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Show J THE DELUGE , j sr DAVID GRAHAM PJHUURS, Autltor of "7HFCQS&& f (a&r&Gffr ear ivtsQasj-ajsnzcconNy I CIIAPTEU XXVI Continued. "Possibly," said I, with no dlspo- Bltloa to combat vIowb based on I jii, . know not what painful experience. sti t ",,ul ' 1"nt cnro for tlmt Bort of "k Vli JQ't 'nB fr("" a womnn, or from a dog." IS, "It's tho only kind you'll get," ro- 'tortod he, tr)lng to control Ills ng- I Itatlon. "I'm an old man. I know I human nature that's why 1 llvo alone. I You'll take that kind of liking, or do j without." i i "Thpn I'" do without," said I. g "Give hor an Income, und she'll go, lUl I, see It all. You've Mattered her van- Jl jJL Jty by showing your love for her "" that'H tho way with women. They go crazy about themselves, und forget all about the man. Ulvo hor an In- como and sho'll go." "I doubt It," said I. "And you would, If you knew her. Hut, oven so, 1 shnll lose her In any event. For, unless she Is mailo Independent, she'll certainly go with tho last of tho little lit-tle money she has, tho lemuuut of u email legacy." Tho old man argued with me, the I moro vigorously, I suspect, because m ho found mo resolute. When ho could I think of no new way of stating his I case his case against Anita ho said: "You are a fool, young man that'H Htotof clear. I wonder such a fool was cvor 1 nblo to get together as much prop- L rty us report credits you with. Hut m you're tho kind of fool like." V "Then you'll Indulge my folly? ' m said B I la throw up his arms In a gesturo Hr- of mock despair. "If you will havo it M bo," ho replied. "I am curious about F this niece of mine. I want to soo her. m I want to see the woman who can m "Her mind ami her heart aro closed . ngalnst mo," said I. "And It Is my ' wn fault I closed them." J "Put her out of your 110113," ho nd- I vised. "No woman Is worth a serious I Biaiih TTb'io." .J "I havo few wants, few purposes," Ml I ia 7. "Hut thoso few I pin.;: n I tho eiiu. Wvch thoutdi she wore not worth while, evr. tliough I wholly k loBt hope, I'd not gtvu h"r up. HJk couldn't that's Hut Mul8 worth while." Anil I could soo Hs. ' II hor, slim and graceful, tho curves in H J tier face and llguru that inudo my H. ,. heart leap, the nzuro sheen iiK)ii hor H X petal-like skin, (he mystery of tho H J eoul luring from her eyes. H After wo had arranged the business V or, rather, urrungod to huvo It ur- ranged through our lawyers ho I walked down to tho pier with me. At tho gangway he gave mo another searching look from head to foot i hut vastly different from the Inspec tion with which our Interview had . begun. "You are u devilish handsome I. young fellow," said ho. "Your pic- l turos don't do you Justice. And I Jj, vl,-.-- ' shouldn't havo believed any man could " ' overcome In one brief sitting such n prejudlco as I had against you. On second thought, I don't cum to see her. She must be even below the average." aver-age." "Or far nbovo It," I suggested. ,,.- ii ' "I Btipjtoao I'll havo to ask her over "V"" I t0 vl,,t mo" '" wult "' "A lino hypocrite I'll feel." "You can make It ono of tho con- 1- dltlons of your gift that sho Is not ( to thank you or speak of It," said I. ' "I fear your fnco would betray us, it sho over did," "Mi excellent Idea!" ho exclaimed Thon, ns he, shook hands with mo In furowell: "?ou will win her yet If you caro to," As I steamed up tho Sound, I wm tempted to put In at Daw n IIIH'm harbor. har-bor. Through my glass I could see Anita and Alva und several others, men and women, having tea on tho ..