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THE ANTS
By James Hepper
One of the Series of Evening, Public Ledger Original Short Sterl
en Married Life by the Best American fiction w ruers
"I accept. I am getting old.
pETEft left the" studio, where he
x had been painting steadily for
hour, and stepped out into the gar
den. It was full moon; he blinked
under the high sun and stretched,
till a little dated from his lertg
plunge- in toil; he inhaled full the
yarfume of roses.
A short distance from him. en the
dge of the driveway, was a big,
eie dug, he surmised, te receive
eme transplanted bush, lilac or
magnolia. Water, trickling from a
hose that stretched like a black
snake across the lawn, was making
of this excavation a small lake. Peter
stepped te the little gurgling lake,
nd sat himself contentedly near its
bank. A small lake sufficed Peter;
he did net need a big one.
It was lovely here. The water
sang; slowly, it rose; the flowers
perfumed; Peter's soul dilated de de
licleusly. Far above, in the bluea
hawk circled.
But this did net last. Within the
eirale of Peter's carefully established
vacuum a small hard thing began te
intrude. The rasp of a rake, there
behind the hedge, at his back. His
face darkened and puckered.
He knew who was raking there
behind the hedge. Net only did he
knew; with that implacable vision
given te him with life, he also saw.
It was his wife who was there be
hind the hedge raking. And though
behind the hedge, which was at his
back, he saw her.
He knew exactly hew she looked
there, behind the hedge. She had en
the wrapper with the big flower
pattern; it was tied around her with
a cord at the end of which was a
worn tassel. Underneath the soiled
white hem showed of the gown she
had worn in the night for from
her bed she had gene te her garden
ment was a deuble one. Hundreds of
thousands of tbc small carapaced crea
tures were marching from the bole te the
hedge ; but as many were marching from
the hedge te the hole; they threaded
their way in and out of each ether's
course, the two movements interpene
trating each ether. And bringing bin
long'nese still lower, Peter saw that all
this had a character of panic and dis
may; that, had this multitude net been
denied voice, a great confused clamor
would -be rising from It te his high
perched tar.
Of these hastening from the vicinity
of the excavation, every one was laden.
Carrying It high in their mandibles for
short exhausting runs, or dragging it
llerccly after them; ever sticks that
were great legs te them, or pebbles
that were Himalayas; skirting or pierc
ing clumps of gross which were Impene
trable jungle, they Bere each a small
whitish thing which looked like a grain,
which, in fact was a grain the grain,
the life spark, the existence itself of this
agitated nation.
Peter ran a glance backward ever
their march and found its starting
point. The ants had all emerged, they
were emerging, from five small holes
near the excavation; five little hole?
smaller than the hollow of a wild-eat
straw. Out of them, ceaselessly, in a
constant trickle, they appeared into
the sunlight, carrying en high before
them, as the monk docs the cress, the
sacred larva; or, backing up, fiercely
snatching It along after them. Here
these of the army who marched the re
verse way, and which all were without
burden, met these that were coming
out and, letting them pass, after a mo
ment's hesitation during which they
seemed te be calling te themselves all
tliclr courage, resolutely plunged head
first down Inte the earth. Peter new
understood. He was the witness, tht
god -like witness of just such a catas
trophe en. In the tenebrous past, again
and again had nearly wiped out his own
kind. The water, which was filling the
excavation dug in the garden, from be
low hed established communication with
Her bare feet were in old brown th( .... of ,he ant. lt wn. ,.,
slippers; there would be streaks of slowly down in there; slowly, myster-
leuMy, inexorably; filling the lowest
chambers, rising along the galleries,
bursting into halls; and the pepula
tien, In mute uproar, was fleeing its
(rumbling elty, hugging tight te itself
its life kernel.
Peter's henrt thumped and his brain
flamed. He saw clearly the great un
derground city, its vast bulls and dim
secret chambers, Its intervelned galler
ies vibrant with peril and disaster. Hu
heard the sullen rear of sudden ln
rushing waters. Walls fell In lnigc
Hakes, ceilings collapsed, floors sucked
In, and thousand upon thousand ecry
second died. He aw the stubborn citi
zens, in this Immense dissolution of all
they had ever been sure or, tenaciously
telling te snatch from this cataclj&mlc
threat the future of the race, the groins
which were the concentrated premise of
future generations. Down there, at
every hcurt beet, thousands died a sac
rificial death ; down there, under
ground, a great holocaust was taking
place, made splendid by u myrl.id hero
ism. Peter became much excited; he
shook.
