VOL XXXI
HUMBUGGED!
1 Dont Be Humbugged. 1
Don't buy a vehicle or harness of any kind from a dealer who
don't care what he tells you. Don't buy from a dealer who don't
know the quality of the article he is selling you.
"Never misrepresent nor try to get rich off one customer" has
been our motto for 12 years and in that time you have never heard
of us having a.iy trouble with any person who has dealt with us. Our
experience in the business enables us to assist you in making selec
tions of what will suit your purpose and we tell you just the kind of
material it is made of. We guarantee what we tell you to be true and j
Stand right over it. We uuy everything for cash. We pay no rent. ;
We have more stock than any house in the State in the same line and ;
SELL CHEAPER.
There is no doubt about this. Come and see. No difference what
you want about a team, buggy or horse come to us and get a dollar's
worth for a dollar. Top Buggies $44.50; Buckwagons $33; Horse
Collars, either buggy or t am, $1.00; Buggy Whips 10c; Rawhide
Buggy Whips 50c; Whalebone Whips, one-half length, 50c. Two
seat Spring Wagons S3B; Buggy Tops, good rubber, $9.50; Single
trees, Shafts, Wheels, Sweat Pads, Check Lines and everything be
longing to harness.
Our Own Make Team Harness $22
complete, with breeching and collars. All kinds of harness and parts
of harness made to order. We employ the best workmen and use
the best leather.
Come and see us. We never advertised a lie in our life and are
not doing it now.
S. B. Martincourt & Co.
128 East Jefferson Street,
BUTLER, - PA.
P. S. Price reduced on Kramer Wagons, the best wagon on
earth and everybody knows it.
Mr,mi ililil
This Week At
Fred H. Goettler's
NEW SHOE STORE
No. 125 N. Main St.,
Next Door to Duffy's.
Men's Fine Dress Shoes, Lace or Gaiter, tip or plain toe $1.25.
Men's Solid Working Shoes 95c.
Men's Velvet Slippers 45c
Ladies' Carpet Slippers 23c.
Children's Kid Tip Shoes 5 to 8, 50c.
" " 9to 11, 60c.
Misses. Pat. Tip, Spring, Buttons SI.OO.
Ladies' fine Dress Shoes, Patent Tips, Heel or Spring Heel, Common
sense or Opera $1.25
Ladies Patent Tip Oxford, 3 to 6 65c.
Childrens' Patent Tips, Spring, Button, 33c.
Ladies' Opera Toe Slipper 45c.
Ladies' Leather House Slipper 48c.
Wc also carry a fnll line of goods to suit everybody and at prices
at least as low as any.
-o-: Call and see me, :-o-:
FRED H. GOETTLER.
THE HARDfIAN ART COHPANY.
We are located now at I;o South Main Street, adjoining
the Butler Savings Bank. Our rooms are large, fine and
commodious. Photographic enlargements and Life Si/.e,
Hand Made Finished Portraits by the finest French artists
obtainable. In photographs we give you results and effects
that cannot be produced outside of our Studio. We use
only Standard Brand Collodion Paper and not Gelatine, a
cheep and inferior paper used by many. Picture and Por
trait frames; special prices to jobbers. Compare our work
with any Standard Work mad*: or sold in the state. Our
victorious motto, "Wc harmonize the finest work with the
promptest setvice and the lowest \ rices for the quality of
work." Beware of tramp artists and irresponsible parties
and strangers. Have your work done by reliable and re
sponsible parties that guarantee all work satisfactory. Call
and examine our work and samples and read our many tes
timonials.
THE HARDMAN ART COMPANY.
J. S. YOUNG. WM. COOPER
YOUNG & COOPER,
I MERCHANT TAILORS I
Have opened at S. E. corner of Main and Diamond Streets, Butler,
with all the latest styles in Spring Suitings. Fit and
Workmanship Guaranted. Prices as low as
the lowest. TRY US.
DIAMOND* M"N,H.KA.MUNOH. w . AKfpISH
WWW A > OICNTH' GOLI), LAWKS' UOI.I>,
W JtX X ( GENTS'HILVKK, I.AUIKH'CHATI.AIN.
Tli* HI H*T n V 1 (i " ld fi""- K - ir
WW JwJUK*. M / ( hkiOH. Uncaleti. Etc.
IJiTT T» WWW % <> . ITm Hria, ('attorn. liu'rnr Dlnlies u>4 KverMblny
S9 • *■* V MUI '* WW *** •» f uiKt nn >„■ round in a Arm «!»•>» store.
RODGER BROS. 1874 ! „.„ K
Epnirn the
. OirvliZ/D, jewELER.
Ha m, Hurtb Haio St, PAo
THE BUTLER CITIZEN.
