Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1904-04-12
CHAPTER XII.

the loss III reduiHS hidltei illus oS~A
sioned1.
CHAPTER XII.
N Indiana town may lie asleep
fAI a long while. but 1t always
E>@ wakes up some time, and
ts2MS Plattville woke up in August.
when the Herald became a daily. II
was then that history began to tr
made. The Herald printed news. l,
Lad made a connection with the Asso'
ciated Press. and 1t was sold ever;
morning at stands In every town l.
that section of the state. Its circuln
ton tripled. Two new men were
brought from Rouen for the editorial
and reportoriaI staff, and Parker talked
Of new presses. During the first week
Of the daily venture Eph Watts struck
oil, and the Herald doomed the field.
People swarmed into town; the hotel
was crowded; strangers became no SEN
sation whatever. A capitalist bought
the whole north side of the square to
erect new stores, and the Carlow bank
began the construction Of a new bank
building of Bedford stone on the corner
opposite the Herald. Then it was whis-
pered, next affirmed, that Main street
was to lie asphalted. That was the end
of the "old days" of Plattville.
But the man who had laid the foun-
dation upon which the new Plattville
was to be built, he who through the
quiet labor of years had stamped his
spirit on the people, lay sick in his
friends house and did not care.
Tom Meredith had taken him from
the hospital. to his own home on
quiet street in Rouen, and John was
we'll enough of his hurts to be taken
abroad sor,ettmes in q. victoria. where
he reclined, gray and thin, seemingly
no more than a long afternoon shad-
ow. But for days he would lie In
lethargy that made Tom despair. The
soul Of the country editor was sick In
side Of him; he was weary and worn,
and pain had left him dulled, except
when he thought Of returning to Platt-
vile; then he felt physical horror. The
place did not need him, nor he the
place. Fisbee had found young rela-
tive to run the Herald, who signed his
typewriter business letters N. Fis-
bee" in strapping hand that suggest
ed six feet Of muscle scattering ink on
its shirt sleeves.
John wondered idly where old F1s-
bee had raked up relative, and ne
thought it probable that 81. Fisbee was
a Yankee cousin of the old man, but
he did not care much for that or for
anything except to keep away from
Carlow for the rest Of his life, since
he was to live. And there was no Ion
ger need to go there. He was glad to
know that. H. Fisbee had written him
before the oil bubbled In Eph's wells
that to buy stock in Mr.. Watts COM
pany might be profitable, especially as
the stock was then so low that 1t was
almost imperceptible, and Harkless had
a little money he had saved. He let
Meredith arrange 1t for him, and few
days later the stock leaped cloudward.
However his modest riches interest
ed him as little as did everything else.
He left his bed less and less, took no
more drives, and his lethargy deep
ened.
The only thing in which he showed
interest was the congressional cam
paign of the district. 1t was far ad-
vanced before the Herald spoke Of 1t
at all, and Harkless saw that McCune
had lifted his head.
One day Tom came In and found
him writing Oh a pad on his knee.
Rouen. Sept. 2. -.
Dear Mr.. Fisbee-Yours of the 1st to
hand. entirely approve all arrangements
you have made. / think you understand
that I wish you to regard everything az
in your own hands. You are the editor OF
the Herald and have the sole responsible
ity for everything. including policy. until
after proper warning. / relieve you In
person. IL that ever happens but until
that time regard me as mere spectator
I do not fear that you will make any mis-
takes You have done very much better In
all matters than could have done myself
At present 1 have only one suggestion:
observe that your editorials concerning
Halloways denomination are something
lukewarm. It is very important that ne
be renominated, not so much on account
Of assuring his return to Washington for
he is no Madison. fear). but the fellow
McCune must be beaten II we have tc
send him to the penitentiary on an ole
issue to do 1t. The man Is corrupt to tfs
bone He has been bought and sold. and
am glad the proofs Of 1t are IN your
hands. as you tell me you found them. az
directed in my desk The papers you
hold drove him out Of politics once by the
mere threat Of publication. You should
have printed them last week. as / sug'
gested Do so at once: the time Is short
The Herald Is little paper mot so little
nowadays, after all. thanks to you). but
1t Is an honest one. and 1t Isn't afraid ol
Rod McCune and his friends. Please lei
me see as hearty a word as you can say
for Holloway also. You can write witt
ginger Please let US have some In thi:
matter. l am. very truly yours.
JOHN HARMLESS.
When the letter was concluded, he
handed it to Meredith. please ad
dress that, put special on it and sen6
1t, Tom. 1t should 80 at once, so as tt
reach him tonight"
II. FiSbeeW
"Yes.-H. Fisbee"
Il believe it does you good to write
boy" said the other as he bent ovel
him. You look more chirrupy thar
YOU have for several days"
Its that beast McCune. This young
Fisbee is rather queer about 1t. fell
stirred up as went along" But ever
before the sentence was finished tb'
favor Of age and utter WEAKNESS re
,6nssaod and the dark lids closed ovel
dnagain slowly