Show g THE MUTABLE lAN 1 J BY ROBERT BARR Copyright 1S3S5 by Robert Barr CHAPTER XXVII There is an idea prevalent that the young women of our land welcome addresses which the golden youth of the their consideration te opposite sex urge upon teir sideration and that a girls happiness augments in proportionate ratio as the number of the proposals bestowed upon her increases This however is merely mere-ly a supposition and there are unfortunately un-fortunately no statistics to which a L historian anxious to be accurate in t stateinpnf may turn In order to substantiate sub-stantiate or overthrow this almost universally uni-versally held opinion I is to be regretted re-gretted that the census which gathers together In tabulated form so many interesting facts pertaining to the race gives no attention to this particulai subdivision of human data and that so far from being able to form any definite estimate of the feeling with which a girl welcomes the undoubted F compliment of a marriage offer we are r in toe dark as to the average number of proposals a woman receives say between the ages of 17 and 37 An inquisitive in-quisitive government which does not i c hesitate to ask a woman every ten years to set down her age in black and whltf seems strangely enough tc shrink from inquiring into a vital question f ques-tion on which the future wellbeing of a nation largely depends thus no one r can positively state that matrimonial 1 advances arc held in high estimation estmaton by their recipients clinching the proposition prop-osition by referring the doubter to i Blue Book such u number and such u page t I being thus impossible to generalize i general-ize the careful writer Is compelled to fall back on individual Instances and it must be set down that Edna Sart well so far from being happy or elated t over the fact that two young men Within one week had asked her to1 share their varying fortunes walked I hurriedly back to the school filled with terror and dismay On the very threshold of womanhood she had suddenly sud-denly and unexpectedly been brought face to face with a state of things which made her wish to shrink back into the untroubled tranquillity of the life she had hitherto led These two disquieting events following one so I closely on the other loomed up in undue un-due proportion to their importance and threatened to overshadow the future fu-ture I seemed an appalling thing that the fate of two men should be placed at her disposal that on her shoulders should be cast the great responsibility re-sponsibility of deciding unaided a momentous question with farreaching consequences And If the first two yuung men with whom she became acquainted acted thus what was to be expectcd from the numerous host she I was still likely to meet A pathway strewn with broken hearts offered wih olered no i allurements to the feet of the young traveler a life lived in atmosphere of deep sighs was intolerable The girl I was frightened at the outlook which was all the more bewildering because only partly understood I is often 3 Important to classify your problem as to solve it her father had once said to her but solution or classification classifica-tion appeared equally difficult to her Barney had taken his rejection badly bad-ly He made no attempt to conceal the fact that his life was blighted that he would reenter the world a changed man but heroically determined deter-mined to make the most out of the wreck The austere rugged road that now lay before him unbrlghtened by love 1 human sympathy he would walk with grim i sombre resolution brushing aside the frivolities of existence I exist-ence setting his face with sullen but dogged persistence toward the cheerless cheer-less journey of life hoping for no I I reconuinse except that perhaps he J might have the consolation of knowing he left the world a trifle better for I axing lived in it lupxptriencvrd as she was Edna could not help contrasting the actions of I Hjpe aIr Marsten not altogether to i the disadvantage of the latter There I vas no question in her mind that Mars ten had in reality an uphill road to travel yet he had gone into no heroics about it and lie asked nothing but I that she should remember him She had been sorry that she could give no encouraging word to Marsten but Bar roy mad her feel somehow that she was to blame in his case and that he was an illused man Then It was difficult dif-ficult to realize the serious nature or hardship of Barneys future career when ever one knew he had more money than was good for him Some I thought of this seemed to occur to Barney himself at the time for he spoke bitterly and contemptuously of hs wealth and of how i handicapped him however he was going to give gve It all away when he came into his full U I I I i I I I I A Dozen Times Edna Began a Letter Let-ter fortune and start the world afresh inning his laurels and what little cash would suffice for his frugal needs with his good right arm assisted presumably pre-sumably by his paint brushes so In the face of this noble resolution i would have been unfair to censure him for the possession of riches he had