owoo<x>ooooooo<‘Oooooooaoaoo
When Mellie
Got a Man
By WILLIAM McLEOD RAINE
ooooocoo: o: oooooooooooooao
(Copyright.)
"Why don’t you-all git a man, Mel
lie?” ,
Mrs. Chunn waited impatiently for
an answer, her potato knife poised in
air. She was a sallow lath of a wom
an, dry and hard, with piercing little
black eyes that bored like gimlets.
Efficiency of management was the
dominant note of the widow. She
ruled like an autocrat, a kindly one
If people submitted gracefully, but a
firm one in any event. Three de
ceased husbands had endured her
sway not unhappily.
Just now the gimlet eyes were
turned ou the slim, fair girl who sat
shelling peas on the porch steps at
her feet. Mellie stirred uneasily, as
under compulsion, but offered no an
swer in words. From her childhood
she had been much given to silence,
an unconscious refuge from the com
monplace world of Cache Bayou that
misunderstood her of necessity.
Her stepmother repeated the ques
tion with exactly the same inflection
as before.
"Don’t yo\ please,” implored the
girl, the color sweeping into her face.
Then, us if feeling the futility of pro
test, she added, “I cayn't maw. Yo’
know 1 ain't that-a-way.”
"I reckon yo’ kin if yo' try. You-all
ai^ turned 19 now Do yo’ 'low nevah
to marry? Trouble is, you-all air so
meachin’ an’ touch-me-not. Hit don’t
do to be dumb's a wild hawg the whole
enjurin’ time when men folks is
'round. Yo’ got to brisk up an’ be
peart.”
The widow’s expedience entitled her
to speak with authority. “Gittin’ a
man” had become almost a habit with
her. It spoke volumes for her effi
ciency that men naturally gravitated
her way, despite her lack of feminine
graces.
The eyes of the slim, young thing
looked wistfully across the slash to
the bayou beyond. A poignant shame
flooded her, the sense of sacred
things profaned. Oh, if only her
mother had lived, the girl mother who
had died at her birth! Surely she
would have understood! Or even the
quiet slow-speeched father who had
petted and "muched” her in secret.
Since his death, ten years before, she
had been terribly alone. She had only
Jed—Jed Wilson, her stepmother’s
boy, the magnificent big brother of her
youth, who could do everything well
and yet condescended to like her and
be her comrade. But Jed was in far
away Texas somewhere and had been
for four years.
“So I Jes’ nat . holly makes up my
mind to help yo’. 1 ’low to do by you
nll like yo’ own maw would. Air yo’
near through with tiiem peas? I want
’em done right spank at 12. Mqse
Hughey’s a-cornin' to dinner."
Mellie turned a startled face on her
stepmother. Her lips parted for
speech, but the protest died unvoiced.
What she had feared had come at last.
A kind of terror surged through her.
She was being prepared for the inev
itable. if Mrs. Chunn had set her
Iron will on her marrying Hughey
The Knock-out Blow.
The blow which knocked out Corbett
was a revelation to the prize fighters.
From the earliest days of the ring the
knock-out blow was aimed for the jaw,
the temple or the jugular vein. Stomach
punches wore thrown in to worry and
weary the fighter, but if a scientific man
had told one of the old fighters that the
gnost vulnerable spot was the region of
-the stomach, he’d have laughed at him
for an ignoramus. \ Dr. Pierce is bringing
home to the public a parallel fact; that
thq stomach is the most vulnerable organ
out of\he ring as well as In It. We
protectbur haatis, throats, feet«and lungs,
,but theVMltrit^Nwe are utterly indiffer
ent to, until distN^finds the solar plexue
and knocks us outa Make your stomach
-■aound and strung bv the. u^oi Duttof
Pierce's Golden. Medical Discovery. ana
■Tou^rotect voui^clhn your most.vuln^
able spot. "Golden Medical Discovery*
cures "weak stomach," indigestion, or
dyspepsia, torpid liver, bad, thin and im
pure blood and other diseases of the or
gans of digestion and nutrition.
