The Delta independent., 1897-04-14


way. Here and there tho de.olation
was emphasized rather than relieved
| by a scanty and shop-worn display in
the windows Of some merchant who
had been unwilling or unable to Join
his neighbors in the general exodus
following the crash; pitiable fiotsam
ard jetsam left by the high tide of
| commerce to bleach and moldcr on the
rocks of an uncharted island in the
ocean of traffic. OF these stranded
wrecks, the most notable was the store
of a dealer in hardware Just across
from the Chiwassee national bank.
THAT is where I bought my pistol
on the night of the garrot.ng." said
Philip. telling the driver to pull up at
| the curbstone.
The proprietor of the place was sit
ting on a spool Of barbed wire in from:
! OF his own door. and he rose and crossed
| the sidewalk in response to Philips
salutation. 'Oh. it's you. is II. Mr..
1horndyke? didn't know you at
first. Come back to take q look at the
corpse?" at-
ut amounts to that. I'm afraid" said
Philip, sympathetically.
1T does. for a facl-just that. All
we need Eow is n good. old-fashioned
earthquake: not the fever-and-ague
kind you read about nowadays, but the
sort they used to put in the geographies
when we went to school, shake with
e big crack in the middle of it to bury
the wreck deccntly out of sight"
Its dreadful" said Philip, not
l-p I'M hnt al ~ q lv't
you get away with the rest of fthem?"
The man made pathetic gesture of
helplessness. There were two rea-
sons. In the first place, bought my
stock and paid for II. SO l missed the
help of the deputy sheriffs and the
creditors; they made the move easy for
most of 'en. I tell you. Then. ngain,
it costs money to move q stock Of hard-
ware, even il you know where 70 take
II. and don't"
II think you're more to be pitied than
the Others" ventured Philip.
You're right about that. It's q ter
rible thing TO he anchored in . dead
town, and that's what nm-both an
chors down and stuck in the mud. with
the windlass broken. at that" The man
smiled at his own joke and went back
to his seat on the spool Of wire when
Philip told the driver to turn down into
the manufacturing district.
In the space between the railway and
the river the air of desolation wns even
more oppressive than in Broadway.
Tall chimneys standing guard over
many-windowed factories whose walls
had never vibrated with the jar of the
expensive machinery left to rust unl
crumble within them; piles Of costly
lumber warping and twisting in the
weather; rows Of cottages built for the
operatives, tenantless now, save for an
occasional family Of negroes living
rent-free in the industrial desert. 1t
seemed like dcsecration to break tho
silence. and neither of them spoke until
the carriage had reached the bisecting
street OF the old town.
This II Allacoochee the original"
said Philip. "and fancy Il has gone
hack to just. what Il Was II the amhdi--
luvian days. THERE'S the Mountain
house; fine old southern mansion, they
told me It used TO be. That's the old
courthouse Mt the head Of the street.
where I found the deed. you know.
This il Catron's store. and the place
next door-well, II that isn't ncrve!"
The exclamation pointed at a slim
figure standing before n doorway over
which swung n faded sign bearing tn.
inscription 'Simon PraRmore. Notary
Public" The figure lifted its slouch hat
at sight of the carriage and its occu-
pants, and out of its sallow nnd immo-
1T n.
| ton: "Good mawnin, Misteh Thorn
dyke; glad to see you lookin' so well,
seh."
~ suppose that is Mr. Pragmore 2"
said Helen. little later.
Philip was wrestling with ghost Of
Indignation. "Of course Il is; and to
think that he has the assurance TO come
back here and 20 on with his business
ms though nothing had happened! I've
| mind TO stop over and revive the
charge against him"
Indeed you won't do anything Of the
kind" retorted Helen. and Philip
changed the subject.
'Have you seen enough Of the placer
he asked.
"Yes."
"wen. haven't. Drive back mn
broadway past the Guaranty building.
and then take the road up the Little
Chiwassee"-this last to the old negro.
Opposite the ofYice building Of the
dcfunct town company they stopped
agnin. When the crash came there
were many sufferers, and evidences
of rascality on the part Of the com
pany's agents were not lacking. There
had been a mob and o riot, and the COM
pany's Offices had suffered first and
O. ask