Sir*. Judge Peck
Dyspepsia
Mrs. Judge Peck Tells How
She Was Cured
Sufferers from Dyspepsia should read the fol- 1
lowing letter from Mrs. H. M. Peck, wife of
Judge Peck, a Jintiee at Tracy, Cat, and a writer
connected with the Associated Press:
"By a deep sense of gratitude for the great
benefit I have received from the use of Hood's 1
S&r&aparllla. I have t>een led to write the follow
ing statement for the benefit of sufferers who
may be similarly afflicted. For 15 years I have
been a greM sufferer from dyspepsia and
Heart Trouble.
Almost everything I ate would distress me. I
tried different treatments and medicines, but
failed to realize relief. Two years ago a friend
prevailed upou me to Uy Hood's Sarsaparilla.
The first bottle I noticed helped me, so I con
tinued takiug It. It did me so much good that
my friends spoke of the Improvement. I have
received such great benefit from It that
Cladly Recommend It.
I now have an excellent appetite aud nothing I
eat ever distresses me. It also keeps up my
Hood's 5 # 1 " Cures
flesh aud strength. I cannot praise Hood's
Baraaparilla too much." MRS. H. M. PECK,
Tracy, California. Get HOOD'S.
Hood's Pills arc hand made, aJid perfect
la proportion and appearance. 26c. a box.
A Scientist claims (he
Root of Diseases to be
in tbe Clothes we Wear.
The best Spring
remedy for the*blues,
etc, is to discard
your uncomfortable
old duds which irri
tate the bodyr-leave
your measure at
ALAND'S for a
new suit which will
fit well, improve the
appearance by re
lieving you instant
ly of that tired feel
ing, and making you
cheerful and active
The cost of this
sure cure is very
moderate,
TRY IT.
C.V.D.
A business that keeps grow
ing through a season of de
pression, such as the country
has experienced, is an evi
dence that people realize they
save money by trading with
us. We know, and always
have known, t!'e days of large
profits are past. Without
question we are giving more
for the money than last year.
Our stock is larger to select
from than last year.
CALL AND SEE US.
Colbert & Dale.
SPECIAL
SALE
OF
PANTS.
tg OO Pants for $5.00.
$5 50 Pants for $4 50.
$5 00 Punt* for $4.00.
$4 50 Pants for s.'l 50.
14.00 Pan is lor s.'{ 00. #
$3.00 Punts for $4.60,
$ J 50 Paul* lor $1.75.
$2.00 Pai.tß for $1.25.
Warranted Jean Pants sold hy
none for less than SI.OO,
%» for 89c. :: %*
THE RACKET STORE
120 South Main Street, Butler, Pp.,
WALL PAPER.
SPRING
PATTERNS
HAVE
ARIUVEI)
Retail price lower
tlian ever.
Window Shades,etc.
AT
DOUGLASS,
Near P. O. - - 241 8. J/aiu St*
: ifcltopilil
■■ ■ —' ' <Sv^~
[COPYRIGHT. 1894.]
"I.APORT, IIEBE'S A GENTLEMA.V WANTS TO TALK TO VOU."
CHAPTER L
In the early autumn of 18— a young
man who was registered at the Lexing
ton (Ky.) military academy as Surden
Bench, aged twenty-two. got up about
three o'clock in the morning and, tak
ing eight hundred dollars belonging
to the academy and his fellow-6tudents,
dec—iiped.
The significance of the circumstance
at the time arose from the discovery of
the deliberate and ingenious method
pursued by Bench to accomplish his
purpose. He had conceived some kind
of a town celebration and induced the
young men to write home for funds.
He also succeeded in getting them to
make him the depository of the money,
which according to the books amount
ed to eight hundred and fifty-four dol
lars. He disappeared from Lexington
and all the efforts of tho faculty and
the authorities to trace him failed.
It is now known that when he left the
academy he struck across country to
the Salt river, where he had a skiff in
hiding and presumably a negro con
federate. With characteristic Ken
tucky impulse, the young men of the
school held an indignation meeting
and offered the eight hundred dollars
to anyone who would capture him and
turn him over to the authorities. This
reward put upon his trail several
western deputy sheriffs who tracked
him to Cairo, 111., where it was sus
pected that he had changed his boat,
bought ammunition and supplies and
set cT down the Mississippi, traveling
generally in the night and hiding in
the bayous during the day.
IJeputy Sheriff Col. Abner Petingill,
of Frankfort, published in tho Louis
ville Journal a year later a communi
cation setting forth that his party had
tracked Bench to a bayou, somewhere
between Tiptonville and Fulton, on
the Tennessee shore, where the fugi
tive had sunk his boat and struck
through the wild tract of country ex
tending to what is known as tho "High
land Rim," in Henderson county. This
communication is curious in one state
ment. It says: "We discovered, after
much tedious searching, the sunken
boat and then struck his trail in the
woods. We had not followed it far be
fore wc came to the conclusion that he
was accompanied by a woman."
Col. Petingill then states that it was
his belief and the belief of his party
that Bench met with an accident some
where on the Him, for all traces of him
disappeared, and after camping out for
two weeks in the wilderness and dis
covering no new trail the party re
turned.
