| Show G te hii al 1 1 11 1 V fey 9 U 1 A JU AND A FRIEND j wa aarto II ackett we have a clew to a sensational story the peoples names are nich mond and there are to be an exposure and a scandal that will shake up the town the city editor i the globe said and incidentally ruin two or three peoples reputations so be careful of the facts the managing editor said henry hackett was receiving instruct tlona to cover the chief news story of I 1 the day tall ruddy full of courage to cope with almost any physical problem was always making experiments peri ments in the philosophy of human life he was a fairly well tried man on the staff of the globe and had the reputation of never having failed to secure a story to which he was assigned that this was worth dollars and centa to him fie substantially realized for by landing a of difficult news stories in advance of the other newspaper men who knew of them he had won his chiefs regard so bearty as such a sentiment can be forced from a superior officer whose weather eye Is always on the holding of his own particular superior job and whose good word in the nolde office had secured hackett a 10 per cent increase in his income this he set down a profitable experiment hold up your reputation and make two columns 0 the affair give us a account of richmonds nich monds manipulation of the tunnel eatock well you pave just time to find him at his home before be fore our last edition boea to press laid the city editor aa II ackett took up his coat and hat he hurried out and took a cab the eddress given him was an fn aba wealthiest tart of the city three quarters of an loura rapid drive and he felt this was nn occasion where a alve cent car fare vae incompatible with the importance of the story lie knew the richmonds were rated lie had lilt the briefest information 0 the sub feet of his errand scarcely more than he peoples names but he knew that himself was a shrewd old man who would probably detect the full drift of the moat carefully worded flue ellon at its first utterance and AS the rocked him from one side to the he framed in his head a plausible tale of rumor which might lead rich eimu to talk of the tunnel stock deal it I 1 can get on to the old gentle mans curves before he suspects we are after the scandal part of be affair there will be no trouble hackett thought as he sized the matter up ae oio aio of the monumental things which in his way foche knew dozea newspaper men who have felt honored in being bent to secure a big etory from a millionaire and he determined ter mined to trust to the luck of the moment tor just the right chosen question that would almost force richmond to divulge iho facts as a matter of self defense the cap rolled up to the lUch monds house ana hackett telling the driver to wait hurried up the steps and gave aicard hi card io a polite servant upon whom thee tec t of the cab standing at the door had hot been lost he waited a few moments in the library when some conf entering the room behind him said la this 41 hackett 7 tha voice was surprisingly familiar hackett burned and saw illsley haver ya slender young man ot his own age faultlessly dressed a THIS bunch 0 in his coat haverly seized ht band threw hta arm aftic shoulder and i J wanted to begin ft search tor not heard eineck at harvard tap twp beare ago yoe last man X expected to 7 s 1 1 1 f ia meet here returned hackett taking Ha verlys hand in both ot his arid almost crushing it in delight you cannot think I 1 hold you in very loving remembrance as I 1 have good reason to do to have boet loet track 0 you so long but it you will allow me we will begin our acquaintance exactly where it left off said haverly certainly salu hackett 1 I have tried to find you heard you were in europe but two letters came back to me unopened s S yes I 1 went to the mediterranean on a long cruise on the duke of yacht then to egypt italy and the continent aad ani home just a week said haverly i and I 1 found a place on a dally newspaper and have taken trips all over the city every day or two for newn that ranges from a prizefight prize fight to a society wedding make a fair salary and have some hope of climbing up near the top of that ladder we hear about returned hackett o 0 still believe in that ladder you used to have all aorta of theories in college I 1 remember aal you used to experiment with them en me replied his friend do realty believe there Is such a ladder or iha t on the contrary people never ris above theolane the plane to which they are barn 1 I do believe in the theory of the ladder just as firmly a I 1 used to believe in my theory of gratitude returned hackett you believe in too yet I 1 might have thought yoa would have seen it completely disproved by this timeteo tim etwo years in a newspaper office eald haverly no I 1 believe even yet that people a few at least will reme niber a favor a bit of belt sacrifice with gratitude and do one a good turn occasionally well maybe hayw light a clear and tell me how apu came to stumble upon me here said haberly Ha pulling the armchair close to a table and offering hia cigar case it was pure accident came here to see nich Is inquired hackett yes he Is busy with a lawyer just now can I 1 tak e a for you I 1 am a kind of character here haverly said smiting r hackett puffed at his cirar a moment and studied the face of hie friend it was the bame jace with its innocent outgoes farst at acted his attention wh eche met haverly as a boy trifle wyk then perhaps but by development land cante ct the knef roto his a the the wrong man 0 the news desired to secure but he knew diat haverly had never aed w him life and he told him the purpose of his errand Ha verlys face 1 I judge from youri eing here that you can assist me all I 1 want now la to see richmond 1 concluded hackett harry I 1 am here visiting these people I 1 received your card by mistake I 1 can help you in this haverly paused but I 1 will not he continued you cannot see richmond hackett looked up a trifle surprised he had met people who had talked like this before and then the faintest smile traced itself across hs face it angered haverly and hisa face showed it in times gone by I 1 have helped you said hackett gently 5 1 I know you have returned haverly 1 I might not have taken my degree it j DONT YOU THE 1 you had not but you dont know what you are asking roe 0 o do we did not know the had leaked out but it haa hackett with another hint of a smile haverly instantly paw his mistake and his face colored anger god knows it Is true enough about the old man we may not know all the facts what else have you heard he asked lesa than I 1 should like to know this time hachett grinned a little at his friends quickly rising temper he noted that haverly had not changed in this respect days at harvard blame you autt people what business Is this of yours exclaimed haverly springing to hie feet his blazine he seized a heavy paper J weight from table and raised it to friend r up and caught hand