Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1903-08-19

81 never realized how tired I was un-
til I got within sound Of my old
friends voice."
board the Valley Queen. Yates thrill
ed as his foot touched the deck. He
walked briskly to the little window
on the saloon deck and exclaimed:
"NIr Clerk, I want two Of your best
rooms to New Orleans"
A blue-coated figure came close to
the window, a strong, masculine hand
held out some keys, and voice
which made Mr.. Yates start answered:
1.-THE best two on board, Mr.. Yates,
and hope you will find your trip
with us most pleasant and comfort
able"
Mr.. Yates glanced wildly toward the
shore. 1t was slipping away from
them They were in midstream-and
the man at the window was Allen
Houston.
Retreat was impossible Graceful
capitulation was inevitable. Yates put
out his hand.
AAC1CuALCA AO u4f loC0 Al10 Lilly NC
tween the deck, which he paced with
his daughter, telling her lively yarns
Of his own days as a river-boat clerk,
and the Office, where he shared Hous-
toms preoccupation with his duties.
There was something familiar about
it all-the pleasant familiarity which
takes 10 years off a mans shoulder.
And Houston understood the work,
just as Yates had understood it years
before. Where he had started, Hous-
ton was starting.
Some times watching his daughters
face he wavered. But no; 1t was i'm
possible. His own case had been ex-
ceptional. Ali river-boat clerks could
not be millionaires, and Houston was
merely of a good, upstate family,
without social standing in the world
where Mammon ruled.
Yet Mr.. Yates found himself watch
ing young Houston curiously. He
wasn't half bad, this college-b bred
youth, who could dispatch office duties
with ease, placate patrons who fret
ted at the slow method Of travel, and
in an emergency could tell the deck
hands more things about their ances-
try than Yates had dreamed Of In
his own river life.
They had quit the bluffs, and cotton
had given way to cane and rice. In q
few hours they would touch at New
Orleans The deck hands had all been
paid off, save for the dollar which in
sured their aid in tying the boat to
the dock.
The clerks duties were over, his pa
pers In shape, and the last landing
made. Mr.. Yates met him ON the sa-
loon deck, and remarked, Lets go be-
low and watch those darkies lose all
their money"
The old life had him in its clutches.
Down below they went. Away in
the stern the engines pounded. To
ward the bow the furnaces glowed.
Between the two, roustabouts had
gather to gamble their earnings. Some
Of the negroes were already penniless.
Others were flushed and excited by
their gains.
Yates watched the scene for an hour,
laughing at the apt remarks Of the
gamblers. Wall street was forgotten.
Social ambitions died within him He
was again in Aliens place, a clerk
without a future, without great hopes.
Suddenly he turned:
MAN, they are happier than I have
dared be since I stood where you are
to-day. I am wondering whether it Is
worth while-the struggle, the Knock
out blows one must give and take.
Mother Mississippi has been talking to
me, Houston; scolding me in her own
way. Edith told me once that money
was not all and I reckon she Is
right. At any rate, you may ask her
if she still believes that. If she does,
1 won't stand between you"
An hour later the boat slipped
around the crescent, past the coal
docks and the fruit docks to the
levees The rush Of the water and
the rudely melodious voices Of the
negroes singing at their work, mingled
with a strange harmony.
In the bow OF the Valley Queen.
Edith Yates stood with her hand clasp
ed in her lovers her expectant glance
fixed on the quaint old city.
In the stern, looking backward upon
the river, whose voice he had needed.
Henry Yates stood with folded arms.
He was wondering whether he should
ever go back to the mad struggle
and the social walls he had striven so
hard to climb-for her sake.-Boston
Globe.
Horses Scare and High.
II have not known q period when