- ,aw" ""dor n red and white awning. I could boq her dress a vlolot suit with a big violet hat lo match. I kuow that costume. I.lkn everything Blio wore, it was both henutlful m itself it-self and most becoming to her. I could sou her fare, could almost make out Its expression -did I see, or did I Imaglno, a cruel contrast to what i always saw when she know I was ' . - looking?. IjvT' I gazed until tho trees hid luwn and ' " Rny nwnlng, nnd that lively rompnii) I and her. In my bitterness I was full I of rosontmont ngnlnst her, lull of soir- ' )lty. I qulto Jorgot, for that mo ment, hor sldo of the story. XXVII. PLACKLOCK SEES A LIGHT ! was next (Uy. I think, that I mot Mux"":' I.nngdou nud his brother j'otn In tho entrance of tho Textile Building. .Mowbray was bark only n week iroiu his summer ubroud, but Tom I had seu and nodded to every day, often several times In tho day. ns ho went to nnd fro about his "re Bpectablo' dirty work for th Hoobuck-'.angdon Hoobuck-'.angdon clique. Ho was one of thwlr most frequently used stool-pigeon directors di-rectors In bunks and Insurance companies com-panies whose funds they tanked In their bit; gambling operations, they taking almost all the profits nnd tho depositors and ollcy holders taking tltnosi all the risk. It hud never ace occurred to me to bare any tool- Bs lug of nny kind Tom, or In any way to tnko him Into my calculations as to Anita. Ho was, to my eyes, too oo-vlously oo-vlously a pale understudy of IiIb powerful pow-erful and lusclnntlng brother. When-over When-over I thought of him ns tho man Anltu fancied she loved, I put It asldo Instantly. "Tho kind of man a worn-nn worn-nn rnlly cares for," I would say to myself, my-self, "Is tho measure of her true self. Hut not tho kind of man sho Imnglnei Hho cares for." Tom went on; Mowbray stopped. Wo shook hands, nnd exchanged commonplaces com-monplaces In the friendliest way 1 was hat boring no resentment agninst him, und I wished lilin to realize that his assault had bothered mo no more thnn the buzzing nnd battering of n summer lly. "I've been trying to got In to seo you," said ho. "I wanted to explain about that unfortunato Textile Tex-tile ileal." This, when tho ussauit on mo had burst out with fresh energy tho day utter ho landed from huropot I could Brnrcely believe that his vanity, his confidence In his own skill ut underground un-derground work could so deludo him. "Don't bother," Bald I. "All that's ancient an-cient history." Hut ho had thought out Homo lies ho regarded ns particularly credltablo "hut i haven't tub suohtest imcisi-: to his Ingenuity; ho was not to bo deprived of the pleasure of telling them. So I was compelled to listen; and, being In nn Indulgent mood, I did not hm)H his pleasure by letting hi in see or suspect my unbellel. If ho could have looked Into my mind, ns I stood there In nn attltudo or patient pa-tient attention, I think oven hla self-complacence self-complacence would havo boon put out of countenance. With his first full stop, I said: "1 understand perfectly, I.nngdou. Hut I haven't the slightest Interest In crooked crook-ed enterprises now. I'm clenr out of nil you follows' stocks. I've reinvested reinvest-ed my property so thnt not oven a panic would trouble mo." "Thnt's good," ho drawled. I saw he did not bellovo mo which was nat-in nat-in ill, us ho know nothing of my ur-rutigemeut ur-rutigemeut with (lulloway nnd assumed as-sumed I was laboring In heuvy weather, weath-er, with u bad cargo of Coal stocks and contracts. "Como to lunch with mo. I've got somo Intorestlng things to tell you iiboiit my trip." A few mouths before. 1 shouli! ha7o uccepted with alacrity Hut I had lost Interest In him. Ho had not changed; If unythlng, ho wns moro dnzzlng than ever In the ways that hud onco dazzled me. It as I thnt huu chnnged my ideals, my point of view. 1 had no desire to food my now-sprung contempt con-tempt by watching him pump In vnln for Information to ho used In his so-crnt so-crnt campaign against mo. "No, thanks. Another day," I replied, nnd lefi him with a curt nod. I noted that he had failed to speak of my mar-rlage, mar-rlage, though he hud not soen mo L sjneo. "A sore subject with ll tu LnngdonB," thought I. "It musi bo very sore, Indeed, to make u man who la nil tnnntiero, neglect them "I am strong nnd sccuro " sa d I to myself as I strodo through the wonderful canyon of Hroadwny, whoso , wnlls aro thoso mighty palaces or llnnnco nnd commorco from which business men hnvo been ousted Ly cormornnt "cnptnlns of Industry." 