Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1883-01-10
THOMAS CRANES OATH,
BY CLARENCE NJ. BOUrE1LE.
CHAPTER I.

CHAPTER
Thomas Crane counted the strokes a;
they were given Dy the tall old clock il
the hail. and l ose regretfully. "Twelve
and must co. he said, which to Harr,
fenton meant that his triend woul,
stand up for an hour and talk in exactl,
She same Way in which lie had talked TO
six hours sitting. that he would talk a,
hour longer IN the hall, finish with tif
teen minutes outside the door, and tina,
at fifteen Hainutes before two O'Clock il
Ehe mornlns-Wlth chance OF not more
THAI tive minutes error either way-i
vyos1!d be possible to go to bed. Thoma.
Crane had the reputation of being sure
ne Was certainly STOW.
One could scarcely blame Thuma:
Crane tor his sloNness at this time
ihe room i'll which he and Fenton ha,
spent the long evening was the ideal o.
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 homelihe. 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
but be attractive. The night outside
vas equally urattractive. The icy wind
was piling the snow into long hard
drifts in the darkness. The contrast was
not a pleasant one to one who must soon
Eece the storm.
On the table nearest the fireplace were
She books the friends had been using
from time to time in their discussion:
curious works on the strangest features
IL mental science, collections of in
stances which have never been ex-
planned, and perhaps never will be-;
looks on the brain and nerves. These
two old college chums never failed to
meet once in week in the young law
yers study to spend an evening in their
:avorite way.
Standing near the open fire Thomas
Crane said: I" 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.
Dut for me, the man who makes nv
clothing and the woman who cooks nv
food would have different lives from
what they do. You grant it? Wen,
then, trace 1t on and what happens !?
But tor them what? I tell you, Fen
ton, your life or mine sways that of hu.
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 iascin:
atlng subject, and as Crane took down
his overcoat lie was saying: "Of
course there is such thing as indirect.
unintentioual responsibility. The man
who does 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 in mo-
tlou the train Of events which resulted
ID the good may never even dream of it.
Aud, 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
more, and then Crane opened the door to
go. The bitter cold rushed III in fierce
blast, as he said in answer to his friends
last remark: "An oath should be sa-
cred. l can conceive Of no circumstances
which would warrant it being broken"
SWELL" said Fenton, 81 think we
have pretty completely covered the
whole ground to. night. You have
brought up the theories of 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?
| am half inclined to drive you away, old
friend; can you deduce anything mathe-
NAUTICAL or psychological from that?"
"Botb," said Crane; "two straight
lines intersect in only one point. Five
minutes might make man too late for
the inevitable. 1 certainly ought not to
be too early for my fate" And with
these laughing words on his lips he in
Crossing the little park which seemed
doubly desolate from night and storm, as
though to balance its summer beauty,
there was sudden cry little ahead. 4
quarter Of a minute two men seemed in
terrible struggle, but before he could
reach them one had rushed away among
the trees and the other had fallen to the
earth. Cranes first impulse was to fol-
low the runaway; his second, and the
one he acted upon, was to assist the
other. Crane had studied medicine be-
fore his father had prevailed upon him
to be banker, SO as to perpetuate the
business in which the family had grown
rich for three generations. It scarcely
needed more than the glimpse he could
get OF the wounded mans face in the
darkness aud the sound of his failing
voice to prove to him that all the poor
fellow had to say must be said at once.
The knife in the other mans hand had
done it's work only too well. !
GLOW long will I live? said the
stranger, in wonderfully calm and even
voice. There was perfect sincerity in
the tones he used; he evidently felt that
Is Will I live" would have been a vast
ed question. =, |
Crane answered with equal frank
ness: "Not five minutes!''
Are you rich ?" in weaker tone.
eyes," !
"Charitable ?" 49,. ,.,e8
Thomas Crane felt a doubt, but he
aid; EYES," again. n
"Will you give q Strangers dying
tranger-a year Of your time?"
"Will I give" began Crane. Il
"Listen," with sudden energy. "II
hadn't an enemy in the world. I am
lying by the hand Of murderer. Will