Palacios Beacon (Palacios, Tex.), Vol. 11, No. 11, Ed. 1 Friday, April 4, 1919 Page: 3 of 8
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"T*.
FALACIOS BEACON, PALACIOS, TEXAS
>«•
TRe Light
in the
Clearing
A Tale of the North
Country in the Time
<)f Silas Wright
IRVINQ
By
BACHELL£H
Author of "Eb«n Holden." "DM and
I," T>«rre) of th« Blwwd lilee*
K.eplnc Up With Ltuie," Kto. Etc.
(Copyright, by Irving B&cUeller)
CHAPTER I—Continued.
I could only fall Into his nrms nnd
express myself in the grief of child-
hood. He hugged me close nnd begged
me to tell him what was the mut-
ter.
"That Wills boy stole my melon,"
I said, nnd the words came slow with
solia.
"Oh, no, he didn't," said Uncle Tea-
body.
"Yes ho did.' I saw a piece o' the
rln\"
"Well by—" said Uncle Peabody,
stopping, as usual, at the edge of the
precipice.
"He's a snake," I added.
"And you fit and he scratched you
op that way?"
"I scratched him, too."
"Don't you say n word about it to
Atmt Dee!. Don't ever speak o' thnf
miserable melon ag'ln to anybody.
You scoot around to the barn, un'
I'll be there in a minute and fix ye
up."
lie went by the road with the ten
and I ran around to the lane and up
to the stable. Uncle Peabody met
iue there In a moment and brought a
pall of water and washed my face
so that I felt and looked more respect-
able.
The worst was over for that day,
but the Buynes-Wllls feud had begun.
It led to many a light In the school
yard nnd on the way home. We were
so evenly matched that our quarrel
went on for a long time and gathered
intensify as It continued.
One June day Uncle Peabody and
I, from down In the fields, saw a
■fine enrringe drive In at our gate. He
stopped nnd looked Intently;
"Jerusalem four-corners!" he ex-
claimed. "It's Mr. aud Mrs. Horace
Dunkelbcrg."
My henrt beat fast at thought of
the legendary Dunkelbergs. Uncle
looked me over from top to toe.
"Heavens!" he exclaimed. "Go down
to the brook and wash the mud oft
yer feet an' legs."
I ran for the brook nnd before I
had returned to my uncle I heard the
horn blow.
"The Dunkelbergs!—the Dunkel-
bergs ! Come quick!" it seemed to
say.
Mr. Dunkelberg was a big, broad-
fihouldnred, solemn-looking man. Some-
how his fnce reminded me of a lion's
which I had seen In one of my pic-
ture books. He had a thick, long, out-
standing mustache and side whiskers,
and deep-set eyes and heavy eyebrows.
He stood for half a moment looking
■down nt me from a great height with
his right hand in his pocket. I heard
a little jingle of coins down where
his hnnd was. It excited my curios-
ity. He took a step toward me and
I retreated. I feared, n little, this
tilg, lion-like man. My fenrs left me
suddenly when he spoke In n small
squeaky voice that reminded mo of
the chirping of a bird.
"T.lttle boy, come here and I will
make you a present," said lie.
It reminded me of my disappoint-
ment when uncle tried to shoot his
gun at a squirrel and only the cap
cracked.
I went to him nnd he laid a silver
piece In tile palm of my hnnd. Aunt
Deel began to hurry about getting din-
ner ready while Uncle Peabody nnd
I sat down on the porch with our
guests, among whom was n pretty,
blue-eyed girl of about Biy own age.
with long, golden-brown hair that
.hung in curls.
"Sully, this is Barton Raynes—can't
you shake hands with hlru?" mtlu Mrs.
Olinkelherg,
With a smile the girl came and of-
fered me her hand and made a funny
bow and said that she was glnd to
see me. I took her hnnd nwkwardly
and made no reply. I had never seen
many girls and had no very high opin-
ion of iliein.
As we sat there I henrd the men
talking about the great Silas Wright,
who had just returned, to Ills home
in Clinton. He had not entered my
consciousness until then.
