The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1906-08-02
The Manager Of
the B. { A.
By VAUGHAN HESTER
Copyright, 1901, by Harper & Brothers

't's"s-.-s..-s.-3.-r.-s.j
Finally was lucky enough to get
place as newsboy on train. sold
papers until l was sixteen and then
began braking. l wanted to be an en-
gineer, but guess my ability lay in
another direction. At any rate, they
took me off the road and gave me an
Office position instead. got to be
division superintendent, and then l
met General Cornish. He is one Of the
directors Of the line was with at the
time. Three months ago he made me
lam"
"And you've never been back home,
Dannie?"
"Never once. I've wanted to go, but
couldn't
He hoped his father would under
stand
"Well, there amt much to take you
there but her grave. wish she might
have lived. You'd have been great
happiness to her. and she got very lit
tie happiness for her portion any way
you look at it. We We're only just mar
ried when the war csme, and l was
gone four years. Then there was about
eleven years when we were getting on
nicely We had money put by and
owned our own. home. Can you re-
member it, Dannie, the old brick place
on the corner across from the postof-
fice? A new Methodist church stands
there now. 1t was sold TO get money
for my lawyer when the big trouble
came. Afterward, when everything was
spent, she must have found it very
hard to make living for herself and
you"
''she did," said Dan gently. "But
she managed somehow to keep a roof
over our heads"
"When the law sets out to punish it
doesn't stop with the guilty only When
I went to her grave and saw there
We're flowers growing on it and that
it was being cared for it told me what
you were. She was very brave wo-
man, Dannie. You know that was an
awful thing about Sharp"
Dan turned toward him quickly.
"Why do you speak Of it? It's all
past now"
''I'd sort of like to tell you about it,"
There was long pause, and he con-
tinued:
"Sharp and had been enemies for
long time. 1t started back before the
war. when he wanted to marry your
mother We both enlisted in the same
regiment and somehow the trouble
kept alive. He was bit of 81 bully.
and was counted a handy man with
my hsts too. The regiment was al
ways trying to get us into the ring to-
gether. but we knew it was danger
GUS. We had sense enough for that.
won't say he would have done it, but l
never felt safe when there was a fight
on In all those four years. It's easy
enough to shoot the man in front of
you and no one be the wiser. Many Il
scores been settled that way When
we got home again we didn't get along
any better He was a drinking man
and had no control over himself when
liquor got the best of him. l did my
share in keeping the feud alive. What
he said Of me and what l said of him
generally reached both of us in time.
as you can fancy.
cat last, when Joined the church.
/ concluded it wasn't right to hate a
man the way l hated Sharp, for, you
see, he'd never really done anything to
me.
zone day I stopped in ut the smithy
he was Il blacksmith-to have n talk
with him and see if we couldn't patch
1t up somehow and he friends. 1t was
Saturday afternoon, and he'd been
drinking more than was good for him.
II hadn't hardly got the first words
out when he came at me with big
sledge in his hand, all in a rage and
swearing he'd have my life. pushed
him off and started for the door. saw
him. but lie came at me again, and this
time he struck me with his sledge II
did no harm, though 1t hurt, and
pushed him out Of my way and backed
off toward the door. The lock was
caught. and before could open it hi
was within striking distance again
and had to turn to defend myself.
.snatched up a bar of iron perhaps I
foot long. had kept my temper dowl
until then. but the moment l had /,
weapon in my hand 1t got clean away
from me- and in an instant was fight
ing-iust as he was tighting-to kill"
Roger Oakley had told the story o
the murder in hard, emotionles:
voice, but Dan saw In the half ligh
that his face was pale and drawn
Dan found it difficult to associate tin
thought of violence with the man a
his side, whose whole manner spoke o
an unusual restraint and control. Tina
he had killed man, even in self de
Tense, seemed preposterous and incon
.ceivabe.
There was part of the story Roge
Oakley could not tell and which hi
son had no desire to hear.
'.Ieople said afterward that I'd gon,
there purposely to pick IL quarrel witt