The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-12-16
III Day In harvest. s..=. ...,s.,-=,..
By MARTHA mcuLLocn.wlLLIAAs.


as he spoke ..It was foolish. ought
70 a-known you could not be made to see
tnsres things IN this world money can't
The roof fell in az he spoke. sending
showers Of sparks and flaming brands
Dawsons bare hand. burning IT slightly.
Another struck Abshire on the cheek. but
glanced OF harmless. Ellen had grown
quiet, looking about her with frightened
eyes. She gazed at Abshire vacanty,
men said. as though speaking to some
tnln8 unseen; You say. ne shall be
ing"
1t was only mad womans raving. But
long after the wagon had rumbled out OF
sight when all the fires had sunk to gim-
mering banks of Goals, Abshre, walking
nome at the head Of his hired men, shiv-
cred as though stricken with deadly cold.
-Abshire was just Jimmy Dawson's age
2I.hut he had made the greater part Of
his big fortune. He was not a native. He
had been drawn to the county by the
mineral richness of district lyingsome-
thing deeper In the hills. He had bought
the, lands for song. then set up mines
and furnaces upon them Mysterious
transaetions vaguely. spoken OF as deals
mad taken them on his hands, leaving him
q. clear million. magnifcentiy invested
Then. he had decided to go In for the life
or a country gentleman. He owned al
ready AL the land at the head of the val
ley. There he built a big gray stone
house, sheltered yet airy. made green
lawns about II and set orchards and gar
dens ard Vineyards. A ring fence ran
round II all. but he was gracious-any-
body was welcome TO go through his
gates and along his well-kept private
roads,
Indeed. he was gracious to everybody
when once he was rid of the Dawsons
They did not prove troublesome-even as
a memory. He heard vaguely that they
had gone away. Some said Ellen had
come back to herself others that she was
still Eighty. All agreed that Jimmy would
take excellent care Of her--and since she
was not violent 1t was well he had her TO
the proper degree OF sympathy. The
speakers decided he could not have any
thing ON his conscience-he never made
the least effort to change the CONVERSE
ton. The truth was he was bent on prov
ing to himself that he had not. In that,
as i'm most other things he had great
stil. when he began playing at politics
ne kept rather out OF sight He made the
party states. naming judges. congressman
whereby his puppets should put them
through Place honors for himself he
put aside. The leaders decided In their
interested or very ambitious. II might be
he played for the game not the stakes.
II might be also he aimed at the highest
things, SO did not wish to make himself
less exalted.
He was a bachelor His mother and a
bevy Of orphan nieces kept house for him;
II was open house the year round. and
came easily to be the center OF things
social and things political in that part OF
the country. He had fine parties indoors
for his specially chosen friends, and bar
becues, lawn dances and 50 on, for his
friends and the county beside.
Something momentous happened at one
Margaret Wyeth. She looked up at him,
coloring family, and said with the least
hard breath: II will marry you when
<.f$ h..~ fafa MOI Ch..
ran away. She was proud and ambitious
more ambitious for him than even for
herself She wanted him, to show the
world what man he truly was Then;
too, she pinned for distinction. She had
been merely rich all her life.
All that was in August year before
months later. but the voting was mere
fprmniity Two weeks after the lawn
party the county paper farthest away
proving y'si M. Kbshire's ftness to be gov
ernor. The next week two other remote
county weeklies. looking into the future.
saw Capt. Abshire the coming man.
made mention of Nal. Abshire. Col. Alb
shire: Judge Ahshire as among near po-
iiticai potentlalities. Followed EN- I'M
pressive silence. Ahshire knew seed must
have time to terminate. He knew every
move In the game. II was his cue TO
deny. to deprecate, even to refuse out
right until a very little while before the
delegates were cnosn
He played II almost too fine. His pre-
vious consistent aloofness misled a good
moiety Of the soyeregns into believing
he meant what he said. Two other pos
sihle governors did not believe, but chose
gladly to profit by the faith of the rank
and file. The convention opened with the
prettiest possible three-cornered fight be-
fore It, No candidate had even a ma
tority though the only OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
last-ditch Abshire men had n shade the
best OF II.
To make matters worse the two-thlrds
rule was scarcely less sacred and binding
upon most OF the delegates than the con-
gtisution OF the United States Twas
true twas pity and pity twas. twas true.
Abshire and hts lieutenants had found
that out. almost as soon as they awoke
to sense of the situation Cautious in
uuiry had convinced them Il was idle TO
name the word majority, The man who
named a would be booted and the man
whose partisan he was understood to be
assuredly suffer In votes.
After the ninety-irst bsilot-the ballots
had not varied by ten either way--the
convention adjourned TO meet again at
~ next day. IL was after midnight. Two
days had developed no advantage for
any man of the three The assembly had
been reasonably temperate and eauable
until the last three ballots. Edged words
and wrangiing then had showed that
tempers began 10 fray under the long
strain. The leaders felt the situation
critical. Their majority In the state was