The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1906-11-02

before l learned that he had been
specializing. ~inor.Haging. kiting notes,
doing what ho called. and thought,
business" on a large scale. Ee re-
gar.ied business as beneath the dignity
and me intellect of q .'gentlenan"-
how my gorge does rise at that wordi
So ne put his great imind on it only for
a few hours now n then he reserved
the rsst or his time for what he re-
gardei as the proper concerns OF a gen
mountaineering to social duties"
reading pretentieus books. looking at
the pictures and listening to the music
decreed Fashionable.
They charge that ] put him lin a
hole In fact, l found hin at the bot
tom oi a deep pit lie had dug for him.
self: and when he first met me he was.
without having The sense to realize it.
just about to g smash. with not a
penny for his old age. AS soon as l
had aot this fact clear of the tangle,
l shaw ed it &c him.
My God. what is to become of me-"
he said. That was his only thought
not. what is to become of my wife and
daughter; but. what is to become of
me" l 10 not blame him for this.
Naturally enough people who have al
ways been used tc everything become,
unconSciously, monsters of egotism and
seltishness; it is natural, too, that they
should imagine Themselves liberal and
generous if they CIV away occasionally
something that costs them, at most,
nothing more serious han the forego-
ing OF some -eXtravagant luxury or 9TH
er. l 1ecite his rrnlark simply t. show
what manne of aan he was, what sort
of creature l a TO deal with.
l offered to help him, and l did help
him. Is there any one, knowing any
thing of the facts CT life, who will CEN
SURE me when ! admit that with
delibe:ation-simply tided him over,
did OCi mako for hin, ar5 nrocart t>
him a fortune What chance should I
have had. If l had been so absurdly
generous to a man who deserved MOTH
ing but punishment for his selfish and
bigoted mode of life? l look away his
worst burdens; but 1 left him more
And it was not until he had appealed
in vain to all his social friends to re-
lieve him Of the necessity Of my aid,
not until he realized la l vas his only
hope of escaping a sharp comedown
from luxury to very modest comfort in
a flat somewherc-not until then did
his wife sem mo an invitation to din
ner. And l had not so much as limited
that ] wanted 1t.
I shall never forget the smallest de-
tail Of that dinn,r-it was a purely
FANNY affair. only the Ellerslys and
I. a feel now the oppressive at
mospnere. the look as OF impending
sacriIege upon the faces of the old
servants; I a see Mrs. Ellersly try
ing to condescenu to be gracious" and
treating me as 1. ] were some sort Of
museum freak or menagerie exhibit. I
a ste Anita She was like a statue
Of snow; she spoke not a word; IL she
lifted her eyes, l rallied TO note it. And
when l was leaving with my collar
wilted from the fierce, nervous strain
i had been enduring-Mrs. Ellersly, in
thas voice of hers into which 1 don't
believe any shade of a real human emo
ton ever penetrated, said: you must
come to see us, Mr.. Blackjack. We are
always at home after s."
| looked at MISS Ellersly. She was
to h lips now, and the spangles
on her white dress seemed bits of ice
glittering there; She said nothing; but
l knuw h felt my look, and that it
froze the ice the more closely in around
her heart. Thank you" / muttered.
1 stumbled in the hall; 1 almost fell
down the broad Steps. ] stopped at the
first Tar and TOOK three drinks in quick
nue., breathing like an exhausted swim
mer. I'm give ner up!" 1 cried aloud,
so UPSET was I.
1 am a man OF impulse; but 1 have
trained myself not to be a creature of
impulse, at least not in matters of inn
portance. Without that patient and
painful schooling. l shouldn't have got
blaeking boots. or s~heet-writing
for some ~bookmaker, or clerking it
for some broker. Before 1 got to my
roorns, the night air and my habit Of
the sober second thought" had cooled
me back to nationality.
II van her. 7 need her." I was say
ing to myself. II am worthier OF her
are those mincing manikins she
been bred to regard as men. She
is for me-she belongs to me. I'll
abandon her to no Sinking puppet
wear her as a donkey would a
diamond. Why should I do myself and
her an injury simply because she has
been too badly brought up to know her
w INTEREST,""
Continued Next Weekly