The Carter Express. (Carter, Okla.), Vol. 9, No. 17, Ed. 1 Friday, July 12, 1918 Page: 2 of 8
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THI CARTER EXPRESS
Oepyrlght by Frank A Munray C*m|M*y.
CHAPTER IV.—Continued.
All the time I wn listening my
mind wag occupied with trying to ac-
count for the thrill which had Jolted
me when I bad taken Ludle'g bands In
mine at the top of the staircase. I
decided to put my fortunes to the test
I would sit up until Bopp went to bed
and then ask her to marry me.
Kent, the telephone man, retired flrsk,
M1 think I’ll sit up awhile,’’ I said,
stealing a look at Ladle and hoping
that she would comprehend my Inten-
tion.
"If you’re going to sit up I’ll stick,"
said Bopp, with Machiavellian cordial-
ity- “I’U split a gallon of water with
yoa"
There ws sat and we drank glass
after glass of water until 11 o’clock.
Then Luclle decided to retire and spoil-
ed the whole game.
"I guess Til turn In now, too,” I sug-
gested tentatively, hoping at least that
I would get a chance to speak to her
on the stairs.
But, no. Bopp developed a sudden
fondness for my society and accompa-
nied me to my room and sat on my bed
for awhile talking about affairs the-
atrical, assuming that I was Interested
In them, Which I was not
When he finally departed the house
was dark and the wind of the storm
made unearthly noises around the
eaves. I was more tired than I re-
membered to have been for years, but
not sleepy. I don’t know whether it
was actual hunger or merely the idea
that I had not eaten anything for for-
ty-eight hours which haunted me. At
any rate, every time that I closed my
eyes I’d have a vision of those dog
biscuits. I might Just as well have
pictured a chocolate cake or a dough-
nut to myself; but, no-it was a dog
biscuit
After an hour or so of that kind of
torture I at last decided to satisfy my
fool Imagination by showing it a dog
biscuit In the life and proving that it
was not desirable at all. That was the
only reason that I went downstairs.
It was rather ticklish business roam-
ing around a strange house wearing no
other padding than a suit of pajamas.
I banged my shins unmerclfullj
against several hundred pieces of fur
nlture, but I toned my remarks there-
at to a pitch below the howling of the
storm. An occasional flash of light-
ning helped me momentarily from time
to time, but left me floundering In the
Intervals.
Finally In the kitchen, I groped my
way to the shelf, and the box of dog
biscuit was In my hands. Furtively I
took one out, fondled it and sniffed It
Being alone there with that unpro-
tected dog biscuit was too much for
my moral courage. I decided to throw
honor to the winds. There was so
much wind and so little honor that no
one would notice it.
I set my teeth In the dog biscuit!
Suddenly there was a sound on the
stairway. I listened intently—the creak-
ing of a stair!
Who could it be? Possibly it was
Kent, the ex-wlre tapper. His early
training might have proved too much
for him and he had decided to loot
the place and make his escape. I made
up my mind to behave valiantly and
grasped a dog biscuit firmly In one
hand, determined to sell my life as
dearly as was consistent with the high
cost'of living. The box containing the
rest of the biscuit I put back on the
shelf and crouched behind the stove,
ready to spring at the Intruder un-
iwarea as soon as he fentered.
I had one of those flashes of Insane
bravery which is nine-tenths fear when
I saw the light of a pocket lantern
straggling along the wall at the foot
ef the stairs. I Jumped four feet
straight up in the air when something
wet touched the sole of my bare foot
which was extended behind me as I
knelt behind the stove. My exclama-
tion was drowned in a crash of thun-
der. Burglar or no burglar, I was
about to run to him for protection
from that clammy thing which had
touched me when a second flash of
lightning showed me-oh, horrors I It
was Tootles frisking around my feet
CHAPTER V.
A Mystery.
