Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1888-10-12
it." said the other. .My name is

you have asked III Is nothing
to me; on the condition that you give
possession at once you shall have the
amount named in this letter. Two
mem bers of the firm W II be here to-
morrow and close the trade" When
Seaton saw the names signed to the
letter and the amount they agreed to
pay. his crossed eyes fairly winked ut
each other. lie agreed to give pos
session at that instant. and he walked
out ovation" took charge and was
Mt once made foreman pro tenn. In
about an hour a telegram was received
from the syndicate. saying that ii
would be impossible for any Of them
to come. and asking that Mr.. Seaton
be sent east to receive his money and
meet the syndicate. Transparent rs
all this was. he b again and started
in less than an hour His paper. which,
had been Intensely Republican,, came
out the next morning a red-hot Damo-
cratic sheet The next morning 1t was
st II worse. and IL attacked Seaton in
the worst Matchmaking manner alleg-
ing that he had deserted his family aud
eloped with another woman. We pre-
pared the matter for the third Issue
and quietly left the town. for we
Judged that Seaton would realize that
he had been duped when the 'syndl-
cate" repe atedly failed to call meet
ing and even refused to do so. And
when three or four members of the al
legged firm had assured him that he had
been fooled, we feared he would resort
to the telegraph. At wav station we
boarded a'train that carried US hun
dred miles away.
We did not work any more during
the two months we were together. We
strolled about the country. and visited
the cities only occasionally. Although
he never told me the story of his life L
learned from his talk that he had been
wanderer for several years. His re-
latons lived in the east and were
wealth. The only blot on the page
Of h S life. It seemed to me. was his
gambling, and he felt the sting Of dis
honor more keenly than less sensit-
i've. refined nature. OF the cause OF
his aimless, wandering WAYS he never
gave the slightest hint His philoso-
ply of allowing the other man to do
the walk ng was carried out to the verv
letter, and except the genu ne regret
that he was fascinatel by the tickle
goddess of chance, to all outward APP.
pearances he had not care in the
world. A SUMMER nature or a more
sympathetic heart | never knew.
Strangely at variance with his other
wise quiet ways was his desire to be
forever on the move. 1t may be that
this rowing trait in his strange char
acter caused him to leave a life of re.
iinement and ease and become homo.
less wanderer.
We drifted INTO a sleepy river town
and naturally into the newspaper Of
fees later on. Two weekly papers
were printed there. and we became
well acquainted with both the editors
and all the printers, for no other rea-
sou than having nothing else to do.
The foreman In one of the offices told
us conidentally that it was the GUS
tom of his employer to wait until the
other paper had been issued and then
gather his local ne VS. from its columns.
He would go into his room. called by
courtesy his editorial-room. and
'rehash" the matter hurriedly Then
he would rush into the composing
room and pretend that he had gather.
ed the news dur NJ the week aud mis-
thin. sickly smile, for tn lie had been
worn down to the bone. When Wal
ton heard this his lips curled in scOrn.
He learned that a mortgage had been
given on the office. purchased it in less
than an hour and turned it over to
Talbot, the foreman. under solemn
promise that he would foreclose it the
day it fell due.
One night about week later we
were standing in front of n hotel in
one OF tho largest cities in the state.
Among the crowd hurrying by was
large man and glance at his face
showed us that it was cross-eyeI Sea-
ton. As he walked past he saw Us,
looked the seconed time and came
back to where we stood. All the pen.-
up rage and hatred OF his savage ma
ture CLEANED from his eyes Walton
steppe quickly to his sde. his hand in
his outside coat pocket. which he
pressed against Seaton's ribs. "Mr
Seaton,' he sad his face calm and not
a wayer in his voice. ''you feel some
thing against your de. 10 you notP
Seaton was so white with passion that
he could not speak for "A moment.
"Take your thumb away from my
side. he said ''or Pll-
1T is not my thumb. Seaton." said
Walton. 1T is the 'inuzzle of a re-
volver. IL YOU move Won know what
the consequences will be. We will
have an understanding right here"
Seaton's face paled "a little. "if you
shoot me-. he said. you could not
possibly hope to escape"
I'm that case l am an officer of the
law and you are fugitive from JUS
tice res st ng arrest. | have papers
showing that l am an officer.
They stood there. Sc atom hoping
something would turn up. Walton
took out his watch and said: you
must make up your mind in one min.
ute more whether you will take the
next train out of the city or be sent out
by ball of lead. You may look at
my watch
Seaton looked not at the watch but
into the cold blue eyes of the man
standing bes de him. What he saw
there decided him. II will go" he
eoid and thoy walEod m tha Jonot IN