no hand In accumulating Edna hurried toward the school thinking little of the reprimand in store for her and much on the contrary conditions con-ditions of this world She HUe Barney I needed advice yet had no one in whom she might confide She thought of I writing fully to her father remembering remember-ing her promise to tell him everything that troubled her but she shrank from the thought almost a soon as it took I form in her mind Besides both complications com-plications were settled finally and forever for-ever so why worry him unnecessarily about a page of her life on which was written the word Finis There surged up in her heart a deep passionate passion-ate yearning for the mother she had never known and whom she now miss d as she had never missed before As she thought ff the portrait of the beautiful sweatlooking woman inher fathers office whose Apathetic eyes shoae so tenderly and lovingly upon her the tears which had been near I the surface blinded herand she sobbed I I am alone alone On reaching the school Edna went j directly to her room where she fOund a fetter from her stepmother awaiting her and this helped more than any thing else to drive away the sad thoughts which fled her mind The letter ran thus My Poor Dear Edna You will doubtless have heard of the dreadful calamity that has overtaken the business busi-ness of Monkton Hope a calamity I from which I fear it will never recover although your father as usual scoffs at what I nredlct and lays they are i fully insuredas if an insurance policy could cover the farreaching effects of such a disaster There seems little doubt that the fire was caused by some 1 of the disaffected men exasperated probably by the treatment they have J received although that is no excuse for the crime But we are all shortsighted short-sighted misguided creatures here below I be-low with the taint of original sin in each of us unable unless directed by a higher power to take even the slightest action that will be acceptable accept-able urone ever to silo and stumble If we neglect those warnings which fpr our benefit are showered on the just and the unjust alike but if warnings are passed bVr worse still scoffed athow can we hope to profit by them and mend our ways as an everindulg ent Providence eager to forgive i we but exhibit u desire for forgiveness intended they should and when I asked your father in a most gentle and I respectful I hope I know my duty asa I as-a wife by this time way i thsfire I had not pointed a great moral to him he said with the most regretful flippancy flip-pancy which I have sometimes attempted at-tempted to correct in you my poor child that it pointed the moral to be I well insured and to have fire escapes from the floors upper as if ribaldry I like that was not very much out of place hi speaking of a solemn event I where two immortal souls went to their last account without a moments I warninggoing for aught we know through perishable fire to flames that are never quenched The usefulness of this thought makes no Impression on your father who is as stubborn as ever and I fear no more just to his men than before all this happened A poor young man named Marsten has been ruthlessly discharged by your father and may now be wandering about the streets looking for work and starving for all that anyone knows or cares Ask your father why he was discharged if you want to know but dont ask me Its nothing but pride pride pride Mv child take warning while there is yet time for the night cometh Harden not your heart I shall continue to petition for you both for the mercy is unfailing and mother unlimited Your loving but sorrowing SARAH SARTWELL The benevolent intentions of this letter let-ter were in no wise frustrated and Mrs Sartwell would doubtless have been pleased had she known that the reading read-Ing of it did the recipient of i a world of good I acted as a tonic and gave Edna something tt think about preventing pre-venting any morbid reflections on the wreck she had made of Barneys life lfe The discharge of Marsten was a great shock to the girl and for the first time in her life she thought her father had acted unjustly At first in pondering over the unexpected bit of Information she thought her father had in someway some-way heard of the young mans visit to Eastbourne but as she turned the subject sub-ject over in her mind she came to the conclusion that his dismissal was the result of their meeting in the garden at home and the finding of Marsten thereby there-by her father The reason then the I young man had time to come to East bourne was because his time was now his own And yet he had said nothing about it even when she asked him how he got away from duty He had spoken I well of her father although he must have felt he had been unjustly treated She had thought nothing of his good words at the time but now they came tme I back to her She determined to write to her father and tell him all about Marstens visit and its result but when she sat down with the > paper before her she found she did not know how to begin She wished to ask him to repair re-pair the unnecessary