While I sat listening I felt n tweak
of my linir, nnd looking around t snw
(he IVuukijlberg girl aiaiiuiuy behind
me with a saucy smile on her face.
"Won't you come and play with
me?" she asked.
1 took her out 111 the garden to
BARTON MEETS THE DUNKELBERGS, INCLUDING PRETTY
LITTLE GOLDEN-HAIRED SALLY.
Synopsis.—Barton Baynes, an orphan, goes to live with his uncle,
I'eabody Baynes, and his Aunt Deel on n farm on Kattleroud, in a
neighborhood called Llckltyspllt, about the year 1820.
show her where my watermelon had
lain. At the moment I couldn't think
of anything else to show her. As we
walked along I observed that her feet
were in dainty shiny button-shoes.
Suddenly I began to be ashamed of
my feet that were browned by the
sunlight and scratched by the briers.
The absent watermelon didn't seem to
interest her.
"Let's play house in the grove," said
she, and showed me how to build a
house by laying rows of stones with
an opening fwr a door.
"Now you be my husbnnd," snld
she,
Oddly enough I hnd henrd of hus-
bands but had only a shadowy notion
of what they were. I knew that there
was none In our house.
"What's that?" I asked.
She lnughed and nnswered: "Some-
body thut a girl Is married to."
"You mean a father?"
"Yes."
"Once I had a father," I boasted.
"Well, we'll piny we're mnrried nnd
that you have just got home from a
journey. You go out in the woods
and then you come home and I'll
meet you at the door."
I did as she bade me but I was not
glad enough to see her.
"You must kiss me," she prompted
In a whisper.
I kissed her very swiftly and gin-
gerly—like one picking up a hot coal
—and she caught me In her arras
nnd kissed me three times while her
soft hair threw its golden veil over
our faces.
"Oh, I'm so glad to see you." she
said as she drew away from me and
shook back her hair.
"Golly 1 this is fun!" I said,
"Now go to sleep and I'll tell you
a story," said she.
Then she told pretty tales of fair-
ies and of grnnd Indies nnd noble gen-
tlemen who wore gold coats and
swords and diamonds and silks, and
said wonderful words In such a won-
derful way. I dare say It prospered
nil the better In my ears because of
the mystery by which Its meanings
were partly hidden. I had many
questions to ask and she told me what
were fairies and silks and diamonds
nnd grand ladles and noble gentlemen.
We sat down to one of our familiar
dinners of snlt pork and milk gravy
nnd apple pie now enriched by sweet
pickles and preserves and frosted
cuke.
A query had entered my mind and
soon after we hud begun eating 1
asked:
"Aunt Deel, what is the difference
between a boy and a girl?"
There wus a little silence In which
my aunt drew in her breath and ex-
claimed, "W'y!" and turned very red
and covered her face with her nap-
kin. Uncle Peabody laughed so loud-
ly that the chickens began to cackle.
Mr. and Mrs. Dunkelberg also covered
their faces. Aunt Deel rose and went
to the stove und shoved the teapot
along, exclaiming:
"Goodness gracious sakes alive!"
The tea slopped over on the stove.
Uncle Peabody laughed louder nnd
Mr. Dunkelberg's face was purple.
Shep came running into the house
just as I ran out of it. I had made
up my mind that I had done some-
thing worse than tipping over a what-
not. Thoroughly frightened I fled and
took refuge behind the ash-house,
where Sally found me. I knew of
one thing I would never do again. She
coaxed me into the grove where we
had another play spell.
I needed just that kind of thing,
nnd what a time It wns for met A
pleasant sadness comes when I think
of that day—It was so long ago. As
the Dunkelbergs left us I stood look-
ing down the rond on which they
were disappearing. That evening my
ears caught a note of sadness in the
voice of the katydids, and memory
began to play its part with me. Best
of all I remembered the kisses and
the bright blue eyes and the soft curly
hair with the smell of roses lu It.
the scrawls of old Kate. I remember
how she shook her head nnd sighed
and sat benting her forehend with
the knuckles of her bony hands after
she had looked at the palm of Amos.