The fact is Bench had accidentally
discovered the Laran cavc.
In his endeavor to escape from iiis
pursuers, he had struck straight up the
rim and in jumping from one of the
upturned cretaceous strata lie had
landed upon a depression which gave
way beneath his weight and he fell
perpendicularly into a crevice twelvo
feet deep. This crevice has since be
come famous as the Laran portal.
At its bottom he discovered tho de
scent which led to the arena and hav
ing exploited the place, he und his
companion lived thereuntil the follow
ing winter. As soon as he felt satis
fied that the search was given over, he
sent the woman out for supplies and
built a brush house over the opening
to conceal it from tho negroes who
brought them game and provisions.
They must have remained in and
about the Laran cavo very nearly three
months.
In that time Bench mails a very
thorough investigation of it und pre
pared maps and topographical dia
grams of the surrounding country.
Home of these drawings may now ho
(uscn at the Government museum at
Hock Island, and, considering the rudo
means at IJcnch'a command, they are
singularly careful and accurate speci
mens of cartography.
In those three months ISench had
conceived and worked out one of the
most astounding and gigantic schemes
with which the history of audacity and
indomitable will makes us acquainted.
CHAPTER 1L
He is not heard of again until five
years* have elapsed, and the second
event of which it is necessary briefly
to make mention here occurred exact
ly three months before he came to the
surface in the furtherance of his vast
project.
In the winter of 18— occurred the
revolution in Venezuela known as the
-gas rebellion. A Spanish bark,
th- Valencia, carrying arms and sup
plies for the insurgents which had been
bought in Kngland, encountered a
heavy storm while off the Gulf of Mar
acabo, and springing a leak ran off
past Point Oalllnaa, and the captain,
in order to relieve hlacraft, threw over
at flood-tide two four-inch breech
loading rifled steel guns, at a polnl
called the Itahiata Hank. The mate of
this vessel claimed to be an American
and when the Valencia was captured
two days later he managed to escape
by connivance of the authorities and
went straight to New Orleans. Jt is
■upposed that he met ISench there. At
all events, he went bade to Caracas as
the revolution was over and is
It no™ ti to have bought up, on some
plea or other, the shells and ammuni
tion originally shipped with the guns
that were lost and for which the gov
ernment had no use.
The guns, however, were not lost.
They lay in plain sight on tin; Itahiata
banlt at lyw waUy, a ml, having been
Carefully sealed, hud suffered little
tUwwtc-
BTTTLER.PA.,FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 1894.
CHAPTER 11L
Three months later Bench comes to
the surface at the Moyamensing prison,
now a f deral penal establishment.
He arrived there as the representative
■>f an influential New York paper with
i letter to the governor—the officer
that under the old system we knew as
the warden. «
And here the story of the great con
spiracy properly begins.
A card was brought to the official
bearing the name of "Andrew Kent,"
with the title of the New York news
paper in the corner, and it was fol
lowed by a well-dressed man of about
thirty, whose easy dignity and in
formal heartiness impressed the warden
favorably.
"You are Gov. Ixtel, I presume?"
The governor smiled and said he was.
"I am from the New York newspaper
whoso name you saw on the card. I
fu~t\i libbrSbi
! §u
"I HAVE lIKEX SENT ON AN ERRAND
WHICH THIS I.ETTER WII.L EXI'I.AIN."
have been sent on an errand which this
letter will explain."
The governor put on his glasses and
read the letter that was handed to him.
It ran as follows:
"To tiik Ooveiisob or the Fsdcbal Pris
on, Etc, Etc.: Tho bearer of thin, Mr. Kent,
Is connected with the stuff of this paper and la
sent to you to obtain, If possible, an Interview
with the prisoner Jean I.aport, now under »en
tenco for manslaughter. The Interests of tbo
political party now In d° w " can be materially
advanced If this man can be Induced to talk,
and. If possible, furnish some Information con
cerning his confederates In a vast scheme to
rob tbe government It Is asaumeil that tne pris
oner, who Is virtually under a life sentence, can
have no good reason for longer keeping silent,
and It Is thought by the managers of tills paper
that an adroit man, like the bearnr of this, If
furnished tho facilities, may succeed In eliciting
tho Information, which will bo of great service
In thfrcotnlng campaign to tho administration,
of which you are a loyal adherent
' Respectfully, etc., etc."
Gov. Ixtel, a plethoric aud good-na
tured man when not dealing with con
victs, let his hand drop to his side with
the letter in it. With tho other he took
off his glasses and looked at Mr. Kent
with a broad smile.
"Why, bless your enterprising soul,"
ho said, "that old alligator won't talk.
You couldn't pump ten words out of
him if you worked a month."
"Nevertheless." replied Mr. Kent, "I
am here to inal<o the attempt with
your kind permission."
"Take a seat," said the governor. "I
never heard that Laport was mixed tip
in politics."
