Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1906-10-19
ODE Deluge
BY DAVID GRAHAM PHILLIPS

locked herself in behind a frozen
haughtiness that ignored me. "Ah. here
is the carriage" she said. l followed
her to the curb: she just touched my
hand, just nodded her fascinating little
head.
See you Saturday, old man. called
her brother friendly. My lowering
face had alarmed him.
THAT party is off" said l CURLY. And
lifted my hat and strobe away.
AS I had formed the habit of dis
missing the d~isagreeable, | soon put her
out Of my mind. But she o with her
my Joy in the taste OF things. couldn't
get back my former keen satisfaction
in all | had done n was doing. The
luxury, the tangible evidences of my
achievement, no longer gave me pleas
ure; they seemed TO ado TO my irrita-
ton.
That's the way it is in life. We load
ourselves down with toys like so many
greedy children; then we see another
toy and drop everything TO be free TO
seize it; and if we cannot were
wretched.
| worked myself up, or rather. down,
to such a mood that when my office boy
told me Mr.. Langdon would like me
to come to his office as soon as 1t was
convenient, L snapped out: The hell
he does! Tell Mr.. Langdon I'll be glad
to see him here whenever he calls"
That was stupidity, a premature asser-
ton Of my right TO be treated as an
equal. l a always gone to Langdon,
and to any other of the rulers of
finance, whenever l had got a sum
mons. For, while | was rich and pow
erful, l held both wealth and power, in
a sense, on sufferance; l knew that, so
long as | had no absolute control of
any great department Of industry, these
rulers could destroy me should they de-
4 ctJa that thny naadnd NV holdings or
were not satisfied with my use OF my
power. There were a good many peo-
pie who did not realize that property
rights had ceased to exist, hat prop
erty had become a ~reyocable grant from
the "plutocrats." l was not of those
misguided ones who had failed to dis
cover the new fact concealed In the old
form. So / used to go when l was sum-
moned
But not that day. However, no
err was my boy gone than I repented the
imprudence. But what of it?" said l
to myself. NO matter o the thing
turns out, / shall be able to get some
advantage" For it was part of my
philosophy that a proper boat with
proper sails and a proper steersman
can gain in any wind. / was surprised
when Langdon appeared in my office
a few minutes later.
He was a tallish, slim man, carefully
dressed, with a bored, weary look and
a slow, bored way of talking. L had al
ways said that If / had not been myself
should have wished to be Langdon.
Men liked and admired him; women
loved and ran after him.. Yet he eX-
erted not the slightest effort to please
anyone; on the contrary. he made 1t
distinct and clear that he didn't care
a rap what anyone thought of him or,
for that matter, Of anybody or any
thing. He knew how to get, without
sweat or snatching, all the good there
was in whatever fate threw in his way
and he was one of those men into
whose way fate seems to strive to put
everything worth having. His business
judgment was shrewd. but he cared
nothing for the big game he was play
ing except az a game. Like myself, he
was simply a sportsman-and, l think,
that is why we liked each other. He
could have trusted almost anyone that
came into contact with him; but he
trusted nobody, and frankly warned
everyone not to trust him-a safe
frankness, for his charm caused 1t TO
be forgotten or ignored. He would do
anything to gain an object, however
trivial, which CHANGED to attract him;
once it was his, he would throw it aside
as carelessly as an ill-fitting collar.
His expression, as he came into my
office, was one of cynical amusement,
as IL he were saying to himself: Our
friend Blackjack has caught the swollen
head at last" Not a suggestion of i'll
humor, or resentment at my imperti-
nence-for, in the circumstances. / had
been guilty of an impertinence. Just
languid, amused patience with the
frailty of a friend. Il see," said he,
that you have got Textile up to
eighty-five."
He was the head Of the Textile trust
which had been built by his brother
in-law and had fallen to him in the
confusion following his brother-fn-
laws death. AS he was just then need
ing some money for his share In the
National Coal undertaking, he had d.
| rected me to push Textile up toward
par and unload him of two or three
hundred thousand shares-he, of course,
to repurchase the shares after he had
taken profits and Textile a dropped
back to it's normal fifty.
"Tll have it up to ninety-eight by the
middle of next month" said /. And
there I think we'd better stop"
stop at about ninety" said he. THAT
will give me all / find I'll need for this
Coal business. l don't var to be
bothered with hunting up an invest
ment.'
Il shook my head. II must put it up
to within a point or two of par" / de-
clared. In my public letter I've been
saying 1t would go above ninety-five,
and ! never deceive my public"
He smiled-my notion of honesty al
ways amused him. "As you please"
he said with a shrug. Then | saw a
serious look-just a fieeting flash of
warnint-behind his smiling mask;
and he added carelessly: BE careful
about your own personal play. / doubt
if Textile can be put any higher"
1t must have been my mood that pre-
vented those words from making the
impression on me they should have
made. Instead of approaching at once
and at its full value this characteristic
and amazingly friendly signal of cau-
ton, i showed how stupidity inattentive
| was by saying: something doing?
Something new?"
But he had already gone further than
his notion of friendship warranted. So
he replied: "Oh. no. Simply that
everything's uncertain nowadays"
My mind had been all this time on
those Manasquale mining properties. l
now said: Has Roebuck told you that
l nae to buy those mines on my own
account?"
Yes he said. He hesitated, and
again he gave me a look whose mean
ing came to me only when il was too
late. II think, Blackjack, you'd better
turn them over to me-"
II can't" l answered. II gave my
word"
"As you please" said he.