Show M MONEY nv TO BURN 1117 U r N CHAPTER XII continued 12 ave ive boon been n dog lie he murmured sa badly adly it serves senes tile me right of course 1 I lime have the none nerve of 0 n lion tamer to sk this blit will you give he tile nip an other chance cl ianco nellie will you iou take me back on probation I 1 accept ill I 1 II 11 take you yon back not as a sv sweetheart cp theart but us as the dear old friend you ion were before you lou told me you ion loved me and asked me to marry YOU meanwhile you are not to run 1 way awny I from froin you ou must stay here and make your sour campaign for mayor xiii or 1 I can never be elected mayor maor now nov 1 he be assured liei her that suit salt and the publication of my letters to doris were they the love letters eimer lie ile huns hung ills head 1 I tried to make them thein sound bound that eliat way av but I 1 dont don t think th they ey were as enthusiastic ns as ones I 1 could have written you sou under the same circumstances still I 1 suppose iliev re illey enough to tickle aitos to death 11 be liard lard for nie me to laugh off lahe the cli clin tince she urged elmer shook ills his head dolefully doleful lj 1 I dare not now hut but you 1 in announced your our candian candidacy cy with a blare of trumpets its as it IV ore ion 11 have to inter enter the hie fight now flow nimer elmer shuddered lint hut I 1 never intended to run for foi mayor inn 01 tills this year cir lie protested la daniely niely 1 I aras merely announcing 1 ivull bouncing noun lioun cing iny in self it it as n candidate to run against the incumbent when lie came up for re ie reelection election its as I 1 figured lie would now tile alie infernal killjoy kill joy joi ins bas disappointed everybody by resigning till fluid moving out of the ounh county the hie city council Is deadlocked over the applin appointment I 1 of lihi hlf su cesor find in III ovder older to sane their faces they have ordered it 11 iq i election to decide who shall be enior to fill the une plied teria leini S si ion ou see sec nellie Iel lle ive got tin an excellent casc for foi withdrawing now I 1 can say mj I 1 do not care to make a campaign for the lie terin because it will not tifford tile nn fill opportunity to initiate reforms reform all my friends will understand P you lou remind me of ft a small boy ajio w whistles up ills his courage as lie he passes iassc s the cemetery demetei after dark elinar you iou linow know very berj well that hint if you ou are elected to till the term and ahk 0 good you ou can call be elected for the next two year oar term terin without half trying no I 1 cannot ill make an announcement no in the clarion that upon further furt lier consideration I 1 find that my m business affairs will not nat permit of my milking making the race find and accordingly I 1 am withdrawing my m candidacy it you vou do that noille assured him you ou as well veil abandon bandon ii till all hope of marrying me eventually I 1 could never nemr stand n quitter I 1 want avant you to enter that fight even cen if you ou do lose loe it lie ile squirmed in ills his cliar char the very ery thought ot of it makes me shudder nellie cine a hearal permit me to withdraw now marry me and go fio away avay with rne me to france or italy anywhere to escape then when falls ill not be here to be laughed it at nothing in tills this world cabbe can he of sur passing interest for more than n nine ine lils days and in fit a year or two from now adien lien we ftp return tile abole miserable affair will alae lave been forgotten 1 I daro dare say sa miner elmer in that length of time you ion will liao lave been forgotten too you will have hae lost your sour leader filp ship so essential to your future here you must remain here and build up your our leadership then marry marr me and help me stand it no I 1 had nothing to do with getting you jou into this jam and you 11 have to fight your our own way out it if you ou do that however the day I 1 find it out ill marry you 1011 but it if you sou quit it if you run count me out of your calculations 11 lie ile groaned inwardly you the slightest conception of a n womans comans pride elmer nellie went on with motherly tend tenderness ernes t that flint adventuress Is trying to bren break you ou to run you out ot of your own country im trying to make you to keep keel i you 3 ou from being run out the question f therefore resolves itself into this who Is going to win you are the only human being who can decide that 1 question and I 1 call upon you to decide it here and now or forfeit not only the he fragments of my former love for you but my future friendship and respect for you sou speak up eliner or remain forever foi ever silent 1 Youw ln fl he declared without an instants hesitation 1 I dont care what happens to me provided I 1 do not you again I 1 can take a licking you know smiling I 1 hope well ell nt at iny any rate in silence that remains to be seen said nellie darkly your courage and are going to be tested in a mi inz ner of which you little dream our future happiness depends upon how low well or how poorly you jou emerge from that test elmer eimer thought of his love letters to doris and shuddered again youre not eating anything nellie challenged him suddenly why you ou jin vent taken a single bite I 1 