Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1906-09-28

" mloo ANITA.

de WINGED, but thanked me grac.
lously; gave me his soft, fine hand to
shake and departed, as eager to be of
as l 10 be rid of him. Sunday next
at eight" were his last words. Don't
fall us"-that in the tone of a king ad.
dressing some obscure person whom
ne had commanded to court It NAV
be that old Ellersly was wholly uncon.
sclous OF his superciliousness. fancied
ne was treating me as if were al.
most an equal; but | suspect he rather
accentuated his natural manner. with
the idea of impressing upon me that
IN our deal he was giving at least as
much as |.
My petty and inevitable success
with that helpless creature added
amazingly, ludicrously, to that dan
gerous citation which, as | can now
see, had been growing in me ever
since the day Roebuck yielded so read.
lily to my demands as to National coal
The whole trouble with me was that
up to that time had won all nv vic.
tories by the plainest kind of straight.
away hard work. was imagining nv.
sell victor in contests of wit against
wit, when, in fact, no one with any
especial equipment of brains had ever
opposed me; all the really strong men
had been helping me because they
found me useful. But for my self.
hypnotism in the case of Roebuck I
find no excuse whatever for myself
He sent for me and told me what
share in National coal they had de.
cided to give me for my ManasQuale
mines. "Langdon and Melville" said
ne, think me too liberal; far too lib
eral, my boy. But | insisted-in your
case felt we could afford to be gen.
erous as well as just" All this with
an air that was a combination of the
pastor and the parent.
| can't even offer the excuse of not
having seen that he was a hypocrite
| felt his hypocrisy at once and nv
first impulse was to jump for nv
breastworks. But instantly nv vanity
got behind me, held me in the onan
pushed me on toward him. If Won will
notice, almost all confidence" games
rely for success chiefly upon enlisting
a mans vanity to play the traitor to
his Judgment. So, instead of reading
his liberality as plain proof of intend.
ed treachery,. | read it as plain proof
OF my own greatness, and of the fear
1t had inspired in old Roebuck. Laugh
with me if you like, but before YOU
laugh at me, think carefully-those of
you who have ever put yourselves to
the test on the field of action-think
carefully whether you have never
found that your head decoration which
you thought a crown was in reality
the peaked and belled cap of the fool.
But my vanity was not done with
me- Led on by it, proceeded to have
one OF those ridiculous generous i'm.
pulses"-l persuaded myself that
there must be some decency in this
lberality, in addition to the prudence
which fiattered myself was the chief
cause. Il have been unjust to Roe.
buck" / thought. 81 have been mis-.
Judging his character" And incredi.
Bile though it seems, said to him with
a good deal of genuine emotion: 81
don't know how to thank you, Mr..
Roebuck And, instead of trying
want to apologize to you. | have
thought many hard things against
you; have spoken some of them. I
had better have been attending to nv
own conscience, instead of criticising
yours"
Thank you, Blackjack" said he. in
voice that made me feel as if | were
a little boy in the crossroads church,
believing | could almost see the an.
gels floating above the heads of the
singers in the choir behind the
preacher. Thank you. am not sur.
prised that you have misjudged me.
God has given me a great work to do,
and those who do His will in this
wicked world must expect martyrdom
l should never have had the courage
to do what | have done, what He has
done through me, had He not guided
my every STEP"