1 must use my strength. How could I better use It thnn by fluttering theso vultures on their roosts, nnd perhaps bringing down a bird or two? I decided, however, that It was bettor bet-tor to wait until they had stoppca rattling their beuks nud claws on tpy Bhell In futllo nltnck. "Meanwhile," I reasoned carefully," I cau bo getting get-ting good nnd ready.1' Their llrst now move, nftcr my lit-tlo lit-tlo talk with Langdou, was lntonded bb n mortnl blow to my credit Mel-vlllo Mel-vlllo requested mo to wlthdrnw mlno and Hlncklock and Company's accounts ac-counts from the National Industrial Hank; nnd tho fact that this hugo and powerful institution had thus branded mo wns slyly given to tho Ilnnnclnl reporters of tho newspapers. Far nnd wldo it was published; nnd the public was expected to believe that this wns one more nud drastic measuro In the "campaign of thu honorable men of llnnuce to clean the Augean Stables of Wall Street." My dally lotter to Investors next morning led off with this parugrnph tho first notlco 1 hnd tnken publicly of their nttacks on mo: "In tho effort to disci edit tho only remaining uncontrolled sourco r financial truth, the big bandits have ordered my accounts out of their chief gambllng-houso. I have transferred tho accounts to the Discount nnd no-posit no-posit National, where I.eonldas Thorn-ly Thorn-ly stnnils guaid against tho uew order or-der that seeks to make business n synonym for crime." Thornley wns of tho typo that wns dominant In our commercial llfo bo-fore bo-fore tho "financiers" came Just as song birds wore common In our trees B(af laW lltf M IP ' - - INTKHRST IN CHOOKED ENTEH-S ENTEH-S NOW.' " until tho noisy, brawling, thlovlng spnrrowB drovo them out. Ills oldest son wns nbout to mnrry Joo's daughter daugh-ter Alva. Many u Sunday I huvo spent at his ptneo nenr Morrlstown a chnrmlng comblnntlon of city comfort com-fort with tnrm freedom nnd fresh nlr. I remember, ono Sunday, saying to him, after ho had seen his wlfo and daughtors off to church: "Why haven't you looked out fw estnbllsh-ing estnbllsh-ing theso boys nnd girls of yours? "I don't want my girls to bo Bought for monoy," said ho, "I don't want my boys to roly on monoy. Perhaps I've seen too much of wealth, nnd havo como to havo n projudlco against It. Then, too, I'vo nover hnd tho chnnco lo get rich." I showed thnt I thought that ho was slmplo Jostlng. "I mean It," said he. looking at me with eyes ns Htralght us a well-brought-up girl's "How could my mind bo Judlclnl If I wore personally Interested in the enterprises peoplo look to mo for ndvleo about?" And not only did ho keep himself clenr nnd his mind Judicial but tilso ho wns. llko all really good people, exceedingly slow to bellovo othors guilty of tho things he would ns oon hnvo thought of doing us ho would havo thought of slipping Into tho teller's cngo dining the much hour nnd pocketing u package or banknotes. bank-notes. Ho gave mo his motto n curious cu-rious one: "Hollovo In evorybody; trust In nobody." "Only n thief wishes to bo trueted," ho oxplalned, "nnd only n foool trusts. I let no one tnift nit; I trust 1.0 ona. Hut I hcl ev ! of no man. Even when ho has been con vie cd, I seo tho mitigating circumstance; " I low Thornley did st in J by mol And lor no reason except that It wns as nee ss.jiy for him to Jjp fnlr nnd just ns.to orcnthe, I shall not say he resist d the nttomptB to compel him to-ili'iTt me (hey Blniply mndo 110 lnipieMloti on hlin. I icnmnibor when Uocbuck hlnslfj.n largo stockholder stock-holder in the Innk, left cover far enouvh pevsonillly to 'urge him to throw me over, ho replied stead fnstly: "If Mr. Hlncklock Is guilty o? circulating cir-culating false stories against eomuip-clal eomuip-clal ontorprlses. ns blscifetnles aMcgo, tho penal codo can he used to stop him. Dut ub long ns I stay at the head of this bank, no man shall uo t for pcrsmjtU yongennr u 3 cbrirlordd rublfo Institution, ntnf nil hnvo equal rights to Its facilities. I would lend monoy to my worst onemj If ho enmo for It with tho proper o curlty. I would refuso my best friend, If ho could iiot glvo security. The funds of n bnnk aro n trust fund, and my duty In to soo thnt they ate employed em-ployed to tho bcBt ndvnntngo. If you wish other principles to prevail hare, you must get another president." Thnt settled It. No ono appreciated moro keenly thnn did lWbuck that