Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1883-01-10
THOMAS CRANES OATH.
BIZ CLARENCE NJ. BOUTELLE.
CHAPTER T

Thomas Crane counted the strokes as
5hey were given by the tall old clock in
the hail, and rose regretfuIly. "Twelve,
and [ must CO." he said, which to Harry
Fenton meant that his friend would
stand up for an hour and talk in exactly
the same way in which he had talked for
ak hours sitting, that he would talk an
hour longer IN the hail, finish with fiji
teen minutes outside the door, and that
at fifteen minutes before two o'clock In
the morning-With chance of not more
thai five minutes error either way-it
would be possible to go to bed. Thomas
Crane had the reputation of being sure;
he was certainly slow.
One could scarcely blame Thomas
Crane Tor his slowness at this time.
Tue room IN which he and Fenton had
spent the long evening was the ideal of
comfort. Some rooms are furnished
them from time to time, and are elegant:
some are furnished because rooms are
necessary, and are commonplace; some
are furnished to please the one who
spends his time IN them, and are com.
Portable and homelike. Harry Fenton's
study was of the latter kind. Every
chair aud table, every paper and book
seemed to have something of Fenton's
individuality, and to his friend could
out be attractive. The night outside
VAS equally unattractiye. The icy wind
was pIling the snow into long hard
drifts ID the darkness. The contrast was
not pleasant one to one who must soon
face the storm.
On the table nearest the fireplace were
tie books the friends had been using
from time 20 time IN their discussion:
curious works on the strangest features
81 mental science, collections of in
stances which have never been ex-
planned, and perhaps never will be;
books on the brain and nerves. These
5gO old college chums never failed to
meet once III a week in the young law
Yers study to spend an evening in their
.averite way.
standing near the open fire Thomas
Crane said: " must maintain that
there is not merely a possible but a
probable connection between any two
persons you may name. Trace back
your life and somewhere it crosses the
life Of the beggar you pass In the street.
But for me, the man who makes my
clothing and the woman who cooks my
food would have different lives from
what they do. You grant it? Well,
then, trace it on and what happens
But for them what? [ tell you, Fen
ton, your life or mine sways that of hui
man beings beyond the seas" What
grew out of this took about the hour
which Fenton had felt from experience
would be spent standing in the cheerful
freight.
In the hall the conversation had
drifted to another phase of the fascin-
ating subject, and as Crane took down
MS OvercOat he was saying: "Of
course there is such thing as indirect,
.nnintentional responsibility. The man
who does a good deed may rob some one
behind him of deserved praise when he
allows the deed to be counted to his own
credit; and the man whose life set Ill mo-
uon the train of events which resulted
IN the good may never even dream of it.
And, on the other hand, we meet men
every day who are really responsible for
the crimes for which other men endure
punishment. Not knowingly, not pur-
posely, not with malice, but, IN truth re-
sponsible for all that" From this the
discussion went on for a half-hour or
AubICs anu lLEA Ssf111C OkCACO OOO1 W
go. The bitter cold rushed IN in fierce
blast, as he said in answer TO his friend
last remark: An oath should be sa-
cred. l can conceive of no circumstances
which wonld warrant it being broken. +"
"Well," said Fenton, 81 think we
nave pretty completely covered the
whole ground tonight. You have
brought up the theories of a connection
between all human beings, and of far
stretched kind of responsibility in which
[ don't believe, and will take pleasure
IN conflict with you next week. And
now do you know it's COMPOUNDED cold t?
[ am half inclined to drive you away, old
friend; can you deduce anything mathe-
NAUTICAL or psychological from that?"
sBoth," said Crane; "two straight
lines intersect in only one point. Five
minutes might make man too late for
the inevitable. l certainly ought not to
BE too early for my fate. And with