Mondovi High School - Mirror Yearbook (Mondovi, WI)

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nave you believe through the columns of the Herald and Times that it is a fake and that Buckley will not arrive, hut if Crawford dares to come here and say or even sav Irom where he is that Dick Buck-l v does not speak the truth we shall he willing to quit. Or if he dares to deny one statement that we make tonight we are willing to quit. Now, Ladies and (fentlemen, I pause long enough to let you hear the distant hum of a motor,—it is the same motor which drove Dick Buck-lev from among us last night, which by the way was hired to he done hy Mayor Crawford for the sum of two thousand dollars. The crowd listened intently, not a sound in that great throng of people a uId be heard. “That, Ladies and Gentlemen” continued Carelton, “is the mo-tcr which brings Dick Buckley to us tonight.” The sound grew plainer, and now a shadow of light from the headlights of the car is seen ahead of the curve just a half mile down the road. The scene was (lie of interest,—a crowd of five thousand people to greet him on his arrival ( rawford and Dalbey in their limousine watching the scene with interest; the big platform in reuliness to receive him; and a ten foot space right through the crowd leading up to the platform. And now a big motor car rounds the curve, a crowd if impatient people hurst forth in one great veil for Buckley and it is continued until the car is near enough to make out the occupants, hut now the scene was too gh stly to cheer. Jack Brown sat at the wheel, at his side sat a corpse with a fresh bullet wound on its head; in hack sat Harry Morton and Ned Jackson the two young fellows present at the banquet the previous evening, between them was Dick Bin kley. Surely a good deal of explanation is forthcoming. The car shoots through the crowd of people runs alongside the platform and stops. What next? (To be continued.) THE ADVENTURE’S OF THE MONTGOMERY'S. (By Margaret CHAPTER I. In the early pioneer days before the hand of mail defaced and destroyed them, there were vast forests of pine along the streams of Southern Canada. In time to tune, when the mills and railroads should come nearer and the frontier advanced, these would In very valuable. Mr. Montgomery realized this, and as he had a small amount of money, he bought a tract of land ten miles north of the supply station of Downing and emigrated here from an eastern settlement with his wife and family. Then, too, hr had another reason for wishing to come here in the midst of this pine wilderness. His wife was suffering in the first stages of tuberculosis and he felt sure that the fresh, pure air of the forest would help her to recover. O'Mera ’17.) With the help of his two sons he hoped to make his fortune from the vast forest: of white pine. When the Montgomerys came here Boh and Tom were husky lad: of fifteen and twelve. They were a great help to their father in getting the land cleared and the necessary buildings erected. They built a cosy little cabin out of logs, with two rooms downstairs and a loft which served as the hoys sleeping room. For four months during the summer the boys attended a little log school house four miles below their cabin, but during the long cold winters they studied bv themselves at home. They wished some day when their father could afford it to go to college. But now they must be contented to study at home. Mr. Montgomery was obliged from time 11

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 to a private room. The detectives gave Crawford and Dal-bey their cards and offered their services at one hundred dollars a day. “The price is reasonable” Crawford remarked, “but what are we to receive in return. Exactly what can you do for us. eu know as well as we do the details of the case. Buckley has a little the upper hand on us at present and has got hold of some papers we left on our table last night. And by the way, do you know Jack Brown?’ The detectives listened eagerly. One of them answered, “Jack Brown is a detective, is working for Buckley, though money might buy him off. Buckley is due to speak now and I know of no plan at present to stop him from cutting loose tonight but we will do our best. But listen, ( rawford, the detective leaned over and talked in a low monotone, “the office of the ‘Buckley Truths’ is known to very few men and my partner and myself know the location. Now Crawford,” the four faces grouped close together, “what’s it worth to you to have that office destroyed ?” It was a terrible question to be put to the Mayor of a city like ------------- but Crawford did not falter. “A thousand dollars” he replied “providing it is cleaned out of existence.” “Two thousand and we’ll blow it to the Heavens, and no one will ever know who was to blame for it.” Will you agree to this in writing?” “Most certainly, it is the only wav we would agree to it.” The papers were drawn up and signed each party holding a copy of them. The detectives were to dvnamite the office of the “Buckley Truths” before 11:00 P. M that night and were to receive two thousand dollars as compensation for the deed. It was 8:00 P. If. now and the party left the hotel—Crawford and Dalbey in their limousine took to the Central Depot and the detectives on foot in an op- posite direction. The city was all aglow and alive with groups of excited people by this time, all awaiting for the return of Dick Buckley. A tine big platform had been erected during the day and several chairs and a table were placed in readiness to receive the speaker. Buckley’s friends kept things in preparation and held the platform as best they could, but the crowd was becoming terrific and mobs of people who had a tendency to lean to Mayor Crawford were hurling ridicule at the meeting thus far. It was now 8:10 and Buckley had not as yet appeared. Dick Carelton held the floor and he held it as best he could, discussing the campaign thus far and dealing principally with comment on the “city newspapers of today.” With Carelton were ten plain clothes men who seemed to he there for emergencies. The crowd yelled impatiently for Buckley, then for Crawford still no Buckley, hut if one had listened more intently he might have heard a shrill whistle in the distance,—three times it blew, then stopped, and then blew five times more. And on watching maneuvers more closely one could notice that on hearing the whistle blow Carelton made ready to say something, while the plainclothes men cleared a track ten feet wide-through the mob and demanded that it remain such as an automobile was coming through. With the assistance of the city police the track was held clear. Carelton then spoke to the breathless crowd of people: “Ladies and Gentlemen in less than two minutes Dick Bucklev will stand on this platform and address you. He will come with a volley of facts and truths and a mass of evidence, ample to convince the public mind of this cilv that the present Mayor Edward Crawford is a political deceiver and fakir and a grafter of the lowest type. You have awaited his appearance with doubtfulness and interest, you shall be starred with the undeniable and indefensible facts of the present administration. Crawford would 10

