The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-03-25

SlAIu avenue (LeellnS good deal IKE a de-
faulting bank cashier on his way to Cana
ga, except that | had no stolen funds in my
possession), read the papers, smoked
cigar, and then set out for the railway sta
ton; and, as luck wonld have it, met
fellow ! knew on the corner of Forty
second street. However, got off all safe,
and arrived here in due course. After get
ting room at the hotel, had some DIN
ner, and then went to the address given in
Morgan's letter.
ut was a commonplace, resrectable-look-
ing house near the outer confines of Ire
mont street. l was admitted at once on
giving my name, and found the interior as
featureleSs and barren as the outside.
Everything was orderly and conventional,
but entirely without character or individ-
uallty; no doubt an upholsterer had been
given certain sum of money and ordered
to furnish up to it according to his own
taste. This interior gave me a new i'm
preston of the essential emptiness and
barrenness of Morgan's mind. His brain
was always busy plotting and continuing,
but he had no resources, no character no
moral or intellectual substance out of which
to make anything. He might be the oc-
casion of a lot of mischief, but he was moth
ing but sort of phantom after all.
II was taken up to his bedroom, and
there he was lying in the bed, with his
nun Sc, to attend to him and give him his
medicine. He was pale as corpse already,
and as thin as mummy; but his face was
newly shaven, his hair oiled and brushed,
and his moustache waxed. He used to be
handsome fellow, and was always dandy
In his personal appearance. He kept that
instinct up still.
He gave me a lean, cold hand and grinned,
showing his white teeth, and wrinkling the
skin about his mouth and eyes, His voice
was very low but it had the same jaunty
tone as ever, and his conversation was as
plentifully sprinkled with profanity. If he
had ever committed wickednesS in his life
las there can be no doubt he had, it was
evident that he felt not the slightest re-
morse, and only SO much comprehension of
what remorse meant as to be anxious to
show none. Did you ever see a death-bed
repentance? They may be edifying: but
this spectacle made me realize as vivIdly as
anything what an ugly and horrible thing
it must be to live and die without ever hav-
ing cared to do or to be anything good or
useful.
" L know what you came for, Frank, he
said at last. You came for money, don't
deny it. Well, I'm going to h, and have
no more use for mine, so you can have it.
Much good may it do you, my boy! May
you keep drunk for twelve months and com
nit all the crimes in the calendar! But
you'll never have as good a time saS I've
had! I've beaten everything and every
body that I've had anything to do with
On, I've been a devil; nobody ever touched
me that didn't regret It'll It's just as / told
you when we started out-society is a set of
frauds and towards, and the only men who
get any solid satisfaction out of life are the
men of my sort! Look at me nowr
Il did look at him; and he must have seen
something in my face that told him what
was thinking of. II seemed to pnt him out
little; the swagger that ne Immediately
assumed had something appealing and
pathetic in it.
"'Im all rightn he said. What if I am
rotting IN my coffin by this time to-mor-
row! I've had my fling, haven't 1! No one
has got ahead of me, has there! Is there
any man or woman, living or dead, can say
that they ever found a soft place in Fowler
Morgan? Do you suppose that doesn't make
me feel goodf You don't know mel They
can come and spit at me when I'm dead,
but that isn't now. The only thing Pm sorry
for is that my dying won't"
However, don't know why should re-
peat all the rawlings this poor devil in
dulged in; it was bad enough to hear them
once for all. Meanwhile he was dying fast,
and he knew it; and what was more he was
really in CHASTITY terror of the end, and was
talking to try and keep up his courage. His
voice grew so low that could scarcely hear
it.
"At 10 O'Clock that evening the doctor
came ina fine, ruddy, powerful-looking
fellow-and examined him. The disease
was some affection of the viscera, and was
now in its last stages. Morgan kept his
eyes on the doctor with an odd expression.
as if he would have liked to drink his blood
and so get the health and strength that were
SO CONSPICUOUS in him and though he seemed
la%a l. fD..I .o,,1
yet he found sort of comfort in having
him near; and at last he said:
"'Say, doc, what will you take to stay
here until tomorrow The doctor said he
couldn't do it. Come, now,' said Morgan.
take thousand dollars and stay! I'll give
you cash.
1.-THE doctor shook his head. Morgan
went ON raising his bid until he
had offered him $4,000 to spend the
night in that room. Then the doctor looked
him in the face and said:
"rd stay for nothing if it would do you any
good But 1t would not, and l have other
patients to look after; want my regular
fee and no more
Morgan said:
eff you don't stay, you shall have moth
ing! Now, then Ten thousand dollars or
nothingp And with that he dragged out a
wallet from under the pillow, and actually
them at the doctor, and whispered-h ecould
not speak aloud-'there you are! Ten thou
sand-or nothingr
1.-The doctor just turned to the nurse and
gave some directions about the medicine,
and then moved toward the door, / ex-
pected to see Morgan fly into a fury Of
rage; but instead of that he quieted right
down and said:
"'Say, doc, how am l getting onl how
long do you give men
THE doctor faced about on him and
said
"'Do you want to know the TRUTH
"'Yes, if you know how to tell it,
"The doctor waited moment or two. as
il doubling whether to take him at his word
or not, at last he replied:
"'You can't live longer than till noon to-
morrow Then he went out.
Morgan glanced at me with a terrible
expression, but the next instant he forced
one Of his grins and said:
"There goes a liar and a fool. He thought
he'd scare me, but I'm more of a man than
he is nowi AS for the money, it'll 60 into
your pocket instead of his, that's ALL
"He stuffed the bills back into his wallet
and then lay for a long time-an hour at
least-without uttering a word. | can
only imagine what his thoughts were dur
ing that time. / would not have liked TO
have had them. Finally he reused himself
and stared round the room, ending at last
on me. He had changed; his nerve was