The Minneapolis journal., 1902-08-14
The Gentleman From Indiana
BY BOOTH T4Rk1NGToN
Copyright by Doubleday & Mcclure Co., 1899.

breathed the cool night air. slender tant
OF drugs hung everywhere about the build
Ing, and the almost imperceptible permearion
sckened him; it was deadly, he thought. and
imbued with hideous portent Of suffering.
That John Harkless, of all men, should lie
stitIed with ether, and bandaged and splin-
tered. and smeared with horrible nngueuts.
while they stabbed and slashed and tortured
him, and made an outrage and sin or that
grand big. dextrous body OF hts! Meredith
shuddcred. The lights in the little ward were
turned up, and they seemed to shine from
chamber of horrors, while he waited, as
brother might have waited outside the in
quisition-if, indeed, a brother would have
been allowed to wait outside the inquisitlon.
Alas, he had found John Harkless! He had
'ioSt track" Of him mel sometimes 10 iu:e
track Of their best eloved, but it had always
been comfort to know that Harkless was
somewhere, a comfort without which he could
hardly have got along. Like others he had
been waiting for John to turn UPON top, Of
course: for people would always believe in
him so, that he would be showed aheod, no
matter how much he hung back himself;-
but Meredith had not expected him to turn
up In Indiana. He had heard vaguely that
Harkless was abroad, and he had a general
expectat tion that people would hear OF him
over there some day. with papers like the
Times beseeching him to go missions. And
he found him here, In his own home,
stranger, alone and dying. receiving what
mnistrations were reserved for Jerry the
Teller. But 1t Helen Sherwood who had
found him. He wondered how much those
two had Of each other down there In
Plattville. If they had liked each other, and
Harkless could have lived, he thought it
might have simplifed some things for Helen
Poor Helen!" he exclaimed aloud. Her tele-
gram had a ring. even in the barren four
sentences. He wondered how much they had
liked each other. Perhaps she would wish
to come at once When those fellows came
out of the room he would send her a word by
telegraph.
When they came out-ah! he did not want
them to come out: he was afraid. They were
an eternity-why didn't they come: No; he
hoped they would not come, just now. In A
little time in few minutes, even, he would
not dread a few words much: but now he
couldn't quite bear to be told he had found
his friend only to lose him, the man he had
always most needed, wanted, loved. Every
'ody had always cared for Harkless,
5herever he went. That he had ell
he reason, maybe. Meredith remembered
low, hearing a man who had spent a day
n Plattville on business speak OF him
They've got young fellow down there
who'll be governor in few years. He's a
sort Of dictator, and runs the party all over
| that part or the state to suit his own SWEEP
will just by sheer personality. And there
| isn't man in that district who wouldn't
cheerfully lie down in the mud to let him
pass over dry. It's that young Harkless, YOU
know: owns the Herald, the paper, thai
downed McCune and smashed those imitation
White-Caps in Carlow county, Meredith
had been momentariy struck by the coinci
dence Of the name, but his notion Of Harkless
was so inseparably connected with what wa:
Ito his mnd) a handsomer and more spa
cous-certanly more illuminated-feld o
action, that the idea that this might be hi
| friend entered his head. Helen hat
said something once-he could not remembe
what-that made him think she half sus
pected it, and he had laughed. He though
of the whimsical fate that had taken. her t,
Plattvile Of the reason for her going, ant
the old thought came to him that the worlt
is, after ALL 80 very small He looked up a
the twinkling stars. they were reassurinl
and kind. Under their benignanoy no los
could befal, fate mscarry-for in his las
| thought he felt his vision opened, for tn
moment, to perceive fine tracery Of fate
"Ah, that would be too beautiful" he said
And then he shivered; for his name wa
spoken from within.
1t was soon plain to him that he need no