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James Hepper started his
literary career en a San Fran Fran
ciseo newspaper. In 191 J he
went te France as a tear corre
spondent. In J91G he returned
te this country, and went te the
Mexican border with the Amrri
can Army. When ice entered
the H'erW War he again went
te France, stitl as a correspond
ent, but he joined in the fiqht
ing, going ever the top with the
Twenty-eighth Infantry at
Cantir 'I. He says that fiii
is fl until tear feat, but that in
ce'leye he played football.
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He saw her as she had been years age. $he was waiting for him at a stile. She was slender fragrant and soft. Her frock was
cut low at the neck; the beginning of her virgin breasts swelled delicleusly there. And her eyes, turnejj.up-i-him, were a little wet,
as Venus is at dawn
than the broom, which he could see out
of the corner of his eye, he knew that
his wife was standing by.
"Loek, Daisy." he said, Inviting her
te share his emotion. "Loek at the
ants."
and there, a lone squirming small spot
indented Inte the ground ; and en the
surface of the water In the excavation,
e film made of dust, dead and mangled
outs, and eggs.
Ter a moment, stupor nle'ne pessesved
There was a moment's silence up Peter. He had. during his contempla centempla
there. Then: "Ants! I should think lien, shrunk himself te the size of the
BUT a broom, a big, capable garden
broom new planted itself down at
his side; and without looking at mere
there were! Why, they'll get into the
heute! Let's kill them!"
Hp stretched out his hand and turned
his fingers around the broom handle.
"Oct down here with me-and leek," he
said. "It's ni. extraordinary sight.
It's lll,p Sodom, Babylon, Atlantis all
rellrd into one!"
"Yes and they'll be m the pantry,
next. It'll be Babylon in the pantry.
Come let's sweep them off."
The broom stirred In his hand : he
detained lt. "Don't. They nre the
survivors of a terrible disaster. They
have seen thousands of their mates
swept te horrible death. They arc safe,
bearing with them the future life of
their nation. Why, it would be ns if
men escaped from a city destrejed by
flood, standing at lust en high ground,
nuked, exhausted, but alive, saw new
upon them the mountain falling!"
"It won't be a mountain," she sold".
"It will be n broom!"
"Held en; wnit," he pleaded hur
riedly, trying a mere intimate appeal,
"Let me watch them. Daisy wait
I'm getting something out of it! Let
did watch it!"
But the broom was new out of his
hand, and In three, four scythe-like
strokes, the thing was done. Of the
bread, ruftj-red ribbon of carapaced
pullulating life Mt 'tolled across the
drive, there was nothing left but. here
ants ; or, rather, he had swelled them
te his dimensions; se that the terrific
completeness of the execution performed
by these three simple sweeps of b simple
broom left him profoundly astonished.
Then, as the daze left him, a violence
took Its place. He faced her, he wanted
te speak, and he knew that wuat no
wanted te say was something Irrepar
able. But no words came; his threat
was altogether tight, his mind a whirl
ing blank.
PETER turned en his heel and walked
. away. He walked out of the garden
and up the path which led te the vil
lage. In the village was a place where
one could drink; the. plan at the back
of his head was simple enough. T"
weuia go te tnai pinte ami nrlnl. ;
drink till he fell like an ex struck by
the slaughtering hammer. But that
fixed point of Intent within him wns
small within the turmoil he had be
come. He felt as if poisoned, abso
lutely poisoned. His head was het, he
trembled; and n singuler part of him,
detached and wraith-like, hovering
above him looked down with amazement
at his state.
He hed seen something se clearly;
he had felt it se poignantly the minute
cosmic tragedy of these ants. Had she
seen nothing at all? Had she felt nothing?
A reservoir deep within him began
te surge. It was n reservoir which
had been filling there' in the dark, drop
by drop, for years. Several times It
hdd surged ns it was new doing. But
only with a tentative pulsing which did
net reach the rim. New each surge
brought the accumulated reserve higher.
Like some alchemist's brew boiling en
the lire, It rese nearer the margin,
collapsed and rose again. But each of
Its ebullitions was raising it higher;
nearer te the film which curtained his
consciousness from the dork sccrets be
neath; nearer his clear consciousness;
nearer his mouth his tongue, his lips.
