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HAPPY DAYS,
“You must,” Teplied Fred.
To stop. now is
“That's what's the matter. I realize it
as well as you do, Fred, but my strength is
just about gone.”
“Hark!” cried Fred, suddenly.
hear a voice calling?”
“No, no! It’s only the wind.”
“No, but I did. It sounded off on the
river, I wish
sbank, Nick.
sheltered there.’
‘They stopped and listened, but the sound
was not repea'
Just as they ‘started to move on they
heard it again, however, a wild helloing:
human voice rising above the howling o:
the wind.
“There's no mistaking it this time,” cried
Fred, “but which way it comes from is more
than I can make out. Let's try and get
* down on the shore, Nick. The bluff will af-
ford us some shelter anyhow.”
-’ “Who do you think it is hollering, Fred?”
vaskee Ass shivering. “Can it be Raoul?”
I hardly think so. I don’t
see 3 how he can Possibly be here.” .
“We are e.”
“Well, that's sO, pnd he has had just as
much time to get here as we have. How
are you going to get down there, anyhow?
I don’ "t see any way unless we sit down and
“Don’t say it.
“Didn't I
ide.’
“Hello! Hello! Hello!” came the cry
again.
ie seemed to be right at their feet this
tim
Peering over the edge of the bluff the
boys were able to see a small boat flying
down the river, hurried along with the
ice cakes by the swift curren:
was a man standing up in the boat
waving his hands wildly.
‘Heip! Save me! I’ve lost my oars!”
came the cry in good English; then all in
an instant the boat was swallowed up by
the gloom.
. CHAPTER XII.
. OFF WITH THE ICE JAM.
“Nick, that was no man. That's a woman
cressed in man’s clothes!” cried Fred, ex-
citedly. “Quick! Follow me! We may be
able to do something yet.” °
Fred knew what he was talking about,
wild as the assertion. seemed. In the mo-
mentary lightening up of the storm which |
took place as the boat went whirling by, he
had caught sight of a big jam of ice cakes
directly ahea
his, of course, was bound to check the
_ advance of the boat, indeed, perhaps stop
it altogether if the ice should happen to be
wedged in from shore to shore, and the
point was | fe get down under the bluff
and fin
Fred. a olved the problem in short order.
The side of the bluff was sloping and he
just sat down and slid to the bottom, Nick
following his example without a moment’s
: Hep came the cry again
through the gloo!
Nick! ran, boy!” shouted Fred,
and they dashed along the shore together.
less than ohree minutes they were
abreast of the
There it was wedged against a great mass
. of ice,. with the water dashing furiously
around it. The solitary figure was still
standing w up. .
“Sit down!” cried Fred. “Sit down or
you'll be in the water before you know it.
I can get you off | of there and I w:
“Oh, help Save me if vot can!”
came the answer, and the man dropped
down in the boat, but Fred was more than
ever certain that the voice was a woman's.
“TIL bet you what you like it’s Raoul’s
wife!” he cried. “Stand where you are,
Nick. I'm going out on the ice.”
“Ob, don't,” said Nick. “You can never
do it.”
“T can and I will. Here goes.”
“Look! Look! See that hut down there
under the bluff!” shouted Nick, wild with
excitement at this important discovery.
But Fred did not stop to answer.
He had alfeady leaped upon the great
mass of ice cakes which were tumbled
about in every possible position.
It was a regular ice jam and fortunately
it was strong enough | to bear the boy.
“I’m going too, if you do, you bet I am,”
cried x ck, following. his example.
ane not even stop to answer or look
ane, climbed over the ice cakes, drawing
nearer and nearer the boat at the risk of his
1
e, ~
The cakes sank under him, twisting and
turning, twice throwing him down on his
face, but still he persevered, while Nick, on
the other hand, becoming alarmed, gave it
up and retreated to the shore.
ie had scarcely put his foot on solid
- ground when, looking back, he saw Fred in
the boat.
“It's all right!” he shouted. “I’m here.