W GROUCHED behind the stove again
In time to see a dim figure enter
! the kitchen. The lightning re-
vealed Luclle In a dressing gown
with her hstr over her shoulders. In
the single flash of light she appeared
to be the most beautiful thing that I
had ever seen.
She turned the flashlight on the wall
and finally rested its ray on the box
of dog blscnltl She went over to it,
picked up one of the biscuit, pressed
it to her cheek and wu about to bite
It when she hastily dropped It back
Into tha box, put out tha light and
stood perfectly still, listening.
There was another sound on the
stairs I
When I looked to see what Luclle
was doing she had disappeared. Prob-
ably ahe, too, wu hiding somewhere
near, I reasoned.
This time there was less delay.
Whoever was coming downstairs was
carelessly assured and wu scratching
matches on the well as he went along
to guide his progress. He entered the
kitchen. It was Bopp, clad In the
sort of pajamas I thought be wore.
He was laughing to himself u he
came In and went straight to the box
of biscuit He took one out of the
box.
And he ate It!
Before that I may/ have disliked the
man, but now— A smile of enjoymen
spread over hie features, plainly dis-
cernible when the lightning flashed.
Evidently the dog biscuit were deli-
cious. At last he finished and started
to leave. I was abont to breathe a
sigh of relief when I happened to
glance toward the shelf where the bis-
cuit were kept
The box was gone. The fiend was
taking them with him. Without a
thought for poor Tootles, who would
doubtless starve to death, he was go-
ing to eat all her food.
With one bonnd I was upon him.
The thought of that poor dog steeled
my heart. I grabbed him by the throat,
and we swayed back and forth In a
rough and tumble fox trot movement
to the tune of the rolling thunder.
Bopp did not know as I did that Luclle
was watching somewhere there in the
darkness, and on that account he wu
able to use more forcible language
than I, but I had superior weight, and
I was slowly bearing him back when
all at once he dropped the box of dog
biscuit and with hla free hand landed
a wallop In my stomach, ft would have
been a foul under any circumstances,
but with my inner workings resem-
bling those of a vacuum cleaner It was
positively inhuman.
Maddened by that blow, I growled
between my clinched teeth, “If you hit
me below the belt again I’ll tear yonr
pajamas!’’
He growled back, “Let 'er rip," and
swung on me twice more In the same
place.
With mad fury I picked him up and
hurled him from me. There was a
terrific crash of glass, and then, have
for the disturbance outside, all wu
still.
I lit the light—acetylene gas.
The wreckage of that kitchen wu
beyond the descriptive powers of ■
mere dramatic critic. Bopp lay sprawl-
ed on the kitchen fiocr near the table
where he had struck when I threw
him. The table itself had overturned
on to the week’s supply of water in
glass bottles and had apparently bro-
ken most of them. Luclle wu stand-
ing, pale and disheveled, but still
beautiful. In the doorway of the pantry
where she had been hiding.
After an interval Bopp laboriously
picked himself up and waded toward
the stairway through the torrent of
distilled water which wu streaming
across the floor.
“There's your dog biscuit,” he sneer-
ed, pointing to Tootles, who had dis-
covered the box and wu gnlping down
the contents u fast u she could.
“Futlng for s week! Ha-ha!”
Then he disappeared upstairs.
I turned to Luclle. 8he had dropped
Into a choir and had buried her face in
her hands. She wu crying.
“What’s the matter, Luclle?" I *ak»d
tenderly.
“I don’t know,” she sobbed; “jut
nerves, I guess.”
“Ton ought not to be about at this
time of night,” I said sternly.
“I know," she replied. "I Just came
down to—to feed Tootles.”
I would have believed her If I had
not aeen the biscuit In her month.
But what mu wonld not forgive •
small fib on the part of the woman
he loves?
“Listen to me, Ladle, dear,” I said
authoritatively, taking her hud. "We
are not going to fast any mom If
your father were here be would call a
halt Here your mother Is sick, yon
are hysterical, and hardly any of u Is
on shaking terms with the others.
Besides, we have got to stop. Oar
water supply Is gone."