And suddenly, with n new effort, it
had done it It hed brlii.med! Clearly
he heard the words spoken in the silent
sunlight. The little glade resounded te
them, spoken loud.
"Cruel end stupid!"
That was it. "Cruel and stupid!"
Three times he heard the words sneken
before complete understanding searched
out his heart. And then, te this full
comprehension, he felt his legs wobble
and abruptly snt down In a little mound
of crass.
He remained seated thus, Immobile,
his cjes fixed ahead as if upon a ghost.
Se this is what It had come te after
all theso years. Te this he had come
after all theso years.
Te theso words, spoken net merely of
the lips, but explosively expelled by
his entirely certain being, every drop,
every cell, every nerve.
These words, flnnl judgment.
"Cruel and stupid!"
niHE glade was very quiet in the sun,
J- nnd Insects hummed. Thoughts also
hummed about his head, vague, form-
lebs, buzzing thoughts, circling and
circling. But always fixed In the cen
ter was the kernel fact.
"Cruel and stupid" that is what he
had called her.
It seemed te him that a long time
bad passed when suddenly, like a
mirage descended from the sky, an
image came rlearly before his eyes.
It was that picture of her as she
had been yeais age. Standing at the
stile en the edge of the golden fieldT
with her ted mouth, her dewy star-like
eyes, her gentle breasts.
He contemplated this long, and then
wasferced te ask himself a question.
As she steed there, that time long
age, se pretty, se tender nnd se warm,
and his arms ached, was she then,
already, what today he hed called her?
If that were true, then woman were
indeed terrible.
But If net true what then?
A strange new kind of discomfort took
porssien of htm; his mind, as If af
frighted, shied te one side, tried te
belt. lie forced it back te the path.
"Consider." he said te hie mind. "Con
sider you must consider that."
Her life, Immediately, passed by him
in one streau. iicr me since tneir two
lives hud been side by side.
He snulrmed.
A drub life it was, a drab streak of
life. Poverty te dullness monotony
smniincss. ,
And loneliness. Yes, very probably,
loneliness.
He had cultivated it, enriched It. He
had colored it, chiseled lt, cherished it.
Like a' diamond cutter absorbed, with
out cease be bad ground lt te new iri
descences. He had climbed a hill, ceaselessly
climbed a bill carrying his soul. And
left hers down there like a stone. And
time had worked its will upon the aban
doned soul. Duller and .duller It had
become with layer upon layer of dull
time.
PETER did net go up te the village.
. When he rose after a while, it was
toward home be made his way, at first
en hesitant feet which little by little
quickened their gait as a foolish. fear
pricked him.
He found her lying across her bed, her
head, face down, framed within the in
tertwinement of her arms and her long
loosened hair. She was asleep; by the
gentle slew pulsing of her, he knew she"
was asleep.
Her cheek was flushed and bruised;
she had .been weeping.
One leek at her, ene glance about the
room, nnd he knew exactly what had
happened; saw lt as though it had hap
pened before his eyes.
She had come in hurriedly; hurriedly
she had bathed and begun te dress. She
had laid out fresh, best things. -Seme
already clothed her; ethers wereTibeut.
scattered en chairs, across open draw
ers. , .
She had gene about doing this In a
trepidation of baste, as a child des
perately hastens who has been threat
ened by its parents with being left be
hind. And hurrying, she had been .cry
ing; sobs had sounded in this lonely
room as she hurried.
Finally, te a larger burst of wee,
coming probably from seme last small
straw (perhaps one of her shoes bad
refused te button, or some hook bed been
tt.A n-tHimit n eve. or some ribbon
had slipped buck into its sheath) she
had thrown herself ncress the bed te
give way. altogether uncontrolled. And
weeping thus, had fallen asleep.
Standing there, his eyes upon this
past scene which he saw se well, Peter
remembered that which he ever prom
ised himself te remember anu wincu
ever he forget. That she was a child.
After all, but a child.
As In the days when she had waited
for him nt the stile, se new she was a.
child. The rest the robust matrons
ready, almost rough assurance ; its firm
contempt for all that which was haze
and hale end opalescence nnd net core
nil that was mere front. She was a
child. , rt,
He should remember that always. Of
course, he should alwaya remember it.
PLTEP, lay down by his wife, nnd
. found her het lips, and-nwekened
her; she clutched nt him convulsively.
