The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1906-10-18


locked herself In behind frozen
haughtlness that ignored me. 'Ah. here
IN the carriage" she said. i 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 on" said CURLY. And
I lifted my hat and STROBE away.
As had formed the habit of dis
missing the disagreeable. I soon put her
out OF my mind. But she took with her
my Joy In the taste OF things. ! couldn't
get back my former keen satisfaction
In NIL I had done and was doing. The
luxury, the tangible evidences OF my
achievement. no longer gave me pleas
ure: they seemed TO add To my irrita-
ton.
That's the way II is in life. We load
ourselves down with toys like no many
greedy children: then we see another
toy and drop everything TO be free TO
seize a.: and II we cannot we're
wrctchcd.
worked myself up. or rather. down.
| Go such n mood that when my Office boy
told me Mr.. Langdon would like me
to come 90 his office as soon rs IL was
convenient. I snapped out: The hell
he does! Tell Mr.. t.nngdon I'll be glad
That was stupidity, n premature asser-
ton OF my right To- be treated M an
equal I had always gone TO Langdon.
and To any other OF the rulers OF
finance. whenever I had got sum-
mcas. For. while I was rich and pow
crful, I held both wealth and power, In
"A sense. on sunerancc. l knew that. so
long as I had no absolute control of
any great department OF industry. these
/ rulers could destroy me should they de-
eide that they needed my holdings or
were not satisfied with my use OF my
! power. There were n good many peo-
, PIE who did not realize that property
/ rights had ceased 60 exist. that prop
! crty had become a reyocable grant from
the "plutocruts" I was not OF those
misguided ones who had failed To dis
cover the new fact concealed In tho old
/ form. So used TO go when was sum
moncd.
But not that dag. However. no SOON
or was my boy gone than I rcpentcd the
lmprudcnce. But what OF " sala
Y To myself. mo matter how the thing
turns out. I shall he able To get some
advantage" For IL was part of my
philosophy that proper boat with
/ proper sails and proper steerEman
can gain In any wind. / was surprised
when Langdon appeared In my ofiice
a few minutes later.
He was n tnlIlsh. slim man. carefully
dressed. with a bored. weary look and
( n SLOW bored way OF talking. had al-
ways said that N had not been myself
/ I should have wished To be Langdon.
4 Men liked and admired him. women
| loved and ran after him. Yet he cN-
/ crted not the slightest effort TO please
/ anyone; on the contrary. no made IL
distinct and clear that he didn't care
/ n rap what anyone thought OF him or
| for that matter OF anybody or any
/ thing lie knew how To get, without
| sweat or snatchlng. all the good there
was In whatever fate threw In his way
and he was one Of those mo. into
whose way fate seems TO strive 10 put
everything worth having. His business
| Judgment was shrewd. but he cared
o;hlng for the big game he was play
I ing except M game. Like myself, he
was simply a sportsman-and,I think
4 that In 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
J franl<ncss. for his charm caused II TO
be forgotten or ignored. He would do
anything TO gain an object, however
| trivial which CHANGED To attract him:
once II was his he would throw "a aside
ms carclcssIy as an iil-iitting collar.
His expression. rs he came into my
/
I as N he wer. saying To himself: our
! friend Blackjack Sas caught the swollen
hend NJ last" Not n suggestion OF I'LL
humor or resentment nj my tmpcrtl-
| nencc-for. In the circumstances, i had
been guilty OF an impertinence. Just
! lnnguld, amused patience with the
frailty OF 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 hiE brother
| ln-law and had fallen tn him In the
confusion following his brother-in-
laws death. As he was just then need
| ing some money for his share IN the
National Coal undertaking. he had d.
rectcd me To push Textile up toward
par and unload him OF two or three
hundred thousand shares-he. or course.
| TO rcpurchase the shares after he had
taken profits and Textile had dropped
| back 20 it's normal fifty.
| I'll have IL up to ninety-eight by the
middle ar next month" said j. And
| there think we'd better stop"
stop NJ about ninety" said he. That
will give me all I ind I'll need for this
| Coal business. | don't want To be
bothered with hunting up an invest
ment."
Il shook my head. Il must put Il up
| TO within n point or two OF par" i de-
clnred. In my public letter I've been
saying Il would 20 above nlncty-five,
and I never deceive my public"
! Hs smiled--my notion OF honesty al
ways amused him. AS you please,
ne said with shrug. Then ] saw n
| serious look-just II nccting fash OF
northumberland his smiling mask:
and he added carelcssly: BE careful
about your own personal play. ! doubt
\ IL Textile can DO put any higher"
| IL must have been my mood that pre-
vented those words from making the
/ impression ON me they should have
made. Instead 81 approaching at once
and at It's full value this characteristic
| and amazingly friendly signal Of eau
| tiun. ! showed how stupidity inattentivc
/ l was by saying: Something doing?
4 Something n.NT'
/ but hc i.ad already gone further than
\ his notion of friendship warranted. So
\ he replied "Oh. no. Simply that
I cVcrything's uncertain nowadays"
My mind had been all this time on
those ManaSdualc mining properties. ]
now said. Has RoebuCk told YOU that
1 had 10 buy those mines ON my own
account"
Yes" no said. lie hcsitatcd. and
again he gave me n 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" ! answered. Il gave my
word"
las you please" said he.