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to time to make trips to Downing after the necessary provisions for the family It was a long drive and he must always start early in the morning in order to reach home by dark. One morning in the mid-winter the boys were aroused by his call: “Wake up, hoys, it’s five o’clock! This is the day for my trip to Downing, you know.” The boys rubbed their sleepy eyes and were soon downstairs ready for breakfast. “You must do the chores this morning, and Bob, T want you to harness the gray horse to the sled while I get my things ready to start.” After breakfast Mr. Montgomery remarked “It will be a long cold ride today.” By six o’clock he was buried deep in robes on the sleigh and ready to start. “Good-bye, mother, and boys don’t forget to feed the stock this noon and tonight in case I shouldn’t be back before dark.” The boys and their mother watched him out of sight and then went about their tasks for the day. At four o’clock that afternoon it began to snow and at five o’clock when the boys came in from their chores their mother was becoming anxious. “I wonder why father does not come. It has been dark for half an hour,” said Mrs. Montgomery as she peered intently from the window. “I think he will soon be here, mother,” said Bob, “the wind is starting to blow and the snow is blinding, but father knows the roads around here so well.” “If he is not here in half an hour,” said Tom, “I shall think he surely stopped at Davis’ for the night.” Davis’ were a family of pioneers who lived five miles from Montgomery’s on the road to Downings. As evening came on, the storm grew fiercer and the great hungry packs of timber wolves began to howl. It had been a long hard winter and they were especially fierce from hunger. The Montgomerys went to bed early that night feeling sure that their father was safe at Davis’. The boys were up bright and early the next morning waiting for him. It was ten o’clock and he did not come. Bob, partly to quiet his own fears and partly to quiet the fears of his mother, started on his snow shoes to meet or find his father. He reached Davis’ without seeing any trace of him. Mr. Davis was out in the yard as Bob came up. “Good morning Mr. Davis, have you seen anything of father” called Bob. “Why, hello Bob, isn't your father home?” asked Mr. Davis, “lie stopped here yesterday about half past three but started right on home again.” “Oh,” cried Bob, “lie must have been lost in the storm.” “Come in the house. Bob, until dak and I are ready. We will go over to the lumber camp and get the assistance of the men to help us hunt,” said Mr. Davis. The lumber camp was two miles from Davis’ and the three of them, Bob, Jack Davis, a boy of about the age of Bob, and Mr. Davis were soon started. The lumbermen readily consented to help them and they had soon divided into groups and started on their hunt. They had agreed to meet at Davis’ at three o’clock that afternoon. Bob, Mr. Davis, and A1 Browning, one of the lumbermen took the north road, the one towards Bob’s home. About half way up this road, an old road turned off which led to a deserted lumber camp. As they were passing this road A1 Browning noticed some article lying in the middle of it about two rods from where they stood. On examining it they found it to be the remains of a sack of flour which had been torn to pieces. “This must be from father’s load,” said Bob, “he was going to get flour and surely no one else was out in that storm yesterday. Let’s follow this road. He might have been blinded by the storm and had