Pittston Gazette

              m i -V ■stkblUhed 1850, I TOL, L No. 33 ) Oldest Newspaper in the Wvomine Vallev PITTSTON, LUZERNE COUNTY, PA., FRIDAY, MARCH 3o, 1900. A Weekly Local and Family Journal. ; la Adfaaw. ! lit n°o. Tues. Wed. Tbura. I ill 1 2 ~T 4" I J!-, ROBERT h illr SEVEN D Cit Li A DREAM AND ITS CO i •■»••••• BY REV. CHARLES IV ! jtwtftor af "In Hit Step*," "The OruclftHtm of P \ * I [Copyright, 1900, by Advance I H! A\oiD Tues. Wed. Ttjurs. Ill 1 2 3 " ~5 6 | 7 ►*♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦»♦♦♦♦♦»»j »»»♦»♦♦« »» - D1 D1 Willi*" j he ter day was fast drawing to a close. The hum of the great engine In the machine shop was growing very wearisome to the manager. He felt sick of its throbbing tremor and longed to escape from It. Ordinarily he would have gone to the clubroom and had a game of chess with a member, or else he would have gone down and idled away au hour or two before supper at the Art museum, where he was a constant visitor—that was when he bad plenty of time and the business of the office was not pressing. Young Wellman, however, had succeeded to the clerical details of the shops, and Mr. Hardy's time was generally free after 4 o'clock. Mr. Hardy promised Clara that he would see James the next day. It was true that James Caxton had only a week before approached Mr. Hardy and told him in very manful fashion of his love for his daughter, but Mr. Hardy had treated it as a child's affair, and In accordance with his usual policy in family matters had simply told Clara and Bess to discontinue their visits at the old neighbor's. But now that he heard the story from the lips of his own daughter he saw the seriousness of it, and crowding back all his former pride and hatred of the elder Caxton he promised Clara to see James the next day. "Oh, no. George!" Then with a swift revulsion of feeling she drew back and said, "How could you, with father feeling as be does?" not come in then, but walk along with you," said Mr. Hardy quietly. James exclaimed eagerly as Mr. Hardy turned to go: ■pent, and crying feebly: T*CTGod, help me! Don't keep me here In this world any longer!" drunkenness last night very bitterly. You cannot know the feelings of your father and mother In that respect But I did not call you in here to reproach you for your vices. I want to know what you Intend to do In the face of the present conditions." Pri. Sat. SuiD So James came out, and the two walked along together. was an awkward pause for a minute; then Mr. Hardy said: "Then you don't forbid my entertaining some hope of your good will in the matter of my love for Clara?" He lowered bis voice and spoke very strongly. "You don't forget your own youth and the way In which you yourself began your home?" And little Bess, who was a creature of very impulsive emotions, sat down crying on what she supposed was a cushion, but which was George's tall hat, accidentally covered with one end of a comforter which had Blipped off the bed. Bess was a very plump little creature, and as she picked herself up and held up the hat George angrily exclaimed:If this brief scene thrilled the nelgbD bora with pity, what shall be said oi Its effect on Robert Hardy? For a moment it seemed to him more than he could bear. He started to his feet and pnt his hands before his face. Then, calming b«rrr? * -f-f effort, he like a stone In Its rigidity. When his wife finally succeeded in getting the woman Into the rear room, his face re- ARDY'S O m. ff STSEQUENCES.  "James, Is it true that you and Clara are engaged?" Mr. Hardy paused, then went on again: "I am perfectly aware, George, that you regard my dream as a fancy and think I am probably out of my mtad. Isn't that true?" "No, sir; that—is—not exactly what you might call engaged. We would like to be." Mr. Hardy answered never a word to this appeal, but looked Into the young man'B face with a gaze he did not forget all day, then wrung his hand and turned on his heel abruptly and walked rapidly down the street. Mr. Hardy smiled in spite of himself, and James added in a quickened tone, "We would like to be, with your consent, sir." Mr. Hardy looked George full In the face, and the young man stammered: "You're always smashing my things!" But the next minute he was sorry for the words. Mr. Hardy walked on thoughtfully and then glanced at the young man at his side. He was C feet tall, not very handsome, as Bessie had frankly said, but be had a good face, a steady, clear blue eye and resolute air, as of one who was willing to work hard to get what he wanted. Mr. Hardy could not help contrasting him with his own prematurely broken down son George, and he groaned Inwardly as he thought of the foolish pride that would bar the doors of his family to a young man like James Caxton simply because he was poor and because his father had won in a contested election in which the two older men were candidates for the same office. "Well—I—ah—yes—I—don't Just understand"—SHELDON, /tOlp Strong," "Malcom Ktrk," Etc. James looked after him as he disappeared among the crowds of people going to their business, and then turned to his own tasks. But something In him gave him hope. Another something appealed all day to his Inner nature, and he could not shake off the impression of Mr. Hardy's question, "Are you a Christian?" And even when he went home at night that question pursued him more strenuously than any other and would not give him peace. jCj 11 Clara clung to her father fn loving surprise. She was bewildered, as were all the rest, by the strange event that had happened to her father, but she never had so felt his love before, and, forgetting for awhile the significance of his wonderful dream, she felt happy In his presence and In his affection for her. Bess retreated toward the door, quivering under the injustice of the charge. At the door she halted. She had something of Clara's passionate temper, and once in awhile she let even her adored brother George feel It, small as she was. "At the same time," went on his father, "I realize that nothing but a conviction of reality could produce the change In me which yon and all the rest of the family matt acknowledge has taken place. And yon must confess that I am acting far more rationally than I did before my dream occurred. It Is not natural for a father to neglect his own children, and I have done it It is not rational that he sbouid spend his time and money and strength on himself so as to grow Intensely selfish, and I have done that My son, you may doubt me, bat I am firmly convinced that I shall not be alive here after next Sunday. I am trying to live as I ought to