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Show I CY WHTTTAKER S PLACE K By JOSEPH C. LINCOLN Bm Lcpyrlfht. 1908. by D. Appteton O Co. I I CHAPTER XII. B J"l--vkHI8 is coin' to bo a uiemorla- H I I I ble town ineetln'l" declared B I M. I Kylvuuug Cahoon with uuc- m ' tlou, rising from a settee to B gazo about lilm over tho heads of the B voters lu tho town hall. "I bet you JHj every ublcbodled mini lu Ilayport Ml BB bo hero this nfternopn. Yes. sir, that's H What I call It, n luu-mo-rlablo tncctlu'l" H Mr. Tlddltt was conducted to tho H platform. After thumping tho desk jH with his list lie auuounccd that the BB gathering would ''como to order right B off, us' thcro Is consldcr'blo business jBB to be done and It ought to bo golu' BB ahead." Ho then proceeded to read Bfl tho call for the meeting. This cere- BJ mony was uo sooner over than Abed- jl nego Small, "Uncle Beduy," was on BS bin feet loudly demanding to bo in- jBl formed vvby tho town "hasn't done Bfl no thin' " toward Qxlng up tho Ilas- B sett's Hollow road. Uncle Dedny's BJ speech had proceeded uo further than BJ "fellow citizens. In the noma of an BJ outrageous I should say outraged BJ portion of our community I" when BJ he was choked off by a self appointed BJ commlttoo who knew Mr. Small of BJ old and had seated themselves near BJ him to bo ready for Just such cuier- gencles. Tho nest step, Judged by meetings of other years, should have B been to unanimously elect Ebcn Sal-B Sal-B ters moderator, but as Captain Ebcn B refused to Bcrvo owing to his Interest B In the Whlttakcr campaign Alvln Knowlcs was, by a small majority, chosen for that offlce. Mr. Knowlcs was n devout admirer of tho great Atkins, At-kins, and his election would have been considered a preliminary victory for the opposition had It not been that many of Captain Cy's adherents voted for Alvln from a lovo of mischief, knowing from experience his Ignorance f parliamentary law and his easv going go-ing rule. "Now there'll be funl" declared de-clared ono delighted Individual. "Any-thing's "Any-thing's In order when Alvln's chairman." chair-man." "No sign of Cy or Ilcinan yet," observed ob-served Mr. Cahoon, craning bis neck In the direction of tho door. "It's the queerest thing ever I seo." j "Queer enough about Cy, that's n W fact," concurred Captain Dlmlck. "I ain't so surprised about Heman's not coraln'. Looks as If Whit was right-he right-he alwajs said Atkins dodged a row where folks could watch It Does most of his dghtln' from round the corner. Hello, there's Tadl Now you'll seo the crown of glory set on Lonzo Snow's bend Hope tho crown's padded pad-ded nice nnd soft. Anything with sharp edgei would sink In." But Captuln Cy soon had entered tho ball. He was standing In tho aisle, and with him wns llallcy Bangs. The captain looked very tired, almost worn out, but he nodded coolly to Mr. Simpson. "Here I nm. Tad," continued the captuln "Say your piece." Hut Tad, It uppeured, was not anxious anx-ious to "buj his piece." He wns whispering whis-pering earnestly with a group of his followers. Finally, however, lie took the platform mid made sneering remarks re-marks that plainly referred to the captain. cap-tain. Captain Cy held up his hand "Mr. Moderator," ho asked, "enn I have the floor n minute? All I want to-say Is that I cal'late I'm the feller tho last speaker had reference lo. I have said thnt I didn't fee why that appropriation was so hard to get. I say It n gnl n Other appropriations iiro got, and why not ours? I did say If I .was a congressman I'd gel It. Tea, and I'll Bay more," ho added, raising his voice "I'll say that If 1 wus sent to Washln'toti by this town, congressman congress-man or not, I'd move heat en and earth and all creation from the presl- ' dent down till I did get it; that's all. I So would any live man, 1 should think." no sat down. There was some applause. ap-plause. Hcforc It had subsided Abel Leonard, ono of the quickest wlttcd of Mr, Simpson's worl.cn. was on his feet gesticulating fur attention. "Mr. Moderator." ho shouted, "I want to mako n motion. We've all heard tho . big talk that's been uuide. All right, then! I movo you, sir, that