The Proving.
Br GRANT OWEN.
Copyrighted, 1108, by Assotlated
Literary Press,
"I don't Just know bow to explain
It," said Margaret West
She turned her eyes from the cool,
blue stretches of the lake and looked
thoughtfully at Graham, who, perched
on the rail of the boathousc, was ab
sently pulling at the Augers of the
gauntlets in his hands.
The young man stiffened, and a slow ,
smile. In which there was a hint of
grlmness, curved the corners of his ,
mouth. .
"I rather think I understand," he
said quietly. "You are disappointed In '
me. Isn't that it?" '
Sho was silent for a moment
"Yes, that la It," she said at length,
and at something In her voice bis face
hardened.
"Thou you wanted me to enter that
road race Thursday !" he asked.
"Yes," she said simply.
"And because 1 won't"
She turned to him quickly.
"It Isn't that I'm tremendously In
terested lu- that race," she Interrupted
him, "nor that I carev a snap whether
or not you win It. The point Is the
point ls"-
Slie paused: her brows drew together
In a little frown; her fingers toyed
nervously with a bit of wisteria she
had broken from the vine that cov
ered the porch.
"I wanted you to be lu it to go over
the course. That would be sufficient,"
she finished.
"I see," he said. "You wanted me to
disprove these stories that are going
the rounds about my lack of nerve. Is
that It?"
"Yes," 6he said ngaln.
lie drew himself up. His shoulders
were squared. HU attitude was that corae nack here and set Graham's frac
of a man summoning to hlsald all bis tures."
moral courage. hc wont limping up the road, and
"The stories they have told you are i tne girI .cut closcr l0 Graham.
quite correct," ho said, somewhat "it Was splendid:" she cried, her
huskily. eyes sluing.
"Oh!" she said, and In her voice! "That?" said Graham. "Oh, that was
there was something of pain and some- notIlIn,. , umJ (o tUl tlmt you It
Wl ni-awuiax,, il
been expecting this very thing and
jet was unwilling, even In her pre
paredness, to hear It
iney nre penecuy ngnt in wnai
they say of me," he wont on calmly.
"I have lost my nerve. There's noth
ing would tempt me to take up road
racing again."
"Nothing''" she questioned.
"Nothing," he repeated Inexorably.
"I am not In the habit of offering an
explanation nor any excuses for my
position in the matter. Hut I would
like you to know the circumstances.
Would you care to listen to them?"
"If you choose to tell me," she said
dully.
"You remember that race three years
ago over the Meadow Island course?"
said he. "Well, it was then It hap
pened. Stanley was with me. Ho and
I hfvtl a good lead. We were tearing
past the curve at theNold church, let
ting out tho car for all there was In
her. A3 wo swung that turn I saw n
child just In front of us not twenty
feet nway, It seemed.
"How she got past the rmcs that
held the crowd back I can't pay, but
there she was right In the course and
not a ghost of a show apparently of
escaping us. I don't know to this day
what saved her. T only know there
was a groat gasping sigh from Stanley
nnd a groan ("., -owd. 1 tried to
swing out for iior, uut there was s,o
little time. Anyway, It was some sort
o" a speeial Providence that saved her.
Wo shotjiast her, so close that I shut
my eyes.
Tho girl r.aw a nervous tremor shake
the big shoulders. Her eyes narrowed.
"Hut the child wasn't hurt, you say?"
Fho asked.
"Not In the least. But those few sec
onds were enough for me. I couldn't
stand them again. That is why I am
out of the game a quitter, if you
choose to put it that way."
The girl said nothing. She sat look
ing out at the sparkling lake with trou
bled eyes.
At length Graham arose.
"I don't blame you in the least for
thinking of mo as you do," said he,
"nor for being disappointed. Goodby."
He slid from tho rail and went down
tho steps to the big-road car standing
In thc driveway. He had pulled on his
gauntlets and was Just climbing into
tho car when around the corner of tho
boathousc camo a wild eyed, dishev
eled gardener from one of thc houses
down tho street.
"Sir. Graham, sir," ho panted, "will
you be gettln' the doctor, quick! Tim
Comlcy's fell from tho stagln' on tho
Htablcs where they're- palntiu' nn' he's
hurtcd bad, sir, 'TIs dead he'll bo in
ten minutes if tho doctor's not fetched
beforo that. Hurry! For God's sake,
hurry!"
"I'll have hlra hero In live," Graham
called, nnd opened up tho big car.
It sprang forward like a thing alive
and went tearing down the driveway
In a great cloud of dust
Margaret, -who had run to the edgo
of the veranda, saw him swing into
the roadway beyond, and thc drifting
dust which rose high above tho poplars
told of the terrific pace ho was setting.
