The Savannah morning news., 1903-03-08

enough to pay for it, Outside, through
the open front doors, the crickets
| chirped.
Meredith went out on the steps, and
| breathed the cool night air A slen-
der faint of drugs hung everywhere
about the building, and the almost i'm
| perceptible permeatiOn sickened him; it
was deadly. he thought and imbibed
| with a hideous portent of suffering.
| That John HAIRLESS, of all men, should
lie stified with ether, and bangaded
| and splintered, and smeared with hor-
| rible unguents, while they stabbed and
slashed and tortured him, and made an
| outrage and a sin of that grand, big,
| dexterous body of his! Meredith shud-
| dered. The lights in the little ward
We're turned up. and they seemed to
| shine from a chamber of horrors, while
| he waited as a brother might have
waited outside the Inquisition-if, in
| deed, brother would have been al
| lowed to wait outside the Inquisition.
Alas, he had found John Harkless!
He had lost track" of him as men
sometimes do lose track of their best
| beloved, but it had always been 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 al
| ways believe in him so, that he would
be showed ahead, no matter how much
| he hung back himself;-but Meredith
had not expected him to turn up in In
| diana. He had heard vaguely that
| Harkless was abroad, and he had a
| general expectation that people would
hear of him over Their some day, with
| papers like the Times beseeching
him to go on missions. And he found
| him here, in his own home, a strang-
er, alone and dying, receiving what
I.f
the Teller. But it was Helen Sherwood
who had found him. He wondered how
| much those two had seen of each
other, down there in Plattville. If they
had liked each other, and Harkless
| could have lived, he thought it might
have simplified some things for Hell
| en-. Poor Helen!" he exclaimed aloud.
Her telegram had a ring, evensin 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 q No; he hoped they
would not come. just now. In a little
time, in few minutes, even, he would
| not dread a few words so much; but
/
he had found his friend only to lose
| him, the man he had always most
| needed, wanted loved. Everybody had
| always cared for HAIRLESS, wherever
he went. That he had always cared
| for everybody was part of the reason,
| maybe. Meredith remembered, now,
| hearing a man who had spent a day in
Plattville on business speak of him:
| They've got a young fellow down
| there who'll be Governor in a few
| years. He's a sort of dictator; and
| runs the party all over that part of
the state to suit his own sweet will,
| just by sheer personality And there
isn't a 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 that downed
McCune and smashed those imitation
'White-Caps' in Carlow county," Mere
| dith had been momentarily struck by
| the coincidence of the name, but his
| notion of HAIRLESS was so inseparably
| connected with what was Ito his mind)
handsomer and more spacious-cer-
tainly more illuminated-field of ac-
tion that the idea that this might be
| his friend never entered his head.
| Helen had said something once-he
could not remember what-that made
him think she had half suspected it,
| and he had laughed. He thought of
the whimsical fate that had taken her
| to Plattville, of the reason for her 60
ing, and the old thought came to him
| that the world is after all so very
small. He looked up at the twinkling
stars; they We're reassuring and kind
| Under their benignancy no loss could
| befal, no fate miscarry-for in his
| last thought he felt his vision opened
for the moment, to perceive a fine
| tracery of fate.
he said.
And then he shivered; for his name
was spoken from within
| 1t was soon plain to him that he
| need not have feared few words, for
! he did not in the least understand
those with which the eminent surgeons
| favored him; and they at once took
their departure. He did understand
however, what Horner told him. Mr..
| Barrett, Warren Smith, and the sleepy
young man had re-entered the ward:
and Horner was following, but waited
for Meredith. Somehow, the look of
| the sheriff's coat wrinkling forlornly
from his broad. bent shoulders, was
both touching and solemn. He said
! simply: Hes conscious and not cut
| of his head. They're gone in to take
| his ante-mortem statement" and they
went into the room.
% Harkless' eyes were bandaged The
] law yer as SptdklstB 10 MIN, ana as
| Horner went awkwardly toward the
cot. Warren said something indicative
of the sheriffs presence. and the hand
! on the sheet made a formless motion
| which Horner understood, for he took
the pale fingers in his own, very gent
| ~, and then set them back Smith
turned toward Meredith, but the latter
made a gesture which forbade the at
! torney To speak OF him. and went TO a
corner and sat down with his head In
| his hands.
| The sleepy young man opened note
book ami shook a stylOgraphic pen so
that the ink might How freely. The
lawyer, briefly and with unlegal agi-
aition, administered an oath, 10 which
| HAIRLESS responded feebly, and then
I there was silence.
NOW. Mr. HAIRLESS. II you please"
said Barrett irsinuatingly. II you feel
Ike telling ut as much 40 you can
about 49,
he answered IN a low. rather indis-
tinet y0ioa. very deliberately, pausing