if I 1 lid did id feel as vulgar and insensate as n a pig he replied cheer up elmer there Is no bell well then im up to my ears in something just as lot hot ile he eyed her half angrily and youre the little devil dell stoking the lire i nellie half rose from her chair and leaned the table toward him kiss me booby I 1 she alie commanded commended fiercely i and elmer obeyed by peterr peter B kyne Q Q by reer B D kyn 8 up ti 0 the dm 10 lie receded rece hed ell from froin that anonymous los I 1 us angeles source tile the letters lie he lind had written his inamorata llmer elmer in made tin no progress in the mutter matter of mapping out ills campaign for mayor ile he wag ha much too nervous too overwhelmed merw helmed with grave grae apere hens heris lons to focus its ills mind on oil tills this adventure which could only end in III cpr lie ile spent his dis aay ns lillig and ills nights in gloomy gloom meditation longfellow in ills his ill lawn tha ob spi senes aes that misfortune come not feln gly fil the rhe poet might effual truth alae lave written that I 1 leggings coulp come in III lochs flocks suddenly anine the letter from doi darls is charging bilm with the tra alon oi of a newer newee abid mure more despicable crime and vowing owing vengeance iKe when her time should ile he up ulie the receipt of hie newspaper clipping solved the mystery mastery of the die girls letter ond while llmer was rejoicing 0 nt taki alila li lable evi el hilra dence or of a stay sta Y of execution A ec I 1 on iiii ciul mik mak ing up lip its ills igind tr to 0 make mal e jhb fur ly I 1 in it its ills for no now W th alint a t ant had intervened bilte cried and elnen win n fighting chalep towlie tow to win lii tile pocket packet of love loe letters arrles the llie that had been b pen ills just previous pros lous to thI HilS Vis the most agana grief in III on with the delirious delight that hint de scented upon lint now it avns the gren rel tet day di in history lili tor when lien ills of delight doll glit lind had in n if measure mei siire etli lie proceeded to read th the letters in the order orde of their da du t es after ng the aird alid I 1 I 1 lett letter ar lie bl ns AVI th an ngue foi lie he alse v eyed that it he e imd had index indeed asked daris boils to mini marry halml h int lid he to rend read the fourth letter and groaned aloud it was ns herrl terrible b ae so lie he burned them nil all lie ile was walting waiting outside the bink bank when came out but at alve velock 0 clock hop into this car nr and come away any I 1 with me nellie he be ordered or ill YOU iou nellie elble hopped in J R and they whir leil away into the alie country on once clear of the town elm rs hand stole over oer find closed avei oer hellmes she jerked it awn Y but he seized her firm arm roughly find and benin again possessed blin self of her hand which he retained b by brute brut force oice still he said nothing aio so nilie main talked silence presently she spoke to break an embarrassing f r alence what have you i oil been doing idi aill day elmer I 1 ive ve been singing bet yoi son q a ji hundred undred dollars I 1 know what youve be been 4 n singing 11 1 taken whit what line lave I 1 been singing the llie national anthem of blaim you ou lose I 1 dont don t know it oil yes cs you adl doj chats it called chI leal C she fhe informed him without a moments hesitation il mer clarke to took ok out lus 1119 wallet and solemnly handed nellie cathcart a li hundred undred dollar mil bill and nellie took it I 1 when llmer elmer rose the following morning lie he remembered vint if he in tended to be mojor mayor of 0 it behooved him to be up and doing 11 had no no time to spare 1 ills first idia idea was to contract with the silver cornet band to play nt at his political rallies earlu shely thus forcing his opponents to import their music expensively from surrounding towns the extent of his advertising find the elaborate preparations for his cam palan alarmed and irritated his op portents the larm alarm being occasioned by first firsthand liand knowledge that they were being opposed lii by a young forceful popular man without a blemish on ills his character cliar acter and witban with an excellent war record ills ilia strength jn in fraternal circles was well known and of course lie he would get the old soldier vote in 4 1 K kiss iss me she commanded Fler fiercely cily its entirety the irritation of the enemy was born of nn an apprehension thatis that if they were to oppose him successfully cess fully they would have to adopt the cacelie pa pace celie lie had se set which predicated the spending ot of more aloney money than they cared to till think I 1 about also they would have lave to make speeches spec clies they were in capable of making with a tithe of the ease grace glace gl ace and logic of their youthful opponent their best plan lay in ancient political strategy by mutual consent tile the democratic and the candidates andl dates concluded to refrain aop biou lighting each ach other and concentrate their tire lire on elmer ein cr to 0 bliner competition was the joy of life ile he lind had been born with the winning spirit and lie to leave leav no stone unturned to seune secure ills object oh lee tle alve however Io weer lie he overlooked ae one sane stone neille cathcart