Mr. Kent sat down. "Well, sir, it
isn't generally known But he is
nevertheless the depository of certain
secrets which to hold will no longer l»e
of any service to him and which if he
will give them away, as we say, will
secure for him the influence of a num
ber of powerful friends who can, if
they set to work, get him a commuta
tion of sentence."
Mr. Kent was evidently a clever
talker: lie was thoroughly posted in
the political situation; he brought
with him from New York a good deal
of Inside news and several rattling
stories that w»re new. lie candidly
confessed that In; hail no stomach for
this job and wanted to be back in the
metropolis. But duty was duty and
he'd have to make the attempt. He
did not think he'd get much out of it,
but if he did it would bo a feather in
tho cap of the pr<*v-nt administration
anil an additional plume for himself.
Mr Kent talked so long that tho
governor invited him to take dinner
with his family, and the guest proved
such an Interesting talker that Mrs.
Ixtel late in tin* aft'-rnoon promised to
the governor that it would lie far more
hospitable to have the gentleman staj
with them than to go off to a hotel.
lie played backgammon that night
with the governor; sang the latest
songs for Miss Ixtel and accompanied
himself on the piano; und he t at up till
twelve o'clock talking politics and
drinking the governor's whisky.
The next day about nine o'clock ic
the morning, the prisoner, a round
shouldered ojd man with a great deal
of character In his square jaw and
massive chin and deep-set scintillanl
blaek eyes, was brought Into tlif
office of the prit.on. No one was pre*
ent but tho governor and the riqxirter
"Laport," said the governor, "hcrc'i
a gentleman wants to talk to you. 1
hope you'll treat him with inoro con
sideration Kin you do me."
Tho old man looked from one of tin
men to the other with a sullen do
fiance. "You can save yourself tin
trouble," he said. "I've nothing to say.'
lie folded his arms and stood looking
at the ceiling.
"Well, sit down and be comfortable
if you can't be human," hald the gov
ernor. a chair.''
- "~rr ■
ivent tfien beg-an a free and easy
explanation to which Laport paid very
little attention. He approached the
subject of his inquiry, the governor
thought, with great tact, and then
asked one or two unimportant ques
tions.
The only answer the man made was
to turn to the governor.
"Is there anything in my conduct"
he said, "to warrant you in inflicting
this extra punishment on me? Send
me back to my work."
"I'm inclined," said the governor,
"to put you in a dark cell for a week
to punish you for your infernal obsti
nacy. I've treated jou altogether too
well, old man."
The old man gave a slight shrug of
his shoulders, but was silent.
Kent began to apologize for him,
and, as coaxingly as he could, asked
him several more questions. To one of
them he growled out a sullen "no,"
and was on the point of saying some
thing else when one of the guards
came in with a message for the gov
ernor, at which he relapsed into si
lence, and no further attempts could
induce him to say a word.
When he had been taken away the
governor said: "You see I was right
when I toldyou it was a hopeless task."
"On the contrary," said Kent, "I feel
quite encouraged. I've only been feel
ing of him."
"I think I'll lock him up for a day or
two. It will make him civil."
"I wish," said Kent, "you'd lock mo
up with him for half an hour. If I
don't make any headway then, I'll
give up the job and go back."
The next day the governor's family
went to a church picnic and Kent ac
companied them. He proved on this
occasion to bo the life of the little
party. There seemed to be nothing
that he could not uo, from making an
omelette in the woods to making a
speech to the children. The governor
was really quite proud of his guest.
Kent had now been three days in&ido
the prison jurisdiction, and how well
he had improved his time appeared
afterwards. When they were coming
home from the picnic he told Mrs.
Ixtel that he had overstayed his time
and must finish up his business on the
morrow. If the governor would lock
him up with Laport he thought he
could make the fellow confidential.
The upshot of all this was that on
the fourth day Kent was taken to La
port's cell, carrying nothing but a
pencil and pad which the governor had
furnished him, and jocularly remark
ing as he was going through the cor
ridor that they ought to search him
first,for he might have some files about
him and let that rascal out to teach the
world a golden silence.
The governor laughed, as he now did
at almost everything Kent said, and
only remarked: "If hegetsaway from
me, I'll take all the blame."
"All right," rejoined Kent, "but, as
you value a human life, don't forget to
let me out inside of tho half hour.
Make it twenty minutes."
They entered the cell together. La
port was sitting on the stone floor with
his head between his knees. He
neither rose nor looked up as they came
in. The place was dimly lit by one
embrasure. It was furnished with an
iron pallet and a pail.
Kent went toward the light and
looked at a large gold watch. "It is
ten minutes of ten," he said. "Give
me till a quarter past."
Laport looked up and addressed him
self to the governor:
"Arc you going to put this lunatic
on me?" he said, "till I knock my
brains out against these walls?"
"The best way to get rid of him,"
replied the governor, "is to treat him
civilly. He doesn't want to annoy
you, and he comes from some of your
friends."
"Yes," said Kent, "you can treat me
confidentially. Tho governor is going
to leave us together for a few moments.