It was four minutes later, after a ,
nervous pacing of the veranda, that
he heard tho whir of the approaching
car again. Sho ran down the steps
and hurried along the drive to the
roadway. Dp tho hlU, with honking
born, came a dull, black streak. Sha
could see Graham bending low over
tne steering wheel ana tne doctor. nnt
less and begrimed with dust, clinging
desperately to the sent beside him. '
Then out of the crossroad Just below
where she stood and directly in the
path of the coming cyclone came a
rattling farm wagon, driven by old
Mrs. Clark, who was as deaf as a post.
The girl covered her eyes and scream
ed. There were a wild yell, the sound j
of splintered wood and a terrific grind
ing crash.
When Margaret looked again the
wagon alone was In the road. The au
tomobile, turned on Its side, lay against
the shattered fence, in the field beyond
lay two huddled figures.
In a moment the girl was ruunlng In
that direction with all the speed she
could summon. As she reached the
scene of the accident one of the two
figures scrambled limply to his feet
Thc oth.P namfu,iv ..ronned Itself
upon an eiDow. Then she saw that the
man who stood erect was the doctor,
Even as she came running Into the
field she heard Graham's voice, rather
faint, It Is true, but perfectly calm,
"Ho,T bad,-r nre ru hurt' doc-H 11
inquired.
"Only a bit." was the response, "a
few bruise and a scratch or two."
"Then get up to thc Copley place ai
fast as yon can."
"Bui you?" thc doctor demurred.
"I'm all right. Never mind mc. til
be fresh as a lark when you get back.
Hurry on now."
Margaret ran to h!s side and, kneel
ing down, began to wipe the blood
from his face. Already the doctor was
making n hurried examination, while
Graham fumed and fretted and bade
I him hurry, to Tim Conley.
1 "H'm!" said the doctor at length.
"Pretty badly smashed up, but we're
lucky, both of us, to get out of It as
well ns we did. Talk about your nerve!
By Jove, the way ho swung that car
out of the way was magnificent. Never
i a thought for himself nor me either,
1 I'm convinced," he ended.
He pulled a roll of bandages from his
cr.se and handed them to the girl. "Just
do up his head and stop the flow of
blood as best you can, If you will. Miss
' West," he commanded. "I'll go up to
. C'onlev's and fix Tim un. Thpn I'll
Vas a question of killing the old lady
or getting n bit banged un mvself."
Her face was very close to his.
cheek.
"Thine wicked"" stories they told
about you" she began.
"They're true," he doelaiod. "I have
lost my nerve. I couldn't go Into a
road race to save my life. This was
different you see. This was some
thing that had to be done."
Two warm lips were pressed to his
grimy, blood stained forehead.
"Had to be done!" she repeated
meaningly. "Oh, you delicious simple
ton I"
The doctor, limping back a few mo
ments later, discreetly screened him
self behind a tree.
'"There are times it Is better to wait
before reducing fractures." he medi
tated. Republic of Haiti. - I
It was in 1701, under the influence i
of thc French revolution, that the i
"Black republic," Haiti, came Into be- j
ing. The mutual antipathies of the
mixed population burst forth into one ,
of the most vindictive struggles on .
record, which resulted In the extermi-
nation of tho Europeans and tho Inde
pendence of the negro insurgents.
Tho Eyes of Genius.
AH men of genius aro said to have
eyes clear, slow moving and bright.
This is the eve which indicates mental
ability of some kind, It doesn"t matter
what.
Sulphur.
Sulphur thrown Into the fire of a
stove, furnace or fireplace will instant
ly extinguish the fire in a chimney
or flue. If n small bag or parcel of
sulphur, say three or four ounces,
were kept in a haudy place and used
when needed, as directed above, It
might bo the means of saving proper
ty and perhaps life.
Siamese Football.
Tho Siamese play football with a
wicker ball. They aro permitted to
touch the ball only with knees, head
and shoulders. The object of the game
Is to keep the ball In the air as long as
possible. Ho who lets it strike the
ground loses a point.
Dogs of Portugal,
The dogs of Portugal aro fond of
grapes, and sticks ore purposely fas
tened to the animals' necks to Impede
or prevent their entrance to thc vine
ynrds in search of thc luscious fruit
Our Deepest Well.
At present the deepest well lu thin
country is ouo drilled for gas In Pitts
burg, It was sunk to tho depth of
4.G80 feet, when work had to bo aban -
doned on account of the drilling cable
breaking of its own weight
Finger Nails.
'Thn nulla n f Iwr, Anfrora (invar prnff
i ,th thn Knmn , mnMitc. Thn
naU of the mId(j,e flnger growg wltn
tn9 greatest rapidity and that of the
, thumb the least
Plantain and Banana.
