Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1902-12-17

newed indefinitely if one lives be-
yond them. And it was another of
those sub-climaxes that came in the
hour OF aimless wandering on the
levee. More than once he was TEMPT
ed to buy back his lost identity at
any price; at every price, if need be.
Not in any other moment of a we'll
filled life had he been made to re-
alize what a precious possession is
the fearlessness of innocency:
weighed against it, the thick packet
of bank notes in the red bandanna,
and all that it might stand for, was
as air-blown bubbles to gold. And
yet he would not go back; he could
not go back, since to restore the
money would be more than a confess
sion of guilt; it would be an abiect
recantation, fiat denial of every
article of his social creed, and a re-
turn to primordial chaos in the mat
ter of theories out of which he could
emerge only as criminal in act
When the indetermination became
blankly insupportable, he put it
aside with the resolution which was
the strong thread in the loose
twisted warp of his character, and
addressed himself afresh to the un-
solved problem of fight. The pos
session of the red bandanna and it's
holdings made all things possible-in
any field save the theoretical-and
the choice of dwelling, or hiding
) places, seemed infinite. His first
thought had been to go back to New
York; but there the risk of detec-
tion-if risk there were-would be
greater than elsewhere; and upon
second thought, he decided that
there was no good reason why he
should incur it.
On the other hand, his inclination
began to draw him toward a field
in which he might pursue his So
Geological studies under conditions
more favorable than those to be
found in great city. In his minds
| eye he saw himself safely seques-
| tered in some small interior town,
working and studying among peo-
| pie who were not unindividualized bv
an artificial environment-a self-cen-
tered community in which the money
at his command would be more of a
controlling influence than it could
possibly be in the smallest of cir
cles in New York The picture
pleased him, and he fell in with the
suggestion, leaving the geographical
detail to arrange itself as chance or
subsequent events might determine.
That part of the problem disposed
of, there yet remained the choice of
line of retreat; and it was a small
thing that finally decided the man
ner of his going.
He had been lettering opposite the
berth of the Belle Julie-an up-river
steamer, whose bell gave sonorous
warning of the approaching hour of
eparture-absently watching the
ant-like procession of toiling rousta-
bouts hurrying the last of the cargo
on board. They were negroes, most
of them, but with here and there
among the blacks and yellows a
paler face SO begrimed with sweat
and dust as to be scarcely distin-
guishable from the majority. The
sight moved him, as thankless hui
man toll was wont to do, and he fell
to contrasting the hard lot of the
laborers with that of the group of
passengers looking on idly from the
comfort and shade of the saloon
deck awning. The thought slipped
into compassionate speech:
poor devils! They've been told
they are free, and perhaps they be-
lieve it; but surely no slave of the
galleys was ever in bitterer bond
! age. What condemned felon was
ever in worse case than these poor
drudges who are free only to bear
burdens and to be driven like cattle
under the yoke? Oh, good Lord
look at that!'
The ant-procession had attacked
the final tier of boxes in the landing
and one of the burden-bearers, a
white man, had gone down like a
crushed pack animal under load
too heavy for him. Griswold was be-
side him before he could recover, and
was lifting him tenderly out of the
way of the others.
why didn't you get out from un
der it and let it drop?" he began
gruff1y, as an Offset to the woman
ish tenderness; but when the mar
gasped for breath and groaned, tn,
mask of gruffness fell away from
him. "Where are you hurt?"
The crushed one sat up and spa
. blood.