his mouth
like- a stream of water out of a hose
pipe.
Mrs. Santa Claus ran for her hus
band) ana when the jolly old llow
. ''wmMmMil J .'&&&
SwiKt ' "'' W i I
"Have you a Sporting Life?"
Bookstall clerk (at lonely country
Halt!
Admiral (seeing enemy's ship sink)
Who fired thnt shot?
Old Salt The ship's cook, sir; he
got tho rango ami stove In her side.
Sun Dial.
SONGS WITHOUT WOHDS
1
ii l
Father Takes a Pill
you think? Tho superintendent of the i
IN TOYLAND
came to where Sugar Plum was hold
ing the wires he heard the following:
"Dear Santa Claus We, the chil
dren readers of tho Evening Ledger,
want you to be sure to visit us this
Christmas and bring us lots and lots
of tovs."
"Why, it is those beautiful children
down In Philadelphia sending a mes
sage to you!" exclaimed Mrs. Santa
Claus.
"Yes, they always remember me,"
said the old fellow. "I get more let
ters from the children of Philadelphia
than from those in any other city."
Then he turned to Sugar Plum and
said:
"You may let go of those wires now
and get Mr. Spark Plug to fix them
so that I may talk to my children In
Philadelphia. There is my dog Catsup
all wet. Suppose you take him and
wash all the windows in tho toy fac
tory," "Trut iU tJ- re all day," replied J
SCRAPPLE
runeh.
ntntlon) "Not very!"
Another Version
J-'iatbush When I came out of
church on Sunday I found my horse
fast asleep In the shed.
Bensonhurst Why. he couldn't hear
the sermon from there, could he?
CHILDREN
Sugar Plum.
"Then," said Santa Claus, "you will
be kept out of mischief for one wholo
day."
"Row-wow-wow!" went Catsup, as
"Catsup."
he shook all the water off of himself
onto Sugar Plum.
For the
Wee Wees
I used to be a dumb Mr. Frog,
But now I'm as bright as can be.
Please just look at my picture,
The reason you'll plainly seel
P. S. Dear William Hunter I
liked your letter and I did just what
you said. Lots of love from the
FROG.
Do You Know This?
(1) That careless office boy of mine
tore up another word that I was sav
ing. The wind blew the scraps all
around the room and when I finally
had them gathered up, all I could find
were the two words, "NEAR LEO."
The word that I had written wjis thfr
name of a little girl who had joined
the club. Please help me to find it.
(10 credits.) (2) Why is a cater
pillar like a hot biscuit? (Three
credits.) (3) What does the word
Philadelphia mean? (Five credits.)
(-1) What city in Indiana con be made
out of this sum: lT WAYNE? (Five
credits.)
.
P(Sk
Sf .?.9e.Vs
THE PADDED CELL
JZi iff! VsSU0DEM.COMPVT0Mt)E.R.-
:fl- m "STAMDtMCr OF A. MAM WHO
ss V25 sues A,"coDtsi picture.
Z-S-- AFTUR HIS FIRST VISIT To
'AN OC.UUST AUD.HAfc
( '" DROPS". IN. HIS EH6.S. I
Two of a Kind
"I vo often seen crocodiles In tears."
"That'H nothing. I'vo often seen
whales' blubber."
A MERE
11 S2i -t
ll Si
Th 1'iailnr Sho.
Guard What do you mean by stopping tho train?
Cheery Passenger (who lias pulled the communication cord) There's & very
unpleasant passenger who's got Into this compartment-behaved very objection
ablydamaged tho roof and-cr Is traveling without a ticket; would you mind
removing him?
Do Women Propose?
"Indeed," the Bpeaker went on, "I
believe that nine women out ot ten
propose. As a test. I would nsk all
married men In the audience whose
wives virtually popped the question
to stund up."
There was a subdued rustle In the
auditorium, and In the dense silence
that ensued could be heard sibilant
feminine whispers In conceit: "Jubt
you dare stand up'"
AND THE WORST
St-t
-rgfer'vVSlii"A-ro rv
Law!
-The Sketch.
Phyllis Do you know, mother, Moses
used to have Indigestion Just like you
do!
Mother Why. dear, whatever makes
jou think thnt?
Phyllis Why, 'cos In our Bible les
son today Miss Smith said, "God
gave Moses two tablets."
INTRUDER
Foolish Question
"Would you Jove me as much it
father lost his wealth?"
"lie hasn't lost tt, has he?"
"No."
"Of course I would, you silly girl!"
Y'M
Johnny Knew
Teacher What animal attaches himself -to
a man the most?
Johnny Why er er the bulldog,
ma'am Indian.) noils Star.
IS YET TO COME
M, f ,. ,M,.
ft
1
.im