Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1906-06-27
THE
CRAFTERS |
By
FRAN CTS Lynn DE
. Copyright, 1904, by The Bobbs-Merriu Coz
CHAPTER XXII.-CoNr1NuED.


She was pacing back and forth in
front of his chair in a way that was
almost man-like; but her contemptu-
Gus impatience made her dangerously
beautiful. Suddenly she stopped and
turned upon him, and there were sharp
claws in the acknowledging
"Dpyou know you're spelling flu
ture that most men would hesitate to
throw away?" she asked. while you
have been man of one idea in this
railroad affair, We haven't been idle
your newspaper and political friends,
and Ormsby and l. You are ambitious;
you want to succeed; and we have been
laying the foundations for you. The
next election would give you anything
IN the gift of the state that a man of
your years could aspire to. Have you
known this?"
Il have guessed it," he said quite
humbly.
OF course you have. But it has all
been contingent upon one thing: you
were to crush the grafters in this rail-
road struggle-show them up-and
climb TO distinction yourself on the
ladder from which you have shaken
them. 1t might have been done; it
was in a fair way to be done. And
now you turn back and leave the pillow
in the furrow!"
There was more of like quality
a good bit more; some of it regretful;
all OF it pungent and logical from
Miss Van Brooks point of view; and
Il ant 90 H.
by the Small tempest of disappointed
Vicarious ambition. Wherefore he es-
capped when he could, though only to
begin the ethican battle all over again;
TO fight and wander among the tombs
in the valley of INDIGESTION for a week
and day, eight miserable twirlings
OF the earth in space, during which in
terval he was invisible to his friends
and innocuous to his enemies.
On the morning of the ninth day
Editor Hildreth telephoned Miss Van
Brock to ask if she knew where Kent
could be found. The answer was a
rather anxious negative; though the
query could have been answered af-
nrmatively by the conductor and mot
orman of an early morning electric
car which ran to the farthest out
skirts OF the eastern suburbs of the
city. Following a boyish habit he
had never fully outgrown, Kent had
once more taken his problem to the
open, and the hour after luncheon
time found him plodding YEARLY back
TO the end OF the car line. jaded, dusty
and stiff from much tramping of the
brown plain. but with the long duel
finally fought out to some despairing
conclusion.
" The city hall clock was upon the
stroke of three when the inbound troll
ley-Gar landed him in front of the
Clarendon. 1t was a measure of his
purposeful abstraction that he went
on around the corner to the Security
bank, dusty and unpresentable as he
was.j and transferred the packet of in
eliminating aftidavits from the safety
deposit box to is pocket before going
10 his rooms in the hotel.
This paper weapon was the centering
point of the struggle which had now
lasted for nearly a fortnight So long
as the weapon was his to use or 10
cast away. the outcome of the moral
conflict hung in the balance. But now
he was emerging from the night wan
deripgs among the tombs of the unde-
cided
IL can't give it up: there is too much
at stake" he muttered, as he trudged
heavily back to the hotel. And before
he went above the stairs he asked the
young woman at the house telephone
exchange to ascertain If Governor
Bucks were in his Office at the capitol.
and II so, If he were likely to remain
there for an hour.
I When he reached his rooms he flung
the packet of papers on the writing
table and went to freshen himself with