The "Golden Medical Discovery " has
specific curative effect upon all mucous
surfaces and hftnce cures catarrh, no
'matter where located or what stage it
may have reached. In Nasal Catarrh it
Is well to cleanse the passages with Dr.
6age’s Catarrh Remedy fluid while using
ithe "Discovery " as a constitutional rem
edy. HTiy the "Golden Medical Discov
ery" cures catarrhal diseases, as of the
■stomach. bowels, bladder and other pelvic
organs will be plain to you if you will
.read a booklet of extracts from the writ
ings of eminent medical authorities, en
dorsing its ingredients ami explaining
their curative properties. It is mailed
frtc on request. Address Dr. R. V. Pierce,
Buffalo, N. Y. This booklet gives all the
Ingredients entering into Dr. Pierce’s
medicines from which it will be seen that
they contain not a drop of alcohol, pure,
triple-refined glycerine being used instead.
Dr. Pkirce’s great thousand-page illus
trated Common iSense Medical Adviser
will be sent free, paper-bound, for 21 oDe
cent stamps, or cloth-bound for 31 stamps.
Address Dr. Pierce as above.
there would be no escape for her. Yet
she knew she would rather die.
Hughey's narrow little shifting eve#
gloated on the girl’s dainty youth
while he ate voraciously of the food
before him. A wolf were as fit to be
mated with a lamb as the long-jawed,
yellow-toothed usurer’s cunning with
her fine maiden reserve. Even to
MeHle's stepmother his outstanding
merit was the 40 acres of rich cotton
land he owned.
Mellie waited on him with a pad
locked tongue. When he had gorged
himself she slipped away and fled to
the hickory lead at the edge of the
bayou. What could she do? How
could she escape the net which en
meshed her? To whom could she
turn for help? Her throat ached with
the intensity of the passion of despair
that swept her.
Jed would have known what to do.
Jed would have saved her. Hut he
was a thousand miles away on some
unknown ranch. His mother’s dom
ineering temper had driven him away
from home in anger. They had heard
of him just once in the four years.
That was when the editor of their
country paper, stopping at Mrs.
Chunn’s over night, had mentioned
that her son was still one of the sub
scribers to the Iieebee Bee.
Her boy was the one weak spot in
Mrs. Chunn's inflexible armor of au
tocracy. To have him home again
she would willingly have made him
an exception to her own rule, though
she never admitted it even to herself.
It was to Jed's strength that the
girl’s weakness went fluttering out in
her hour of need. He would have un
derstood, as nobody else could. The
indolent, masterful force of him would
have won her battle for her. Hut
without him—fear rose in her throat
and choked her.
Texas was a big country and far
away. The paper man from Beebee
had said that. Hut he had said, too,
that he sent his paper to Jed. If so.
he must know where he was living. In
the midst of the desert of her despair
there began to rise a tiny wellspring
of hope. She would write to Jed.
As it happened Buck Drumley was
going to Beebee next day. Buck rented
on shares the west bottom from Mrs.
Chunn and worked it in cotton. No
faintest accent of intelligence dis
turbed the blur of hi* vacant features,
and he got along very comfortably
without a chin. But Mellie could de
fend uuon the loyalty of this lank.
tow headed product of the bayoua
even If she could not upon his wisdom.
Her letter to the editor made verbal
explanations unnecessary.
When Buck next went to town he
carried with him a letter addressed to
Jed Wilson, 99 Ranch, What Cheer,
Tex. A copy of the Beebee Bee
came back in his pocket. Mellie hid
the paper hurriedly, and waited to
look at it til! she could get away to
the shadows of the hickory lead at the ^
edge of the bayou.
Among the advertisements she
found what she was seeking. A chance I
copy of a New York paper, flung i
from a train window' by a traveling
man, had given her a model for her
first appearance in type.
“If ^hls should meet the eye of Jed
he wilKknow that the girl who hunt
ed 'possums with him six years ago is
in great n#ed.”
Hughey jsushed his curious wooing
persistentlyA Nearly every evening
I
, now lie squirted tobacco juice from
the porch and bragged of himself and
his possessions at Mellie via Mrs.