wrong he had done to Marsten for there was not the slightest chance of her ever marrying the young man but somehow when she came to put this all down on paper the task seemed very difficult The difficulty was increased by the knowledge knowl-edge that her father must at that moment mo-ment have as much on his mind as any one should be called upon to bear and she pictured the silent man sitting at home tired out with the work and worry of the day while the monotonous voice of his wife drew moral lessons from every new obstacle he had to surmount No she would not add a sinzjle care to those already on his shoulders The girl sat with her elbows on the desk her chin in her hands gazing with troubled eyes Into vacancy a i the problems that beset her were in the air before her and could be hypnotized into solution A bewildering feature of the case was that she had continually of late to readjust her ideas and bring them Into correct relationship with some new fact which came within her cognizance l the conversations she had held with her father many of his actions bore quite a new significance when she learned that he knew Mars ten loved her Again the fact o Mars tens dismissal lent a sharp poignancy to her remembrance of his fervent declaration that for her sake he would strive to please any master placed over him a no man had ever striven before be-fore Edna did npt share her stepmothers step-mothers fear that the young man was starving but her imagination kindled at the thought of his impassioned words his resolute determination to I succeed addressed to the daughter of the man who a day or two before had turned him Into the streets The more she thought about her fathers action the more unjust i seemed A dozen times she began a letter and as often again relapsed into reverie Barney and his mystical woes faded entirely from her memory Gradually she came to the conclusion that if she did not intervene in-tervene in Marstens interests she would be making herself responsible for the continuance of the injustice and although she wished to relieve her father from all anxiety regarding her feelings toward the young man still she was ashamed to touch upon that part of the subject I I might be possible some time when she sat at her fathers knee to tell him I about it with averted face but to write if she could not At last she succeeded in drafting a letter which she hurriedly posted fearing fear-ing that longer meditation upon the question might result In it not being sent at all Dear FatherI am sure you must be I very busy and perhaps very much worried at the present moment You know I do not wish to add to your burden bur-den and would rather lighten i If I I could but in that I am as helpless as you are strong We made a compact I awhile since and that Is why I write Something has happened for which I feel partly responsible I In a letter received re-ceived Kasl my stepmother she I says you have discharged Mr Marsten I and she thinks he may now be looking In vain for employment I am afraid you were not pleased at finding him talking to me in our garden but that was my fault and not his I that was the reason wont you please reconsider and invite him back Your loving daughter EDNA I Tne answer came almost before she thought her letter had Ume to reach London My Dear Little Girl I should have written days ago but unfortunately I cannot dictate an affectionate letter through my shorthand clerk and the older I grow the more I dislike writing writ-Ing with my ovn hand Worried Oh dear no Why should one worry I am afraid your belligerent old father still loves a fight whether with circumstances circum-stances or with mAn Before the fire was out teleirraDlhc orders were dispatched dis-patched to three machinery firms In j the north While the fire engines were still flinging water on the ruins I had secured a lease of the four houses that adjoin the work had comoounded with the tenants and sent them packing pack-ing That night men were at work knocking doorways through the parti tions and strengthening the Hoop Happily the engines and boilers were I not Injured being in a separate building build-ing and already such machinery as we could get is in place and a long saggy webblinsr iron rope carries the power across the yard The new secretary secre-tary of the union proposed a conference confer-ence with me to discuss what the firm was wUlinsr to do for the men thrown out of work bY the fire I refused to discuss anything with the new secretary secre-tary he not being an employee of mine He is a shrewder man than Gibbons so he st once got up a deputation depu-tation of my own men and spnt them taton to me I received them of course and they asked me if I would give them 15 per cent of their wages while out of work No I said I can always do better than the union There will be nald 100 per cent of the wages not 15 I expect you all back at the works on Monday I fancy I made the men will be open their eves a bit Work wi going on as usual within a week and we wont be behind with a single order The new factory which is now being built is in accordance with modern ideas