They murmured tegether: "I'm sorry,
Peter; I'm sorry."
Then later r "Peter, you de se mad
den me at times, dear. With' your airs
no, I don't mean thnt. But you de
shut the deer upon me, Peter you de
shut me out se muchi"
StlU later: "And Peter, you are of
theso that like the flowers but net the
gardening. . . ... , '
"Polished floors, but net the polish
ing." 'T linnn. dear. I knew."
"Peter, listen: I am of the earth.
one does, Peter. I am willing
old." , w'
eae wnisperea new. "p
btbu wining 10 aiei ' ,
He pressed her closer, but
desolate helplessness hed ....
"Yeu, Peter-veu Z19 5
Peter! Hew you shut ieVrjl
fight 1 Trying te held JL.A"?
held. And hating me" because i5S
Fer T enn'f . TJ :".." M
,;. . .1.7. A"? x caa '" a
a child ?ThXhZ
dem. Was fhl. ni.A .
revolt flffhfenn.l t,l !.-... "MK
.- ,.... ule uCarr. " 1 1.J
But she was eeplnr.i:41
sertly against his breast w
gathered her in hi, .!
tats gesture felt a new la.7i
ness fill him. A tenderness "h&
net enl in h.. k.. ,. wnlM
tn ..uC ' ".V I0I.nny
Durblnd. iMrin. -u . . . ""
e.tright,whV;;;,d0tS
wuicn sunerca dimly, in a sort T
het delirium. ' a80r'tyK
VfBAR the end of the daV v. J.
J-.THnther
niiflL nnn nskij ..
felt something like emb,tWnWf k
-tot distaste', th6t 2S2--H J
we feel whenever we ha nTfl
mture of plmblns ft -fl
depths.
(ffletlM
He? He had been absorbed. He had accept. You're always semewncre up
been combing and brushing and sleek- above."
Ing and curling his soul. He had been "I knew, dear. Net far abeVe, either.
a coxcomb of the soul! lA feel place, in between. I knew."
one
as
JACK O' JUDGMENT
y Edgaf Wallace
A. ii .
wrong about It. J",l, Bea.WlC
ss-is.a
surface. ""ULq,carefulii
He f0it the nee(J of $
w, Pernaps, mad0 him tmta&Z
ants; the ants which had bn w?
ginning of the afternoon! eMllb
A slight brceie, ruffling the &
had pushed together the dust, th fi
-nd the eggs ia a nUlful "Jg
against a. bapk. 9f
"Where. rlM iu
himself. 'Hein7"ne.
Hevand his wife had this d.yi
8 Of these ramnl.1. ... ... v ?"
if by en.e ;,;;, rc'M .
almost at certain Jntirrali ' H"
Btnte of hostility ,Bt0 g h ff
slipped, through ii. . lu,'M
gentleness , .. " , "' l0 ?. ""K
happy once mere, Daisy 'and L?2
what about the ants? Where did 2
SV"? V"0Wpta5lS
had happened. They had paid fc
iJIdn t they cennt at nil?
," "1 C?T i0 N"'- HersMa,
.i..j iu me BK1C8.
Whenever he did this. .
rmlnter thnf 1, ,..,. 1
v ", e was muce ISM
apt te visualize the old, familiar Or3
....... iu llny ,nore abstract, litA
aud terrible god. Se he did hi i JF
A fog hed come in from the Mtf jJ
raade n low fleer of the heavens W
en that fleer, Peter iuiairlne.l th!'Z2
walking Zeus. Hera, the who!. rIj
democratic, familiar, with robes t littX
disordered and wreaths a little atkml
116 hailed them. "
"Heigh, up there. Zeus. Hera,VB
an vi you, ieii me, please ! ;
"When, down here, the earth link,'
mountains slide, or the sea everfliwl
"When, clown here, there Is a'Nei
flood, n San Francisce eartbqtuhi
when China dances and Saint Plent
with ene belch of Its volcano la bluttf.
ltech tins mean, merely, tnaMt
there, where you dwell, soma ttd
marital difficulty is being reselvedl"
But from the gray coitus celling te
.inn, uuur m mum mere came no u
swer Whatever. Se Pcfer eivlut
day knowing net much mere tain
had at the bcjrrnnlnir. And in t
state, smiling a philosophical mSt,'
turned his steps toward the heuie, M
tbe dinner which his geed little
had there just put down for blm.