If you will answer some of my ques
tions I can be of service to you."
Laport dropped his head between his
hands. Tho governor gave a shrug
and turned to the door. "I've heard of
squeezing pig-lead out of a sponge," ho
said. "It's holiday work to squeezing
that old bundle of scrap-iron."
"For God's sake, don't forget mo
when the time's up," said Kent, and
sat down on the iron bed.
Tho governor then went out. Kent
heard tho great bolt shot with an iron
clang.
"Now then," ho said so that tho
Governor could hear him on tho other
side of tho door if ho listened. "This
Is the last chanco I've got to talk to
you, my friend. If you will tell mo
what I want to know it will secure
you the influence of powerful friends."
Fie listened. He heard the retreat
ing footsteps of the governor in tho
corridor. He sprang softly but quickly
to the iron door and put his ear down.
The governor was some distance
away.
Laport looked up with something
like a momentary Interest in the
strange actions.
"Now listen to me, Jean Laport,"
said Kent, dropping his voice, "I've
just twenty minutes to say all I've got
to tell you. 1 have come here to liber
ate you. All this business of newspa
per and politics is a blind to get in
here. I can stay here three days more.
In that time I can free you. You
must follow my directions minutely.
In three interviews I can get the tools
to you. I have made all the arrange
ments to take care of you when you
are outside the walls. Is there any
chance of their changing your cell?"
Laport looked at Kent suspiciously.
"What do you want to free me for?"
he asked.
"I know your whole history," re
plied Kent, "and I sympathize with
you. Hut sympathy has nothing to do
with my actions. I want your help.
You are the best mechanician in the
country. I have work for you - let
that suffice. If they do not change
your cell within livedayayou are a frco
man. Now, listen. The first thing to
do is to get a stone out in the darkest
corner of the cell so as to hide the tools
I bring you. Here is the thin steel
knife to do It. ami here is the muriatic
acid and syringe to soften the mor
tar."
Kent took from an inner breast
pocket as he spoUe a tool which he
screwed together, a small phial and a
little syringe. "You are to gather the
mortar in this handkerchief and I will
take It away when I next see you. The
wall on that side Is part of the old wall
of the original penitentiary. It was
built by contract and is only faced up
with blocks; the center Is filled in
with cracked stone. You can loosen
one of those blocks before to-morrow
and I will bring you the Implements to
cut that bar and the wire to make the
descent. I have made the measure
mentof all the apaces outside, watched
the system of gna'd relief—and will
furnish you a plan for every foot of
your way."
Laport was turning the tool over and
inspecting it with a workman's ad
miration. Kent continued: "Yoti are
to escape by the window. It is twelve
feet above the laundry shed. Th«
window bar is iron, not even cas«
hardened. You are to work at It on
Friday when the engine in the laun
dry is running. Kroiu the corner of
the laundry to tin- angle of the prison
wall eust i-. fifty feet. The guard can
not see you till you get to the wall,
and if you get there at the right time
he will lie on the eastern stretch and
you will l>e In tin- shadow of the main
building. There will he a wire over
the wall In the far angle. Once you
are over 1 will ttfkv care of you- £U
Bt»c you further directions to morrow.
You must clearly understand that to
carry out this scheme you must remain
in this cell and. to insure your stay
ing here, you must assfcit me in deceiv
ing the governor. I shall tell him
that you complained of the confine
ment and shall advise him to keep yon
here till I get all the information I
want."
Kent stopped and listened. He saw
that the prospect of freedom had
awakened a (lash of interest in the old
man's C3*e.
"What do you want me to do,"
asked Laport, "that you take all this
trouble?"
"I want to employ your genius,"
said Kent, "and pay you handsomely.
If you don't like the employment, you
are at liberty to go and do as you
please. But you will not object to it.
There is no time to discuss that now.
I will tell the governor that I am get
ting the information I want from you.
I have already invented a plausible
story. He will let me come back here
to-morrow Do your work to-night so
that when I bring you the tools you
will have a place to put them. Every
thing depends on your loosening one
of those stones to-night in case they
examine your cell. Follow my direc
tions and I will give yon your liberty.
Stand still a moment and let mc meas
ure you."
He took a little piece of paper and a
tiny tape line from his pocket. "You
understand," he said, "that it is to get
a disguise ready that will fit you. To
morrow I will bring you two blank
checks to sign. You will understand
later what they are for."
A moment later a step was heard in
the corridor, and Kent was sure the
governor was listening. He was not
mistaken. What the governor heard
in part was this:
"Now then why not tell me the rest
of it? These men can do you no serv
ice now, and the friends of the ad
ministration will secure your pardon
if they are furnished with all the facts.
You have told me enough to make it
worth my while to stay here another
day to (ret the rest of it and I'm anx
ious to get back."
The governor shot the bolt and open
ing the door looked in.
"Time," he said.
Kent appeared to be so engrossed in
his interview that he did not instantly
perceive the entrance of the officer,
but went on talking to Laport. "Think
it over," he said. "Your own personal
comfort if not your freedom may be in
volved in it."