The plantain (Musa paradlslaca) Is
a small tree plant that is closely akin
to the banana, but differing from it In
not having the purpje spots on its
stem. The fruit nf the plantain Is also
larger and more anguhr than that of
the banana,
RAINBOW
AND ROSE
In the middle of June many centu
ries ago the sun was at Its height. On
the higher land all the trees and flow
ers were scorched and dried up from
the long drought and bis burning rays
pierced their way even to the cool and
stately garden which lay In the. shelter
of the valley many feet below, but
they only touched lightly the myr
iad of beautiful flowers that raised
their heads so gladly to meet his soft.
caressing touch, which fell In slautlng
shadows amid the thick green foliage.
Everything seemed to thrive In this
old fashioned garden, from the proud
white lily to the humble blue forgetme
not growing In bunches In the soft
moss, but the most beautiful of all
were the masses of roses red, yellow
and pink, and the faintly tinted tea
rose and in their midst, seeming to
stand alone and apart from nil the
rest a beautiful pink Ln France, her
bright green leaves forming a halo
around her. The other roses In the
gardens looked up to her as their
queen, the birds would come and sing
their best songs before her, and the
proud peacocks would carry their tolls
higher and strut more vainly as they
passed before her.
The flowers bad It all their own way
In this beautiful, half forgotten acre of
God. No rough gardener came to cut
away their thorns, snip off their dead
buds and gather them to put Into
vases, where they would droop and die
In a few short hours. Only a little
child would come sometimes and touch
them softly, almost reverently, with
his thin white fingers and whisper
sblldish things to them, and the flowers
would answer back, and thc boy seem
ed to understand them and know their
language, for his wistful eyes would
brighten and a smile play round his
small mouth.
And he was always tired now, and
In thc great heat of the day he could
seldom drag his weary little body as
far ns the roses, only when tho sun
began to set and the cool of the even
ing came. Then, if he were well
enough, he would come.
But one day the shadows grew
longer and longer, the weary flowers
raised their drooping heads In vain,
the tiny white robed figure came no
more, and over thc garden was a
great hush, and the petals' of the roses
dropped silently to the ground In their
grief, the birds' songs were hushed,
and tho bright lined peacocks swept
their drooping feathers dejectedly be
hind them.
The stately queen of roses bowed
her proud head, aud a black silence
crept closer and closer, for In the gar
den was thc shadow of death.
And the rosea mourned nuioug them
selves long and sorrowfully, but none
mourned so deeply as tho stately
queen. She missed the soft, caressing
lingers of the child. She missed tho
golden curls which had rested so often
and so lovingly near her heart.
Must she always grow alone, with
out anything to love nnd call her own?
Why could she not have a little child
to take the place of the one who was
gone?
The days- passed on, and she hold
herself more apart from the other
flowers, and the mantle of her sadness
descended over them nnd over all the
garden. Tho birds ceased their songs,
the sparkling streams of water no
longer rippled over the smooth, white
nebbles. but were almost dried un.
j with only a faint thread trickling half
lieartcdly along. The roses were
withered and dying, until one morning
there came a soft, refreshing shower
of rain, and the flowers began to re
vive. All day long the ralu increased In
volume, then toward ovcnlns suddenly
died away, aud ou the clear blue of
thc sky above appeared tho many col
orcd hues of n rainbow, and as the
roses looked toward their queen they
raised their drooping heads In amaze
ment For the rainbow had descended from
, the sky above and enveloped her In his
I clinging folds, hiding her from the
i eyes that would see and making her
l his own.
Summer once more In tho garden
I that lies In the shelter of the valley
' summer, but not tho noonday heat:
eventide and tho silver moou arrayed
i In all her best.
Birds aro singing on every bough ns
! If their little throats would burst, so
eager nre they to do homage to tho
occasion. AH thc flowers arc arrayed
In their brightest and bravest colors.
and the streams make merry music as
they bubble over the smooth, white
J pebbles.
And by the queen of roses nestles n
small pink rosebud. So small, to ten
der. Is ho that her leaves almost en
fold him. For the stately La France's
wish has b'-cn granted her, and tonight
tho garden Is en fete for the christen
ing of the offspring of the many hued
rainbow nnd tho proud rose.
Tho Insects come one by one to bring
1 their offerings nnd lay them at tho
rose's feet, nnd each flower wafts one
of her petals, which contains a wish
for the sleeping child. The stars, too,
drop from heaven and rest lightly ove.
him, nnd then, when all have come
nnd gone, the moon's silver rays center
themselves on the rose and her child,
lighting them up and leaving alt the
rest In gloom, and In the silence and
bush of that glorious summer night
the. moon speaks:
"I give to this child a name that
shall live for ever and ever, that shall
work more good than evil, that shall
bring happiness to many and misery to
fw a name without which no on
can lire, for the name which I give to
Tout cMA Is Lore." Lady's Realm,
NEW SHORT STORIES
k i
High Finance. 1
Thc late Bishop Potter at one of
the delightful reunions of the Eplsco- I
pal academy In Philadelphia Bishop ,
Potter was educated nt this venerable
and aristocratic school condemned i
modern finance.
