The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-02-09
Stories of an Inland State.

| Anne Boling's working hours were from
| 9 o'clock in the morning until noon; from
o'clock until five in the afternoon. These
were easy hours, and the salary. 81 week,
was good-for stenoGrapher.
Often when the Boss stole glance at her
fine head, he wondered about her and her
people and her home. He never asked her
about these things. He didn't have the
time and his curiosity was deficient Some
| one had told him, once, tina. her father was
bailiff or janitor or something over III
| the state house, but he had forgotten II
| She came to the Office regularly and work
| ed ass.duously. When she put on her wraps
at night and started for the door, he Wouid
always pause in his work or reading or con-
yersation and say: Goodnight, Miss b.
ling"
Anne Boiling took the car west, and into
| the poorer section of the town, passing sue
cessiyely the stone and brick residence por-
| ton. to the Queen Anne frame houses and
| finally into the one-story nesghborhood
with Iean-to kitchens in the rear Of the
modest dwellings.
| The girl had reached home and put on a
black wrapper and was helping her mother
! from whom she had inherited her form and
face, with supper. Her mother took her
hands out of the biscuit dough and raising
| both exclaimed:
ooh, Anne I forget to tell your
What mother"
"Your father has another scheme"
They both laughed immoGerately at this.
Boiling 1t was plain to be seen, was prolific
of schemes.
What is fl mother" laughed the girl.
Some sort OF a lawsuit or something
and he wants you to use your Influence"
The girls face became grave Mother"
she said. .'Oughtn't I to quit fooling Pa7
1 haven't any influence. It's only his fancy.
Oughtn't / 10 tell him.
1T pleases him." replied the mother.
"And what's the diference?"
The two went On working. Anne did not
feel right about the matter. Her father,
from the moment she secured the position
In the Boss office had held forth that she
possessed great political influence over the
Boss. He was such an old simpleton, she
said to herself Scores of times he had
asked her to speak to the Boss for such
and such a man for such and such a place,
and she had always promised obediently.
She had heard the Boss say time and
time again to applicants: 'I'll see about
It," and so she said "AlI right. father"
But she never spoke to the Boss about
anything. If the old mans applicants sue
ceeded he took all the credit for his dau-
ghter's influence over the Boss; if the ap-
plicant failed, he forgot it.
Just at this moment Boiling himself was
at the front gate talking in whispers to
another man. Boiling was a bailiff in the
state supreme court. He was diminutive
man with a small. scraggly grey beard,
with mysterious manner of whispering.
partly due to his nature and partly ac-
quired in his practices as bailif. The man
to whom he was now talking was heavy
set, stupid and dark.
HE can do it," whispered Boiling turn
ing his hands over and over within each
ether. 'He can make 'em or break 'em.
he can. Judge he can say, affirm that
ard she's affirmed. Judge he can say.
reverse her. and she's reversed. Now my
daughter" and the old mans voice INTEL
lowed. 'She can just say a word and
you've won. Wayne's Boss and she's got
the influence. Give me influence and you
can take the courts, the Offices and every
thing else. I'd rather have influence than
the Boss himself"
The dark man grunted. ''When can
Gomez" he asked.
That night as she sat in the front room
reading Anne, responding to her fathers
call looked up.
He approached wringing his hands, the
dark man shutting. hat in hand, behind
him.
MY daughter, Mr.. Grum," said Boiling
all smiles.
The young woman arose and took the
mans hand. He blinked under the bril-
liancy of the light and the suddenness of
her beauty" How could she be Boling's
daughter?' he asked stupidity of himself.
I'VE want your influence, daughter" ex-
planned Boiling. Now Mr.. Grum tell your
story"
But, father" said the girl. at have no
influence. I -
But her father broke in:
"Grum don't mind that She's always
denying. She catches it from being in the
atmosphere of politicians so much. Now
Grun1 go ahead"
Grum may have been a vaCabond He
cleared his throat and told his story huski-
ly.
He said he had been prosperous black
smith in remote county. In payment for
bin he had assigned to him a judgment IN
district court for $500 which had been
carried to the supreme court. He had come
up here to see about it. That was his
story.
But IL wasn't his story. The fact was
that Grum had been a prosperous black
smith. He had received on a debt that
judgment and It upset his brain. He
dreamed about the sum and waking built
air-castles on it. He let jobs go unfinished
that he might sit down and ponder over
the money that was surely coming to him
if he won. All II he won, He could af-
ford to close up shop for a year if ne won.
He hadn't yet won But he had closed I'D
shop and dreamed about his case. He had
at last come to the state capital and day
after day he sat in the supreme court lis
tening to the long oral arguments he did
not understand. waiting TO hear some ref
erence to the cose OF Bolts versus Turner
He did oid jobs and existed In the mean
time. That was all until he had made
friends with Boiling who had given him new
life by a chance reference to his daughters
Influence. He was a vagabond.
When he had finished, Anne Boiling arose
and said:
Mr.. Grum. I have no influence with any
one. / could not help you win your case.
Father is mistaken and I'm sorry he has
mislcd you
Grum's mind reverted TO money The