The San Francisco call., 1903-01-18

didn't like IT. What had that to do with
me? l told them the truth; l knew 1t
for the truth then and I know 1t for the
truth now And that is his reward-the
best that man may know; the only one
really worth the striving for.
''The Pit" is a story about the same
length as The Octopus" but without the
great number of characters that Mr.. Nor
ris found necessary in his narrative or
the struggles, hopes, ambitions and fail-
ures Of the producers The principal per-
sons in The Pit are: Curtis Jadw1n,
capitalist and speculator: Sheldon Cort-
hell, an artist; Landry Court, brokers'
clerk: Samuel Gretry, a broker; Charles
Cressler, a dealer in grain; Mrs. Cressler.
his wife; Laura Dearborn, protege or
Mrs. Cressler; Page Dearborn. her SIS
ter; Mrs. Emily Vessels, aunt of Laura
and Page
All Of Mr.. Norris characters are in
stinct with the real life Of flesh and blood
and hold the reader by their virility; but
where the author achieves real greatness
is in imparting the breath of a living
actuality to so abstract a quantity as
trade and its associations-in making
wheat seem to US a thing concrete,
force endowed with human instincts and
superhuman powers. 1t was so in THE
Octopus; it is so in THE Pit
For example this: And this was her
last impression of the evening. The light
haze of light in the heavens, and raised
against it the pile of the Board of Trade
building black. grave monolithic. crouch
ing on its foundatio like monstrouS
sphinx with blind eyes, silent, grave
crouching there without a sound, without
sign of life. under theY night and the
drifting veil of rain,"
Norris is an author who must be read
slowly, carefully, and even for a second
or third time, for the best comprehension
and appreciation of his work. Not A
point escapes him in developing the de-
tails that will bring his purpose TO per-
feet consummation. HIS is the master
and in describing vast undertakings, n
placing before the reader crowded scenes
palpitatng with life. that you may see
with an eye clearer than your own.
The opening chapters of the book con-
Germ themselves with the proper introduce
tion and appreciation of his two leading
characters, a man and a woman-Curtis
Jadwin and Laura Dearborn They meetN
at an opera night Laura has just left
her quiet Massachusetts home to live in
Chica 60 and it is really her first long
glimpse into life of the great metropolis.
The description of this vast crowd Of
theatergoers, with their different aims,
conversation and interests. is the most
realistic OF its kind that have ever
read.
The plot of the story in brief is this:
Laura is loved and wooed by the men
Landry Court. the conscientious. hard
working young business man of brilliant
future; Sheldon Corthell. the artist and a
man Of temperament entirely the opposite
Of those of the business world; and Curtis
Jadwin, a man among men, great. re
sOUrceful, strong. Jadwin wins her hand
by his very masteTfulness and they are
married. Then it is that the true inter-
est Of the story begins.
Jadwin is gradually lured into the fas-
cinating swirl OF the pit. his gamb 9 in
stinct grows even stronger than |. love
for his wife. 1t is force that he can
not resist and ere he knows it he is in
too far TO withdraw. Laura. OF a dispo-
sition that requires love and affection
does all IN her power to draw him back
and apparently failing in that is soon on
the verge Of a fatal mlstake-for CortheII,
her old suitOr. comes back and they are
much together. Jadwin is finally drawn
into the vortex Of the pits mselstrom and
goes down ruined man. Here then is
the crisis; for just as this occurs Laura
in Despair has given her word to Corthell
to eiope-will Mr.. Norris give his heroine
into the hands of another man and his
hero into suicides grave2 We must
leave that for the reader to discover.
Those parts of the book wherein are
desccibed the battle of the specrlators
and distributors. their efforts to control
wheat, to turn to their own ends without
regard for the sufferngs of the consum-
ers. make some of the strongest and most
virile bits of American fiction. Here is
that part of the story wherein we learn
OF the first tidal wave that marks the
advance of wheat itself as the new crop
comes on the market 10 break the corner
that Curtis Jadwin has so long held:
Landry and the other Gretry traders hurried
from the office I'd TO the floor. Landrys heart
was besting thick and slow and hard his
teeth were shut tight. Every nerve every
fiber Of him braced itself with the rigidity Of
drawn wire, TO meet the issue of the impending
hours. Now was TO come the last grapple
He had never lived through q crisis such as
this before. Would he prevail. would he keen
his head? Would he avoid baIk the thou
SAND and one little subterfuges, tricks and
traps that the hostile traders would prepare
for him-preDare with quickness, a sudden
ness that all but defed the sharpest keenest
wsfchfulness2
Was the gong never going to strike? He
found himself. all at once, the edge OF the
wheat Fit. 1t was jammed tight with the
crowd Of traders and the excitement that dis
engaged itself from that tense vehement crowd
Of white faces and glittering eyes was verita-