Chunn. His greedy, cruel smile tilled
the girl with a sick fear. Divining the
repulsion he inspired in her, he of
fered no chance to give expression to
it. That the pressure of her environ
ment would wear out her will he was
! confident, t^pd he could afford to wait
till he was sure before he punished
her for her detestation of him. But he
scored it up against her none the
less. The time came when he and Mrs.
Chunn could discuss before her the
details of his marriage to her with
out spoken protest on her part. She
sat In an unconsenting silence that be
came passionate protest when she was
alone with her stepmother.
But she knew that she fluttered in
rain and that every passing week
brought her nearer the inevitable sac
rifice. If she could only die—but it
takes more than a breaking heart to
kill a healthy young woman!
“Mose 'lows he won’t be yere to
night. He's done gone to Beebee,” Mrs.
Chunn explained one evening.
Mellie faintly sighed her relief.
Mrs. Chunn laid her string of pep
pers on the table and began on
another. She was watching the girl
without appearing to do so. “Ain't you
all keerin’ #hat’ter he's gone?"
Her stepdauiditer’s hands fell into
her lap. She looked up with a face out
of which the color had been suddenly
driven.
"Yo' gump, he's aimin’ to git the li
cense to-morrow.”
Everything went black before Mel
lle's eyes. She caught at the arms of
the rocking chair and gripped them
desperately. Presently the blood beat
back to her heart. She hurried out
into the quiet night. She was stifling,
oppressed by a deadly choking at her
simrnmmrnrommmmmm:
throat. She fled through the slashed
field, as if driven by some impotent in
stinct to attempt escape from the evil
fate. Habit led her to the big tr^e
in the hickory lead where she and
Jed used to play. Her despair was
long past tears. She could only lean
her head against" the bark and give
herself to long, dry sobbing till her
“Ho Won’t Pester You Any More.
passion of self-pity had spent itself.
Not till the man was almost besido
her did she hear the approaching foot
steps, deadened by the soft carpet of
moss. Wheeling, she stood poised for
flight, an arrested picture of youth
far gone in grief.
Then, ‘Jed!” she cried, and he,
“Mel!" .
It was too good to be true. The
girl's voice quavered her doubt.
"Is it really you. Jed?"
“Hit shorely is, Mel. I seen yo' ad
vertisement three days ago in an old
paper. I be'n away off on the round
tip and jest got bark. Co’se I burnt
the wind hack to help you-all out. I
seen some one slippin' across the slash
an' I suspicioned it might be my little
sis Mellie.”
She began to sob. “Oh, Jed, yo’
don't know haow bad I be'n feelin'!
Yo' can't think haow often I ben
wishin' I was dead!"
i His indolent, good-looking face took
j on the dark expression she had seen
i only once or twice.
| “If anybody’s done you-all any
I meanness, sis—”
j The blood surged into her cheeks.
| "Maw's bound an' termined that I’ll
I male Mose Hughey. He's gatin’ the
j license to-day."
I “Mose Hughey?” The loose, grace
ful southern figure stiffened. “Maw
1 must be crazy!"
“He's be'n a-pesterin' me fer near ly
two months—an' I hate him wuss than
j a rattlesnake,” she flamed.
“He won’t pester yo' any more,
sis,” said Jed, grimly, and laid a ca
ressing arm across her shoulders.
No Buggy for Him.
Redd—Does your doctor adopt mod
em methods?
Greene—Sure! Been arrested four
times in his automobile for speeding!
■—Yonkers Statesman.
That town which has not sufficient
Industries to employ its people is sure
to so backward.
1 IIKlR I9IIII laillt■•kiijilksiaaissasaa _ I
>i, £'
w
C; -
THE MARSH i? *
* if MARIGOLD
Caltha palustrus—the marigold—
Flameth a Are as Its leaves unfold.
Yellow and bright! hike a sunset glow,
Carpets the marsh where the zephyrs
blow!
Caltha palustrus—the marigold,
Bttrreth within me sweet mem’rles old!
Thoughts of a maiden, with true blue
eyes.
Plucking them there ’neath the halcyon
skies!
