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CHAPTER Vir
Through Flam and Smoko
It was the fateful dajr of Atlanta’s
(all The Federal forces had so en-
vironed the cltjr that nothing was left
to the Southern army but a farther re-
treat Never to be forgotten were the
scenes that marked the departure of
the brsv mea who had battled against
superior numbers with a valor the
equal of which history has seldom
chronicled
Soon smoke arose In hiany quarters
Here the retiring Confederates put
the torch to huge piles of cotton rath-
er than have It fall into the nands of
the victorious Federate In other
- quarters hoe sea oould be aeon ablaze
perahps flred by one of the numerous
bands of guerrillas that haunted the
course of the rival armies
Through copse and over hill a squad-
ron of Federal cavalry dashed heading
for the region where we have witness-
ed these strange scenes on the pre-
vious night At their head rode Colonel
John and near him the sergeant
“The house is on Are kurnel" cried
the laUsrsas they rounded a bend in
-the wood
Flames burst from many windows
and his ancestral home was doomed
Perhaps Crocket Ridgeway determin-
ed to ruin If he could not rule had
applied the match
A headlong rush was made Colonel
John threw himself from his horse
determined to risk much in order to
save the papers One sweeping
glance he took and then dashed into
the hallway
At this very moment a cry was
heard — a cry that might have been of
distress and came In a woman’s voice
reaching John’s ears while he was bat-
tling with stifling smoke
There was no time for John Ridge-
way to consider the matter for he
found himself compelled to buffet bil-
lows of smoke on his way to the well-
zaasiw 77nr j9iss4ag-fK&'
remembered dining-room where the
great hearth and chlmneyplace were
to be found
Some woman had seen him enter
and In her weakness screamed — that
w-as the conclusion he reached hls
mind being bent upon securing the
precious papers
Reaching the hearth he found fire
In the room
Down on hls knees went the soldier
and for the second time hls eager
hands touched tho hearth stone under
which be expected to find the realiza-
tion of hls hopes or else despair
Fortune was kind
When he had snatched the packet
of yellow papers from the hiding place
In which It bad lain for years he hast-
ily buttoned bis coat over the prize
Then for escape
A kick Bent the shivered glass fly-
ing In every direction and left an out-
let for escape
' Through the window he made a fly-
ing leap and landed safely on the
ground
He ran around the house to where
he had left his men and before reach-
ing them saw a sight that caused an
awful sensation to overwhelm him — a
spectacle that no man could look upon
unmoved
In an upper window of the doomed
Southern mansion he saw a face and
waving arms
ft dawned upon him then that the
screams he had heard ns be plunged
Into the house In search of the papers
under the hearthstone must have been
cries of distress
Was it too late now?
John took in the whole situation
with a comprehensive glance
Knowing the lay of the land he saw
there was a single chnnce of reaching
the room from whence the glil signal
ed so wildly
Shouting an order to the sergeant
he made a motion of encouragement to
the flame-imprisoned girl above
Then he burst In a rear door and
sprang up the back steps three at a
time
The room in which the girl was con
lined was a portion of the attic for
differing from most Southern bousea
the old Ridgeway mansion had a high
roof
Who she was and how she came
there — these were questions that John
did not bother himself about
Ascending the last flight of stairs he
found himself at the door of a small
room -
It was dosed
When he tried to open It he found
himself baffled
Then he shook the door savagely
“Open — open!” he shouted
“I cannot — I am lock'ed In a pris-
oner” came Indistinctly from beyond
the door for the flames were roaring
and crackling with the fury of demons
John threw his weight against the
door
It was not a cumbersome affair and
when one who possessed such strength
as nature had given to John Ridge say
beat upon it with desperate energy
something was bound to give way
Thus he entered a room Oiled with
smoke entered it to find no one at the
window for the girl prisoner had
sunk down In a heap
Seeing that she was too exhausted
to follow him he immediately swept
her form Into hla arms and turned to
retreat
Just as he expected hls retreat was
cut off for the flames seemed to have
followed him and already the passage-
way was a roaring abyBs
Having already made up hls mind as
to what he should do John moved
along to the short ladder that went to
the roof
Here was a scuttle which he burst
through and gained the open air
with his burden
The whole east end of the building
was already in the grasp of tho fiery
octopus and a west wind blowing was
all that saved him tram being suffo-
cated on the roof
As hls only means of escape lay in
the extreme west end of the house
it was in that direction John bore hls
half fainting burden
Reaching the end of the roof he
looked down
Through the eddying smoke that
curled around the corners of the bouse
he could see that the ladder was coin-
ing that It would speedily be placed In
position
He crept down toward the gutter
If this failed him everything was
lost but thank Heaven the old wood
was still Arm and John swung loose
upon It That Btrong arm sustained
Its double burden until he bad acquir-
ed a certain momentum when he
broke loose and landed on the lower
roof with some of the agility a cat
would have shown
This done he made hls way to the
edge
Those below had discovered him and
loud shouts attested the admiration
they felt for their dashing lender
The ladder was reared aloft
By rare good luck it rearhed the
edge of the roof and John knew ilia
game was saved
As he reached the ground and stag-
gered away with hls burden he was
surprised to feed tho girl struggle In
hls arms
"How dare yon hold me so — I am
ablo to stand Please put mo down
barbarian”
The voice— the mHner gave him a
shock and mechanically he dropped
the strong am that had carried her
from death to life— released hie bur-
den and stood there amazed gating at
the face revealed to hla eyee aa she
shook back the mass of black curly
locks
It waa Mollie — hls girl wife!