live under those conditions. My son," Mr. Hardy •poke with dignity and a certain impression which George could not but feel, "I want you to do as you know you ought to do under the circumstances. When I am gone, your mother and the girls will look to you for advice and direction. You will probably have to leave college for a little while. We will talk that over this evening. But I want you to promise me that you will not touch another glass of liquor or handle another card as long as you live." He had been oppressed with the thought of the other Injured men. He must go and see them. He could not rest till he had personally visited them. He went out and easily ascertained where the men lived. Never before did the contrast between the dull, uninteresting row of shop tenements and his own elegant home rise up so sharply before him. In fact, he had never given It much thought before. Now, as he looked forward to the end of the week, he knew that at its close he would be no richer, no better able to enjoy luxuries than the dead man lying In No. 700. He wondered vaguely but passionately bow he could make use of what he had heaped together to make the dally lives of some of these poor men happier. Publishing Co.] Pri. Sat. Sufj. "George Hardy, If you think more of your old stovepipe hat than you do of your sister, all right You'U never get any more of my month's allowance. And If 1 do £in&sb"yoUr~ things 1 don't come home drunk at nighi and break mother's heart. That's what she's crying about this morning—that and father's queer ways. "Oh, dear, 1 dou't want to live; life is so full of trouble! And little 12-year-old Bess sobbed in genuine sorrow. The evening had sped on with surprising rapidity while all these matters CHAPTER IV. It was now 10 o'clock, and the day seemed to bim cruelly tsrl.ef for the work be had to do. fie entered the office, and almost the first thing he saw on his desk was the following tetter, addressed to him, bat written In a disguised hand: pulled out his purse and emptied that of its bills, while Burns, tbe foreman, and all the men looked on in stupefied wonder. CHAPTER VL "No, no thanks! I'll do something more." Robert Hardy reached his office Just in time to see Burns, the foreman, go out of a side door and cross the yard. The manager followed him and entered the machine shop In time to see him stop at a machine at the farthest end of the shop and speak to the man at work there. The man was a Norwegian, Herman by name. He was running what is called a planer, a machine for trimming pieces of cold metal Just from the foundqr or the casting room. He was at work this morning on one of the eccentric bars of a locomotive, and It was of such a character that he could leave the machine for several minutes to do the planing. Mr. Hardy walked away, feeling as If the ground were heavy tinder him. What was all his money compared with that life which had been sacrificed in that gas poisoned sepnlcher? He could not banish from bis mind the picture of that face as It looked to him when he drew back the sheet and looked at it It did not take long to think all this. Then he said, looking again at the young man with a businesslike look: Mr. Hardy—Us In the easting room don't need bo looking after, but mayhe the next pot of kot Iron that explode* will be neat the offle if yoo thinks we have bodies but no aola aome morning you will watte up belering another thing. We ain't ao easy led aa aum supposes. Better look to house and employ apesol patrol; if you do we will blak hi* face for him. George forgot bis headache a miuutt "Supposing you had my permission, what are your prospects for support- He found the man who had lost both eyes sitting up in bed and feeling in a pathetic manner of a few blocks of wood which one of the children In the room had brought to him. He was a big, powerful man like his brother, tlie large boned Dane, and it seemed a very pitiful thing that he should be lying there like a baby when his musclcs were as powerful as ever. The brother was in the room with the Injured man, and he said to him: "Come, Bess, come and kiss ail. make up. Honest, now, 1 didn t lueai it. 1 was bad to say what 1 did. IV buy a dozen bats and let you sit o. them for fun. Don't go away angrD I'm so miserable." tJBi jl 'Jamet, is it true that and Clara art 0 God, Mp rnel Don't keep me litre ft» thit world any longer r' lazed, and he " bat &a soon ai went oat and the body wai brought in the hearse. Ther spoke a few" wordr told Mr. Jones that or five to the cemr to go. Mrs. Hard; the suffering back. Mr. Hardy tithing to his minister large roll of bills ' family, then went He hurried back to the office through the yard and sat down at the well worn desk. The mall had come In, and half a dozen letters lay there. What did it all amount to, this grind of business, when the heartache of the world called for so much sympathy? Then over him came the sense of his obligations to his family—Clara's need of a father's help, George going to the bad. Alloc in need of sympathy, his wife weeping even now at home, the church and Sunday school where he had been of so little use, the family of Scoville to be provided for, the other injured men to be visited. Improvements for the welfare of the men in the shops to be looked after and the routine of his business—all these things crowded in upon him, and still be saw the face and heard the voice of Eternity, "Seven days more to live!" breathed more easily, possible be arose and rtood silent there until oat and placed Then be went In and to his wile and he could take tour vy if they wished would stay with vidow until he cam* ■ also whispered some* ver and gave him • a be need for ths out again. There was no signature to this threatening scrawl, which was purposely misspelled and ungrammatically composed. Mr. Hardy bad received threats before and paid little attention to them. He prided himself on bis steady nerves and bis contempt of all such methods used to scare him. Only a coward, he reasoned, would ever write an anonymous letter of such a character. Still this morning be felt disturbed. His peculiar circumstances made the whole situation take on a more vivid coloring. Besides all that, be could not escape the conviction that be was In a certain sense'responsible for the accident In the casting room. It was not bis particular business to Inspect machinery. But his attention bad been called to it, and he felt now as If he bad been criminally careless In not making the Inspection in the absence of the regular officer. An Investigation of tbp accident would free Mr. Hardy frCTu legal responsibility, but In