Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-12

lie went Oh. boll refuse Oh iIUpulse cdS
Ter. l and the others will do everything to
make your duties as light as possible
Il should not be content to be a mere fig
urehead, as Roover has BEEN. / warned
him. He had come, in his desperation, to
try to get the man who combined the adj
vantages of being, as he supposed. Dom-
nicks enemy and a member of one of the
states financially influential families. He
had come to coZen me into letting him use
me in return for mockery of an honor,
and l was simply tumbling him. or, rather,
permitting him to tumble himself. into the
pit he had dug for me. Still, l felt that 1
owed it to my self-respect to give him a
chance. IF l take the place l shall fill it
to the best of my ability
Certainly, certainly; We want your abtl-
ity.' Behind his bland, cordial mask l saw
the spider eyes cleaning and the spider
claws twitching he felt his net culver
under lowering wings. We want you've
need you. Sayler. We expect you to do
your best"
My best! What would my best have
been, had been only what he thought, de-
pendent upon him for supplies, surrounded
by his lieutenants, hearing nothing but
what he chose to tell me and able to exc
cute only such orders as he gave or ap
proved,
Il am sure we can count on you,' he
urged.
Il will try it." said l, after a further
hesitation that not altogether show.
He did not lingerie wished to give me
no chance to change my mind and fly his
net l was soon alone, staring dazedly at
my windfall and wondering if fortune
would ever give me anything without at
taching to it that which would make me
doubt whether my gift had more of bitter
or more of sweet in it.
Dunkirk announced the selection of a new
chairman that very afternoon-aS a fore
cast of course for there was the formality
of my 'eection' by the siXty-three mem
bers of the state committee to be gone
through. His proposition was well received.
The old-line politicians remembered my
father: the reformers recalled my fight
against Dominick; the business men liked
my connection with the Ramsay company,
assuring stability and regard for ''conserv-
atism;" the boys We're glad because 1
had a rich wife and a rich brother-in-law.
The boys always cheer when a man with
money develops political aspira tions.
l did not Woodruff until went down
to the capital to begin my initiation. 1
came upon him there, in the lobby of the
Capital City Hotel. AS talked for mo
ment like barely acquainted strangers. say
ing nothing that might not have been re-
peated broadcast, his look was asking:
How did you manage to trap Dunkirk into
doing it?'' l never told him the secret,
and so never tore out the foundation of
his belief in me as a political wizard. 1t is
by such judicious use of their few strokes
of good luck that successful men get their
gamor of the superhuman. In the eyes OF
the average man. who is lazy or intermit-
tent, the result of plain, incessant. uninter-
mittent work Is amazing enough. All that
is needed to make him cry Genius" is a
little luck adroitly exploited.
/ left Woodruff to join Dunkrk WHO
is that chap over there-Doctor Woodruff"
1 asked him.
'Woodruf?' replied the senator. "Oh,
lobbyist. He does good deal for Roe
buck | believe. An honest fellOw-for that
knd-they tell me. It's always we'll to be
civil to Them
Dunkirk's limitation of me into the du-
ties of my office wiped away my last lin
gering sense of double or at least doubt
full. dealing. He told me nothing that was
not calculated to mislead me. And he was
so glib and so frank and so sympathetic
that had l not known the whole machine
from the inside, / should have been his dupe
1t is not pleasant to suspect that, in
some particular instance, one of. your fell
low men takes you for a simple minded fool.
10 know you are being so regarded, not
in one instance, but In general, is in the
highest degree exasperating, no matter how
well your vanity is under control.
Perhaps l should not have been able
to play my part and deceive my deceiver
had / been steadily at headquarters AS it
was, l went there little and then gave no
orders, apparently contenting myself with
the credit for what other men were doing
in my name. In fact, obvious did I
make my neglect as chairman that the
party press commented on ii and covertly
criticised me. Dunkirk mildly reproach ed
me for lack of interest. He did not know
indeed, he never knew-that his chief
lieutenant Thurston, in charge at head
quarters had gone over to 1.-The enemy"
and was Woodruff's right-hand man. And
1t is not necessary for me to say where
Woodruff got the orders he transmitted to
Thurston.
My excuse for keeping aloof was that l
was about to be transformed into a man of
family. AS / was fond of children l had
looked forward to this with more eager
ness than l ventured to show to my wife
1jtphf NOT h.t,v flya1
she was also. AS soon she knew that
her longings We're to be satisfied she en-
tered upon course of preparation so eIab-
crate that was secretly much amused
though l thoroughly approved and en-
couraged her. Every moment of her days
was laid out in some duty imposed upon
her by the regimen she had arranged after
a study of all that science says on the
subject.
AS perfect tranquility was fundamental
OF the regime. she permitted nothing to
ruffie her. But Ed more than made up for
her calm. Two weeks before the event
She forbade him to enter her presence-"or
any part of the grounds where I'm likely
to see you" said she. THE very sight of
you. looking so Mustered. unnerves me"
While he and l We're waiting in the sit
ting room for the news he turned his heart
inside out
Il want to tell you. Harvey" said he.
mat the-boy or girl-whichever it isis
II shan't hold you to that replied
with a laugh.
No-lH never marry" he went on
mere was an-an angel You know the
SHAKER settlement?-well, out there"
looked at him in wonder If ever there
was man who seemed unromantic. it was
he, heavy and prosaic and so shy that he
was visibly agitated even In bowling to a
woman acquaintance.
Il met her., he was saying when I was
driving that way-the horse ran. was
thrown out, and her parents had to tax
me in and let her nurse me- You've seen
her face--or faces like 1t. Most of those
Madonnas over on the other side in all the
galleries suggest her. Well-her parents
Were furious-wouldn't hear of it-you
know Shakers think marriage and love and
all those things are wicked. And she
thought SO, too. How she used to suffer,
1t wore her to shadow. She wouldn' I
marry me--wouldn't let me so much as
touch her hand But we used to meet and
then she caught cold-waiting hours
for me, one winter night when there'd
been misunderstanding about the place
| was In one place. she in another And
the cold--you see she couldn't fight against
1t. And-and-there won't be another Har-
vey. All women are sacred to me for her
sake, but / couldn't any more marry than
l could-could stop feeling her sitting be-
side me. just a Little way on, wrapped In