Swiftly the point of her pencil run
over and up and down the sheet like
the movements of a frightened ser-
pent. In the silence how loudly the
pencil seemed to hiss in its swift lines
nnd loops.
My aunt exclaimed "Mercy!" us she
looked at the sheet; for while I knew
not, then, the strange device upon
the paper, I knew, by and by, that
It was a gibbet. Beneath It were the
words: "Money thirst shall burn like
a fire in liini."
She rose and smiled as she looked
Into my face. I saw a kind, gentle
glow In her eyes that reassured me.
She clapped her hands with joy. She
exumined my paltn nnd grew serious
nnd stood looking thoughtfully at the
setting sun.
1 see, now, her dark figure stand-
ing agulnst the sunlight aa It stood
that day with Amos In its shadow.
What a singular eloquence !n her pose
und gestures und in her silence! I
remember how it bound our tongues
—that silence of hers 1
The woman turned with a kindly
smile and eat down in the grass again
and took the sheet of paper and
resting it on a yellow-covered book be-
gan to write these words:
"I see the longing of the helper.
One. two, three, four great perils
shall strike at him. He shall not
be afraid. God shall fill his heart
with laughter. I hear guns, I hear
many voices. His name is In them.
He shall be strong. The powers of
CHAPTER II.
I Meet the Silent Woman and Silas
Wright, Jr.
Amos Grlnisiiuw was there lu our
dooryuid the day thul the old ragged
woman came along and told our for-
tunes—she was called Itovln' Kate,
nnd was said to hnve the gift of "sec-
ond sight," whatever that muy be. It
was n bright autumn day und the
leaves lay deep in the edge of the
woodlands. She spoke never a word
hut stood pointing at her pnlra nnd
then nt Amos and nt me.
Aunt Deel nodded and said:
"Ayes, Kate—tell their fortunes If
yo've anything to sny—ayes!"
She brought tu'o sheets of pnppp Hnd
the old woman sat down upon the
grass and began to write with a lit-
tle stub of a pencil. I have now those
fateful sheets of paper covered by
"Sally, This Is Barton Baynes. Can't
You Shake Hands With Him?" Said
Mrs. Dunkelberg.
darkness shall fear him, he shall be
a lawmaker nnd the friend of God nnd
of many people, nnd great men shull
bow to his judgment and he shall—"
She began shaking her head
thoughtfully and did not finish the
sentence, and by and by the notion
came to me that some unpleasant vis-
ion must have halted her pencil.
„ Aunt Deel brought some luncheon
wrapped In pape* and the old woman
took It and went away. My aunt fold-
ed the sheets and put tbeni In her
Irunk nnd we thought no more of
them until—but we shull know soon
what reminded us of the prophet
woman.
The autumn passed swiftly. I went
| to the village one Saturday with Un-
cle Peabody In high hope of seeing
the Dunkelbergs, but at their door
we learned that they hnd gone up
the river on a picnic. What a blow
!t was to me i Tears flowed down
my cheeks and I clung to my uncle's
hand and walked back to the mnln
street of the village. A sqund of small
boys jeered nnd stuck out their
tongues at me. It was pity for my
sorrows, no doubt, that led Uncle Pea-
body to take mo to the tavern for
dinner, where they were assuaged by
cakes and Jellies and chicken pie.
At Christmas I got a picture-book
and forty raisins nnd three sticks of
candy with red stripes ou them and a
jew's-harp. That was the Christmas
we went down to Auut Liza's to
spend the day and I helped myself to
two pieces of cake when the plate
was passed and cried because they nil
lnughed at my greediness. It was the
day when Aunt Liza's boy, Tinman,
got a silver watch and chain and her
daughter Mary a gold ring, and when
nil tho r^lntlvpS wnro fnvlfwl trt onrno
and be convinced, once nnd for all,
of Uncle lloswell's prosperity, and
be tilled with envy and reconciled
with jelly and preserves and roust
f turkey with sage dressing and mtnee
and chicken pie. What an amount of
preparation we had made for the Jour-
ney, and how long we had talked about
It!