tbe sight of God be felt that be was morally guilty. At this moment Mr. Burns came in. He looked sullen and spoke in a low tone: . He lay down and groaned, and Be* went to him immediately, all ber angi vanished. "Oh, let me get you something ti. drive away your headache, and 1'L bring you up something nice to eat: Mother had Norah save something for you. Didn't you, mother?" Burns talked with this man for awhile and then moved across the floor to the other workman, a small boned, nervous little fellow, who was in charge of a boring machine which drove a steel drill through heavy plates of Iron fastened into the frame. George laughed a little uneasily and then lied outright: "I don't see the harm of a game once in awhile just for fun. I don't play for stakes, as some fellows do." "Olaf, Mr. Hardy come to see you." "Hardy? Hardy?" queried the man in a peevish tone. "What do I know him to be?" Bessie asked the question Just as her mother came in. Mrs. Hardy said "Yes" and, going up to George, sat down by him and laid her hand on bis head, aa bis lister had done. "Tbe manager. The one who donate so really much moneys to you." Mr. Hardy came up Just as Burns turned away from this man and touched him on the shoulder. The foreman started and turned about, surprised to see the manager. "George," said his father, looking at him steadily, "you have not told the truth. You were gambling only a few nights ago. It is useless for you to deny it. That is where the very liberal allowance I have given you has been squandered." "Ah!" with an indescribable accent "He make me work on Sunday. He lose me my two eyes. A bad man, Svord. I will no have anything to do with him." That ride la the cold gray of dining winter afternoon wag a experience to Robert. fie reused self at the grave as he heard words, "Raise ns from the death sin unto the resurrection of rightoot new," and something like a gleam o hope shot through his heart at tha words. Surely there was mercy with him who had conquered death for tha sake of the human race. He drove back with more peace ot soul than he bad thought possible. By the time he had reached the shop ten' ments It was growing dark. He drr home with his wife and thought ' something of a feeling of pleasr the evening before him with h» ily. This second day bad be agitating in some ways than ' He had been unnerved at4 and had felt remorse more he had once thought v reviewed the events his wife he felt dlssatl*^ he had truly tried to do his C in tha light of eternity. What more could he dot He felt anxious about Georoa and told his u • There too* Ms son George, too drunk to The boy moved uneasily. He saw the marks of great suffering on his mother's face, but he Bald nothing to express sorrow for his disgrace. stand atone. were being discussed, and as It drew near to midnight again Robert Hardy felt almost happy in the atmosphere of that home and tbe thought that he could still for a little while create joy for those who loved him. Suddenly he spoke of his other son: "Well, Burns, how goes everything this morning?" asked Robert "The men here are grumbling because they don't have a holiday same as the men in Scoville's department." George turned deathly pale and sat with bowed head while hla father went on almost sternly: "Consider your mother, George, whose heart almost broke when you came In last night. I don't ask you to consider me. I have not been to you what a father ought to be. But If you love your mother and sisters and have any self respect left you will let drink and cards alone after this. In the sight of God, my dear boy, remember what he 'made you for. Tou are young. You have all of life before you. You can make a splendid record If God spares your life. And tbe old descendant of a thousand kings turned his face to tbe wall and would not even so much as make a motion toward his visitor. His brothe; offered a rude apology. Mr. Hardy replied in a low tone: "Bess, will you go and get George his breakfast?" asked Mrs. Hardy, and the minute she was gone the mother turned to her son and said: He sank Into a reverie for a moment. He was roused by the sounding of the noon whistle. What, noon already? So swiftly had the time gone! He turned to his Tiesk, bewildered, and picked up his letters, glanced over them hurriedly and then gave directions for the answers of some of them to bis Impatient clerk, who had been'wondering at his employer's strange behavior this morning. Among the letters was one which made his cheek burn with self reproach. It was an Invitation to a club dinner to be given that evening in honor of some visiting railroad president you engagedf" "But we can't shut down the whole business, can we?" asked Mr. Hardy, with a momentary touch of his old time feeling. "The men are unreasonable.""I wish George would come In. Then our family circle would be complete. But It is bedtime for you, BeBS, and all of us, for that matter." "George, do you love me?" lng my daughter? She has always had everything she wanted. What give her?" George had been expecting something different He looked at bis mother as the tears fell over her face, and all that was still good in him rose up In rebellion against the animal part He seized his mother's hand and carried it to his lips, kissed It reverently and said in a low tone: "Say nothing about It. I deserve all your brother says. But for a good reason 1 wish Olaf would say he forgives me." The question might have seemed cold and businesslike. The tone was thoughtful and serious. "I'm afraid there'll be trouble, sir. I can feel It in the air," replied BurnB. "Only half tbe men are back this morning, sir. Scovllle's death and tbe injuries of the others have had a bad effect on the men." It was just then that steps were heard on the front porch, aud voices were heard as if talking In whispers. The bell rang. Mr. Hardy rose to go to the door. His wife clung to him terrified.Mr. Hardy came nearer the bed and spoke very earnestly and as If be bad known tbe man intimately: A light flashed into James' eyes, but he said simply: "I am in a position to make a thousand dollars a year next spring. I earn something extra with my pen at home." Mr. Hardy made no reply in words, but looked at him. Within the blackened area of the great shop about 200 men were at work. The whirl of machinery was constant The grind of steel on Iron was blended with the rattle of chains and the rolling of the metal carriages In their tracks. The Genius of Railroading seemed present in the grim strength and rapidity of several machines which moved almost as If instinct with Intelligence and with the most unyielding