Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-03
CHAPTER III.
Caleb Conover Regrets.

CHAPTER III.
Caleb Conover Regrets.
Caleb Conover, rafireader. was in a hui
NOR when all the household thought well to
tread softly. So
1t was the morning after his debut"
He paced his study internationally, stopping
now and again at window to watch la
borers at work in the grounds below dis
mantling the strings of Chinese lanterns
and carting away other litter of the festivi-
ties. pile of newspapers filled one OF the
study chairs. On the front page of each
local journal was blazoned a garnish ae-
count of the Conover reception. Yet Caleb,
eager as he had once been to read every
word concerning the fete, had not so much
he seemed, In his weary pacing to and fro,
to avoid the locality Of the chair where they
lay.
For an hour-in fact, ever since he had
left his bed room-he had paced thus. and
none had dared disturb him, for the evil
spirit was heavy upon Saul. and the javelin
of wrath at such times was not prone to
tarry in it's flight.
>Csaeb's black mood this morning came
from within, not from objective causes. He
was travelling through that deepest, most
horrible of all the multi-graded valleys OF
humiliation-the Vale of Remembered FOLLY.
Let man recall a crime and-especially
IL he be troubled at the time with indiges-
tion-remorse of a snug II painful sort will
be his portion. Let him recall a misfortune.
and wave of gentle, self-ptyfng grief will
lave his heart, soothing the throb of an old
sting into soft regret. But let him awake
to the fact that he has made himself sub
timely ridiculous-and that In the presence
of the multitude-and his self-torture can be
dashed to a pitch that shames the inquisi-
tion's most Jealous efforts. Therein lies the
true valley of humiliation, the ravine
where no sunlight of redeeming circum-
stances shines. where no refreshing ril of
excuse and pallation flows. And it was in
this unrelieved, arid gorge of self-contempt
that Caleb Conover now wallowed
He had made fool of himseif-an arrant
fool. He had drunk until he was drunken.
And in that drunkenness he had spoken
blatant words of idiocy. He had made him
self ridiculous in the eyes of the very class
he had sought to cultivate. His had not
been the besottedness that babies sleeps
and forgets. Even as his drink-inspired
hiatus during his drivelng speech. SO the
steady brain had on waking remorselessly
told him of his every word
Thirty years before, in a drunken spree.
he had been seized with fervor Of patriot
ism and had enlisted in the army. On COM
ing to himself it had cost him nearly every
dollar he possessed to get himself free;
After similar revel a year later he had
stampeded a meeting of the local ma
chine" by making a fearful speech infavor
of reform and purity In politics The ora
of political preferment. After that he had
done away with this single weakness in his
iron nature and had drunk no more. The
sacrifice had been light for so strong
man once ne forced himself to make it.
Last night-secure in his impregnable
self-trust-he had broken his inviolable rule.
AS result he had become a laughing-stock
for the people whose favor he SO unspeak-
ably desired to win. AS to his own ad-
herents, he gave their possible opinions not
one thought. Whatever the boss said
went with them. Had he declared him
self candidate for holy orders or blurted
out the innermost secrets of the machine''
they would probably have believed he was
acting for the best. But those others.
And, over and above all, his declaration
of candidacy for governor
A knock at the door of his study broke
in on the audible groan of self-contempt
this last and ever-recurrent thought wrung
from his tight lips. Caleb stopped midway
down the room. his short red hair bristling
with fury at the interruption.
What do you want?' he snarled.
The door opened and Anice Lanier came
in. She was very pretty and dainty and
young, in her simple white morning frock.
She carried set of tablets wherein it was
her custom to transcribe notes of Caleb's
morning instructions for reference or for
later amplifcation by his two stenogra-
pliers.
Well roared Conover, glowering across
the room at her, what in hell do you
want?"
ITO tender my resignation" was the I'M
ruffied reply.
Your what?'' he gasped stupidity.
my resignation in the same level, i'm
personal tones ITO take effect at once.
Good morning.
She was half -way ont of the room before
her employer could hurry after and detain
her.
"What's-what's the meaning Of this?"
asked Caleb. the brutal belligerency trailing
out of his voice. Then, before she could an
swer he added: Because l spoke like that
lust now? Was that it? Because l said
And you'd throw over good job just be-
cause of few cranky words? Yes, be-
lieve you would You'd do it. 1t isn't a
bluff. Maybe that's why you make such
every time l open my mouth. And you
stand up for yourself
He eyed her in quizzically admring
fashion, as might a beautiful but I'M
classified natural history specimen. She
made no reply, but stood waiting In pa
thence for him to move from between her
and the door.
Caleb grinned.
want me to apologize, 1 s'pose?' he
"A gentleman would not wait to ask
Maybe you think a gentleman wouldn't
of said what did, In the first place. eh?''
Yes 1 do think So Don't you?"
well. I'm sorry. Let 1t go at that. Now
let's get to work. Say"-as they moved
across to their wonted places at the big
center table, you oughtn't to take offense
at anything about me this morning. You
must know how sore l am.
Whats the natter?
LAS if you didn't know You saw how
many kinds of wal-eyed fool 1 made of
myself last night. Isn't that enough to
make a man sore? And to think of it being