and I expect to be able to Increase In-crease our business so that the four houses leased will be retained when the new building is ready for occupation buldln Forgive this attn of myself on the shoulder but a man must bras now and then to some one and you my dear Edna are the only one to whom I can boast Yes the comnact Is still in operation opera-tion and Im glad you wrote about your ton stepmothers letter although I hope you will not take too seriously any halfnysterical comments on my tyrannical ty-rannical conduct A man must act and one who acts is bound to make mistakes mis-takes Perhaps the discharge bf Mars ten was a mistake I dont think so but of course your stepmother does and as facts always embarrass her she sees instant starvation and all the rest of i Everything Edna depends on the point of view A lighted match is dropped by accident or design and falling on inflammable material cer faing tain chemical changes take place carbonic car-bonic acid gas is produced and a factory fac-tory goes down in ruins to supply the materials for combustion All this seems perfectly natural to me and in accordance with established scientific research But your stepmothers point of view is different She sees the I finger of Providence and because dont Im a scoffer Now Ive as great a belief and trust in Providence as belef but to me Providence works any one wore I sanely I doesnt destroy a factory and kill two men merelv to show me Im in error because it could accomplish accom-plish its purpose at much less expense and trouble I cant think that Providence ad Prov-idence is less sensible than my little I girl and she takes the right method She says in kindly fashion Father I I think you are wrong and I want you I to reconsider She doesnt try to prove 1 er heartless despot I woula at once reconsider and would invite Mars ten back but i Is not necessary He is the new secretary of the union with a larger salary tha the wages he had here with his time practically his own and with ample opportunity for mischief mis-chief If he chooses to exercise his i power I feel it in my bones that in one or two or three years I shall have to fight him I will be an interesting struggle but I shall win So with this final bit of brag I close my long letter fnal I I hone to run down and see you on Saturday and meanwhile all the sympathy sym-pathy you have to spare lavish on that ironhanded tyrant YOUR FATHER CHAPTER XXVIII Barney abandoned his tandem to the i tender care of his man and went up to London by train He sat gloomily In a corner of a firstclass smoking compartment and cursed the world Nevertheless he was able to consume I a great number of cigarettes between geat and Charing Cross and a I he smoked he made stern heroic resolutions reso-lutions regarding his career He would now take i seriously in hand He I would businbssmanage himself He I saw in the cleir light of a great disappointment I dis-appointment that he had hitherto paid t too much attention to the production of to masterpieces and too little to the advertising of them I was evidently I hopeless to expect the appreciation of a stupid and uncritical public to come to his work and the great critic whom i he had confidently looked for had not yet put in an appearance I then I the critic would not come to Mahomet Mahomet would go to the critic He would purchase the most expensive art I critic there was in the market then the tardy public would learn that a genius had lived imong them unrecognized un-recognized As his comprehensive plans took I final shape the train rat into the glas3 roofed tunnel of Charing Cross Barney i Bar-ney sprang into a hansom and drove directly to the works Beastly hole he said to himself as he gazed around at the ruin the fire had wrought The ground was covered with cluttering I heaps of burnt and twisted iron and piles of new building material were I pie scattered everywhere The apparent confusion and ugliness of It all offended I of-fended his artistic sense and he I thanked his stars that it was not necessary nec-essary for him to spend his days there He accosted Sartwell who had been discussing some question with the architect ar-chitect and shook the managers hand with energy and cordiality Mr Sartwell he cried I came the moment I heard of the fire Ah said the manager dryly Have you been in America No laughed Barney not quite so far away as that but dont you know I never read the papers And so heard of the conflagration purely by accident Now I am here entirely at your dis posal and a ready to do anything and everything you want done I would rather not carry bricks if there is anything else I can do but I am ready to help In any way I can I dont mind telling you Mr Sartwell that in placing myself at the disposal of the firm I do so at considerable sacrifice for art is long and time is fleeting and I have work to do in my studio that you perhaps might not I think worth doing but I hope posterity j I will not agree with you dont you know Still I am here Command me meIndeed you do me wrong said Srtwel with a grim smile I consider con-sider you of much greater value In