substances aaTfTbey were 50ft And pliable clay. In the midst of all the smashing of matter against Itself, through the smoke and din and dust and revolution of the place, Mr. Hardy was more than usually alive this morning to the human aspect of the case. His mind easily went back to the time when he himself stood at one of these planers and did just such work as that big Norwegian was doing, only the machines were vastly better and improved now. Mr. Hardy was not ashamed of having come along through the ranks of manual labor. In fact he always spoke with pride of the work he used to do In that very shop, and be considered himself able to run all by himself any piece of machinery In the shops, but he could not help envying these men this morning. "Why," he said, "probably not one of them but has at least seven weeks to live and most of them seven months or years, while I— Why should these men complain because they are not released from toll? Isn't toil sweet when there are a strong body and a loving wife and a happy home? O God," he continued to think, "I would give all my wealth If I might change places with any one of these men and know that I would probably have more than a week to live." C Mr. Hardy crumpled tbe letter nervously in bis band. "Mother, I am unworthy. If you knew"— "1 did you a great wrong to order tbe work on Sunday and In not doing my duty concerning the Inspection of tbe machinery. I have come to say so and to ask your forgiveness. I may never see you again. Will you say to me, 'Brother, I forgive you?" " "Mr. Burns, I would like to apologize to yon for my neglect of the injured men. Who are they and bow badly are they hurt?" "Oh, don't go, Robert! I am afraid for you." He checked himself, as if on the verge of confession. His motly waited anxiously and then asked: "Won't you tell me all?" "No; I can't" Mr. Hardy did not reply to this. He said, "Do you know what a willful, quick tempered girl Clara is?" "Why, Mary, it cannot be anything to barm me. Don't be alarmed." "I would gladly give all I possess to stand where you do today and live my life over again. I can't do it The past Is irrevocable. But one can always repent. George, believe me, your mother would rather see you In your coffin than see you come home again as It was just such an occasion as be had enjoyed very many times before, and tbe recollection brought to mind the number of times he had gone away from his home and left his wife sitting drearily by the fire. How could he have done It? Ha tossed tbe gilded Invitation fiercely into the wastebaskot and, rising, walked his room, thinking, thinking. He bad so much to do and so little time to do it in! He thought thus a moment then went out and walked rapidly over to the- hotel where he was In the habit of getting lunch when be did not go borne. He ate a little hurriedly and then hastened out *"Boras looked surprised, but made answer, describing briefly tbe accidents. Mr. Hardy listened intently with bowed head. At last he looked Nevertheless be was a little startled. Tbe day had been a trying one for him. He went to tbe door, his wife and the children following him close behind. He threw it wide open, and there, supported by two of his companions, one of tlicffl yotmg man Mr. Hardy had seen In the hotel lobby at noon, was bis son George, too drunk to stand alone. He leered Into tbe face of his father and mother with a drunken look that froze their souls with despair as the blaze of tbe hall lamp fell upon him reeling there. "I have known her from a little child, Mr. Hardy. I feel as if I knew her about as well as you do." Thers was a moment of absolute passivity on the part of tbe big fellow; then a very large and brawny hand was extended, and tbe blind man said: George shuddered, and at that moment Bees came In bearing a tray with toast and eggs and Hardy left Bess to look after herrabther and went out of the room almost abruptly. George looked ashamed and after eating a little told Bees to take the things away. She looked grieved, and he said: "Perhaps you know her better than. I do. I do not know my child as I should." op and said abruptly: "Oome into the casting room." They went out jo€ tbe office, passed on did last night. We love you"— Mr. Hardy, proud mar. that he W at the "Tea, I forgive. We learned that In tbe old Bible at Svendorf." The tone was not bitter, but Intensely sad. The young man had, of course, been greatly wondering at this talk from Mr. Hardy and had observed the change in his manner and his speech. He looked at him now and noted the pale, almost haggard, face and his extremely thoughtful appearance. could say no more. He laid hi* hand on the boy's head as If he were a young lad again and said simply, "Don't disappoint God, my boy/' and went out, leaving his son Bitting there almost overcome by his father's powerful appeal, but not yet ready to yield himself to the still small voice that spoke within even more powerfully and whispered to him: "My son, give me thine heart. Cease to do evil; learn to do welL Cleanse thy ways and follow after righteousness." same i through the repairing shops and entered the foundry department Even on that bright winter morning, with tbe Mr outside so clear and cool, tbe atmosphere in this place was murky and close. The forges in tbe blacksmith Mr. Hardy laid bla band In the other, and bla llpa moved In prayer of humble thanksgiving. What, Robert Hardy 1 Is this that proad man who only the day before was so lifted up with selfishness that he could coldly criticise his own minister for saying that people ought to be more Christlike? Are you standing here In this poor man's house which two days ago you would not have deigned to enter and beseeching him as your brother in the great family of Ood to forgive you for what you have done and left undone? Yes; you have looked Into the Face of Eternity; you realise now what life really means and what souls are really worth. the bones were pat up ana  and mother had gone Into the they continued the conversation. was up stair* ~ ~ — other children was dark, but by the light of together until Hardy had Jusv Clara, and Mrs. about time they telephone bell adjoining the Hardy did some the company, being with the shops. ~ swered the call, exclamations and questions waa soon followed by his coming back Into tba room where his wife sat By the light of the open fire she could see that ba was very pale. His overcoat waa lying on the couch where he ha£ thrown it as he came In. He hastily put It on and then said to his wife: "Mary, there has been an accident to the 6 o'clock way train between Baldwin and here, and Burns baa telephoned ma to come down. Dont be alarmed. We will hope for the beat" Mrs. Hardy started up. "Why, Will and Bess and Clara wan "Can't help It I'm not hungry. Besides. 