called it to ills his ion 1 1 1 I sit suppose abose E liner iliner youre you ro going to s spend n couple of thousand dollars to win will tin nn office that pays pass a wary salon af pf 0 only one hundred dollars a month I 1 suppose so tile the confounded job Is rp really tilly a nuisance hill but now flow that ini im ii in the race im not going to let a little anon V stand in fit tile way of victory lectory lc tory well you ou had better form the nimer R B clarke campaign committee and permit it to spend that money 11 r slie he suggested name the it p committee n nad tio appoint me treasurer you line have a spent ns macli money as boil ou are permitted to spend under tile the law if ou spend ni more ahre you iou will violate alie fit purity of tle te election law if you win will your lour an enemies will check up on you ou liter after the election indict edict you ou convict c t you ou and deprive p YOU of bour hard won won office i gut but I 1 cant pis pasq the lie lint for my ex pell 14 04 he protested be mildered wil dered your finance committee liend end 11 the subscription list will a fifty dollar io 11 air donation find open if an U recount account in an p moodis Alo odys bank then ihen send bend 3 ioni oin bills to me filid and ns as treasurer I 1 W will III pay then nut but biow w 1 never jeci mind how low afi aa treasurer troa surer that avill be my mi bony you ou k to our knitting ilk hut chere can nn you jou get the money ill pet get it somewhere 1 miner liner did iou 0 u e clr se see a cat a hole in a fence lie ile sticks bis his head through andia and if ills touch he knows lie be ca cannot annot beet aft ills body through gl so lie he climbs over oer the lie fe fence nee well I 1 im in go ing to crawl through this hole W without about touching my financial whiskers she id did she gave agne the Pilar eltos commercial trust savings bank a second mortgage for two thousand dollars on the property pr site she had bought from eliner clarke and old anse moody charged her ten per cent interest on the loan and refused to make H it for more moie than a year icar this money slie she deposited to tile he credit of the nimer 13 clarke clniker campaign committee and on oil thedac the adny after the election she paid her last bill closed clobes up her account and had four hundred dollars left and on election day da elmer received two votes oles in excess of the total votes otea cast for ill ills s opponents it was a stupendous pen dous 4 a sweeping victory lc tory and the politically wise ascribed it to but one tiling thing to wit tremendous public admiration mi tion for elmer Clarke Cl arkes 9 modesty throughout the campaign lie had bad not once addressed the local post of tile american legion nor had he appeared at tiny meetings of it lie ile had made absolutely no appeal for the old soldier vote ote either verbally er bally or in print no not t once hid had lie referred to ills his war record and cited the tact fact that lie had been in the army mm everybody in eltos had felt certain eimer would wab the bloody shirt and he had haddis disappointed them wherefore in gratitude tude and admiration they had bad elected him nellie was was far happier than E elmer im er when tile the votes were counted E elmer I 1 mer had a rather well v ell defined I 1 idea ea that he had labored and brought forth t mouse that lie he had fought tor for th the sheer love of a fight now that tha t he had a 0 of election lie shuddered to think lie he would lime have to use it cut but nellie her plans for his carper career long since made merely checked off another milestone on the road to the heights and when ulmer elmer having taken ills his oath of office secured a two weds leave leae of absence front from the city council in order to rest after his furious campaign campal gri nellie was relieved rel leed to be rid of him even for that brief period ulmer elmer betook retook himself again to los angeles but nellie did not keep an all eye ee on him this time she knew elmer had had an an ample sufficiency c lency of f wandering in strange pastures and that lint the next damsel who zold sold him a 0 pap pup would have to be adroit to a degree possible something more than hum humanly anly upon ills return elmer devoted himself assiduously to ills ils duties as mayor for three months during in grinj which period lie saw ns much of nellie as aa possible then 1 lien having secured a sixty day leave af pf of absence from the city council he h departed hilpp anted on oil ills his long iong deferred trip to iowa to settle bettle tile the estate of ills late laic uncle hiram for sonie sonic mysterious reason net nellie e was ers distrait the night before lie he lert left in the stuffy parlor pallor of the old tally lulli home they said goodby and III nier lei was admed to see her go completely out of control for the first time thile in their acquaintance blie bite put lier her firm birins around hiti his mckand mck neck and wept for about the five minutes almer was nn my stilled in vain miln kliner her ber that he would wire alre lier her frequently long night letters that lie would write her her dilly dally d illy and send ills his letters by air mall mail that lie would avoult telephone lione lier her every satur day night she mie re r fused rued to be comfor |