the studio than here I have no doubt posterity and I will quite agree In our estimate of your labor Artists are few and laborers many I would be a real disaster if our present crisis were to interfere With your artistic work Therefore although I am fat offer of help tered by your generous ofer I could not think o availing myself of U No the studio Is your place Mr Hope Its uncommonly kind of you Mr Sartwell to say so many nice things about my efforts and I assure you I appreciate them for I dont have too I many encouragements dont I as I a 3 i I 4 1 EALDIHAN SAT I A DEEP ARMCHAIR ETC j sure you This is such a beastly materialistic ma-terialistic world dont you know Has my father got home yet Yes he returned last night Ah I didnt know that Terribly upset I suppose A trifle worried Naturally he would be Well there nothing I can do for you then 1 Nothing unless you undertake the decoration of the new factory and thus send it down to posterity with the Vatican frescoes Still that question wont arise for a month or two yet I Quite so Ill think about it Well if you need me you know my address I A wire will bring me at any time Its generous of you to stand ready I to leap into the chasm in this way but take my advice and stick to the studio Nevertheless Ill remember and let you know i a crisis arises with which I am unable to deal sitigle handed Do cried Barney again shaking hands with goodnatured effusion Well goodby He picked his way to the gates and I stepped into his waiting hansom a wellmerited feeling of having answered an-swered the stern call of duty cheering his heart as he drove away I was a long drive to Haldlmans studio and Barney telling the cabman cab-man he might have to wait an hour or two dashed up the steps and rang the bell Being admitted he asked if I Haldiman was at home then sprang up the stairs struck one startling knock on the studio door with the head of his stick and entered Haldiman stood at his easel a black pipe in his mouth an old jacket on his back and a general air about him of not having brushed his hair for a week A halfflnlshed drawing In black I and white decorated a great sheet of cardboard placed on the easel I Hello Barney he cried I thought that was your delicate way of announcing I an-nouncing yourself You look as trim and well groomed a a shop walker Havent given up painting and taken to that line have you No old man I havent shoutea I Barney slamming the door behind him 1 I and coming into the room like a cyclone And Im not trim for I have I I just had a railway Journey and went rom Charing Cross to the works ana from the works here Ive had no I time to go to the club and make myself my-self pretty I was Jn too much of a hurry to see you So dont be sarcastic Haldiman Everything is comparative Barney and to ale you look like a radiant being from another and a better world where a man has unlimited credit with I his tailor Sit down wont you Thats what I came for I say I Haldiman where do you keep your exhilarating ex-hilarating fluid and the siphons Im tired qut Be hospitable You see Ive j a load on my mind these days The works were partly destroyed by fire I and were rebuilding and all that sort of thing dont you know which rather takes it out of a fellow looking after I workmen and seeing that no mistakes are made I Oh I saw about that in the papers I and was wondering If It was your I shop said Haldiman placing a small table beside his friend and putting a I bottle a siphon and a glass upon it Help yourself my boy You dont mind my going on with my work But I do cried Barney Sit down yourself Haldiman I want to talk to you seriously I am behindhand with this picture now Barney I can work and listen Fire away Look here Haldiman how much do you get for a smear like that Haldiman stood back and looked critically at the picture then said with a drawl I Well Im in hopes of looting four guineas out of the pirate who edits the I magazine this is for Its a full page you know Great heavens Imagine a man doing to ing a picture for such a sum as that I wouldnt draw a line under 100 Ive often thought of suiting my price up to that entrancing figure replied plied Haldiman reflectively but reframed re-framed for fear of bankrupting the magazines One must have some consideration con-sideration for the sixpenny press Barney thrust his hand deep into his trousers pocket drew out a fist full of coins selected four sovereigns and I four shillings and placed them on the table saying I There Haldiman theres your guineas guin-eas I buy that picture Now sit down and talk to me I want your whole attention at-tention I Haldiman stood for a moment looking I look-ing alternately at the money and at the man At last he spoke slowly and I quietly Some day Barney youll do a thing like that and get smashed in consequence I conse-quence Im unfortunately unable to I throw you out of the window myself but there is a cabman loitering about in front and I will call him In to assist as-sist me If yOU dont at once nut that money in your pocket Dont make me violate the sacred rules of hospitality hospi-tality You have violated them Hal already