CHAPTER IX-
Fate Weavae the Fabrie
Amazed almost stupefled he looked
at the Georgia girl whom fate had
thrown across bis path In such re-
markable way
“I beg your pardon If I was rough—
the case demanded action — It was a
question of life and death” be said at
length recovorng Ills usual gentle-
manly manner
“I would rather It had been any-
body but you sir to whom I should
be Indebted fur my life” she said
coldly but John only smiled In a grim
way
“There’a no use trying to fight fate
I told you we would meet again and It
has come true Nor do I believe this
to be the end ”
"Sir remember that I said I hated
you” she burs out with some show of
temper that must have been assumed
for no living woman could maintain
such n feeling toward a dashing sol-
dier who at the risk of hla own life
had snatched her from what threaten-
ed to be her funeral pyre
"Pardon me again If I aay I don’t
fully believe that but It does not mat-
ter at all I am curious to know bow
you came to be fastened in that attic
room a place where as a boy I spent
many an hour In play and even once
escaped doing penance up there by fol-
lowing the same route over which our
line of retreat ran How came that
door locked ?’’
She loked at him curiously
“What -right have you to demand
an answer? ’
“The best right In the world — that
of a husband ”
"I refuse to acknowledge the rela-
tion sir”
“Just as you please Then I have a
right to ask llie same question because
my life was put in peril to save you”
"On that account 1 will answer yon
It was a strange thing for mo to do I
had not been over here for a year or
more though we keep the keys of the
RJiigeway house Perhaps the men-
tion of your name last night stirred up
some memor rs of pleasant ramblings
In these groi nds In years gone by
“At any rate I came and having en-
tered the bo ise roamed all over It
A flood at merqorlcs swept over me as
I went from loom to room
“Suddenly I heard voices — looking
out of the window I saw unknown men
dismounting I became alarmed
"Esuape was no longer a possibility
and I retreated to that small room
hoping they would look for valuables
and go away without discovering me
‘My hopes wero without foundation
for I was seen by a man who came
seeking some hidden wealth or valu-
able property I have In these troub-
lous times always gone armed and
my father taught me as a gill how to
shoot
“When he would have seized me I
put a bullet in hls shoulder that sent
him tumbling down the attic stairs
Then I slammed the door shut It
caught In gome way for I could not
open it again when I discovered the
house to be on fire That la the story
In brief sir you have no concern
with other particulars”
He knew there was more to It yet
would not presume to ask questions
This haughty gill aroused hls Inter-
est — Just as the hunter's keenest en-
thusiasm Is awakened by the game
that gives him tho most trouble so
this man who alt hls life had fought
shy of the gentler sex had met hls
Tate In A way never known of men—
forced to wed to save his life hated
by the girl who took hls name In order
to save the old plantation home he
row found htmaelf actually swearing
under hla breath that In due time
sooner or laler be would hear from
the lips of Mollie Granger the sweet
confession of love
Thus her very expiesslon of dislike
only served to arouse hls determina-
tion ‘Allow me the privilege of seeing
von home” he said courteously but
firmly
She opened her lips to refuse
”1 shall go whether you sav yes or
no so please don't put yourself to the
trouble Your nerves have received a
shock from (bis experience Besides
the smoke has Berved to disguise you
so that the ladv of Granger plantation
might not he Tecognlzed Just now
the safe-st place for you is at home
Your shrewd father has seen to It that
a gnnrd will be throgn around hls
a -minds Come let us go MNs Mol-
lie’’ He gave a few orders to his men
who mourted and went around by the
mnln mail
Tho two made use of the shorter
path In the dividing fence was a
turnstile that had 8'cn much service
In years gone by but was decrepit
fiom age now
(To be continued)
flutter flrt bacon next are the
most nutritious foods
DEATH SEEMED NEAR
Hew e Chicago Women Found Help
When Hope Wee Feet Fading
Away
Mrs E T Gould tl4 W Lake
Street Chicago Ilk says: “Doan's
Kidney Pills are all that saved me
from death of Bright’! Disease that
I know ‘ I had
eye trouble back-
ache c a t c b e a
wnen lying abed
or wben bending
over was languid
and often dizzy
and bad sick
headaches and
bearing down
pains The kid-
ney accretions
were to copious
and frequent and very bad In appear-
ance It waa in 1903 that Doan's Kid-
ney Pllla helped me so quickly and