"I condemn at least" he is reported j
to have said, "that sort of modern '
finance that consists in getting some
thing for nothing. I once knew n boy
who would have made a splendid
financier. ' '
"This boy, strolling idly through thc
streets he never had nnytjilng to do
met another.
'I wish,' hc said, 'that I bad a
nickel. Then I'd buy a good five cent
cigar and go into the woods and have
a smoke.'
'"I have a. nickel.' said the other
boy.
" 'Have you? the first cried eagerly.
'Then lota form a corporation.'
" 'All right How Is it done?'
'"I'll be tha president You'll bo
the stockholder. The nickel will be
the capital, and we'll invest It in to
bacco.' "The thing was agreed to, nnd the
president, talcing the stockholder's 5
"I DON'T SEE IT," HE SAID.
cents, bought a cigar forthwith. Then
he led the way to thc woods. There
ho sat down ou a log, lit up aud began
to smoke skillfully.
"The stockholder waited for his turn
to come. He waited very patiently.
But the cigar diminished. One-third
of it, two-thirds of it disappeared,
and still the president showed no
signs of satiety.
" 'Say,' exclaimed the stockholder at
last, "don't 1 got a whack here?'
"The president, knocking off tho
ashes, shook ills head.
" 'I don't see It' he said.
" 'But what' shouted the angry
stockholder, 'do I get for my capital?'
" 'Well,' said tho president, 'you can
spit.' "Washington Star.
They Were, of Course.
Parker M. White, the humorous ad
vertisement writer, was talking iu
Pittsburg about the universality of ad
vertising. "Doctors, lawyers, clergymen," he J
said, "claim not to advertise, but some- j
how or other wo see their advertise- I
monts occasionally. Am I not right?
"The millionaire proprietor of a pat
ent tonic called on a well known doc- (
tor one day. i
" 'Look Here,' he said; 'you are tho j
Dr. Leroy Fisher who is attending ,
Senator Stoxon, are you not?' '
" 'I am, sir,' tho physician answered. J
" 'Well, said the tonic man, 'what'll
you take to put ou the dally bulletins ,
that you give out about tho senator i
this sentence: "Use Blood Bitters. They
ward oil disease?" ' '
" 'Why, man,' said tho famous doc- !
tor indignantly, 'I wouldn't do that for
anything. Those bulletins are not ad
vertisements.' "The other chuckled harshly.
"'Ain't they?' ho said. 'Then take
your own name off 'em. " i
Mark's Triumph Over the Doorkeeper.
Slaik Twain tried the other day to
go behind the scenes on one of the
roofs.
"Yez can't come In," said tho door
keeper who guarded the entrance from
thc boxes.
"But I have a pass," said tho hu
morlsc "I don't care if you have a sayson
ticket," said the doorkeeper. "No wan
gets through this door. Go to th rlg'
ler stage door If yez want to git iu.
I've turned down lverybody."
"But I'm Mark Twalu," said Mr.
Clemens.
"I don't care If ye're Big Tim Sooll
van," said thc doortendcr.
Mr. Twalu got thc manager and was
triumphantly escorted through the
door. "What do you think now, iny
man?" hc asked, with a bit of, kindly
mnllcc.
"I fink It's n dom shame," said tho
doortendcr. "An after me toornln'
down Eddie Foy no longer ago than
lasht nlglft."-CIncInnntl Times-Star.
A Witty French Aeronaut.
It would appear that M. Sahtos-Du-mont,
the famous aeronaut, has a
pretty wit He was onco called as a
witness in a case concerning a dis
puted will, and during his cross exam
ination he was much bullied by a very
conceited young lawyer. "Now tell
me," said tho latter, speaking of tho
deceased testator, "was not Mr. X. in
the habit of talking to himself when
alono?" "I'm suro I don't know."
"And yet you have told the court that
yon wero an Intimate friend of his.
Why don't you know?" "Because,"
replied the aeronaut, amid roars of
laughter, "I was never with him when
be mil alone." Gaulols.
I DON'T
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Remember the
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6 J
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The QUALITY STORE;
c, PEIL, The
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IiaJos
N Making arrangements for the
TURKEY DINNER on Christ
mas Day, the .very best of Wines
Liquors and Cordials are essential.
Paul McGranaghan,
Corner of Main and Sixth Streets,
HONESDALE, PA,
ao to
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ifciK me jeweier.
HP