Ceevriaht, lilt, lv Vnltcd Fcatvrt lynlnH
Ml riehts rt served, Itcproduct'en prcMWM.
wet ground across the part of the
feet which showed between the
flaccid slippers and the soiled gown.
They pressed the earth, these feet,
firmly; set down well apart in a
solid wide base; they pressed it fa
miliarly. They might he had seen
that be sunk, in their flaccid slip
pers, into soft manure, unshrink
ingly. Her hair would be tied tight in a
small knot behind. She squatted
often ever some seed, seme weed.
She was like a strong thick coolie of
the rice paddies.
Peter's face puckered still mere.
Net with anger, net with disgust,
but with a sort of mournful helpless
ness. Then, abruptly, another vision
came te him. He saw her as she
had been years age.
She was waiting for him at a sfile,
en the far edge of a golden field. She
was slender, fragrant and soft. Her
pretty frock was cuf; low at the neck;
the beginning of her virgin breasts
swelled dolicleusly there. And her
eyes, turned up te him, were a little
wet, as Venus is at dawn, and the
red chalice of her lips was slightly
opened.
PETER squirmed uneasily; the help
Jels desolation deepened still en his
face.
But a sharp prick at bis right calf
made him deliver a large slap there.
Lite from All Sides was attacking the
retreat of reverie in which se snugly
he had tried te ensconce himself. Frem
beneath his slap a small nut dropped
crushed te the ground. But she wbb
set the only one about. An army of
ants was passing close te his feet ; se
clse, in fact, that they swirled about
the extremities as a he4t, following
a valley, doubles some rocky El Cap!
tin. Peter hastily withdrew his feet.
Kneeling down, siretchlng his rather
long neck, he proceeded te observe what
was happening. And observing, seen
haf removed himself utterly from the
rake's dry reminiscent scratching. ,
Acress the drive, from the excayat en
ef Which Peter's fancy had mftde a lake,
from that hole te the hedge, the ants
stretched a pread, rusty -red ribbon. At
'' first, Peter tbbught they were marching
M way, then he saw that tbe move-
MHO'S W10 IN THE STORY
COLOXEL CA.V DOVXDAIIY, tat,
coarst-erained but uneannlly cltvcr
leedtr of a eang 0 creeks, has oeeoin
alarmrd at rrcctpt 0 a knave at ciiiuj,
tian'd "Jack 0' JudamtM." atttr several
0 his exploits, all 0! wHeh are subtlu
ilHlstd te enrich him without rlshtne the
la-c'e penalties. He trie te disarm u u
jiICiemj gathering around Win 01 com cem
nlnlnlnp 10 ,
STAFFORD C.VC. 0 the Londen Crim
inal luteWaciice Ferte,
riNTO Sll,VA, a alccfi
ttinn aheut town.
lercts M attentions en an actress, who
recuns mm. line is ,,.,,
MAISW WHITE, daughter 0 flellv While,
one 0 the gang who wishes te retire.
She Is interested in Sta.Jerd.
LOI.LIE MAKSH, a dell-taccd tut cleier
girl, who acts as "vamp" 0 the elacfc-
"SWELL" CREWE, ottce a gentlemar,
new a creek.
XirilAT was
VV,
Snow Gregery's real
name? If he could find that, he
find Jack e' Judgment.
Slowly, as though with a sense that
the great discovery was imminent, he
tore open the letter and pulled out the
three foolscap pages which, with a cov cev
ering note, constituted tbe contents.
There were two liBts of names of gradu
ates who had passed out In the jear
which, if Snow Gregery spoke the truth
in a moment of unusual confidence, was
the year of his leaving.
The colonel's finger traced the lines
one by one, and he finished the lirst
list without discovering a nnme which
was familiar. He was half way through
the second list when he stepped and his
flnscer Jumped. Fer fullv three minutes
he sat glaring at the pnper open
mouthed. Then : ...
"Merciful heaven!" he whispered.
ti. . there for the ereater part 01
an hour, Mb chin en his hand, his eyes
glued te the name. And all the time
his active mind wes running beck
.!.... v, thn venrx. nieelnt together the
evidence which enabled him te Identify
Jnck e' Judgment without nny shadow
of doubt. .... ,
He rose and went te his bookcase and
took down volume after volume. They
were mostly reference books, and for
some time he senrched In vain. Then
he found a year book which gave him
the data he wanted and he brought lt
back te the table and scribbled a few
notes. These he read through and care
fully burned.
lie finished his labors with a bright
leek it) bis eye and strutted Inte his
bedroom ten yeara younger in appear
ance than he had been that afternoon.