al-ready by getting angry I see you are angry so dont deny it Besides the cabman wouldnt come I own him and if he did I could put you both outYou You cant hire me like a cabman you know Barney Of course nofof course not Im not trying to dear boy Do sit down 4 and be sensible rye come to you as one friend to another for Im at a crisis In my career I need help so lie good to me I take a serious view of life now and Since when Since this morning If 1 you like The when doesnt matter Ive come to the conclusion that Im wasting my existence ex-istence Toull scoff of course but I know I have geniusnot talent mind but genius Theres no use of making any bones about It or pretending false modesty if a man Is a genius he knows It VeQ well then why not say so I see no reason against It Quite so Now Haldiman how much money do you make in a year You mean how little Put i any way you like Name the figure TureWhats that got to do with your genius Never you mind Whats the amount Now Barney if youre cooking up some new kind of financial Insult I give vou fair warning I wont stand 1 it Barney had gulped down his stimulant stimu-lant and now aced UD and down the room clearing a track for himself by Haldi I kicking things out of the way man sat In I deco armchair his lees stretched out and his hands in his pockets watching his friends energetic march to and fro The artistic profession cried the pedestrian has been held UD to the scorn of the world since painting began Read any novel and you will see that if the heroine is to make a doocedly bad marriage she invariably falls in love with an artist invariably Well she generally marries us Yes and lives in misery ever after Oh were generous and share i with her You see what I mean The artist is held up to contempt and all respectable re-spectable people in the book are aghast at the girls choice Now why is this grls Ask me i harder one I Is because fiction Is notoriously untrue to life The wives of the Royal Academy live in splendor and luxury undreamed of by the ordinary lady of title Nothing of the sort Its because the artists dont business manage themselves They have no commercial sense Therefore they are poor Now if a man invents a soap what does he doT doTWashes Washes himself He advertises it He becomes rich Why then If a man writes a great book should he not advertise himself and his book in every way that is open to him I believe he does Barney Where have you been living this while back of the approved I to be so ignorant approve modern methods in art and literature Isnt a great picture of more value to the world than a muchadvertised soap Well if you ask me I should say no Id take the soap as a clyilizer against the Louvre any day Barney stopped in his walk raised his arms above his head and let them drop heavily to his l sides I f havent a friend in the world he cried in tragic tones Not one not I one Barney this conversation is bewildering bewil-dering What are you driving at anyhow any-how Art soap literature advertising advertis-ing friendship marriage whats wrong Who is the woman Dont talk to me about women I hate them I thought you were most successful in that line I believe I have your own authority for the statement Success One Is successful up to a point then there is a disappointment that shows what a sham success has been Ill never speak to a woman again againIve been there mvself several times Still we always return If not to our frt Sti love to our fourth or fifth As for friends I dont know any man who has more Not true friends Haldiman 1 I havent one I tell you I did think you were a friend and you nothing but sneer at me You think I dont see i I do all the same Im the most sensitive sensi-tive of men although nobody appears to appreciate I I dont sneer at you Barney What put that into your head I think you sometimes fall to appreciate other peoples sensitiveness You are a trifle I prone to flaunt Bank of England notes in the faces of those not so well provided pro-vided with them as you are Then the I sensitive soul rises in rebellion Thats my unfortunate manner Haldiman I really dont mean to do so If I had a game leg or a club foot I and came thumping in here with it you wouldnt make fun of my defect would you Of course not Well why should you resent a defect of manner when you know my Intentions are good I dont resent anything about you Barney at least only spasmodically I You know Id go to the end of the world to serve a friend I would honest hon-est yet Ive no luck Here is a poor I devil of a musician Im trying to befriend be-friend I can see he dislikes me intensely In-tensely I got a publisher to bring out some of his music paid all the expenses ex-penses yet it was like pulling teeth to get that organist to allow me to I help him and hes a genius If there ever was one I got a select and appreciative ap-preciative audience together to hear him play He didnt cqme although he I promised to do so and the people thought I was trying to make fools I of them I must all be my accursed manner Now you always know the right thing to say I dont My genius doesnt run that way Im an artist