I'm going to work ainthore, Nick. Look
alive to lend m
He began pulling ‘the boat forward by
means of the ice cakes; cold work it was,
too, and many was the cut he got on the
hands from the sharp edges of the ice,
here was the person in the
Nick could rot see, but all Fred, had to
we were’ down under the}
Anyhow, it would be more}
lay jna fainting condition and apparently
uncouscio
It was a ein dressed in ntale attire be-
yond all doubt, and Fred felt sure it was
the same person he had seen on board the
corvette.
Several times he spoke to her, but she.
| did not answer, She was crouching in the
: boat all in a heap, with her head resting on
her Bands. |
“Run to the hut and see if you can't get
a line, Nike, ” " shouted Fred, “I'm afraid I
fan never get ashore so.”
Nick started at top speed.
The hut was only a short distance away,
but before he could reach it there came a
report like thunder and Nick Stopped and
looked back with sinking bears
It was just as he had fea:
sweeping, the boat following them.
“Good-by, Nick!” shouted Fred. “I guess
I’m a goner this time. Good-by, old man.”
(70 BE CONTINUED.)
.
————____
Our Solid Gold Filled Watches are just
as good as the real thing. Are you trying
for one? .
. .
Diamond Dollars of 1804.
“Every now and then one reads about
the discovery of another of the famous
‘Diamond Dollars’ of 1804,” said a gentle
man who owns one of the finest private col-
lections of coins and medals in the South.
‘The dollars of that- date are popularly
supposed to be worth from $1,500 to $2,000
apiece, and if a few originals could be pro-
duced I dare say they would bring that
figure easily enough. But it happens, un-
fuckily, that there are only four on earth,
and they are locked up in the vaults of the
Tfeasury building at Washington, and
couldn’t be bought at any price. They are
what are known as the ‘test pieces,’ which
are always laid aside whenever a new coin
is struck, and the rest of the issue is at this
momegt quietly cenosing under several
miles of deep blue sea. The true story is
| rather interesting. In 1804 the mint at
| Philadelphia is known to have turned out
570 silver dollars. That was the entire
isouevgbarting the test pieces I have just
spoken of, and it was never put into cir-
culation, The whole lot, just as it came
from the stamping presses, was dumped
into an iron chest and put on board a mer-
chantman bound for China. It was di-
rected to the captain of.a United States
frigate then in Oriental waters, and was in-
tended to be used in paying certain ex-
penses connected with the service, The
merchantman ran into a Chinese typhoon
and went to the bottom, where, to ‘the best
of my information, she still remains, iron
chest and all, and that is the reason why
your Uncle Sam is the only collector in the
world who has a complete set of American
dollars.. Every other collection, including
my own, is short one issue, and the gap wil!
never be filled until the sea gives up its
own.” .
“Do you mean to tell us, then,” said a lis-
tener to the foregoing, “that all the ‘dia-
mond dollars’ now in private cabinets are
counterfeits?’
“ 0 means,” replied the collector. “I
own an 1804 dollar myself, and there are at
least three others, to my knowledge, in the
South. They were issued by the govern-
ment and are perfectly good and legal
coins, but they are not originals. They are
what are known technically as,‘restrikes,’
In the early days, when the mints had a
ew coins left over from one year to
r they would change the date by
striking them with a special die, an opera-
ton that can always be detected by an ex-
pert. For some reason or other, nobody.
knows just why, a few dollars of the 1800
issue were restruck in 1804 and put in
circulation. It is probable that the total
number was not over forty or fifty.and a
good many have been lost. The ones in
existence are worth $150 apiece, and you
may rest assured that all the ‘diamond
ollars’ not mere imitations belong to tfis
little lot of restrikes. Of course, some of
them have been sold to green collectors as
originals, and I was myself the innocent
cause of such a transaction only a few
years ago. A friend of mine, who lives in
an adjoining State, and who owns a great
many rare and beautiful coins, telegraphed
me one day asking whether $500 was too
much for a genuine 1804 dollar.
for granted that he knew the facts about
the issue, and after puzzling over the mes-
sage for a considerable time concluded that
it was an obscure joke of some kind, and
that I was simply too stupid to see the
point. So I wired back advising him to
buy a bachel at that figure, and he prompt-
ly closed the deal. It turned out afterward
that the coin was a restrike, and my friend
has never quite forgiven me. What de
ceived him was the fact that the piece was
known positively to have been locked up in
an old chest at Savannah since 1812. That
id away with the counterfeit theory, and
» [This story commenced in No. 276.)