He put out all the lights and sat for
a little while In the shadow of the
cifctaln, watching the street from the
open window. At the corner efMbe
block a street band was playing, and
he was Surprised that he had net no
ticed the fact. ...... . .
Very keenly be scrutinized the street
for some sign of s lurking figure, and
ice be raw a man walk past under
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pleasantly, ''Come back for the
pickings."
the light of a street lamp and melt Inte
the shadow of a doorway en the oppo
site side of the read. He went Inte his
bedroom and brought back a pair of
night glasses, and focused them upon
the figure. , ,
He chuckled and went out of the flat
Inte the street, turning southward. He
did net go far, however, before lu;
stepped and looked back, and his pa
tience was rewarded by the sight of a
flgure crossing the read and entering
the building he had Just left.
The colonel gave him time, and then
retraced his steps. He took off his
1 iwitM in the vestibule and went up
stairs quietly. He ws hnlfway up
when he heard the soft thud of bis own
dour closing end grinned again. He
cave the intruder time te get inside
before he, tee. inserted his key, nnd,
turning it without n sound, came into
the darkened hall. There web a light
In his room, nnd he heard the sound of
a drawer being pulled open. Then he
gripped, the handle, nnd. flinging the
deer open, stepped In. The man who
wns looking through the desk sprang
up in affright.
As Boundary had suspected, lt was
his former butler, the man who bad
deserted him the day before without a
word. He was a big, heavy-Jewled man
of powerful build, ana me momentary
leek of fright melted te a leer at the
sight of the colonel's face.
"Well, Tem," said Boundary pleas
antly, "come back fer.the pickings?"
"Something like that, guv'ner,1' said
tbe ether. "Yeu don't blame ra?"
"I've been pretty geed te you, Tem,"
said the colonel.
"Ugh! I don't knew that I've any
thing te thank you for."
Here was a man who a month before
would have crlnfcd at the colonel's up
raised linger.
"Oh, don't you, Tem?" said Boun
dary softly. "Come, come, that's net
cry grateful."
"What hae I get te be grateful te
reu for?" demanded the man.
"Grateful that you're olive, Tem,"
wild the colonel and the servant's face
went hard.
"Nene of that, colonel," he retorted,
"you can't afford te talk fieEh with
me. I knew a great deal mere about
ou thnn you suppose. Yeu think I've
get no brains."
"I knew you have brains, .Tem,"
said the colonel, "but you can't use
'cm."
"Can't! eh? I haven't been looking
after you for four or five years and
doing your dirty work, colonel, with
nut nteklnir un a little Intelligence
and a little information! You'd leek
lunnv 11 tney put me in me witness
box!"
He was gaining courage at the very
mildness of the man of whom he once
steed In terror.
"Se yeu've come for the pickings?"
said the colonel, ignoring the threat.
"Well, help yourself."
He went te the sideboard, poured
himself out a little whisky and wt down
bv the window te watch the man search.
Tem pulled open another drnwer and
closed It again.
"New leek here, colonel," he said;
"I haven't raade se much money out of
this business as you have. Things are
pretty bad with me, and I think the
least you can de Is te give me wmo wme
thlns te renumber you by."
The colonel did net answer. Ap
parently his thoughts, were wandering.
"Tem," he said after n while, "de
you rtmembcr three months ege I bought
a let of old moving-picture films?"
'v. T remember." sold the man.
- ' . . . -i L
suejeci.
"If you want the film, I put it in my
pantry, underneath the silver cupboard.
I suppose new that the partnership's
broken up you don't objeet te me tak
ing the silver? I might be starting a
little heuse of my own."
"Certainly, certainly, you can take
the silver," sold the colonel genially.
"Bring me the film."
The mnn was half wny out of the
room when he turned round.
"Ne tricks, mind jeu," he said, "no
doing funny business when my back's
turned."
"I slmll net move from the chair,
Tem. Yeu don't seem te trust me."
The ex-velet made two journeys be
fore he deposited a dozen -shallow tin
boxes en the desk.
"Thcre they nre," he said. "New
tell me what's the grtnie."