Caltha palustrus—the marigold,
Speaks of a day when one's hope was
bold.
Tells of a time when the heart was light,
Throbbing In Faith, with no thoughts of
night!
Caltha palustrus—the marigold—
Faint from thy petals of fairy mold,
AVafts o’er the chasm of years that flee,
_ Incense of youth, and its grace, to me.
Byron William*.
Copyright.
A Dollar
spent at home reacts in its benefits
with unceasing general profit.
Sent out of town it’s life is ended.
Kept with the home merchants it is a messenger of continuous
benefit. Business men should awake to the importance of keeping
this dollar at home and make a bid for it by judicious advertising.
if you arc a business man,
did you ever think of the field
of opportunity that advertis
ing^ opens to you? Ihere is
almost no limit to the possi
bilities of your business if you
study Irow to turn trade i-nto
vour store. If you are not get
ting your share of the business
of vour community there's a
reason. People go where they
arc attracted — where they
know wluit they can get and
how much it is sold for. If
you make direct statements in
vour advertising see to it that
you are able to fulfill every
promise you make. You will
add to vour business reputa
tion and hold your customers.
It will not cost as much to run
your ad in this paper as you
think. It is the persistent ad
vertiser who gets there. Have
<iOHiething in the paper every
issue, no matter how small.
We will be pleased to quote
you our advertising rates, par
t’cularly on the year's busi
ness.
THE REV. IRL R. HICKS
Almanac and Magazim
Should be in
every home in
the land. His
weather predic
tions canbehad
only in his own
publics ti on s.
No other publisher is permitted to
print them in any form, either with or'
without credit- His 1908 Almanac ex
cels all former editions in beauty and
value, and sells for35cents, postpaid.
Sis monthly magazine, Word and
Works, contains his weather fore
casts for each month, together with a
vast amount of the best family reading
and costs $1. a year, one almanac with,
each subscription. Every earthquake
and serious storm for 20 years has
been predicted by Prof. Hicks. * You,
cannot afford to be w ithout these pub
lications.* Address all orders to
THE JOURNAL
Newark, : : Arkansas
DR. NOTT’S FAMOUS
MELON-SEED
Kidney & Bladder Compound |
Beware of the treacherous, insidious,
devastating touch of Kidney Trouble!
The death reports from all sections of the United States
are full of names that would not be there if Dr. Nott’s
Melon-Seed Kidney and Bladder Remedy had been used.
If fou have the least symptom of any such trouble, buy
a bottle of Melon-Seed, and buy it an once! Don’t de
lay! This sort of procrastination has cost many a life.
=3
MEL^N SEED will cure the most stubborn cases, and
you owe it to your family not to carelessly allow yourself
to develop a fatal trouble when it is so easy to assure your
self health and strength by the timely use of Melon-Seed.
FOR SALE BY
| J. I. STURDIVANT |
^uuumuiiuuiUiuiuiaiuiUiAuuiUiaiiUiumuiiuuiiuiu^
*
I
IMS. F. C. HOSKINS
Veterinary Surgeon
I treat all diseases of domestic animals
Special attention given to Surgery
and Dentistry. Professional
calls made to any part
of the country
Office at Loftin's Stable
NEWPORT, : : ARKANSAS
There’s a Way
To defeat the mail order man’a cnv
throat methods in this community.
The way is publicity for your busines*
| — it’s the same way he uses. 0u»
columns will give your bnaiaeoe the
publicity you need.
FARM FOR SALE
Good farm of 160 acres near High
Rock. 11 miles north of Batesville, 75
acres in cultivation 25 acres of which
I is fine creek bottom land which grows
j 75 bushels of corn per acre. Good
! frame dwelling with two tenant houses.
Two orchards with an abundant varie
ty of fruits. Good oak, hickory and
cedar timber on land not in cultiva
tion. Fine water, both well and spring,
! with fine creek running through farm.
| Good mill-site on farm. Fine cave
: near dwelling where 10,000 pushels of
j vegetables may be kept the year round.1
j Convenient to school and church.
| Will be sold cheap and on easy terms.
Henderson Real Estate Co., Newark.
1 Ark.