Captain Cyrus Whlttitker be appointed a commlttoo com-mlttoo of one to go to Wushln'tou, It ho wants to, or anywhere else, and se that we get the appropriation. And If wo don't got It tho blame's hlsl There, now I" Xhcro was n roar of laughter. ThU was exactly tho sort of "tit for tat humor that appeals to n Yankee crowd. Tho motion was seconded half a dozen times. Moderator Knowlea grinned and shook bis head. "A Joke's n Joke," he said, "and we all llko a good one. However, this meetln' Is supposed to be for business, not fun, so" "Question! Questlonl It's been seconded! sec-onded! We've got 4to vote on It!" shouted n chorus. "Don't you think seems to me that ain't in order," began tho moderator, but Captain Cy rose to his feet. The grim smile had returned to his face, and tin looked at the Joyous ssscm-blage ssscm-blage with almost his old expression of appreciate alertness. "Never mind the vote," ho said. "I realize thut Brother Leonard has rather rath-er got one on me, ko to speak. All right; I won't dodge. I'll bo a commit-teo commit-teo of ono on tho harbor grab, and If nothln' comes of It I'll tnko my sharo of kicks. Gentlemen, I appreciate your trustfulness In my ability." This brief speech was a huga success. suc-cess. If for n moment the pendulum, of public fuvor had swung toward Simpson, Simp-son, this trumping of the latter's leading lead-ing card pushed It buck again. Tho moderator had some dllllculty In restoring re-storing order to tho hilarious meeting. Then Mr. Myrlck was accorded tho privilege of tho floor, In splto of Tad's protests, aud proceeded to nomtnato Cyrus Whlttakcr for the school committee. com-mittee. Joslah Dlmlck seconded the cop-tain's cop-tain's nomination. Then Mr. Simpson stepped to the front and, after a wistful wist-ful glance at the door, began to speak. "Feller citizens." he sald.4"lt Is my privilege to put In nomination for school committee a man whoso name stands for all that's good and clean and progressive In this township. But aforo I do It I'm guln' t ask you to let me say a word or two couccrnln' somethln' that bears right on this matter mat-ter and whlrh, 1 believe, every one of you ought to know It's somethln' that most of you don't know, and It'll be a surprise, a big surprise "Feller Bayportets." wimi! on Tad, "there's one thing we've nil jgiee on, no matter who we've meant to vote for that Is, that a niembci of our school commlttoo should bo uu up right, honest man, one fit morally to look out for our dear children. Ain't that so? Well, then, I ask you this: Would jou consider a man fit for that Jbb who deliberately came between a father nud his child, who ptzened tho mind of that child against his own parent and when that parent come to claim that child first tried to buy him off and then turned hlrn out of the house? Yes, and offered violence to him and done Itl Is that tho kind of man we want to honor or to look out for our own children's schoolln?" Mr. Simpson undoubtedly meant to cause a sensation by his opening remarks re-marks He certainly did so. Tbo'cap tain rose to his feet, then sank back again j "Ocntlemen," continued the speaker, "last night I hail an experience that I shan't forget as long as I lire 1 met i a poor man. a poor, lame man who'd been away out west and got hurt bad. Folks thought he was dead His wife thought so and died grlevln' for him. 6 he left u little baby girl, only seven or eight je.tr old. When this man come back, well nguln, but poor, to look up his family he found his wlfo had passed away aud tho child had been sent off, Just to get rid of her, to a stranger lu another town. That stranger fully meant to send her off, too; ho said so dozens of times. A good many of you folks right hero beard him say It. But he never sent her. Ho kept hor. Why? Well, that's the question. I shan't answer It 1 ain't nccusln' nobody. All I say is, what's easy enough for any of you to prove, and that Is that It como to light the child had property bclongln' to her property, land, wuth moneyl" lie paused once moro and drew his sleeve across his forehead. Most of his hearers wcro silent now, on tiptoe of expectation. "This man," he