Haldiman threw back his head and laughed Barney stared at him displeasure dis-pleasure on his brow What the deuce are you laughing at now a Forgive me Barney Im laughing at the thumping of your club foot although al-though you did not believe me capable of it itWhat What have I said Nothingnothing Barney I love you You are the one and only Bar nard Hope all others are base imitations imita-tions Now listen to me I havent the faintest idea what It is you want This conversation has been simply en cyclopaedic In the amount of ground covered but Ill do for you what I you would do for me short of abduction or assassination Id prefer not to I land myself in prison if you dont mind but Ill even run the risk of it that What do you want Out wltH But the moment I begin youll say youre insulted You terrorize me Haldiman pon my soul you do Go on For ten minutes insults are barred Will you go on Very well I asked you how much you made In a year and you jeered at meI never keep accounts and never pay a debt until the brokers come In so I really havent the slightest Idea You I can guess at the amount just a well as I can Guess and proceed All right I want to pay you double your yearly income for your help in this matter That isnt friendship thats commercialism I com-mercialism again I beg pardQn I forgot for-got Dont look daggers Barney I accept Can I have the money in advance ad-vance 1 Of course you can cried Barney gleefully making a diye for his inside I pocket then as the other went into a fit of laughter the joyful look faded I into expression of Intense indignation indigna-tion and Barney with a curse strode ton to the door Haldiman sprang to his I feet and graeped the offended man by the shoulders i None of that he cried Comeback I Come-back you villain You are not going to I offer me a fortune and then sneak off In that fashion Sit down Barney sit I down and go on with the pretty talk Oh its no use said the other intones In-tones of deep dejection I said I hadnt a friend in the world and I I havent Bosh Youre harder to hvir than j a baby I a man may nb He in 1 his own room where may T Ir Intensely Interested and wan i i know what crime Im expected to cvmmit f r 9 < Never mind the money but state your I case caseThe money Is part of the case I I pay or I dont play i Certainly Thats understood J accept Fire away Well you know all the editors of the Illustrated weeklies and magazines zinesFor For my sins I do alas Ten to comeTight to the point as between man and man I want to buy a first class criticand the editor of a first class illustrated periodical magazine You mean you wantto buy a going I dont mean anything of the kind I mean just what I say Then I dont quite understand you Explain What I want Is this I want a firstclass art critic to write an article In a firstclass periodical saying that Barnard Hope is the greatest artist the world has ever seen Oh is that all No thats not all I want the article superbly Illustrated in color If possible with reproductions of my chief paintings Ah I wouldnt do that Barney if I were you The pictures would be rather a giveaway of the great critics eulogy Yes I knew you would say that The obviousness of such a remark would command itself to you But you see Im perfectly frank with you Now could you manage this for me Remember I dont care how much money I spend Haldiman removed the black pipe from his mouth knocked the ashes out I of It and thoughtfully refilled it I Well for brazen cheek Barney he I said at last that proposal Yes I know I know I know But these things happen every day or not to exaggerate let us say every second day I is simply doing for me what Ruskin did for Turner Turner painted i away all his life nobody recognized him and he died in Chelsea Now Im living in Chelsea and I want recognition recogni-tion during my life Of course my Ruskin will come along after Im dead but like the fellow who was to be executed I ex-ecuted I wont be there to enjoy It Things rarely happen at the right moment mo-ment in this world and my brazen proposal pro-posal Is merely to take events by the coat collar and hurry them up a bit You see what I mean Besides I am infinitely greater than Turner dont you know Haldiman smoked and meditated for some moments then he said Im not sure but the trick may be I done although I doubt if brutal bare faced bribery will do It How would a magazine you like Our National Art suit youPerfectly What he says is taken for gospel all the world over Well I happen to know that the editor of Our National Art has been trying for a year to get Vlellieme to write about English a but the Frenchman wont come over to London Lon-don even for a day atany price Vlel lieme Is great a a writer but greater still a a money spender Ill run over to Paris and sound him You couldnt bribe the editor of Our National Art but he will print anything Vlellieme will write for him Now I know the Frenchman doesnt care what he writes for England although he Is rather particular ticular about what appears in Paris He thinks there is no art in England Hes right to a far a his knowledge knowl-edge gees but hes never