Luclle looked up. "Then It won't
really be our fault, will It?" she asked
hopefully. “If we haven’t pure water
we cu't go on futlng. Lipton S.
Clair says so.”
"And that's the best thing he ever
said, too,” I agreed heartily.
So It was decided that the next day
we'd have a new stock of groceries
come on the supply boat and telephons
the cook to come back. I think the
prospect cheered us wonderfully. I
know I felt better Immediately, and I
persuaded Luclle to go back to bed
and get some rest before daylight
She went in to see how her mother
was before retiring. There wu a cry
from Mrs. Green's room, ud 1 rush-
ed In.
MRS. GREEN HAD DISAPPEARED!
Ton hive guessed correctly that this
Is where the element of mystery en-
ters the story. Ton doubtless wonder,
as we did, If Kent the wire tapper,
had made away with Mrs. Green or if
Bopp, balked of hla dog biscuit, had
become a villain of the deepeat dye.
We did not come to any soch conclu-
sions at Bret of coarse. That wu
after we had looked all over the house,
up In the attic ud down In the cellar.
Thu I went to Kent’s room. Ho wu
snoring peacefully. I mistrusted that
he might be shamming and poured a
pitcher of water on him to aee bow he
would react to the shock. I should
say that his reactions were perfectly
normal, albeit somewhat picturesque-
ly abusive.
Next we haled Bopp from hla room.
He waa inclined to be auspicious at
first nntll we told him about Mrs.
4.
Ws 8waysd Baok and Forth In a
Rough and Tumbls Fox Trot
Green's disappearance; then he wu
all sympathy ud joined our lightly
clad searching party In the hallway.
Naturally, Luclle feared the worst,
while the rest of us with masculine
optimism discounted uy danger which
might befall the old lady.
“But she wasn’t herself,” wailed Lu-
die. “She’s been acting funny all the
evening."
“Never mind about her,” comforted
Kent “A man with a jag can fall ol
the roof ud never hurt himself a bit
A bit of a bun makes uybody lucky.”
“Suppose she is out In all this rain?”
"A little water, more or less, won’t
make any difference to her after the
lut two days,” I observed gloomily.
“Let’s not stud here any longer,”
said Bopp In businesslike fashion. "It
won’t do much good to try to guess
where she Is. Let’s begin a systematic
hunt”
"Let's get on some regular clothes
first” I suggested.
“All right,” in chorus.
Luclle dressed faster thu she ever
had before or hu since, ud we men,
with the usual celerity of the bifurcat-
ed sex, were ready as soon as she was.
As soon as we had assembled In the
living room once more Bopp, by rea-
son of his superior nerve, elected him-
self eommuder of the expedition.
“Monty," he directed, “yon take Jesse
James with you and explore the north
half of the island. Ludle ud 1 will
search the southern portion. As soon
as either party discovers Mrs. Green
come back to the house ud fire off
this revolver.” He laid a large caliber
six shooter on the table.
I might have disputed hla arrange-
ment ud calm appropriation of La-
dle’s sodety, but I judged that U
would be a poor time to argue abont
anything so purely social. Besides, 1
figured out that the man who was
with Ludle was going to have no dnch
reassuring her that her mother had not
met with some terrible taking off. So
they went one way, ud we departed
the other, everybody sloshing internal-
ly ud externally on account of tha
large amount of distilled water ud
rain.
"How an we going to hunt this aklrt
anyway!" demanded Kent after we
had trudged northward for a few mo-
mma.
"Juit hunt" I replied vaguely, too
busy with my thoughts to consider the
question seriously.
“This ain't regular," objected Kent,
■lacking up bis pace. "We ought to
trail the old dame by her footprints,
bid you notice any footprints around
the house?"
"No. I didn’t think to look."
"Well, let’s go back and have a
peek."