cured me of those trouble! and I've
been well ever since”
Sold by all dealers 50 cents a boa
Foster-Mllbum Co Buffalo N Y
' And the beauty of a get rlch-qulck
scheme Is also akin deep
Ptso's Cura is the best medicine we ever used
tor all sffectlona of the throat end lunge -Wa
Ok KantuT Vaaburea lnd Feb 10 1000
When e fellow cracks bla funny
bone he doesn't laugh In hls sleeve
Mrs WkMtow Soothing Syrup
For children tsetblnr softens lb reanoes ti
Snmmnuoa nlinyspnla corns vta4ooUo Moibodla
It's bardly ever worth while to go
Into an argument with a sore throat
When You Buy Starch
buy Defiance and get the best 10 oa
for 10 cents Once used always used
If you would be respected end
happy mind your own bualneaa-
Try One Package
If "Defiance Btarch” does not please
you return It to your dealer If It
does you get one-third more for the
same money It will give you satis-
faction and will not stick to the iron
The fellow who la looking for trou-
ble often gets a black eye
WILD WITH ITCHING HUMOR
Eruption Broke Out In 8pota AM Over
Body — Cured at Expense of Only
1125—-' Thanks Cuticura
The Cuticura Remedlea cured me of
my skin disease and I am very thank-
ful to you My trouble was eruption
of the skin which broke out In spots
all over my body and caused a con-
tinual Itching which nearly drove me
wild at times I got medicine of a
doctor but it did not cure me and
when I saw In a paper your aif I sent
to you for the Cuticura book and I
studied my case In It I then went
to the drug store and bought one cake
of Cuticura Soap one box of Cuticura
Ointment and one vial of Cuticura
Pills From the first application I re-
ceived relief I used the first set and
two extra cakes of Cuticura Soap and
was completely cured I bad suffered
for two years and I again thank Cuti-
cura for my cure Claude N John-
son Maple Grove Farm R F D 2
Walnut Kan June 15 1906”
It's a story with a sad ending that
finds its way Into the waste basket
AVfcgelalde Preparation Tor Aa -s
imitating IhcFoodandRegula-
ting the Stomachs andBowels of
IInfanisVChuiykenB
is
Promotes DigealionCheerful-
neas and Rest Contains neither
Opium Morphine nor Mineral
NOT NAHC OTIC
AeAiiM-
AJIww Finirffr m-
A perfect Remedy forConsUps-
Tlon Sour Stomach Diarrhoea
Worms Convulsions Feverish-
nest and Loss OF SLEEP
Facsimile Signature of
GtLMtfZSS
NEW YORK
EE
TT I
ifcl’ -1
EXACT COPY OF WRAPECR
Every housekeeper anouiq now uic
If they wll buy Defiance Cold Water
Starch for laundry use they will save
not only time because It never atlcks
V the Iron but because each packara
contains 16 os— one full pound — while '
11 other Cold Water Starches are put
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A GUARANTEED CURE FOR PILES
Iicblatf uu&d Hleedlag Pro trading Pttao Jra
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Laziness Isn't exactly a crime — but
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Do Your Cletnea Look Yellow?
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The world Is full of men whose In-
tentions ere good
Woman's Trials
Tha bitter trail In k woman’! life It t
be childless Who can tell how hard th
struggle mar have been ere she learnt to
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sence of this link to bind marital life
together tbe absence of this one pledge
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pointment Many unfortunate couples
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In many cases of barrenness or child-
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Ur Pierce of the "Favorite Prescription
fame presides In all case where chil-
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the most
e leading
iica of wA
i All thV
n Knylinfb
hntflA on
Prescription
is composed have received the tnosl
positive endorsement from the leadjnj
medical writers on Afatcrin Median
tbe several schools of practice
ingredients are printed In pUiin
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that any woman making use of thla
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she Is taking Dr Pierce takes hls pa-
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can afford to do a the formula after
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ination Dr Pierce’s Pleasant Pellets are the
beat and safest laxative fop women
A man never has as good neigh-
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Sensible Housekeepers
will have Defl&nce Btarch not atone
because they get one-third more fop
the aame money but also because of
superior quality
CftSTORIfi
For Infants and Children -
The Kind Ton Have
Always Bought
Bears the
Signature
of
In
Use
For Over
Thirty Years