"First of all," said the colonel,
"were you serious when you suggested
that you knew something about me that
would be worth a let te the pollce?
There gees thnt drum again, Tem. De
you knew what use that drum is te
me?"
"I don't knew," replied the man.
"Of course I meant what I said. And
what's this stuff about the drum?"
"Why, the people in the street can
henr nothing when Unit's going," said
the colonel beftly.
Gwan te Bed Story
By J. P. MeEVOY
surprised at the change of
lX7l.nf a flint tf( de with It?"
"There were about ten boxes, weren't
there?"
"A dozen, mere likely." said the man
impatiently. "New leek here, colonel,
I"
"Wait a moment, Tem. I'll discuss
your share when you've given me a lit
tle help. Meeting you here by the
wav. I saw you out of the window,
skulking en the ether side of the street
has given me an Idea. Where did you
put theso films?"
The man grinned.
"Are you starting a moving picture
company, colonel?"
"Something like that," replied Boun
dary; "it was tbe bend that gave me
the Idea really. De you hear what an
Infernal noise that. drum mekes?'
The man made a gesture of Impa
tience. ... . , ,
"What Is it you waut?" be asked.
rvscAit
CANAKY'S REVENGE :
Oneje upon n time, dear children,
there was a mouse named Mrs, Chris
topher Meuse, who lived with her hus
band Christopher In a hole under the
stage of Orchestra Hall. Naturally
they had a sensen ticket te nil the
concerts and seen became passionately
fend of thera.v As the months went by
they became mere and mere appreci
ative of the finer points and delighted In
the newer and mere radical symphonies.
(Johnny, get off the piano.)
B
UT one day the maternal instinct
overwhelmed Mrs. Christopher
Meuse nnd together with Mr. Chris
topher Meuse they moved from Or
chestra Hnll te a small apartment
nearby where a nest was contrived and
a small fnmlly of mice was procured
from 0 nearby Meuse Sterk. Unfor
tunately in the same apartment thcre
lived a canary bird who sang all day
long. Yeu might wonder why daddy
sulci unieriunnieiy wuen we nu unu" i
Christopher Mouses leed music. But
the canary bird his nnine was Oscar
Canary song only the tawdriest pop
ular canary songs end ballads, such os
"I've Get the Cuttle Bene Blues" and
such things. Naturally the Christopher
Mouses, who had lived en symphonies
for months, couldn't Btand it, nnd since
Oscar canary weuiunt step, urm urm
tepher Meuse te revenge himself used te
steal into Oscar's cage at night and
swipe all his blrdbeed.
OF COURSE, dear children, that was
naughty, end Oscar swore he'd he
revenged, which was also naughty.
Ann, sure eneush, Oscnr's chance came.
A wan appeared in the apartment one
day and Oscar overheard blm talking
with the inistre&fa. Something about
as . vi' a
iSBSBHSCBSSkSBSSSSBSKi
tee many mice nnd we'll leave some of
this around for them. Aha, said Oscar
Canary, If he leaves anything around
for the Christopher Mouses I'll tnke It
myself and be revenged en them, And
the thought made him se happy he imme
diately began singing at the top of his
eice, "I Want te Ge Back te My Dear
Old Mammy In the Canary Islands."
AND, dear children, that very night
whlle Christopher Meuse wns re re
venglng himself en Oscar Canary by
sneaking into his cna-a and stealing bin
birdseed, Oscar was revenging himself
en Christopher by stealing the feed the
man left for Christopher te eat. But,
nles for Oscar, the feed the man left
was POISON. Yes, poison, and It
killed peer Oscar deader than a salted
berrlng.
There is n moral te this story, dear
children. (Dorethy, don't let the baby
threw the piano out the window. Some
body may be pnsslng en the Street.)
The moral is, it does net pay te be re
vengeful, unless you are a mouse.
That's aU. Uwan te bed.
He put his hand In the inside of his
coat, as though searching for a pocket
book, and se quick was he that the man,
leaning ever the table, did net see the
weapon that killed him. Three times
the colonel fired. The man slid in an
inert heap te the ground.
"Might as well be hung for a sheep
as a lamb, Tem,". said the colonel,
replacing the weapon, and turning the
body ever ; he took tbe scarf pin from his
own tie nnd fastened it iu that of the
dead man. Then he took his watch and
chain from his pocket and slipped them
in the waistcoat pocket of the ether.