As that coincided with the methods
of reasoning adopted by the detectives
lu the best sellers, I agreed, and wa
retraced our footsteps to the bouse
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
BOARD HOLDS NO MEETINGS
President Decides All Questions far
Members, but Never Calls Thsm
In for a Conference.
There Is no more familiar title
among government departments than
the board of trade. It seems to be r*
sponsible for all kinds of things and
all sorts of undertakings and happen-
ings. It will find you a chairwoman or
negotiate t commercial treaty. It con-
sists of a president and a large num-
ber of members among whom are
reckoned the Archbishop of Oantor-
bury and the speaker of the house of
commons, a writer In London Tit-Bite
states.
By law these members have a right
to be called to discuss questions of
trade and to help the president to shapa
his policy, yet the fact remains no meet-
ings are ever held) The president
never dreams of calling his committee
together. He does much as he likes,
comes to his own decisions, and then
announces that “the board thinks so
and so.”
One wonders what wonld happen If
the archbishop or some other member
were to Insist upon being consulted,
this this surprising method of doing
business should cease.
The board of trade does not stand
alone. Every school-teacher In the
land knows that “my lords" say this
and "my lords" rule that Their full
title is “the lords of the committee of
the privy council of education;" but
they never meet, and the vice presi-
dent would probably be puzzled to
name a half-dozen of them. Mr. Fish-
er and his predecessors rule without
“my lords,” but In their name. Thus
do they get credit for the good they
do and are a refuge In the day of
storm.
Protest a Happy Ending.
The Parts correpondent of the Pall
Mall Gazette recently reported a curi-
ous suit that should Interest the read-
ers of Flaubert's romance of Carthage.
The action was brought by the niece of
Gustave Flaubert against the adapters
of "Salammbo" for the cinema.
Flaubert, It will be remembered,
finishes his novel with the mobbing
and death of Mathos before the eyes
of his mistress, who seems entirely
Indifferent to his fate. This would not
do for the film. The adapters not only
save the general’s life, but ring down
the curtain with the marriage of the
lovers, who “live happily together ever
after," and have a multitude of chil-
dren to grace their old age.
This platonic and commonplace end-
ing to a “masterpiece" horrified the
dilettantes, who made so much fuss
about the caricaturing of the story
that Flaubert’s literary executor fell:
compelled to take the matter up, and
has appealed to the courts for redress
—Kansas City Star.
Largest Snakes In Brazil.
The largest snakes known are found
in Brazil, and one would have to go
far Into the Interior to find them.
They are found In the Immense valley
of the Amazon river and Its tribu-
taries, observes a naturalist. This ex-
tensive basin, being low ground, con-
sists partly of swamps and forest Jun-
gle, Into which white men seldom pen-
etrate. The forest and vegetation are
so dense that the sun cannot get
through to the ground, and being right
under the equator, the continual, op-
pressive, moist heat makes this jungle
and swamps the Ideal breeding place
tor the big snakes and other reptiles.
However, of the 180 varieties of
snakes known In Brazil, not 10 per
cent are venomous, and of these very
few of the big ones. Of the non-ven-
omous ones the largest and the best-
known Is the boa constrictor.
Your Mental Attic.
We are living In a new age. We use
the materials grown In the past for
the erection of present structures, ob-
serves a writer. But the method of
building changes with the age. In-
stead of the old lumber, men use iron
and steel. Instead of crumbling bricks
and uncertain firing, they use cement
and stone. To build for the future
yon must use the best tjiat science ap-
proves. You will need your attic for
new tools and new storage. And to be
modern the storage must be tempor-
ary. Long holdings are unprofitable.
The oftener you can turn yonr posse*
slons the better the Income. Tour
mental attic follows the same rale.
Flames That Give Off Ne Heat
A French scientist, who Is keeping
the details secret, claims he has in-
vented a flame derived from electri*
Uy that will not give off heat
KIDNEY TROUBLE NOT
EASILY REC06NIZED
Applicants for Insurance Often
Rejected
An examining phyilcian for one of the
prominent hie iniuranc* oompiuiei, in tn
interview of the subject, made the ae-
toniahiag etatement that one reaeon why
eo many applicant! (or ineurnnee are re-
jected ie because kidney trouble ia eo com-
mon to the American people, end the large
majority of thoee wlioec application* are
declined do not even euapect that they
have the diaeaae.