1 don't deserve all this attention. Say, Bess, Is father still acting under his Impression, or dream, or whatever It was?" with George, wjd the had not come back. It husband and wife aat he open lire and talked 1 early 6 o'clock. Ut said something about Hardy replied, "Isn't It were here?" when the rang In the little office hallway, where Mr. o t the bnslnew of . connected by Wire He wen t In and as* And a aeries of sharp room at the farther end glowed through the smoke and dust like smoldering piles of rubbish dumped here and there by chance upon some desolate moor and stirred by ill omened demons of the nether world. Mr. Hardy sbuddersd as he thought of standing in such an atmosphere all day to work at severe muscular toll. He recalled with sharp rlvldsfess a request made only two months before for dust fans which had proved successful in other shops and Which would remove a large part of |he heavy, coal laden air, supplying fresh air In its place. The company bad refused the request and had even Mid through one of its officers that when the men wore out the company could easily get more. I\ Mr. Hardy and the foreman paused *t the entrance to the casting room Where the men had been Injured the toy before. A few men were working nillenly. Mr. Hardy asked the foreman to call the men together near the ether end of the room; be wanted to say something to them. He walked over there while the foreman spoke to the men. They dropped their tools and came over to where Mr. Hardy was Standing. They were mostly Scandinavians and Germans, with a sprinkling of Irish and Americans. Mr. Hardy looked at them thoughtfully. They were a hard looking crowd. Then he said very slowly and distinctly: PTfou may quit work until after Scovllle's funeral. The machinery hert needs overhauling." The men stood impassive for a moment. Finally a big Dane stepped up and said: ? "We be no minded to quit work these times. We no can afford it. Give ns work in some other place." | Mr. Hardy looked at. him and replied qaietly: "Mr. Hardy," said James frankly, "you are In trouble. I wish I could"— And so the first of Robert Hardy's seven days came to an end. As he was going out upon the sidewalk two young men came in and jostled against him. Tbey were smoking and talking in a loud tone. Mr. Hardy caught the sound of his own name. He looked at the speaker, and It was the face of the young man he had seen iq bis dream, the one who had Insulted George and struck him afterward. For a moment Mr. Hardy was tempted to confront the youth and Inquire into bis son's habits. "Yes; be la," replied Bess with much seriousness, "and he Is ever so good now and kisses mother and all of us goodby In the morning, and he Is kind and ever so good. I don't believe he Is In bis right mind. Will said yesterday be thought father was non campus meant us, and then he wouldn't tell me what It meant, but I guess he doesn't think father Is just tight Intellectually.""Thank you. No, you can't help me any In thia except," continued Mr. Hardy, with a faint smile, "except you solve this trouble between you and my daughter." CHAPTER V. Mr. Hardy was a man of great will power, but this scene with his drunken son crushed him for a moment and seemed to take the very soul out of him. Mrs. Hardy at first uttered a wild cry and then ran forward and, seizing her elder boy, almost dragged him Into the house, while Mr. Hardy, recovering from his first shock, looked sternly at the companions of the boy and then shut the door. That night was a night of sorrow in that family. The sorrow of death Is not to be compared with it It was 1 o'clock when Mr. Hardy came down stairs, and as he came Into the room where Mrs. Hardy and the girls were sitting he happened to think of some business matters between himself and his only brother, l&o lived In the next town, 20 miles down the road. "There trouble between us, sir," replied James simply. "You know I love her and have loved her for a long time, and I believe I am able to support her and make her happy. Won't you give your consent sir? We are not children. We know our minds." He went out after a few words with the family and saw all the other injured men. By the time be had finished these visits it was dark, and be eagerly turned borne, exhausted with the day's experience, feeling as if be had lived in a new world and at the same time wondering at the rapidity with which the time had fled. Now and then Bns got hold of a big word and used It a great deal. She said "Intellectually" over twice, and George laughed a little, but It was a bitter laugh, not such as a boy of his age has any business to possess. He lay down and appeared to be thinking and after awhile said aloud: He spoke of the matter to Mrs. Hardy, and she suggested that Will go down on the 3 o'clock train with the papers Mr. Hardy wanted to have his brother look over and come back on the 6 o'clock tn time for dinner. "No," he said to himself after a pause; "1 will have a good talk with George himself. That will be the best." James was beginning to speak very earnestly. He was beginning to hope that the stern, proud man who had so curtly dismissed him a little while before wouM in some unaccountable manner relent and give him his heart's desire. He hurried back to the office and arranged some necessary work for his clerk, took a walk through the other office, then went to the telephone and called up the superintendent of the Sunday school, who was a bookkeeper in a clothing bouse. He felt an intense deslro to arrange for an Interview with him as soon as possible. Word came back from the house that the superintendent had been called out of town by serious Illness In his old home and would not be back until Saturday. Mr. Hardy felt a disappointment more keen than the occasion seemed to warrant. He was conscious that the time was very brief. He had fully made up his mind that so far as in him lay he would redeem bis selfish past and make a week such as few men ever made. He was just beginning to realize that circumstances are not always In our control. We are obliged to wait for time to do some things. We cannot redeem seven years of selfishness with seven days of self denial. The death of Scovllle revealed to Mr. Hardy his powerlessness In the face of certain possibilities. He now feared that the superintendent would fall to return In time to let htm confess to hlrn his just sorrow for his lack of service in the school. He sat down to his