Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1895-10-12
CHAPTER III.

CHAPTER I'LL
About every second day called on
Marpurrn 81 Wcissweiller i'll Frankfort
and talked over matters and easily saw
that everything would go right. All that
was necessary WAS to produce the bonds
and they would hand over the cash.
Giving thcE u list, they gave me Il
memorandum offer for the lot. / accept
ed their offer and the next hour was q
very bad 80 minutes for me. There was
considerable delay, and my suspicious
were fully aroused, and at one time l
thought they had made some discovery;
but, as Il fact. my.suspiciCns were Who'll
ly unfounded.
The barker and clerk; We're simply
hurTying around, anxious to oblige me
and have the money out Of the bank be-
fore it closed. AT last the amounts were
figured up and verified by myself. One
of the partners fastened off to the bank
and i'll five minutes returned with very
pretty parcel Of 200 gulden.
Going to Rothschilds', in Rue La
fitte, bought exchange on New York
for $50, COO, and left the same night for
over that route i'll after years, but never
with quite so light a heart. was young
and enthusiastic; all the glamour and
poetry Of life hung around me, while
was too inexperienced to notice whittier
l was drifting or to understand the pow
crful current upon which l had en-
barkcd. II fact, had sold myself to do
the dcyila work, and day by day the
chain wuu.d tighten. while all the time
l thought l could when l pleased stop
short On the downward grade and take
the back track. More experience would
have taught me that every one who for
sock the path III honor not only thought
the same. but had purpose to even ev-
crythins up some day and make rcstitu-
ton. And today there is not criminal
bnt who ut the start looks forward to
the time when he will no longer war
against society, but will go ont and
come i'll ut peace with all men. But.
when one comes to think of il. what q
fool 5 game is that of Il man who fights
against society!
The criminal has Int two arms; very
short and weak they are, and of flesh
too. He has but two eyes that cannot
possibly see around the nearest corner,
while society has Il million arms of steel
that can reach around the world. and u
million eyes which are never closed.
that can pierce the thiclcst gloom with
slecplcss vigilance. The poor. unhappy
criminal by fortunate dcxtcrity may cs-
cape for u little. hut at last society lays
her iron grasp on him. and with giant
force hurls him into dungeon. As for
the short lived, tcmpcstuous success that
some few criminals have. is there any
sweetness in it: l say 10; success won
in honest fight is sweet, bat l know
from my own experience that the sue
cess Of crime brings 10 sweetness, no
blessing with it, but leaves the mind a
prey To thousand haunting fears that
make shipwrcck Of peace.
went down to Liverpool and en-
harkcd on the good ship Java. Ten days
later we sailed through the Narrows.
During my last day i'll London Invent
To Westminster abbey and spent three
hours i'll that Valhalla of the Anglo
Saxon race. 1t made a tremendous I'M
preston upon my mind. In no other
work of human hands do the spirits of
80 many departed heroes linger. certain
~ i'll no other does the dust of so many
If the great dead rest, and as l read
memorial upon memorial to departed
greatness l realized that the path Of
honor and Of truth was the only one for
men t. tread.
All through the voyage the influences
of the abbey We're upon me: felt was
trcading on dangerous ground and re-
solved l would have no more of it.
Would had then resolved. when / met
Irving & Co., to throw all the plunder
in their faces and say, TN have none
of il. and here we part" l felt that
ought to do that, but weakly said,
need the $4,000, and I'll give the
ro-ucs their share and then see them nc
more. had fully made up my mind tC
that. knowing Irving would be on the
wharf eager TO meet me.
In sailing through the Narrows anC
past Staten Island was making up III,
mind as to the little speech would
make. We rapidly neared the wharf IL
Jersey City, and quickly recognizes
Irving standing ON the edge of the close
ly packed crowd. watching the steame
with Il nervous look on his face.
He sprang on board, rushed to m
with n beaming face, grasped my hand
and putting the other on my shoulde
led me toward the gangway. He ha
not spoken yet, but rs we were goln
down the Sangplank he said, MY boy
you have done splendidly, and theI