OLD_“INETY-FOUR,
LIFE AND LUCK ON THE RAIL.
By P. T, RAYMOND,
Authow or, SA City in the Clouds. satusting
“10,000 Miles from He
er aLost ¢ Hopes Mines,” ete.
CHAPTER VIL.
A THRILLING BACE,
Colonel Chipman turned sick and faint
as he read the message. Saw, at once
the awful peril of Number Six and the spot
was plainly visible to him in his mind’s
e. :
Just before reaching Deep Cut Bridge
there was a wide curve. No train could be
here in time to prevent disaster if the
bridge was down.
No message could overtake the flying
train. There was no intermediate. tele-
‘aph station. The message had come, cover
a {clephone loop line.
moment everything swam” about
Colonel Chipman, His soul grew sick.
He saw the train plunging into the abyss.
Te saw sree of dead and mangled péople.
“Oh, oul!” he gasped. “What can be
done?’ Number Six must be stopped. But
how—oh, how
Thena faden, thrilling idea came to him.
With him thought was action. Not a sec-
ond did he lose.
Breathless and gasping, he started for the
roundhouse. Ollie and Larry Fogarty were’
just cleaning up Old Ninety-Four. As luck
had it, Larry had a full head of steam on
for the purpose of blowing out the boilers.
“Hello!” cried Lar: “Here comes
Colonel Chipman. Something is wrong.”
“Sure,” cried Ollie. “Get ready, Larry.
He wants us quick.”
At the same moment Ollie swung back
the roundhouse door and ran to set the
switch onto the main line:
wick, for the love of heaven!” cried
Colonei Chipman. “Catch Number Six.
The bridge is down at Deep Cut.”
at was enou;
The young engineer and his mate were
too quick-witted to need more. They acted
like a flash.
“All right!” shouted Ollie, and the next
moment sprang into the cab. As if he
thought he could arender assistance, the
president did the
Open went the throttle, Old Ninety-Four
slid forward over the switches like an eel.
It seemed a century ere she was out of the
yard. But it was only a few seconds.
Once on the main line Ollie, to use a ae
road term, “pulled her wide open.”
brave engine responded like a bird. Away
she aped.
onel Chipman, white and - haggard,
knelt beside Ollie and watched the track
ahead. The young engineer now
chance to show his nerve.
Of course Old Ninety-Four was not
steadied by a train behind her. But she
was one of those locomotives which run
true and need little to balance her.
So Ollie did not hesitate to let her go
for all she was worth. And such a’ride
none in that cab ever took before. Colonel
Chipman never forgot it to his dying day.
He had faced the foe on a battlefield and
had been in the hottest of the’ fire many
times.
But never had he felt himself nearer
Old Ninety-Four swayed and pitched like
a ship at sea and on the curves she seemed
going to certain doom. But that steady,
cool hand at the throttle and lever con-
trolled her always and she stuck to the
"Poster and faster she fled over the grades.
Mile after mile was covered at - furious
peed. Through deep cuts and tunnels,
across bridges, past small stations. There
was no time to signal passing switches, but
eine kept the whistle going for a clear
mand as luck had it at none of the sta-
tions was the track occupied or the main
switch thrown off. The effects of the cy-
clone were to be seen on all sides.
Colonel Chipman’s face’ was gray in its
pallor. He anxiously listened for the an-
swering whistle ahead which should tell
him that Number Six was overtaken.
Allowing for the stops which Number Six
would make on the down run, they should
now be somewhere within hailing distance
of her. Ollie knew this well.
3o he leaned far ‘aut of the cab and
studied the track ahead. He kept the
whistle busy all the whil
+ It seemed as if those terrific shrieks and
calls must be heard by the train rushing to
its doom. Colonel Chipman gripped Ollie’s
do was to look down at his feet, where she
the only thing he was doubtful about was
the price.
arm.