in air dont do thab dant you remember the river he asked softly there waa an expression atif deeply injured affection in his voice which contrasted strongly with Ha verlys violent tone and action Ha verlys coly reddened with shame even above his anger and he allowed hackett to gently elep the paperweight from his they looked at each other steadily the mention of the river recalled vial memories to each of them hackett saw y mental picture of one vacation atme when they were camping by a rive c he standing on a float at the waters saw Ha verlys bacq in the teri yards away he heard him call fprd elp and saw him ga sink in retrospect ll ackett saw himself dive from the float swim away grasp something under the water and struggle back to shore aganet a current that almost swept them both away t another picture flashed up it was the first day of their acquaintance the camp baythe river to which a friend had brough lH averly a handsome lai with brown breeze tossed hair cheeks of pink of blue and soft heavy lashes as expressive as perfect limbs out in a trim boating boat ng suit a physically lovable youth and this of hia first impression was on te of the strongest bonds in i hackett laid boh hands upon haver lys shoulders ari dhere was a question in his look haverly answered it uneasily tt 1 I cannot help you he said earnestly and slowly shaking his head his anger vanishing as quickly aa it had appeared hackette hacketts Hac ketts hands touched hig shoulders more firmly more affectionately 1 I am to marry one 0 daughters caad the story does not concern ane directly you cannot printie prin tIt it would cost richmond more than you or I 1 can figure out tn money and tiling of the gurll hackeit recalled one day when he himself was n despair over a failure n a mathematical and that haverly came behind him and took his hand without spoken w ord it had profoundly touched him and hackett thought that perhaps he too owed haverly something in return tor that incident of and he waa momentarily ter the effort to secure the tunnel story then he remembered that business la a firm master end that he had a position to maintain on the globe staff and he almos in a physical sense a struggle between his tor the man and hia own thirst for reputation then he regretted that he had alluded to the river and the rescue and that haverly belthe waa determined to ee cu rethe story ot abe stock affair at a sacrifice of personal reeling and that hewak classing haverly aa an in erate As if had been spoken in words haverly proved his conclusion to be corrects harry he said you are one of those theories upon me that I 1 used to call absurd when we studied lofto together I 1 am grateful I 1 am your friend and I 1 have not forgotten what i owe you even without your reminder you want the tunnel story confirmed I 1 have already unguardedly said it was true it Is so every word you have af it and more att down and haverly BACK SO SOON ave him 1 a score of details that would send the headlines into the wood letter case with do now you have the entire thing 11 owed you a debt and I 1 have put payments into your hands you need nt see richmond lie would deny all on the scriptures but I 1 way be suspected of confirming the and I 1 am you can judge for yourself chati will come of it will you promise not to print it hackett thoughtfully twisted his mustache and madeno reply 1 I do not mean a libel suit but he careful what you do wont you tor old times sake ached II averly 1 I promise to be careful cackett and the two parted as cold blooded business men do hackett left the richmonds Rich monda with the power in his hands to shatter reputations and perhaps a lifes happl nesa and the drive to the newspaper office was the shortest he ever anew ilia mind was in confusion at the situa alon in which information had placed him ills elret thought yaa that it he suppressed the atory it would eventually become public 1 I could not expect him to consent to printing such a story but he confirmed it apr aar all he did understand hat I 1 y wa experimenting with my of gratitude upon him As long aa I 1 camj remember him he always took excel yoa to acting as my moral lay figure once ehling a bootjack at my head in college an d wrecking a mirror when I 1 dodged his materialistic argument thought hackett strange place to meet a man one has not seen for two years buti might have expected it the world la so small atherall atte rall hackett thought bf the time when they roomed in the freshman year on the same staircase and of their living together the next term hp was slow in the classics and I 1 pulled him through the hard places and neglected my own work to do it we chummed for years and fought together on and then he went to europe reflected hackett acain in his mental vision he saw Ha verlys ace in the water and their first meeting at the river camp and he gave himself UP to an incoherent dream that had no reasoning out 0 the presenter the future in it then he thought of the coldness in watch they bad just separated the first real of a feeling of cordial regard since the days of mathematics and greek he weighed Ha verlys po against his own on one hand owing him hia refusing to consent to the publication of a stain upon the family of the woman who was to be pis efte and yet to remove a suspicion of ingratitude placing him in possession p the family skeleton on the oth er hand a remorseless search for a sen read in a minute and not tor in a lifetime and yet one step tip on the ladder of the pocketbook ani alt back so soon get the story inquired the city editor in one breath as haclett entered the globe office hackett hesitated a moment looked boldly ut the roan and blurted out no ithe I the editor alabed his eyebrows jn cold surprise and displeasure as if to k an explanation hackett went to i vacant desk scribbled a few lines and f handed the to the editor sayin ff 3 there lg no explanation i a n the paper hackett from he globes esaff again the city editor raised hia eye but hackett promptly left tb office all the street knew of his reala within an hour and the globe and all the papers went to press without the exposure fihe other stare men met hackett the next day and one 0 them wanted t the connection between the sup it eslon ot the story and his resl gna tle t met a man there I 1 wanted te said curtly haw much in it aked the abatt enri money in his pocket 1 not a cent aa god Is my helper r ithe 1 editor heard humera t the affair and sent for him told him brieby that haverly wae an trad ralpd who was soon to marry rich mends daughter f 1 I saved his allta some years aco and I 1 could not see wh If should destroy ithe chances 0 his nap now and the quickest way out atthe waa to 11 the manakine manaK lne editor looked over very carelly lly and then he ald tl ilka aman ho stands by hla bread and butter buk I 1 better like a man who stands by his friends why dl you nat consult me go back and report in the cit room AY wont capt your resignation |