Then he and the governor left the
cell.
The first thing that Kent did was to
tell the governor that he had succeeded
77'.
\ j
"I HAVE COME IIKRE TO LIBERATE
you!"
in unsealing Laport's lips and had al
ready got from him some intimations
of the political gang which had at
tempted to use him. Ho then narrated
a story of his own invention which
was so ingeniously fabricated that the
governor was deeply interested and
himself proposed that Kent should
stay until ho had got the whole of it
and this Kent at last consented to do,
merely remarking: "I'd keep the fel
low in that cell till I get it, if I were
you. The confinement galls him and I
have no doubt he will sooner or later
give away the whole matter in order
to get back to the workshop. Keep
him locked up twenty-four hours
longer."
The next day there was another
interview. The moment Kent was
alone with the prisoner, he asked:
"Hid you get tho stone out?"
Laport took from his breast where it
had been concealed under his woolen
shirt, a small folded packet. Kent
took it, fingered it a moment, and put
it in his hip pocket. The two men then
went to the. dark corner of the cell ar.d
Laport, getting down on his knees,
showed him that he had loosened one
of the small flagstones in the flooring.
Kent looked closely at the work, saw
that no one could perceive the differ
ence in the seams unless he brought a
light to it and merely said: "Good."
Then tho two men sat down on the
edge of the iron bed.
Kent hail brought with him a circular
steel cutting saw which fitted into the
case of his gold watch. The brace and
other appliances ho took from differ
ent parts of his person, and Laport,
with the instant divination of n me
chanician, fitted them together. They
were slender and apparently fragile,
but had been made by a surgical
instrument manufacturer, anil were of
the finest material. Laport examined
them with unconcealed admiration.
Kent, however, did not allow him to
waste the fraction of a minute. "Put
it away at once," he said. Laport
touched tho flat stone with his foot on
one corner; it tipped at the pressure;
he inserted his finger and, lifting it up.
placed the implements in the space be
neath. lie also received from Kent a
little coll of steel wire. "It is to lot
you down from the window to the
laundry roof," he said. "Every inch of
it has been tested up to live hundred
pounds. But all this mechanical assist
ance is of no sort of avail if you fail to
follow out my schedule of time and
scrupulously fit every move to my
arranged programme. You will cut
the bar to-inorrow while the engine in
the laundry is running. How long do
you calculate it will take you?"
"If it is an iron bar, I can do it in
two hours with that saw."
"Very good. You arc to leave u seg
ment of iron to hold it. in it* place un<l
rub the runt into tho fresh cut. You are
to get out the window on Naturday
morning at exactly half-past two to
the minute. I will bring you to-mor
row u tiny duplicate watch set to one I
have myself, and a little box of wax
matches. I will also bring- you a pair
of kl<l gloves padded, MI that you can
lists tin- loops in the wire without cut
ti nff your bands. You must he at the
far ungle In the vtall exactly ten min
nU'ii later and you will find the other
wire thrown over for you. It will not
do to have it there before and you aro
to pull it after you when you aro on
the other side. One other thing: You
must manage in some way to wt tho
bar baclc lu its place. No ouo will look
into your cell till five o'clock from the
wicket in the door, but the absence of
tho bar might be detected by the patrol
on the wall, lie carries a bull's-eye.
Can you do that?"
"Yes," said Uport, "if I have any
foothi*' 1 on the wire and you cau bring
me '.ail an ounce of gum shellac soft
ened in alcohol."
"Very good. You will have eight
minutes to get over the wall and you
will land In a high clump of jimson
weeds. I want you to remember the
rest of my direction*. It is necessary
that you commit then to memory. At
time you ftriid in the wcvdg* thcrv
will be a man on a horse in the road
and he will start east at break-neck
speed. You are to give no heed to him,
but cross the road, drop over the b&nk
—it is shale and cinders and will leave
no footprints—and turn to the left and
follow it west for on* hundred feet
where you will come to a culvert and
brook crossing. You are to take to the
middle of this stream and follow the
bed five hundred feet, rolling your
trousers up so as to keep tliem drjr, un
til you come to an outhouse painted
red, which overhangs it. Light a
match and if there are two crosses in
chalk on the lowest clapboard, you
will know that is the place to turn.
Then follow the path from the
outhouse up to the dwelling, but be
careful to walk on the gravel and not
in the grass. There is a hack kitchen
with a side door and a common latch.
It will be open. There will be a hot
fire burning in the large kitchen stove.
You are to lock the door and divest
yourself of every bit of clothing and
burn it there before doing anything
else and see that all the shreds are de
stroyed. When that is done, go to the
second story, front room, where yon
will find the disguise you are to wear.