character Is ns Indispensable In Its place ns Is crnft whortT'Nio situation demands craft nnd Is far harder tc get. I shall not rclato In detnll thnt cam pnlgn ngnlnst mo. It failed not so much becauso I was strong n becnust It wnB weak. Pcrhnps, If Itoebuc nnd Lnngdon could hnvo directed H In person, or hnd had thu tlmo 'o ndvlso with their ngontB bororo and nrter ench move, It might havo sue ceeded. They would not havo lot exaggeration ex-aggeration dominate It and venom show uion Its Btii'faco; they would not hnvo neglected to follow up advantages, ad-vantages, would not hnvo persisted In lines of attack that created public sympathy for mo. They would not hnvo bo crudely exploited my unconventional uncon-ventional marrlago nnd my Ilnnnclnl relntlons with old Kllorsly. Hut they dnred not go near Uio battle Held; they hnd to trust to agents whom their orders nnd suggestions reached by tho most roundabout ways; and th'oy wore busier with their enterprises thnt Involved Immediate nnd great gnln or loss of moncy- When Galloway died, "they learned thnt tho Conl stocks with which they thought I wns londed down were part of his cstnto. They satisfied themselves them-selves thnt I wns In fnct ns Impreg-nnblo Impreg-nnblo ns I hnd wnrncd Lnngdon. Tlicy rovorscd tnctlcs; Uocbuck tried to mnko It up with mo. "If ho wnnts to seo mo," wns my lnvnrlnblo nnswer to tho intimations of his emissaries, "let him como to my olllco, Just ns I would go to his, It I wished to oca him." "Ho Is a big man a dangerous big man," cautioned Joo. "Dig yes. Hut Btrontonly ngnlnst !;! own k'frnl?' repllMff.,UIIUtrtOiiiia can mnko 11 holo bord of elephants aquoul for mercy." "It isn't prudont, It lan't prudeni," persisted Joo. ":t ! not," replied I. "Thank w, I'm nt Inst If. Vm tosltlon 1'vn bc tolling to achieve. I cios't hnvo to bo prudent. I can toy nnd do wuCt ' ploaso, without fenr of tho conso-quonccs. conso-quonccs. I can freely Indutgo In tho luxury of being n mnn. Thnt's costly, cost-ly, Joo, but It's worth all It could cost" Joo didn't understand mo ho rarely did. "I'm a hen. You'ro an oaglo," Bald ho. ' "' CHAPTER XXVIII. A HOU8EWARMINQ. Joo's dnughtor, staying on nnd on nt Dawn Hill, wns chlof lloutennnt, if not prlnclpnl, in my conspiracy to drift Anltn day by day further and further Into tho routlno of tho now llfo, Yot nolther of us had shown by word or look that n thorough understanding oxlstcd between us. My part was to bo unobstruslve, friendly, neither In different nor eager, und I hold lo It by taking care never to bo left alono with Anltn; Alva's pari was to ho her-self her-self slmplo and natural nnd sensible, full of llfo nud hnmhtor, mocking at thoso moods that betray 111 Into tbt nbsurdlty of taking ourselves too so-ilously. so-ilously. I was gottlng ready a now houso In town as a surprUo to Anltn, nnd I took Alvn Into my plot. "I wish Anita's part of tho limine to bo exactly to her liking," said I. 'Can'l you set hor to dreaming nloud'wluu kind of placo hIiii would like lo llvo In, what sho would llko to open hor eyes on in tho morning, what surrounding she'd llko to dress In md read In, nnd nil that?" Alva had no difficulty In carrying out thu suggestions, And by harassing harass-ing Wostlako Incessantly, I uccisr5c3 In realizing her rojiort of rutins dream to the exact shndo of tho draperies nnd tho silk that covered the walls. Hy piiKliltig tho work, I got tho hoiixo done Juat as Alva win warning mo that she could not remain longer nt Dawn Hill, but must go homo and got rendy for her wedding. Wlion I went down to arrange with hor tho lust details of lli surprise, who should meet mo nt the station but Anita herself? her-self? I took one glunco nt hor serious face nud, much disquieted, seated myself my-self beside her in tho little trap. Instead In-stead of folliiMlnK tho usual route to the house she turned her horso Into tho bayshoie n ad. "Sovoral das ago," alio began, as tho bend hid tho station, "I got a letter let-ter from some lawyers, saying that 1111 unrlo of 1111110 had given mu a largo sum of inouej a very Urge sum. I have been Inquiring about It, and And It Is tulno ahoiutolyJJ - (To be Couth iod.) |