Judging from report* from druggiata
who are conetantlv in direct touch with
the public, there it one preparation that
hae been very (ucceiaful in overcoming
theee condition*. The mild end healing
influence of Dr. Kilmer1* Swimp-Root ia
•oon realized. It atanda the highest for
iti remarkable record of eucceei.
We find that Swamp-Root ii etrictly
an herbal compound end we would ad-
vi*e our reader* who feel in need of ouch a
remedy to give it a trial. It ii on tale
at all drug itores in bottlea of two aizea,
medium and large.
However, if you wiih first to test thie
great preparation lend ten eente to Dr.
Kilmer A Co., Binghemton, N. Y., for s
temple bottle. When writing be eure and
mention thie paper.—Adv.
It’s wrong to talk about a man be-
hind his hack. Talk about him In
front of hts back.
A self-closing door spring adds to the
anger of tjie mnn who wants to slam
the door. x
The Oneness of Two.
Peoria Journal—“The young couple
sang a solo In honor of the occasion."—
Boston Transcript.
... Worm* In a Healthy Child
All cblldren troubled with worms have to in*
naltbr color, whiob indicates poor blood, and m %
ru!f\ thore Is more or Ids stomach disturbance.
OROVB'S TA8TBLH8S chill TONIC glren renltrly
for two or throe week! will enrich the blood, lm-
prore the dlgeitton, and tetk! t General Strength-
ening Tonlo to the whole intern. Nature will then
throw ofl or dlipel the worm!, end the Child will fee
In perfeot health. Pleasant to take. Sic per bottle
Queer.
"He has queer ideas." "For In-
stance?" “Says he’d rather be right
than be popular.”
Soothe Itching 8calps.
On retiring gently rub spots of dan-
druff and itching with Cuticura Oint-
ment Next morning shampoo with
Cuticura Soap and hot water. For free
samples address, "Cuticura, Dept. X,
Boston.” At druggists and by mail
Soap 25, Ointment 25 and 50.—Adv.
Letter From the Dead.
On the body of a British soldier,
recently killed at the front, was found
the following letter addressed to his
mother: "I am dead; I have lived
my life, fought the good fight, and
given my life willingly and happily
for your sakes on the nltnr of duty.
The fighting will be severe, the suf-
fering great; but, mother darling,
every child whom God recelveth he
scourgeth. It Is only part of the Imi-
tation of our blessed Lord’s life—Just
a weak, unworthy Imitation—but the
best a poor, puny, sinful child can
make. I plead with you not to worry.
Put all your faith, yonr hope, your
trust In the God of love.”
Paper Fabrics in Norway.
The Nydalens company, one of Nor
way’s leading textile manufacturers,
has for some time been experimenting
with paper textiles, and the results
have been so good that its factory will
soon produce these new fabrics on a
large scale, according to a commercial
agent report from Copenhagen. They
consist of 75 per cent paper and 25
per cent cotton and are said to he soft
and warm; a little heavier than ordi-
nary cotton goods and not quite so
strong, but cheaper. They should be
especially suited, says the Norwegian
press, for blouses, dresses, curtains,
and, In short, as a substitute for cot-
ton goods In general.
The Christiania sejlugsfabrik (sail
cloth factory) has also been experi-
menting with paper as a substitute and
las obtained some promising results.
Besides SavingWheat
Ha Says I’m Saving
Cooking When I Eat
POST
TOASTIES
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Cain, George W. The Carter Express. (Carter, Okla.), Vol. 9, No. 17, Ed. 1 Friday, July 12, 1918, newspaper, July 12, 1918; (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc956714/m1/2/: accessed March 19, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.