In the breast pocket of the blouse are
three photographs of the man who has
been wearing it. Yon are to be care
ful about-the wig and mustache. You
ought to be in the upper room not later
than four. The alarm will bo giveu
about five-thirty. That will give you
an hour and a half to complete the dis
guise and the sun will be up. At that
moment yon will take a paint pot and
brush which are in the room and get
upon the ladder in front of the house
and proceed to paint the siding at the
place where the job is left unfinished.
You are to speak very little English.
You will be fifteen feet above the
street. You are to answer all ques
tions in a guttural and unintelligible
manner. The main entrance of the
prison is nearly opposite that house.
The men in the prison office are ulready
familiar with your figure on the ladder
and regard you as a stupid Alsatian
who has hired the place and is fitting
it up as a saloon. At five-thirty I ex
pert a wire will be sent from the near
est hamlet (fifteen miles east) that an
escaped prisoner has passed through
on a horse. You will be able from
your perch if you are quick-witted, to
discern by the movements at the prison
entrance if the chase is taken up in
that direction. If it is, you will hare
twenty-four hours start, for they will
not catch my man inside of that time,
and when they do, they will be unable
to identify him. In the blouse will be a
small pocket compass and a little map.
At exactly twelve-fifteen, when all the
farm hands are at dinner, you will take
a basket on your arm and set out leis
urely across the stubble-field, south of
the house. You are to follow the path
across the field in a southwesterly di
rection. When you reach the stile at
the stone wall, two paths are seen on
the other side; take the path that goes
down to the wood. The moment you
are in the densest part of the grove, you
are to make the most speed you can, fol
lowing the path by the brookside until
you come to an old and ruined mill a
mile west. You will sit down off the
old mill stone in the grass and wait
till you hear some one singing "Home
Sweet Home." It is the signal that all
is safe and it will be a woman's voice.
You are instantly to enter the old mill
and follow exactly the directions of
the lady you will meet there, bearing
in mind only this, that a woman haa
not a man's sense of time, and you will
be missed and inquired for some time
during the afternoon and everything
will then depend on your speed of
movement after you leave the mill.
The arrangement* from that point are
perfect. Delay alone may make them
miscarry. Can you repeat all these
points to me?"
(TO BK CONTINUED.)
fflitn to Ha Happy Th»Ofh Married.
Mrs. De Style—There were ninety
dobutantes in our set last season, and
only nineteen young men. Isn't it
horrid?
Prof. Graybeard —Possibly the other
young men have emigrated to Mexico.
"Mercy! What can be the attraction
down there?"
"The girls are very pretty, their fash
ions seldom change, and they never
wear bonnets." —N. Y. Weekly.
Not Very Encouraging.
Johnnie Masher—l dreamt last night
that 1 proposed to you.
Ksmereldu Longcoffln—There is evi
dently a bond of sympathy between
us. I, too, dreamed last night that
you proposed, and that I rejected you
uud then my big brother kicked you
down the front steps, and the dog bit
a chunk out of you.—Alex Sweet, In
Texas Siftings.
No Evidence.
"I understand that the deceased
was a man of very nervous disposition
and given to petulance," said the old
lady to the undertaker.
"I didn't notice It, ma'am," replied
the undertaker. "I've been busy with
hi in for the pust forty-eight hours,
and he showed no signs of petulance —
but then most corpses Is quiet."—
Judge.
PATENT APPI.IED fOR.
Mrs. Muldoon—llggobbs, neclsslty
be tlirr mother of invention, but It's
mesilf thot Invlntcd this to dthe Invy
av me nayburs.—l'uck.
Tba War It Will Ha.
"I'op, how aru they going to collect
the income tax when it goes Into force?"
"They are going to leave It to every
body's honor, Hobby."
"Pop, will everybody that has an in
eome have honor?"
"Yes, Hobby, but in inverse ratio.
The bigger the income, the less honor
they will have."—Life.
Tita Uaclialor'a WUI.
There «ui Jolly bachelor
Who died at eighty eight.
And by till will the good man left
The whole of hl» em ate
To women who bad answered nay.
When anked by Ulm Ui wed,
Tor he declared he owed to them
The hai>t>y Ufa he'd lad
—Helen W Grow, In Ltfs.
A ItrquMt.
Wilbur lsn't It the yeast that
makes the bread rise until It Is half a
foot thick?
Itridget—Yes, Wilbur.
Wilbur--Then I wish you would put
uuie In the pies, aud make them half a
fuutr UiiUt, toy—XVway
'jrtc-
NO IB
TO PRESERVE ROADS.
Wagon Manufacturer* Kqst Ctopmt*
with Hold Kulldtrs.
The subject of good roads is one of
great interest to the community In
general aad to farmers in particular.
Good roads enable the farmer to mar
ket his produce at all times in the year
and secure his supplies at less expense
for iiauling, with less wear and tear to
vehicles and injury to animals, beside*
which thev result in bringing together
more closely the members of the agri
cultural community, and thereby in
crease the social intercourse of farmers.
