The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-12-24
ant I ran at my best speed back to

| guests alike, SCOOO aSlOc 10 let Iuc
pass. 1 had hardly gotten calm
thought through my dazed brain after
| the dreadful words the man sent for
me had said before I was kneeling by
my fathers side in the room to which
they had taken him.
| The attack had been sudden. Father
had been speaking to Gen, Van Etten.
He had fallen, sentence well COM
menced cut squarely off-torever.
They called it apoplexy, though they
may not have been correct. He was
conscious when / arrived, though be-
yond the power of speaking, and. 1
think, past all physical pain. But
there was something he wanted to say,
some message in his mind for some one
Of us, that remained unspoken. l have
never seen such intensity of desire as
shone in his eyes, until nothing shone
there longer. The end was speedy,
very speedy. By the time Lucille came
all was over.
| The funeral over the task of straight
ening out the affairs of the estate had
to be taken rp. Mother was Frustrated
with grief and could do absolutely
nothing. Every thing devolved upon
me-and upon the legal assistance l
employed. l never knew more COM
plicated state Of affairs than existed in
this case, and doubt if there ever was
death which left financial matters in
worse shape. Nor is it likely that
greater variety of property, a wider
| range of investment could be found
anywhere. At tho end of q week l
thought the most radical of fathers
| friends had been financially conserva-
tive in their opinions. l believed we
should find ten millions too small
figure for the expression of the value OF
his estate. In a fortnight / had re-
| duced the estimate one-half. In
month 1 knew that the chances were
that Wyndham Woods must go. with
the rest, and still leave the creditors
of the estate unsatisfed.
One thing we seriously lacked was
ready money. My father had not had
dollar of life insurance. His bank
| account was very small. We found
hundreds of investments into which he
had entered on the installment plan,
and we had no means of meeting the
payments as they came due. In many
cases there had been an actual sharp
depreciation of value; and when a man
has paid ten per cent. and property has
gone down twenty, there is little tC,
encourage one to carry contract to
completion-even if one has means al
hand with which to do it.
The interests were well scattered
the holdings diversified. There were
lots in choice places in the suburbs OF
New York, silver lands in Colorado,
vineyards in California. There were
building lots in Duluth and West
Superior, business blocks in Chicago
and orange groves in Florida. And, in
many cases, in almost every case, the
debt, covered by mortgage, ran well
up toward the most flattering value
one could hope from the most leisurely
of scales.
But there were cases that were even
worse than these. There were build.
ing lots-out in lakes. There were
farms - located in swamps There
were records of swindles that had cost
thousands of dollars. 1t couldn't have
been worse.
In June had preliminary report
ready. i secured delay until Deem
Der for the sale of the property in
volved. But / knew in June just as
well as l should in December that the
Wyndham estate would lack thousands
of dollars of paying the Wyndham
debts.
Gen. Van Etten had been very kind
and considerate all this time, and had
helped me much with my work. had
seen Lucille very often-oftener than
was good for my own peace of mind
oftener, sometimes feared. than met
with the entire approval of her father.
The night l had my report ready
showed it to him. He read it through
with much care.
Carl" he said, when he had finished,
81 am sincerely sorry for you and your
mother"
He sat then IN silent thought for
some minutes. Finally he spoke again.
did you ever hear how l won pro-
notion" he asked. did you know
how became a general instead Of
colonel?"
l shuddered, for I had heard He
had only done his duty, suppose, and
he had certainly taken his chances, |
bravely enough. with the devoted fell
lows he had commanded. But only |
half the men came back from the |
position into which he had led them.
and how gained special mention
as gcneral-from the commander of |
the entire army?"
He reached over and touched my |
hand-gently-a almost tenderly. "As |
God is my Witness" he said, solemnly |
and slowly, Il never thought of the
name was making, the praise was
winning. thought only of the duty
to be done-the approval of my own
soul-the commenda ton of my con-
science and of that of God. Honor,
integrity, at whatever cost, whatever
have been my idols
my creed. Perhaps they have driven
me to cruelty. Perhaps they may
again. But / cannot help it. Icannot
give them UP. ! cannot give them up
And sol am sorry for Lucille, sorry
for myself as well as for you and your
good mother. / could not let my
daughter go into family with unpaid
debts-no matter how honestly they
may have tried to discharge them. You
you love Lucille, do you not?"
l suppose some men - desperate
men, of course-but fairly good men as
men go, would have lied to him.
don't doubt some would have repudi-
ated the possession of an unsaid pas