San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-08-04

knowing just when he might want to
drop in. Then he proceeded, after Office
hours, to hunt up old chums, and in the
course of the first week after his arrival
he had found almost all of them. Bailey,
who sat next to him in school, was now
a prominent and prosperous lawyer.
Terry, who sat just behind him and &C.
caionally inserted crooked pins in con-
venient crack in his chair, was thriving
in the iron business.
Warden had made a fortune ION
change" and was one of the leading
brokers and commission merchants of
the metropolis. He had always liked
Warden: they lived close to- sher, and
used to walk to and from school with
each other almost every day. n. Lane
had started on his quest with a feeling
akin to enthusiasm. Calm and retice2t
and retiring as ne generally was, he lett
a glow of delight at the prospect Of once
more meeting 1.-The old crowd" but that
evening he returned to his rooms with a
distinct sense of disappointment. Bailey
had jumped up and shaken hands with
much effusion of manner, and had my
dear-fellow" him for minute or two,
and then, "Now, where are you stopping?
I'll be round to look you up the very first
evening can get away, and-of course
We'll have you at the house," but Lane
clearly saw he was eager to get back to
his desk. and so took his leave. Terry
49,. So -- % - --S--.--.
did not know him at all until he began
to laugh, and then he blandly inquired
what he'd been doing with himself all
these years. But the man who rasped
him from top to toe was Warden. Bust
ness hours were over, and their meeting
occurred at the club. Two minutes after
they had shaken hands, Warden was
standing with his back to the log fire,
his thumbs in the arm holes Of his waist
coat, fitting on his toes, his head well
back, and most affably and distinctly
patronizing him.
well, Fred, you're still in the army,
are you" he asked.
"Still in the army, Warden"
well, what on earth do you find to
do with yourself out there? How do
you manage to kill timer"
thine never hung heavily on my
hands. 1t often happened that there
wasn't half enough for all we had to do"
You don't tell me! Why, supposed
that about all you did was to drink and
play poker"
Not an unusual idea, l find, Warden,
but very unjust one"
"Oh, yes, know, of course, you have
some Indian fighting to do once in a
while; but that probably amounts to
very little. mean when you're IN per
manent camp or garrison. l should
think a man Of your temperament would
Just stagnate in such life. wonder
you hadn't resigned years ago aud come
here and made a name for yourself"
THE life has been rather more brisk
than you imagine" he answered, with a
quiet smile, land l have grown very
fond of my profession. But You speak
of making name for myself. Now, in
what would that have consisted
ooh, well, of course, if you really like
the army and living in a desert and that
sort of thing, I've nothing to say" said
Warden; "but it always struck me as
such a-such a-well, Fred, such a wasted
life, all very well for fellows who hadn't
brains or energy enough to achieve sue
cess in the real battle Of life" land here
Warden was swelling visibly'O, "but
not at all the thing for man of your
ability. We all conceded at school that
you were head and shoulders above the
rest of us. We were talking of it some
years ago here in this very room; there'd
been something about you in the papers
some general or other had mentioned
you in a report. Let's see: didn't you
get wounded, or something chasing
some Indians?" Lane replied that he be-
Geved that something like that had
happened" but begged his friend to go
on; and Warden proceeded to further
expound his views:
Now, you might have resigned years
ago, taken hold of your fathers old bust
ness, and made fortune. There's been
perfect boom in railroad iron and
every other kind of iron since that panic
of '73. Look at Terry; he is rolling in
money-one of our most substantial men;
and you know he was a mere drone at
school Why, Fred, if your father could
have held on six months longer he'd
have been the richest man in town today.
1t always seemed to me that he made
such mistake in not getting his friends
to help him tide things over"
"You probably are not aware" was
the reply, ''that he went to friend after
friend-so salled-and that it was their