Of course, the building of good roada
is expensive work, but it pays. If it
did not would we find England, France,
Germany, Switzerland, Norway, Swed
en and manv other civilized countries
PHOTOGRAPHIC VIEW OF ▲ BTKEKT IX AJt
ILLINOIS TOWN IN SPRING.
building the best roads they can in the
face of difficulties which to us would be
appalling? The poor Swiss have built
roads through gorges and around preci
pices which would seem impassable,
and which must have cost over $1,000,•
000 per mile.
These nations are all eminently prac
tical. They have not gone Into the
business so extensively simply for the
purpose of t>eautlfying the land. That
is a very subordinate one. It is a ques
tion of hard cash. It Is estimated In
England that In the mere saving in
cost by reducing their roada to suoh a
condition that three horses can do the
work of four there has been an econ
omy of 9100,000,000 effected annually.
But the roads are not entirely at
fault In some parts of the country
they have been nicely graded only to
be rapidly destroyed by the narrow
tired wagons heavily laden. The move
ment In favor of wide tires for draught
vehicles needs to be encouraged. Re
peated experiments havo proved that
wheels with tires 3H inches wide cause
double the wear of wheels which hare
4X inch tires The wide tire has a ten
dency to roll the roadbed and keep It
smooth at the same time, while the
narrow one cuts it up and requires
more hauling force for the same woight
of load, besides spoiling the thorough
fare. Most of the European countries
have laws regulatincr this matter.
Iu Franco the market wagon* have
tires from three to ten inches in width,
usually four to six inches, and the rear
axle Is the longest, so that the hind
wheels run on a line outside of the fore
wheels, the vehicle being thus a road
maker instead of a road-destroyer. In
England it has not been found profit
able to Increase the width much beyond
four and a half inches, exoept in case*
of waprons without springs, where they
are somotlmes made as wide as six
Inches. It is essential that some action
be taken, for narrow tires will soon
ruin the best road ever made.—N. Y.
World.
ROAD CONSTRUCTION.
The Subject Discussed by an Inftueatlal
Missouri Journal.
Th£ road question in the different
states continues to excite a good deal
of attention, and has given rise to muoh
discussion concerning the best way to
carry forward tho improvement Is
some states which huve taken charge
of the building and keeping in order of
the public roods, there hat been some
controversy about Ihii policy of employ
ing convict labor for the work. It la
reported that the experiment in New
York stato has been a success. The
largest item of cost there has been the
expense of guarding tho prisoners, and
recapturing those who escape. It has
beeu troublesome and costly to main
tain camps, kitchens and supplies. The
answer is that it costs a good deal of
money anyhow to keep the convicts in
idleness within the penitentiary walla,
and that the dlfferenoe between that
cost and the expense of putting thonl
in camps on tho roads is more than
counterbalanced by the Improved con
dition of the men and their exemption
from slcUnetts and hospital charges.
They must be carod for and supported;
they cannot be allowed to oome in com
petition with artisans and skilled work
man in factories and laboratories, and
altogether it is perhaps about the beat
use that can be made of them to put
them at work on the public roads.
We do not think the convict side of
the question will cut any figure in thU
state. When the legislature meets next
winter, publlo opinion will have been
pretty well settled us to the beat plan
of carrying forward the publio road
improvement. The matter has been
thoroughly discussed by the country
proas, and tho principal point already
gained is that a thorough system of
road-building must bo undertaken In
every part of the state. If there la to
bo uny state legislation in regard td
the matter, it can be easily obtained.
Many ot the counties are already fore
handed In the work, and feel able to
carry forward all that may be neoee
sary. There U a willingness on the
fmrt of the people to be taxed for the
mprovemont, and, no doubt* many (it
tho counties will issue and eell bond*
to raise the necessary money. It la, al
together, about one of the best move
ments for the development of the state
that has been Inaugurated for many
years, and we hope it may be pushed In
qt^Baylngs.
rail of FraspscU.
Paterfamilias—Hare yon any proa
pcctit of being able to properly support
my daughter?
Youthful Suitor—Ohl ves. In fact,
I might nay that everything In that r»
spect is purely prospective. —N. Yi
World.
Ho«w from Eiftriot*. (
The Teacher—Johnny, you may teU
ua what you know about the season of
spring.
T»»e Chioago Iloy—Spring it a short
season coming between the first and
last parts of winter.-—Chicago Kecord.
aha Had llim Tried.
Father—ls the girl you are going to
marry economical?
Son (enthusiastically)—l should say
ao. Last year she spent five hundred
dollars in bargains.—Brooklyn Life.
Abottt tho Hons*.
Chspple—There's one thing abonl
Miss Finder's new house I don't lUte.
Naopie—What's that?
Chappie Her father.—N. Y.
coriler.
•I ho I'M miliar Sorrow.
Ho got a typswrltor,
It'* doing quits well
In thr matter "f spoea—
Hut it won't lnsrn to spall
Rnrourft|lii|.
He-What If I a tea I u kiss?
She—l hope you will never be gully
of kccpUw ttWlUfl
BHrnmti*