In the spring my uncle hired a man
to work for us—a noisy, brawny,
sharp-featured fellow with keen gray
eyes, of the name of Dug Draper.
Aunt Deel hated him. I feared him
but regarded him with great hope
because he had a funny way of wink-
ing at me with one eye across the
table and, further, because he could
sing and did sing while he worked—
songs that rattled from his lips In a
way that amused me greatly. Then,
too, he could rip out words that hud
a new and wonderful sound in them.
I made up my mind that he was like-
ly to become a valuable asset when I
henrd Aunt Deel saw to ray Uncle Pen-
body :
"You'll hnve to send that loafer
away, right now, ayes. I guess yon
will."
"Why?"
"Because this boy has learnt to
swear like n pirate—ayes- he has!"
Uncle Peabody didn't know It but
I myself had begun to suspect It, and
that hour the man was sent awny,
and I remember that he left In anger
with a number of those new words
flying from his Hps. A forced march
to the upper room followed that event
Uncle Peabody explained that It was
wicked to swear—that boys who did
It had very bad luck, and mine came
in a moment. I never had more of
it come ulong in the same length of
time.
After I ceased to play with the
Wills boy Uncle Peabody used to
say, often, It was a pity that I hadn't
somebody of my own nge for com-
pnny. Every day I felt sorry thnt the
Wills boy hnd turned out so badly,
und I doubt not the cat nnd the shep-
herd dog und the chickens nnd Uncle
Peabody also regretted his failures,
especially the dog and Uncle Teabody,
who bore all sorts of Indignities for
my sake.
One day when Uncle Peabody went
for the mail he brought Amos Grtm-
shaw to visit me. He was four years
older than I—a freckled, red-haired
boy with a large mouth nnd thin lips.
He wore a silver watch and chain,
which strongly recommended hira In
my view und enabled me to endure
his air of condescension.
He let me feel It and look It nil
over and 1 slyly touched the chain
with my tongue Just to see If it had
any taste to It, und Amos told ine
that his father had given It to him and
that It always kept him "kind o'
scalrt."
"Why?"
"For feur I'll break er lose it on'
git licked," he nnswered.
He took a little yellow paper-cov-
ered book from his pocket and began
to read to himself.
"What's that?" I ventured to ask
bj and by.
"A story," he answered. "I met a
ragged ol' woman In the road t'other
day an' she give me a lot of 'em and
showed me the pictures an' I got to
readin' 'em. Don't you tell anybody
'cause my ol' dad hates stortes an'
he'd lick me 'til I couldn't stan' If he
knew I wus rtcadiu' 'em."
I begged him to read out loud and
he rend from a tale of two robbers
named Thunderbolt and Llghtfoot who
lived In a cave in the mountains. They
were bold, free, swearing men who
rode beautiful horses at a wild gal-
lop and carried guns and used them
freely and with unerring skill aud
helped themselves to what they want-
ed.
He stopped, by nnd by, and confided
to me the fuct that he thought he
would run away aud Join a bund of
robbers.
"How do you run away?" I asked.
"Just take the turnpike nnd keep
goln' toward the mountains. When
ye meet a band o' robbers give 'em
the sign uu' tell 'em you want to
join."
He went on with the book and rend
how the robbers had hung a captive
who had persecuted them and Inter-
fered with their sport. The story ex-
plained how they put the rope around
the neck of the captive and threw
the other end of It over the limb
of a tree and pulled the man into
the air.
He stopped suddenly and demanded:
"Is there u long rope here?"
1 pointed to Uncle Peabody's hay
rope hanging on a peg.
"Le's hang u captive," he proposed.
At first 1 did not comprehend Ills
meaning. He got the rope and threw
Its end over the big beam. Our old
shepherd dog had beeu nosing the
mow neur us for rats. Amos caught
the dog who, suspecting no harm, enme
passively to the rope's end. He tied
the rope around the dog's neck.
IN MISERY
FOR YEARS
Mrs. Courtney Tells How She
Was Cured by Lydia E.
Pinkham's Vegetable
Compound.