proclaimed, "this father, motirnlu' for bis dead wife and longln' for his child, comes to the town where ho was to find and take "VOU'VB BUD KNOUCIIll NOW I.BT MB SIT A WOIlDl" her. Aud when ho meets the man that's got her what docs this rich man do? Why, fust of all, he's sweet-er'n sweet-er'n sirup to him, takes him In, keeps him overnight, nud the next day he says to lilm; 'You Just bo quiet and say nothln' to nobody that she's your Ilttlo girl. I'll make It wuth your while' All right ho fur maybe, but wait!' Then It turns out that the father knows about this land, this proporty. Aud then tho kind, charl-tabjo charl-tabjo man - (his rich .man with lots of money ot ins own turns tne poor father out, tcllln' him to get tho girl nnd tho land If he can, know-In' knowln', mind you that the father nlu't got n cent to hire Invvjers nor even to pay for his next ineiil And when the father says he woit go. but wants his dear one that beloug In him, tho rich feller abuses him, knocks lilm down with his list knocks down, a poor, weak, lame Invalid Just off a sickbed! Is that tho kind of a man uu want ou our school committee?" The meeting was In an uproar. "No need for tne to tell you who I mcaul" shouted Tad. wnvlug his urins. "You know w ho as well as t do. You have Just hoard him praised as beln' all that's good nnd groat. But I say" "You've said enough! Now let me say a word!" It was Captain Cy who Interrupted He had pushed his way through the crowd, "Knowlcs," snld Captain Cy. turning to tho moderator, "let me speak, will you? I won't be but n minute." Briefly Brief-ly he told the true fncts. "As for the property," he concluded, fiercely, "why, darn the proporty. 1 say! It ain't wuth much aujhow, and If 'twas anybody else's he should Intvi It and welcome But It's Bos'n's, and beln' what he Is, he shan't have It. And ho shan't have her to crucllze. neither by the A'mlghty, he shun'i. so long as I've a dollar to fight lit in wlthl t say that to you, Tnd Simpson, and to tho man to whoever put you up to this. There! I've said my say. Now, gentlemen, you can choose your side." He strode back to his seat There was sllcnco for a moment Then Jo-slju Jo-slju Dlmlck sprung up and waved his hat "That's the way to talk!" he 'shouted That's a man! Three cheers for Cop'n Whlttakcr! Come on, everybody!" But everybody did not "come ou " The cheers were feeble It was ovl-dent ovl-dent that the majority of those present did not know how to meet this unexpected unex-pected contingency. It had taken them by.surprlse, nnd they were undecided The uproar of argument nnd question began again, louder than ever The bewildered moderator thumped his desk aud shouted feebly for order Tad Simpson took the floor nnd lu a few words and at the top of his lungs nominated Alonzo Snow. Abel Leon ard seconded the nomination. There wcro jells of "Question! Questlonl" nnd "Votel Vote!" Ebcn Suiters was recognized by tbc chair. Captain Suiters made few speeches, and when he did make one It was because be had something to say. "Mr. Moderator." ho said, "I, for one, hato to vote Just now. It Isn't that tho school committee Is so Important Im-portant of Itself. But I do think that' tho rights of -n father with his child Is pretty Important, nnd our voto for Cap'n Whlttakcr and mostof you know I Intended votln' for him nnd have been workln' for him might seam like an Indorsement of his posl tlon Thts whoto thing Is a big stir prise to me I don't feel yet that we know enough of the Inside facts to give such an Indorsement I'd tike to see this Thomas man before I decide to give It or not to giro It, either It's a queer thing to come up at town meetln', but It's up Hadn't we better adjourn until next week?" He sat down Tho meeting was ! demoralized. Some were shouting for adjournment, others to vote It out. A straw would turn the scale, nnd the straw was forthcoming. While Cap tain Cy was speaking tho door had si lently opened nnd two men entered the hall nnd sought seclusion In n corner I Now one of theso men cnino forward- I the Hon. Heman Atkins. Mr. Atkins walked solemnly to the front Tho moderator's gavel descended "Order!" ho roared. "Order, I