seen anything any-thing of mine Just so Then If Vlellieme agrees you would be willing to send some o your Immortal works over to Paris for his inspection All of them my boy all of them Then well look on that a settled Ill do my best God bless you my dear fellow God bless you cried Barney with deep emotion crushingly wringing the hand of the wincing man whom h snow s-now declared to be his one friend on earth He clattered noisily down the stairs like a stalwart trooper sprang Into the waiting hansom and departed CHAPTER xIX Marsten went to work with an energy en-ergy and singleness of purpose which probably no organizer of labor ever felt before Chance or destiny had plaed him in exactly the position he had long hoped to attain At first there was little to he done but wait until the union had recovered from the wounds received in the late fruitless struggle nevertheless while he waited he planned and gradually developed the scheme which he hoped would revolu tionlze the labor of the world He saw In the future one vast republic of workers not bounded by nationality but spreading over the entire earth with its foothold wherever one man tolled with his hands to enrich another other He had no delusions regarding the immediate success of his project and did not flatter himself that his ideas would spread with anything like the rapidity of cholera for example but he hoped first to place the Union on a firm footing in England and then with a brilliantly successful strke conducte a a general of genuls conducts con-ducts a battle to show what might be done by a thoroughly well organized force against a rich and powerful firm like that of Monkton Hope He looked forward to the time when every worker In England would be a member a the union after that he hoped to affiliate all the workers in all English speaking countries finally the benighted foreigner for-eigner would be Included Then when the whole was united like an electric installation in a city the unfortunate capitalist who placed a finger on one point would receive the combined current cur-rent of the entire system and die without with-out knowing what hurt him The equipment of the workers would be so comnlete that strikes would become be-come fewer and fewer and finally cease dust as war will cease when weapons of offense reach such a state of perfection that no nation will dare to nick a quarrel with another This great republic of labor would be divided into various states and these states would be again subdivided into as many sections as experience showed a sectons a to be most practicable Each section would elect its secretary the secretaries secre-taries would elect a governor of the state the governors wouldelect a president pres-ident of the whole organization Every official should be paid a salary sufficient suf-ficient even in the lesser offices to keep the incumbent and his family without the necessity of manual labor so that each officers whole time could be given for the benefit of the union Marsten save much thought to the problem of reconciling deserved promotion I promo-tion with popular election and perhaps per-haps If he hadknown more of the results re-sults of universal suffrage In a city like New York he might have reconstructed his whole plan but he had full belief In tho adage that the voice of the people coincides with that of the Almighty Al-mighty and so perhaps did not quite appreciate the practical difficulties which lay In wait for a scheme that looked beautiful on paper Early experience convinced him that he could hope for no active assistance from the men themselves and he promptly eliminated that factor from I his calculations He thought of beginning begin-ning his fight with an educational campaign I cam-paign using in this way the time which must elapse before the treasury of the union was once more in funds but he found he could never get more than half c dozen of the men together atone at-one time and those who came to the mcotincs he called seemed to take but slight interest in what he had to say This dd not discourage him as he was ta a measure prepared for the indifference he met and he remembered remem-bered that his great model Napoleon toO no oo into his confidence Napoleon Na-poleon struck unexpectedlystruck quick and struck hard and Marsten resolved to do the same the moment he had the power Falling to interest the men collectively in the desirability of a close and universal union Marsten tried to win their separate confidence but he soon discovered that in attemptIng attempt-Ing this he was traveling a dangerous road So was amazed to find that there existed a latent sullen opposition 1 0 him that many of the men seemed I < U to regret the generous impulse which had caused them no place him where he was They could not see what he did to ears the money he received some thought they were giving him toils much a he had no work to do ana more than once advised him to keep quiet and leave the men alone to know when he was well off and not to turn the thoughts of the members to the fact that they were supporting him i idleness and luxury To Be Continued |