desk and under that impulse wrote a letter that expressed In part how he felt. Then he jotted down the following Items to be referred to the proper authorities of the road: Clara asked If she couldn't go, too, and Bessie added her request, as she had not seen her aunt for some time. Mr. Hardy saw no objection to their going, only he reminded them that he wanted them all back at 8. Alice volunteered to amuse George at home while all the rest were gone, and Mr. and Mrs. Hardy departed for the funeral, Mr. Hardy's thoughts still absorbed for the most part with his older boy. Clara had asked no questions concerning the interview with James, and her father simply stated that they could have a good talk about It In the evening. But morning came, as It comes alike to the condemned criminal and to the pure hearted child on a holiday, and after a brief and troubled rest Mr. Hardy awoke to his second day, the memory of the night coming to him at first as an ugly dream, but afterward as a terrible reality. His boy drunk! He could not make it seem possible. Yet there in the next room be lay In a drunken stupor, sleeping off the effects of bis debauch of the night before. Mr. Hardy fell on his knees and prayed for mercy, again repeating the words,  mighty God, help me to use the remaining days in the wisest and best manner." Then calming himself by a tremendous effort he rose up and faced the day's work as bravely as any man under such circumstances could. He sighed almost contentedly to himself as be thought of the evening with his family and how he would enjoy it after the disquiet of the day. His wife was there to greet him, and Alice and Clara and Bess clung about him as he took off bis coat and came into the beautiful room where a cheerful fire was blazing. Will came down stairs as his father came in, and in the brief Interval before supper was ready Mr. Hardy related the scenes of the day. "1 wonder If he wouldn't let me hare some money while he's feeling that way?" Mr. Hardy walked along In silence a little way. Then he said almost abruptly: Mr. Hardy walked back to the office, leaving the foreman In a condition of wondering astonishment. "Who?" queried Bess. "Father?" "What! You here still. Curiosity? Better take these things down stairs." "James, do you drink?" "No, sir." "Or gambler "Mary"—Mr. Hardy's rolce trera- & )led, but he tried to speak calmly and n comfort—"let as hope for the best" "What did Mr. Barns telephone T Cell me all, Robert I can bear It with rou." coming home on that train r George spoke with his "headache tone," as Clara called it, and Bess without reply gathered up the tray things and went out while George continued to figure out In his hardly yet sober brain the possibility of. his father letting him have more money with which to gamble, and yet In the very next room Mrs. Hardy knelt in an agony of petition for that firstborn, crying out of her heart: "You forget my mother, Mr. Hardy." The reply was almost stern. "Something wrong In his works, 1 guess," muttered Burns. Mrs. Caxton's younger brother had been ruined by gambling. He had come to the bouse one night, and In a fit of anger because his sister would not give him money to carry on his speculation he had threatened her llfej James had Interposed and at the rlajfl of his own life had probably saved hfl mother's. Mrs. Caxton had been so uiP nerved by the scene that her health had suffered from it seriously. All this had happened when James was growing out of boyhood. But not a day had passed that the young man did not see a sad result of that great gambling passion in his own mother's face and bearing. He loathed the thought of a vice so debasing that It ignored all the tender ties of kindred and was ready to stop at nothing In order to get meanft for its exercise. Mr. Hardy sat down to his desk and wrote an order releasing all the men who desired to attend Scovllle's funeral In the afternoon. He did not have It in his power to do more, and | yet he felt that this was the least he could do under the circumstances. The more he thought of Scovllle's death the more he fait the cruel Injustice of it. The injuries were clearly accidental, but they might have been avoided with proper care for human life, and Robert Hardy was Just beginning to understand the value of humanity.They were all shocked to hear of Scovllle's death, find Mrs. Hardy at once began to discuss some plans for relieving the family. Bess volunteered to give up half her room to one of the children, and Alice quietly outlined a plan which Immediately appeared to her father businesslike and feasible. In the midst of this discussion supper was announced, and tbey ail sat down. "He telephoned that the train waa derailed and a dozen people killed and The tenement at No. 760 was crowded, and In spite of the wintry weather large numbers of men and women stood outside in the snow. Mr. Hardy had ordered his sleigh, and  wife had gone down to the $(NHPln that, ready to take some one to the cemetery. as many Injured. I must go down tha road at once. Oh, my God, spar* oar dear ones!" "O God. it Is more than I can bear! To see him growing away from me so! Dear Lord, be thou merciful to me. Bring him hack again to the life he used to live! How proud 1 was of him! What a joy he was to me! And now, and now! O gracious Father, If thou art truly compassionate, hear me! Has not this foul demon of drink done harm enough? That it should still come Into my home! Ah, but 1 have been Indifferent to the cries of other women, but now it strikes me! Spare me, great and powerful Almighty! My boy! my heart's hunger is for him! I would rather see him dead than see him as I saw him last night. Spare me! spare me, O God!" Mr. Hardy wu almost overwhelmed by this last stroke, and yet he asked himself how many accidents had occurred this last year on the road, and he had never given much thought to the suffering of those families afflicted. Now perhaps it had come to him, and, bidding his wife pray and hope, h« rushed out of the house and down to the '»■ "■■ ■;■]■ -nfl rapldity of the youth who in college had taken prises for athletic superiority.After a family council, in which all of them were drawn nearer together than tbey ever had been before on account of their troubles, Mr. Ilardy outlined the day's work something as follows:"Where Is George?" asked Mr. Hardy. Ordinarily he would have gone on with the meal without any reference to the boy, because be was so often absent from the table. Tonight he felt an Irresistible longing to have all his children with him. The simple service as it began was exceedingly Impressive to