say' Congressman Atkln3 Is goln' to tnlk to us." Tho Honorable Heman faced the excited ex-cited crowd Ono hand was In the I breast of his frock coat; tho other was 1 clinched upon his hip. "Fellow townsmen," he begnu, "far be It from mo to Influence your choice In the mailer of tho school committee commit-tee Still farther bo It from me to in lluence jou against an old boyhood friend, a neighbor, ono whom I be-Hove be-Hove or luil believed to bo all thut vvn slinciu and true. But, fellow townsmen, mj esteemed friend Cup-(mil Cup-(mil Salic- has expressed a wish to see .Mr I lioiuus. tho father 'whoso stun jim line heard today. I happen lo I... in ii position to gratify that wish Mr Thomas, will you kindly como forward for-ward V Then from tho rear of tho hall Mr. Thomas came. But the drunken rowdy of tho night beforo had been transformed Gone wcro tho scrubby beard and the shabby sulL. Shorn was tho unkempt mop of hair and vanished tho Impudent swngger Ho was dressed dress-ed In clean linen and respcctablo black, and his manner wns modest nnd subdued. sub-dued. Only a discoloration of ono eye showed whero Captain Cy's blow had left Its mark. Ho stepped upon tho platform beside tho congressman CHAPTER XIII. "PPlRIUNDS," said neman, "my I li I namo has been brought Into JJL I Hi's controversy by Mr. Simp lJ son directly aud In Insluua tlon by cr another. Therefore It Is my right to mako my position clear Mr. Thomas canto to mo last evening In distress, both of mind and body, no told mo his Hiory HUbstnutlnlly the story which has just been told to you by Mr. Simpson and, gentlemen, I bo- llovo it But If I did not believe It, If I believed him to have been In tho past all that his opponent has said, even If 1 uelfeusl Hint only laRt evening, spumed, driven from Ids child, penul less and hnpclcot tu- nud jtuldul to the weakness whnh his lieen his i urno all Ills life oven If I believed that, still I should detiiiiinl tli.n Henry Thomas repentant and uiipst as jou see hltn now. should he given his rightful op-portnnlt.v op-portnnlt.v in lieiomc a iiiuii again He Is poor but lie Is nm shall not be friendless So, a ilion-ouid times, nol You iiiiij kiij some of vim that the affair Is nm niv imhIiicsh I alllrtn thnl Ii Is mj lnin,ws It Is my business busi-ness as a Chiioliuii and that business should tome before all others 1 have a child of in v own I know what a father's line l nd after n sleepless night -I si mil iicie before jou today determined Uiiii MiU man shall have tils own if mj niotiej -which you will, I'm cure forulvc mv mentioning and m.v uniliin hliu support enn give It to til in I tut i mj position" He paused and vvitli nit imnd raised launched ids t'nal thunderbolt. "Whom Ood biitli jotiiul lie pi in lu lined, "let no one put asunder'' That seilled u I lu-cheers shook the walls X iiinl i lit l ii mult Dlmlck mid Ballej Hangs M-lnl I'liptaln Cy by tho shoulders unit enili.Mored to lift tl I til from his seal "For II, e Ion- o' goodness. Whit," groaned Josmh ilespiraleh. "stand up nud iiiiswi i lilm' If von don't we'll founder huio The captain nulled giltulj and shook his head lie hid mil lilken his eyes from the fine ol the greai Atkins since the latter began spcuklug "Whal," he replied. "aft,cr that 'put asunder soi kdolnger? Mini alive, do jou want me to add Sabbath break-In' break-In' to mj ollur i ilmi-sV" The vote bv ballot followed almost Iniuieillulelj It was pitiful to soi1 the erstwhile Wliltlnkei majority melt vawaj, AI01170 Snow was triumphantly elected But a handful voted against him. Captain Cj. tctuiuliig from the town meeting to the Whlttakcr place, felt lonesome. Wur wus alieady declared, and tho reasons fot It mattered little The first xkltmlsh mlghl occur at any mo ment The situation was desperate The captain squared his shoulders, thrust forward his chin nnd wnlked briskly up the path to the door of the dining room, It was nenily I o'clock, but Bos'n had not yet gone. "Hello, shipmate," he hailed. "Not headed for school yet? Good I cal'late you needn't go this nfteruoou. I'm thlnkln' of hlrln' a team and drlvln' to Os tn ble. nnd I didn't know but you'd like to go wllh me