Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1906-09-14
CHAPTER X.


\ Duncan had been taking his
meals at the little boarding
49, house of Mrs. Deming. The
other boarders, dozen In all perhaps,
did not interest him at first, and for
time he took his meals In silence, ex-
cept for courteous good mornings"
and good evenings" His table COM
panions were mainly young clerks OF
various grades, with whose ideas and
aspirations young Duncan was very
slightly in sympathy.
After q time, however, he decided
that it was his duty to cultivate ac-
uuaintance with these table cOmpan-
ions, in whom he recognized private
soldiers in the great army Of work
the men upon whom the commanders
Of all degrees must rely for the execu-
ton of their plans.
Accordingly, Duncan began to take
an active part in the conversations go
ing OH about him, and little by little
he injected so much Of interest Into
them that whenever he spoke he was
listened to with special attention.
Without assuming superiority of any
kind, he came to be recognized as IN
fact superior. He came to be sort or
autocrat of the breakfast table, direct
ing the conversations there into new
channels and better ones.
1t was his practice to buy and read
all the magazines as they appeared,
including the particularly interesting
eclectic periodicals of that time, IN
which the best European thought was
fairly represented.
His reading furnished him many In
teresting themes for table talk, and
presently the brightest ones among his
companions there began to question
him further concerning the subjects he
thus mentioned. After little while
some of them occasionally borrowed
reading matter of him by way of still
further satisfying their interest In the
matters of which he talked at table.
A little later still these brighter
young men one by one began to Visit
Duncan's room In the evenings. In
the free and easy fashion Of that time
and region he made them welcome
without permitting their coming or go
ing=fo disturb his own evening occu-
pations in. any serious way. His room
was very large, well warmed and
abundamtiy lighted, for he had almost
u passion for light. There was al
ways litter of new magazines, week
ly periodicals and the like on the big
table in the center of the room. and
there were always piles Of older ones
In the big closet. Still further, there
was q stand of boOkshelves which was
beginning to be crowded with books
bought one by one as they came out or
as Duncan felt the need Of them. Lit
erature was the young mans only ex-
travagance. and that was not very
expensive one.
"Welcome. Help yourself. Read
what you like and you won't disturb
me-" That was the spirit Of his
greeting to all these, his friends, when
ever they entered bis door, and It was
not long before the room Of the young
virglnian became q center Of good In.
fuence among the young men Of the
town.
Cairo was an iii organized communi-
ty at that time. The great majority of
its people were newcomers" from all
quarters Of the country, who bad as
yet scarcely learned to know each 9th
er. War operations had filed the town
for Several Years past with shifting
crowds of adventures Of all sorts, who
found in disturbed conditions their OPP
portunity to live by prey. There were
gambling houses and other evil resorts
In dangerous numbers, where soldiers
and discharged soldiers on their way
through the place were tempted to
their ruin by every lure Of vice and
every ease of opportunity to go astray.
The solid men deplored these cOndi-
tons, but were as yet powerless to bet
ter them. After the rush Of discharged
soldiers through the town ceased the
evil influences began to operate more
directly upon the clerks and other
young men Of the city itself.
Under such circumstances even the
least cultivated Of the hard headed
business men could not fail to regard
with special pleasure the silent work
that Duncan was doing for the saliva.
ton of at least a considerable group
of young men who might otherwise
have fallen victims to the evil condi-
tons that beset them.
Apart from his association with the
young men who frequented his room
Duncan had no social life at all. He
never visited at any house except that
Captain Hallam frequently had him to
a meal over which the two might talk
business or where he might meet and
helm entertain prominent men Of af-