Mr. Hardy. Most of the neighbors present looked at him and his well dressed wife in sullen surprise. She noticed the looks with a heightening color, but Mr. Hardy was too much absorbed in his thoughts of what he had done and left undone in this family to be Influenced by the behavior of those about him ' He worked hard at the routine of his office work until noon. He did what seemed to him the most necessary part of It all with conscientious fidelity. But his mind a good part of the time was with the men in the shops. He could not escape the conviction that if a railroad company had the willingness to do so It could make the surroundings of these men safer and happier without getting poorer work or even losing any money by It. "The wages will go on just the same while you are out." First, he would go and see James Caxton and talk over the affair with him and Clara. Then he would go down to the office and arrange some necessary details of his business. If possible, he would come home to lunch. In the afternoon he would go to poor Scovllle's funeral, which had been arranged for 2 o'clock. Mrs. Hardy announced her Intention to go also. Then Mr. Hardy thought he would have a visit with George and spend the evening at home arranging matters with reference to his own death. With this programme In mind he finally went away after an affectionate leave taking with his wife and children. There was a perceptible stir among the men. They looked confused and Incredulous. Mr. Hardy still looked at them thoughtfully. "He said he was Invited out to supper with the Bramleys," said Clara. Mr. Hardy knew the story, and he exclaimed: "Forgive me, James. I did not think." Then, after a pause: "Are you a Christian? I mean do you have a faith in the revelation of God to men through Jesus Christ, and do you try to live according to his teachings, with a supreme love for God controlling life? Do you live every day as If It might be the last you would have to live?" At the yard be found a special train Just ready to go to the scene of the accident. It consisted of a wrecking ear, a caboose and one coach with tender and engine. He mounted the engine with a feeling that it was a little nearer the fatal spot and would reach there first At the last minute no mors definite news concerning the particular persons killed and Injured had been received.Finally the big Dane stepped forward again and said, speaking more fespectfully than he did at first: Mr. Hardy received the announcement In silence. lie felt the bitterness of such indifference on the part of his plder son. "What!" he said to himself. "When he knows | had such a little while left, could he not be at home?" Then almost Immediately flashed Into him the self reproach even stronger than his condemnation of his boy. "How much have I done for him these last ten years to win his love and protect him from evil T' Mr. Jones offered a prayer for the comfort of God to rest on the stricken family. He then read a few words from John's gospel appropriate to the occasion and said a few simple words, mostly addressed to the neighbors present. The poor widow had been removed to a small room up stairs and lay there cared for by the faithful sister. The minister had nearly concluded his remarks when a voice wjtys heard In the room above, voices elfcostulat lng In alarm and growing louder, fol lowed by a rapid movement in the nar row hall above, and with a scream o: frenzy the wife rushed down the stalri and burst into the room where the deaC body of her husband lay. She he denly awakened out of the stupor In which she had beeu since her husband's death and what was going on in the house quick gathering of passk strength, such as even the dying times are known to possess. ~ escaped from her sister and tl bor who were watching with L crazy with grief, flung herself coffin, moaning and crying out heartbreaking accents that aU were for a moment flung into a Inaction and awe. "Mr. Hardy, we be thinking maybe you would like to help towards him the Item 1. The dust In the blacksmith ■hop and In the brass polishing rooms Is largely unnecessary, The new Euglefleld revolving rolling fans and elevator ought to be introduced in both departments. The cost will be but an Item to the road and would prolong the life and add to the comfort of the employees. Very important. Thus the mother prayed, dry eyed and almost despairing, while he foD whom she prayed that heartbrokei. prayer calculated, with growing cold ness of mind, the chances of getting more money from his father to use li drink and at the gaming table. When noon sounded, he went home resolved to do something as far as lay in his power to make the men feel that they were regarded as something more than machines. I James started. Was Mr. Hardy out of his mind? He had never heard him talk like this before. The idea of Mr. Hardy caring about his religious character In the event of his becoming a son-in-law was an idea too remote for occurrence. He could see, however, that some very powerful change had taken place in Mr. Hardy's usual demeanor. His words also produced a strong effect upon the young man. He was like thousands of young mentemperate, honest, industrious, free from vices, strictly moral, but without any decided religious faith. George was down stairs when his father came in and looked at him with Mr. Hardy felt almost glad of the uncertainty as the engine pulled out and •t&rted on Its run of IB miles, soon attaining a speed of (58 miles an boor. The snow was falling In large, moist (lakes. It was growing warmer and would rain before morning. He gated it the narrow band of light on the forward If O appetite, and thou spirit of gam bllng! Ye are twin demons with whom many a fair browed young soul todaj is marching arm In arm down thC dread pavement of hell's vestibule lined with grinning skeletons of pas' victims, and yet men gravely discuss the probability of evil and think then is no special danger in a little specula tlon now and then. Item 2. Organized and Intelligent effort should be made by all railroad corporations to lessen Sunday work In sbops and on the road. All perishable freight should be so handled as to call for the services of as few men on Sunday as possible, and excursion and passenger trains should be discontinued except in cases of unavoidable necessity.After supper Mr. Hardy sat down by his wife, and In the very act he blushed with shame at the thought that he could not recall when he had spent an evening thus. He looked into her face and asked gently: George slept heavily until the middle of the forenoon and then awoke with a raging headache. Bess had several times during the morning stolen Into fhe room to see If her brother were awake. When he did finally turn ovej and open his eyes, he saw the young girl standing by the bedside. He groaned as he recalled the night and his mother's look, and Bess said timidly as she laid her hand on his forehead: .id sud- track ahead and leanec . *• u fainting to bdp the engine go fa»ter. He AM lying Con tinned on Mge fonr. realized n and *•"£ fMINS IN CHESTl ' r and VSidw, Joints, Rheumatism,efe.1 over the I «*• WCMTBR-* WlMgllWt I —i I "ANCHOR" I ••••- I PAIN EXPELLER. I ■ One well-known firm's letter out of many; M . ""I?; ■ Vw-aawoiiea co. ' 1 vj here did ■ * jocmk u - D ..MB 1 proud H /**' 4M»st*om' ***• H Gentlemen: JL-T I .