The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1903-02-20

Here 10 await Tue
general resurrection inthe last day and
the appearing OF the Lord Jesus Christ"
John Gordon, with his sister and
their aunt. Mrs Hester Wayland. Ru-
fus Gordon's only sister. stood on the
other side of the grave Mary was
heavily dressed in mourning and chung
to John Gordon's arm sobbing- Fal-
mouth offered q brief prayer, pro-
nounced the benediction and then came
around to the three and shook hands
silently. The crowd of acquaintances
hat had known the distinguished finan-
cfer departed. discussing as they went
the future of the business involved by
the death. and its relation to the son.
who was a stranger to most of the men
In the city. except as they had read OF
his eccentric career at Hope House.
Strange how man of Gordon's ex-
act methods can neglect such thing.
/ remember now there was Judge
Lewis OF the circuit court neglected"
etc.
Gordon isn't the first man to put off
attending to a matter of that sort
suppose the estate goes in absence Of
will to his SOM" one of the visiting
friends of the broker questioned.
Yes. and the son is a crank, I'm
told; been living i'm the slums for a
fad" The speaker got into his auto
mobile. and he and his friends were
soon speeding toward the city at the
rate of thirty miles an hour. Cor
don's fad was slum. The brokers'
| fad was a racing machine. There are
fads and fads.
Il think | could give guess at Cor
don's failure to make a WILL" quietly
remarked another financier. who had
been present at the funeral
His companion gave him a question
ing LOOK
He didn't have much of anything to
| WILL" was the answer.
| "How's that:" The exclamation ex-
pressed great surprise. Gordon was
one of the solid men of the city"
at may be- But. mark my prophecy.
the old man lost his cunning along to-
ward the last Those who watched
him closest saw signs of breaking
down in him more than a year ago.
He went too heavily into L. and d.
stock Conway's deal last spring
turned out bad for Gordon No one
knows how hard he was hit at the
time, but-you watch developments II
the son gets the house and lots out Of
what's left, be will do well"
He was not''-
"The old man was strictly honorable
lost was his own. so far as that goes
But am much mistaken if he did not
lose Just about everything"
| During the week that followed Rufus
Gordon's affairs gradually became
common material for gossip on the
street. Ten days after the body OF
the wealthy banker" had been put in
the ground the business world knew
| that, with the exception of his home
and a small annuity belonging to hi:
| daughter, the wealth of Rufus Gordon
| had vanished. dissipated in that kind
/ of speculation which borders on gam
bling so closely that tire most cOnscien
/ tious business men cannot always de
| eide where legitimate business end:
and the gamblers luck begins.
Down at Hope House Paul Falmouth
who had come in 10 consult with Mis-
Andrews about some work his peOpl'
had volunteered for her. was talkin:
over John Gordon's affairs when h
came into the library. Miss Andrew
was called out, and the two men wer
left together. Since BartOn's dealt
Gordon had felt drawn toward Fal
mouth. There was something yer.
wholesome and helpful about the mai
when one came to know the real mai
beneath the scholarly, refined, deepl,
sensitive nature.
Then your fathers death will reall.
make little difference with your fu
ture?'
/ Very little if any" Gordon answers
gravely- Mary is going abroad for
year with Aunt Hester. Poor Mary