Think jou could without that teacher woman hnvln' jou brought up aft for mutiny?" I Bos'n thought It over. "Yes, sir," tdio said. "I guess so. if you wrote tne an excuse I'd love to go, Uncle Cj." Tbc captain removed his coat and hat and pulled a chair forward to the I table. "Hellor he exclaimed "What's this -the mall?" ' Bos'n smiled delightedly. "Yes. sir." she replied. "I know you was at the meeting, and so 1 brought It from the ofllce Ain't you glod?" "Sure! Yes, Indeed' Much obliged " He smothered groan and picked up the mall. "Hum," ho mused-"tbo Ilieeze, a circular and one letter Hellol It Isn't posslhlo that- Well, well'" The letter wns In a long envelope. Ho hustlly toro It open At the Incisure Inci-sure lie glanced In evident excitement Then his nmlle returned. 1 "Bos'n," he snld after a moment's I reflection, "I guess jou nnd me won't hno to go to Ostablo after all." No tlclng the child's look of disappoint 1 ment, ho added: "But jou needn't go tc I school Maybe you'd better not You I and nie'll take a tramp alongshore j What do you say?" I "Oh. yes. Undo Cyl Let's shall I we?" "Why, I don't see why not We'll cruise In company as long ns wo can, ' hej. little girl? Tho squall's likely tc I strlko afore night," bo muttered, half I aloud "We'll enjoy I ho One weather till It's tlmo to shorten sail " i They walked all that afternoon Cap tain Cy was een moro kind and gentle with his small companion than usual He told her stories which mado her laugh, pointed out spots In the pines i where he had played Indian ivhen a I boy, carried her "pig back" when sho grew tired and kissed her tenderly I when, nt the back door of the Whit- I taker place, ho set hor on her feet i again I Shoitly after their return Miss Dawes came to Inqiilte nbout Kinlly's absence from school Suddenly stops sounded ou the walk, there wus u whispering outside, and somo one knocked on tho dining room door. I Tho situation was similar to that of the evening when tho board of strategy called and "John Smith" made his flrst appearance. But now, oddly enough, Captain Cy seemed much less troubled IIo looked at Miss Dawes, nnd there was a dancing twinkle in his eye. "Is it" began tho lady In nn ngl tated whisper "The boardiu' party? 1 presume likely." "But what can jou do?" "Stand by the repel, I guess," wus the calm reply. "I told you that they had most of the ammunition, but ours ain't all blank cnrtrldges. You stay below and listen to tbo broadsides," They heard Gcorglanuu cross the dining room. There wns u murmur of voices at the door Tbo captain nod-ded nod-ded "It's them," ho sold. "Well, her goes. Now, don't you show yourself." 'Do you think I am afraid? Indeed, 1 shan't stay 'below,' as you call itl I shall let them see" - - Captain Cy held up his hand. "I'm commodore of this fleet" he said, "and, that beln' the case, 1 expect my crew to obey orders. There's nothln' noth-ln' you can do, nnd Why, yes, there Is too. You enn tnko enro of Bos'n Georglnnnn," to the housekeeper, "send Bos'n In hero quick." "They're t bore." whispered Georgian na "Mr. Atkins nnd Tnd nnd thai Thomas critter and lots more. And they've come after her. What shall no do?" "Jump when I scak to you; that's the flrst thing Send Bos'n In hero." Hmlly en mo running Miss Dnwei put an arm about her Captain Cy stepped forth. They were there, ns Georglnnnn had said Mr. Thomas on tbc top step, He-man He-man and Simpson on the next lower, nnd behind them Abel Leonard nnd n group of Interested volunteers, 'IJvcnln'. gentlemen." snld tho captain, cap-tain, opening the door briskly "ICtenlu'." repealed Captain Cy "Quite a surprise party jou're glvln' me. Como lu." "Cyrus." begau the Honorable At kins, "we are here to claim" "Give mo my daughter, you robber!" domntidod Thomas rrom his new po sltlon In the rear of tho other two "Mr Thomas." said Ilcinan. "please remember that I am conducting this affair I respect tho natural Indlgua tlou of ou outraged father, but ahem' Cjrus. we lire hero to claim" "Then do jour clnlmln' Inside. It's kind of chilly tonight There's pleiitj of empty chairs, and we don't need to hold nn overflow meetln' Come abend lu ' To He Continued. |