“My boy,” he said, husklly, “I fear we are
too late.” .
But the poy engineer only stniled grimly
nd replied
“We will catch her yet.”
Down a‘long grade and around a mighty.
eurve swept Ninety-Four. Suddenly Colonel:
Chipman drew himself up with a groan.
“Look!” be cried. “There are the hills
of the Deep Cut. We are too late
“No!” cried Larry Fogarty. Took, there
is smoke! Number Six has not reached the
cut yet.
Ollie made a curve here and then opened
the throttle wide. Then he pulledthe
whistle, once, twice, thrice, ee ‘and
gain the danger signal went w
ra moment the bey engineer's. face
was pinched and whit Then suddenly
from the far distance came faintly the an-
swering call.
“Toot—toot—to- -0-00t!”
“Saved!” cried Colonel Chipman, ° joy-
“thurraht _ You’ve done it, Ollie,
pee Sioned Chipman,” said Ollie,
odes
“Why, T tell you, not another man on
as, Ine could have done this thing.
e credit to Ninety- Four!” cried
one “No other engine on the road could
have kept the iron. | I tell You she is a
wonder.”
Nearer now sounded the answering
whistles. It soon was plain that the en-
gineer of Number Six had heard and un-
derstood and had slackened speed.
- Ollie let up a bit on Ninety-Four and in a
few moments the long, winding column of
smoke from the funnel of Number Six was
seen quite near at hand over the ridges of
land.
Then, rounding a curve right in Deep
Cut, the local train was seen standing safe-
ly in waitin:
Ninety-. Four gently bumped its’ nose
against the rear of the train. Then Colonel
Chipman sprang down and met the -con-
uctor.
“Why, Colonel Chipman, what is wrong?”
he a
oF Sone” exclaimed the magnate. “I
tell you that you were rushing straight on
to death. But you have been saved by. Oliver
Smart’s keen work with Ninety-Four.”
“I don’t understani
“The bridge at Deep Cut, not half a
mile ahead, is down.
The ‘conductor gasped and turned pale
with
ay soul! Is that true?” he asked.
“then, indeed, it is a close call from
what would have been an awful tragedy,
for we have a crowded train.”
“Tell Stokes, your engineer, to pull down
there, want to see what damage has been
onDoes White Lake know of it?”
“We got word from there in a A ndabout
way. All our wires are dow!
The conductor now went forward and ac-
quainted his engineer with the state of
affairs, Then Number Six slowly pulled
ad.
o When the closeness of their escape was
made known to the passengers they were
thrilled with horror. But they overwhelmed
Ollie and Larry with gratitude and praise.
Rounding a curve, the Deep Cut approach
Was see!
The @ bridge was a wreck, The raging tor-
rent had carried away the central pier and +
the bridge had fallen. a
» Had Number Six plunged over the abut-
ment into the river scarcely a life would
have becn saved. It was certainly a very
narrow escape.
. CHAPTER VIII.
A PLUCKY DEED.
It is hardly necessary to say that the pas-
sengers of Number Six train fully and deep-
ly appreciated the narrowness of their es
cape.
They surrounded the cab of ora Ninety-
Four and cheered Ollie to the ec:
The young engineer modestly °-cknowl-
edged the demonstration. But he said to
Colonel Chipman:
“Ought not some one to cross the river
and set a signal in the track to guard
against the possibility of a White Lake
train coming down?
“By all mei one
did not think o.
But the question nor arose as to how the
tiver was to be crossed.
The water was high a and the torrent fu-
rious. No boat could cross in such a tur
moil without being swampe
e iron framework of the bridge
was elevated above the surface
stream, though the swaying of the structure
agreed the Colonel. “I
tured | out a little way upon this, but none
essayed the entire passag'
vain Colonel Chipman tried to think
of some easy and feasible method for cross-
ing. It was important | that the danger sig: ,
nal should be set at 0}
Thus matters were when Ollie and Larry
Fogarty came down to the abutment. Olle
had coupled Ninety: Four to the rear of the
train, so he felt safer in leaving the cab
ae idtelo!” gail Larry. “E don't sce any
on
f.
4
I
Tae 3 a,
¢