- *!recowm«ndRKHTER$ celebrated I earer to ■ "AJlCHOrPAlN EXPELLER,as we know IT U D quiet- I IS AN ARTICLE OF GREAT MERIT. JUD6IN6 I •ing In I FROM THE LMOE SALE,THAT WE HAVE FOR It H r 0 witt  succeed- A nlNHESlMtaaiMMn.^ 3 othei ■ was BH MHMmHIHi "Mary, what do you want me to do? Shall I read as we used to in the old days?" "No; let us talk together," replied Mrs. Hardy, bravely driving back her tears. "I cannot realize what it all means. I have been praying all day. Do you still have the Impression you had this morning?" Parents say, "Oh, my boy wouldn't do such a thing!" But how many know really and truly what their boy is real ly doing, and how many of the young men would dare reveal to their moth ers or fathers the places where they have been and the amusements they have tasted and the things for which they have spent their money? Item 3. The Inspection of boilers, retorts, castings, machinery of all kinds, should be made by thoroughly competent and responsible men, who shall answer for all unnecessary accidents by swift and severe punishment in case of loss of life or limb. "George, I'm so sorry for you! Don't you feel well?" "Am I a Christian?" he asked him#elf, echoing Mr. Hardy's question. No; he could not say that he was. He had never said so to any one. He had, In fact, never been confronted with the question before. So he replied to Mr. Hardy: "I feel as If my head would split open. It aches as if some one was chopping wood inside of it." "Mary, I am if anything even more convinced that God has spoken to me. The impression has been deepening with me all day. When I looked Into poor Scovllle's face, the terrible nature of my past selfish life almost overwhelmed me. Oh, why have I abused God's goodness to me so awfully?" "What makes you feel so?" asked Bess innocently. "Did you eat too much supper at the Bramleys'?" Item 4. In case of injury or death to employees, if Incurred through the neglect of the company to provide safety, it should provide financial relief for the families thus injured or stricken by death and so far as possible arrange for their future. Bess had never seen any one drunk before, and when George was helped to bed tlie night before by his father and mother she did not understand his condition. She had always adored her big brother. It was not strange she had no Idea of his habits. "No, sir; I don't think I am what would be called a Christian. As for living as If every day were to be my last —do you think thahis possible, sir?" f'No, no thankil ru do something more." family of the dead and other* aa be hurt. I been 'pointed to take up purse for poor fellows Injured. We all take band ln't. My brother be one lose his two eyes." A tear actually rolled down the ggmy cheek of the big fellow and Mr. Hardy went at once to his neighbors, the Caxtona, who lived only a block away. He had not been on speak lng terms with the family for some time, and he dreaded the Interview with the sensitive dread of a very proud and stern willed man. But two days had made a great change In him. He was a new man In Christ Jesus, and as he rang the bell he prayed for wisdom and humility. But Mrs. Hardy was first to m ward the stricken woman. W the wife of the once haughty ai man learn the touch of sympa drew that other poor sister r her and finally soothed her in ness? Certain it is that suffe her own fcome had marvelously the richly dressed woman, the cultured lady, to hold this othe. be of the same household of Goo her. So it was that she finally ed In drawing her away Into ti .room And there held her, gasping breath, now that the brtef stroo-"" Mr. Hardy did not answer. He walked along thoughtfully. In the course of the conversation they had reached the corner where the young man turned down to his office, and the two paused. There was silence a moment. Then Mr. Hardy grew more calm. He began to discuss what he would second day. He related more fully the Interview with the men In the shop and his visits to the Injured. He drew Clara to him and began to Inquire Into her troubles In such a tender, loving way that Clara's proud, passionate, willful nature broke down, and she Bobbed out her story to him as she had to ber mother the night before. Item 5. Any well organized railroad could, with profit to its employees, have upon Its staff of salaried men a corps of chaplains or preachers whose business Is would be to look after the religious Interests of the employees. "rm afraid there'll be trouble, itr. lean George looked at his small sister curiously; then, under an Impulse he could not explain, he drew her nearer to him and said: feel it in the air." curiosity rather than with any feeling of shame for the scene of the night bet £Jter lunch was over Mr. Hardy "I want to have another talk with you," Mr. Hardy said. "Today is Tuesday; say tomorrow evening. I want to see your father also, and"— Mr. Hardy was on the point of saying that ht wanted to ask the elder Caxton'a forgiveness* bat for some reason he stopwithout dnlnc so. ... ipped into the coal dust at his feet . Hardy realized that he was look! at a brother man. He choked wn a sob and patting his hand in his stoat »«Ued out all the change be had .lied his son into the study for a little calk with him before to the funeraL Under this last item Mr. Hardy wrote In a footnote, "Discuss feasibility of Mi wllh Mr. B., Influential director." "Bess, I'm a bad fellow. I was drunk last night! Drunk — do you understand? And I've nearly killed mother!" James himself came to the door with hla overcoat on and hat In hand, evidently Just ready to go down town. Be started back at aeolag Mr. Hardy. "Are vow eolnsr down town? t will to the Dane's haai It m only 9* or S3, Bess was aghast at the confession. She pat out her band again. "1 do not need to tel' began hla father quiet' Inc. "that I ft?ft the i i. Gewje," t With im of ynnr It now 9 o'clock. The short win