He had a signet ring en his little finger,
and this he transferred te the finger
of the limp figure.
Then he began opening the boxes of
old films and twisted thelr contents
nueui me noer, pinning them te the
curtains, twining them about the legs
of the choirs, all the time whistling.
He found a candle In the butler's pantry
..u rmmi-u 11 wiiu n sicuuy nnnu in
.be heap of celluloid cells. This he
lighted with great care and went out.
closing the deer softly behind lilin.
Half en hour later Albermarle Place
was blocked with fire engines end a
dozen hoses were playing In vain upon
the rearing furnace behind the gutted
walls of Colonel Dan Boundary's resi
dence. Stafferd KHig wes an early caller at
Doughty street, and Mnlsle knew, 'both
by the unusual hour of the visit and
by the gravity of the visitor, that somo semo some
tb,.n?..e?.trnonlInary had happened.
'Well. Maisie," he said, "that's the
, 1 . "eunaary gang the colonel
Is dead.
"Dead?" she said, open-eyed.
Vie den t knew what happened, but
the theory is thet he shot himself and
set fire te the house. The body was
found in the ruins, and I was able te
Identify some of the Jewelry you re
member th6 police had it when he was
arrested, and we kept n spcclnl nete of
it for future reference."
She heaved a long sigh.
"That's ever at last. It is the end
of n nightmare," oho said, "a horrible
herrlb 0 nightmare. I wonder -" '
What de you wneder?"
"I wonder if this Is also the end of
? Jgment," she replied, 'W
whether be will continue working te
bring te justice theso people whom the
law cannot touch."
..t-"iI$men,en.ly knows," said Stafferd,
"but I'll admit that Jack e' Judgment
has been a most useful person se fSr
as we are concerned. We should never
hove collected Pinte or Selby or even
ine colonel, but for Jack. , iie w ,v A
there Ik nn nu. n .... ' ,"":'H
girl." -we um, Ul0
Te be. continued Monday
Copirieht, UcClurt NtwspwrSwdlcat
Uncommon Senses
Counterfeit Intentions
BY JOHN BLAKE
f
fpHE old-fashioned preacher
tell his congregation that bell
paved with geed intentions.
Perhaps a few genuinely geed intaM
tiens de new nnd then find their '
te the heated floors which the old I
breather used te depict.
But it takes considerable nnaljiiit
determine whether nn intention Is I
or net.
If they could be candled, like
some that annear even te the ea
te be sound, would turn out i
counterfeit.
As a rule If one really means
Just and fair, no matter at what
he will be.
tp Tim imamaIb iii,iba fm means I
ii, n.innc in. riu lie trr t
discouraged in carrying out bisJiJ
tlens, which is sufficient proof,
tlA ! txnnllu - ft
iucji nwe UUnU"t - JLfc I
It is easy for a child asked WJ
dinner te suy that he isn't going Wfl
for a second piece of cane, or eyir
wistfully nt the cake plate as It apt
passed. . .-j.
But when the cake is actusBTj
front of him and appetite is wt
within, he finds out that aw '
were net the real tning, uuu -
gets the cake. , j-.
Tli U.. . hn la rnld net tO 10 SW" J
ming thinks, ns he solemnly vert J
be will net, that 110 IS penecw
about It.
BUT somewhere down deep wltbl.Bl
Is the conviction that if the a!l
het enough, nnd the ether oe -- ,
going, he will go nleng, nnd Iff
explain t afterward. 1flnMf(ll
An intention mm "; .1, esM
i .. .-.i iiA..inn. any "Ti
l... l ...... loll. J.lll uhlch UBOl'
selutcly genuine Is u geed bill. . ,
'i ' i"te".VJL L,a .rlMeiW
umiltT new 11 uurie, 1 ew a.-imi
and none of these serve for floerW.
nny of the places of future exi.w-
E ARE largely a
self-wW
u . 1.r..M ..... . .1 1 T, K ,1 E
rucu. tvjuii u ,i. .,,. ,ji
iln I net nln-nva what WC rCOHJ f.
Te' be perfectly henect with eiu1
I. ,i,. .... iia!..n il.liic In lllc.
m win Hiuv WW... .ill ";. ., Bl
Yet It Is a quality wmcii v.i
r tnnrnku tliMl nlmest 011 0,u -.1
A'1
for success than almost nny
Copyright, lilt
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