The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-02-19
CHAPTER VIII.
CUNLIFFE S TROUBLE.

and looked astonishIngly well. She recog-
nized Frank in the audience, and sang to
him The music soothed and consoled him
for the time being. After the performance
he went round to the stage door, and when
Kitty came out he offered her his arm, and
tbev walked through the snow together to
her lodgings.
On the way he told her what had bap-
pened
any comment, but with manner, and a
closeness of attention which were in them
selves better than most kinds of expressed
svmpathv and consolation. This was the
way she had. After the story was told, she
asked him whether the person who gave
him the ''pointer" had intended to deceive
him.
Not at all" was the reply. He was
all right. He lost himself, but he could
afford it. We were both of us fooled, that's
ALL"
"Who fooled youF"
"Nobodv can tell that 1t was a deal;
some one of the big men selling to and buy
ing from himself-the old story in short.
He NAV have had far-reaching purpose in
doing it, or he may have wanted to give the
BOYS whirl as they call it. At all events,
he has whirled me out of the world | have
lived in, and into | don't know what-the
income of $1,000 at per cent"
Twenty thousand dollars was it?"
Newer mind; the milk is split and the
fat is in the fire; but such things happen
every day. 1t serves me right, Kitty, for
being fool with my eyes open. Let's talk
of something else. You were great this
evening""
II am making a great deal of money,
Frank: and | owe it all to you"
$40 met Did sing for you? You are
good girl, and you will make your way. l
only hope you won't go and marry some
idiotr'
Kitty laughed.
Blessed be my ugliness couldn't do it,
even if | wanted to-"
you're not ugly. I'd rather have you
is you are than the handsomest girl in New
York Besides you look a hundred per
cent. better than you did whea you began
They talk against the stage; but believe it
is the best thing that good woman can get
into. She's independent, she's occupied and
she's in the midst of life"
why don't you try it, Frank? You
would do well and be happy"
''Oh, my dear, it's much too late to think
of that If had begun when l was IA, or
even q, I might have had a show; but I'm
too much set in my ways to be licked into
shape now. If had a voice, like you, it
would be different but to be an actor-to
identity myself with the characters of
imaginary people--my joints have grown
too stiff Besides, / have some vanity left,
God knows why; and couldn't stand hav-
ing the fellows at the club come round to
criticise my debut. No, can't get out of
the hole by that route"
A short silence followed this statement.
at seems to me, said Kitty at last, that
the men who do these things ought to be
punished in some way"
''What men do you mean, my dear?"
"The men who get up these panics on the
streets and ruin people,"
"Oh, if a fellow jumps into the lions
den, it is his own fault if he gets
scratched. He wasn't obliged to 90 there.
The very man who cleaned me out has
probably suffered himself in the same way
in the past, and now he is having his inn
ings l suffer because l happen to be in
the way. It's give and take-the way of
the world
But why should you suffer9 You have
not injured this man, and he has no right to
harm innocent people because somebody who
was not innocent harmed him."
That's abstract morality but it's not
human nature The way Of Wall street is
the same pril cipe they go on in college
Every Sophomore class hazes the Fresh
men. The Freshmen have never done the
Sophomores any harm; but the Sophomore,
when they were Freshman, were hazed by
the class that were Sophomores then, and
they pay off their scores in that way.n
1T is senseless way; there is no justice
in it, If a man has been unfairly dealt
with, and knows by experience what it is,
there Is all the more reason why he should
not deal unfairly with others.
IF a man strikes you | can understand
that you should strike him back but don't
understand why you should strike some
body else.n
~ ,o,roo nth x-o,,,, o,,1.,,,,,o~,4- - I'll
Frank, laughing, land all | can say is that
life is not transacted in accordance with
sylogisms. Meanwhile, you needn't be at
all uneasy about me, Kitty. have S., 600
and that will last me five years, with proper
economy. No one but you knows that I've
been hit. In five years anything may hap
pen-an uncle in California for instance
and now here we are at your house | wish
II were Sunday; we could go round to Tai
BOTS
Il should like to do something" said
KITTY, giving him her hand.
Il want nothing better than to hear you
sing cnce in while" he replied; and with
that they parted.
The next few weeks were busy ones for
FRANK Cunlltfe, who was obliged to devise
some plan for carrying on life for the flu
1nre. Ills five thousand dollars were in
vested in mortgages on real estate and
brought 10 per cent interest; but although
many gentlemen can subsist on $500 per an
nun, Cunllffe had never learned the art.
his salary as dramatic critic amounted to
about $500. If he could, from any source,
get an annual stipend of $500 or thousand
collars more, he might scrape along. As to
leaving New York and burying himself in
tne country, he did not contemplate it; it
would be burial indeed. But, again, to live
ID New York meant to live in and with the
eluo: and the dues of that association
would make terrible hole in his income 1t
was the old story, the divisor was too big
lor the dividend. He turned the problem
over and over and over in his mind, though
ne knew beforehand thata solution was i'm
possible. He began TO feel respondent, and
me chance word that Kitty let fall-that
uhe man who had done him this injury
ought to be punished-recurred to his MEM
ory. he knew, or thought he knew, who
me man was. But could he be punished!
Alter all, 1t would be just as well if be
could be induced to refund the 500, 900
suppose Cunlife were TO walk into the great
nhancler's office, state his case, and request
nlIl 10 write check for that amountg Why
noti What was $4,000 to a man like Gold
lHg' Why should he not hand over the
SSleck and dismiss the applicant with his
dressing, and an injunction 30 let this be a
warning to him never TO NEEDLE with Wall
street. againi Cunliffe laughed aloud at
ton.