OakalooM, Iowa.—" For years I was
■imply in misery from a weakness and
awful pains—a n d
nothing seemed to
do me any good. A
friend advised me
to take Lydia E.
Piuklmm'a Vege-
table Compound. I
did so ana got re-
lief right awny. I
can certainly re-
commend this valu-
able medicine to
other women who
suffer, for it haa
done such good
work for ma and I know it will help
others if they will give it a fair trial/'
—Mrs. Lizzib Courtney, 108 8th Ave.,
West, Oskaloosa, Iowa.
Why will w«nen drag along fA.i day
to day, year in and year out, sufK .-ing
such misery aa did Mrs. Courtney, when
such letters as this are continually being
published. Every woman who snfTern
from displacements. Irregularities, in-
flammation, ulceration, backache, ner-
I vousnesa, or who is passing through the
Change of Life should give this famous
root and herb remedy, Lydia E. Pink-
h*n's Vegetable Compound, atrial. For
special advice write Lydia E. Pinkham
Medicine Co., Lynn, Mass. * The j-'esult
of ita long experience is at your s^/vice.
For Simple Stock and Poultry
Troubles, such as constipation,
indigestion, liver troubles, loss ol
appetite and colds:
Bee Dee
Stock
&
Poultry
Medi
A., it, - « ■ t
wiioeiui uca
tnd tonic lor host,
nitfif, sheets etc
liver medldni
Chickens, hone*
which ha* been
In Successful Cae For Over 35 Years,
•FWiuesty nltori XU*d*-Df aught Stock & Poultry MkBtfog)
Get a can ot Bee Dee from your Merchant
Mix a little Be* Dee regularly with your stock
and poultry feed. It pays!
Ask Ymir Jobber's Salesman about BEE DEM
Relieve that Cough by taking
DICKS*
Pine Tar & Honey
Compound of Honey, Tar, Wild
Cherry, Ipecac, Muriate of Am-
monia and Peppermint It is fine
for recent ana chronic Coughs
and Colds. 25c a bottle.
Clear Yoor Skin
WithCuticura
All druggists: Soap 25,
Ointment 25 4 50, Tal-
cum 25. Sample each
free of "Cuticura,
D«pt E, Boilu."
GENERAL HARDWARE
AND SUPPLIES
Contractors' Supplies, Builders'
Hardware, Etc. Prices and In-
formation furnished on request
PEDEN IRON & STEEL CO.
HOUSTON
SAN ANTONIO
Barton (jets Into trouble at
home and decides to run away.
He has some Interesting experi-
ences before he returns home.
Read about them In the next In-
stallment.
(TO WIS CONTINUED.)
Alabama lllict whisky brings $32 >
quart, It Is said.
Thisino9t remarkable remedy
causes the stomach to act natu-
rally and keeps the bowels open.
Is purely vegetable, producing
only highly beneficial results.
MR&.WINSLOWS
SYRUP
TVt lafiate' inJ CUUiaa'a Regaktor
Absolutely harm!eu--complete ton
mul* on every bottle—only very best
liigieilieiiU uacd. Ai aU anirffuffl.
feU for 80 Tmti FOR HALA1U, CHILLS AND ftVOL
Alt* • riM Gtacral Str<n|tlmli| Tulc. At All Dn| Stmt.
, PARKEk'6
HAIR BALSAM
▲ toilet preparation of merit.
Helps to oradloato dandruff.
For Restoring Color and
Bwutjr to Gray or Faded Hair.
ftOo. and >1.00 at Drujrifiata
Watermelon a Pure Halbftrt Tlonoy from origi-
"■ ICTinci U US nator. II pprpo-.ind. Kubber Hind
II. U0; Witujoii 7&c. 11. A. HA LB HUT, Corslcuna, Te*.
W. N. U., HOUSTON, NO. 14—1919.
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Tucker, T. L. Palacios Beacon (Palacios, Tex.), Vol. 11, No. 11, Ed. 1 Friday, April 4, 1919, newspaper, April 4, 1919; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth411901/m1/3/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Palacios Library.