The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1900-11-23


upon his lips, he broke the seal of a
certain document and proceeded to
read it.
''Not now" he said, refectively, s
the gray twilight deepened into night,
'-but tomorrow; I'll alter it to-mor-
row. replacing the document and
locking the safe as he spoke.
The next day, as we have seen, he
/ stood beside the grave of his friend
/ John Morris.
Something akin to a sneer curled
his lip at the signs of grief about him.
Most of these people," he thought,
doubtless look for bequest under
the viii. They weep out of respect
for the dollars, he broke off here TIC
calculate the probable worth of the
dead mans estate. Not a large one
certainly; how could it be? For had
not John Norris more than once mild
| ly told him that his greatest ambi-
ton had been to lay up treasures IN
Heaven? That to him the accumula-
! ton of a million or more dollars meant
the loss of competence or hope, nay,
possibly, the lives of hundreds of hui
man beings; that a bottle Of cham
] payne represented tear wrung from
as many wretched, starving creatures
as it cost dollars; that from the can
vas, made worth the ransom of king
by the painters art. peeped forth wan
! faced little ones. wolf-like, famished
faces of men and women; that from
rare, useless bits of the potter's skill,
| dripped drops of blood wrung from toll
worn hands; from the anguished
/ brows of the widowed, the fatherless
and orphaned?
Widows and orphans. forsooth."
thought Nathaniel Craft, as he recalled
these, to him, QuiXotic notions, why
should not women and children labor
for their daily bread? 1 labor! It's
more 10 their credit, I'm sure, than
waiting for dead mems shoes. I'm!
! Dead mems 81 oes.'
His mind would revert to his own
children and the words he had over
/ heard-''He's too mean to die!" and
! then he fell to wondering if the dead
were conscious of the rafting of the
clods upon their collins; of the friend
! ly tear. the sobs of grief. the signs of
| farewell from their loved ones.
9Th not attend another funeral" he
resolved on his way to the Office "Dle!
Why 1 have no intention of dying, no
symptoms of dying, nor have 1 time
for such thoughts. They distract me,
/ indeed, when my mind should be upon
! business. Let me see! Homebreak
Central closed at 87A. No doubt it
has advanced while I have been vast
ing the morning. Twill more than
likely break before night. Good time
TO sell" and in this way Mr.. Craft
became himself again.
The next and several succeeding
days saw a furry in the market
and ne forgot, in watching the ''tick-
er," everything else but the rise and
fall of stocks. That document in his
safe, the unfilial speeches of his chill
dren, everything in the mad rush and
whirl of Wall street.
The furry was now over, Mr.. Nathan
iel Craft beamed-as near as a heart
less man can beam-with undisguised
satisfaction. Thousands upon thou
sands he had rolled up during the
storm-the storm which had wrecked
so many of his colleagues-and hence
was he correspondingly happy.
Il can afford to indulge in little
extravaganza to-day" he unused, "and
and at the same time show my APP
probation of the mercies extended to-
ward me-" Nathaniel Craft some
times felt that way when he had es-
capped the perils of the street" safely
landing as hostages many a valuable
wreck. "I-let me see! think shall
buy some simple flowers for John Nor
ris' grave. III have my card attached,
of course, so it will not be money
thrown away. I was never one to
hide my light under a bushel," he
chuckled, ''as John was in the. habit
of doing. They say he left most of
his money to the poor, and none to
relatives who did not need it. HIN,
we'll, my money, I'm determined, shall
serve to perpetuate the name of Ma
9 thaniel Craft, Esq. A church, or in
stitutiOn of some sort, far excelling any
! structure of the Kind in this city.
4 Why, bless mel" a frown obscuring
the beaming smile upon. his face, q
had forgotten that little matter" and
the next moment he had opened the
safe and withdrawn that document
again. chilling air from the interior
greeted him as he did so. He shivered
, little, and fancied he detected an
earthly smell. such as a newly-made
grave gives forth. In Imagination he
beard elods falling upon boards which
resounded holloway, saw his own face
with an eXultant smile, mockingly
: gazing upward upon the dry eyes OF
his own children, upon the Indifferent
faces of the merely curious. The
thought was not a pleasant one for
even such a man as Nathaniel Craft.
{ Hes too mean to die The remem-
, brance of those words drove any soft
ened feelings from his heart, and a
/ few moments later certain parts OF
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