The Washington herald., 1907-01-20

exclaimed, Damn the EaStStu hiu- III
the mind of king" Plummer everybody
who did noe live west Of the Missouri
River was Eastern.
He read the letter over four or five
| times, and it sank deeper and deeper
into his soul. and as it sank it burned
like fire All that be had feared, but
which he had refused to believe when
| he came away, was true. Sylvia did not
love him, but she loved that raw young
ster Harley. And here was Mrs. Gray
son, the wife Of a man who was under
obligations 10 him. whom he could ruin.
limiting that he give her up, and she q
woman whom ne had supposed to be en-
Gowed with at least ordinary intelligence.
In his wrath, which was mighty,
| king" Piummer sWOre at the whole
tribe Of women as tickle, heartIess crea-
lures. Then he rose TO his feet, clenched
his INST. shook II az the opposite noun
tain across the valley, and swore aloud
at all creation. And King" Plummer
knew how to swear; he was no mealy-
mouthed man; his had been a wild and
tumultuous youth, and though he would
never use Oaths in the presence Of Syl-
via he could still. in the seclusion of
mountain or desert. let fly an imprecat-
ing vOlley that would burn the rocks
miners coming I'D the slope that their
chief was no extinct volcano, and they
wisely passed in silence on the other
side
For the present there was little grief
in the Kings" outpOuring; the tide Of
wrath was too full and sparkling to be
tinBed yet awhile by other currents, and
just now 1t flowed most against Mrs
Grays0n, who had been bold enough 10
tell him what he was least willing 70
hear. His heart, too. was full Of IN
spoken threats. as King" Plummer was
passionate man who had lived a rough
life, close TO the ground, and full OF prim-
tive emotions. And the threats he ex-
pressed in words were such as these.
They shall pay for it, Il helped put
that husband OF hers where he Is,
helped make him, and / can help unmake
him; and, by thunder, 1 will do II, too"
In the hour Of his wrath he hated Jimmy
Grayson, and his head was filled with
sudden schemes. He would teach the
man what it was TO play the King Of the
Mountains for a sucker" and. still rag
ing, he cast from him all the ties OF
party and association.
Within an hour he was on HIS swiftest
horse. riding furiously toward Boise, his
heart full Of anger and his head full Of
plans for revenge.
Nor was he sparing IN speech whe1. he
reached Boise. His words cracked so
loud that the echo Of them travelled sew
eral hundred miles and reached Mrs
Grayson, who was waiting vainly for
reply to letter that she had written
nearly two weeks before. Now, no reply
Eas necessary, because this news was
what she had feared. bot which she had
hoped would not come
The report was winged and full Of
alarms. King Plummer, shooting out
of the mountains Ike a cannon ball, had
made his appearance on the streets Of
Boise, openly denOmcing Jimmy Gray
son. calling him a traitor. and saying
that he would beat him If he had to ruin
himself 10 do it. What had caused this
sudden change nobody knew. but il must
be something astonishing, and il be
hooved the candidate 10 explain himself
quickly.
The loyal soul of the candidates wife
flashed back an angry reply across the
go miles OF mountain and desert II
King Plummer was not the man she
had hoped he was, then they preferred
that they should fight him rather than
have him as false friend. Yet there
was in her heart a throb OF admiration
for him, because he was willing to throw
everything overheard for the love OF a
woman
The detection clothed the whole train
in the deepest gloom. Tremaine spoke for
the gTOup when he said It was all I'D with
Jimmy GraysOn. and the others did rot
have the heart even to pretend to
different belief With a Plummer de-
lection on one side and a Goodnight faU-
ing away on the other. there was no hope
left for a party which even with these
wings faithful had only a desperate
lighting chance.
Harley was thoroughly miserable He
could guesS-no he did not guess. he
knew the cause Of King Piummer's
bolt, and he knew. too. that IL Il were
not for himself IL would never have oc-
CURED; he had wrecked all the future Of
others. nor in making such wreck had
he secured his own happiness. provided
even that he was selfish enough to be
happy when others were ruined.
Sylvia. too. WAS sunk in the depths.
She did not have TO be told that her
aunt had written to Mr. Plummer: she
guessed that Mr.. Plummer had received
some warning. some message. it did not
matter from whom, nothing else could
cause him 10 burst forth with such
violence, and the very nature Of the case
forbade her from speaking; she could only
keep silent, knowing that significant talk
was going on ali around her. and pass
sleepless nights and troubled days. ~
The situation brought a thrill of salts
faction and interest to one man on the
train, and he was Churchill. The cumula-
tive effect of King Plummer's bolt
might force Jimmy GraysOn off the track.
and it was not yet too late to put up
another candidate. Such a thing had
never been done, but that was no reason
why it could not succeed. and he tele-
graphed Mr.. Goodnight that Mr.. Grayson
was very respondent. and that those
about him knew he did not have a ghost
Of chance
Churchill guessed close to the cause OF
the Plummer bolt, but he was not sure.
and for that and other reasons he at once
sought an interview with the nominee.
Mr.. GraysOn was courteous, and seem
ingly not as respondent as Churchill had
described him. He said that he could not
speak of Mr.. Plummer's detection, be-
cause he had no official knowledge Of the
fact; it was merely report, and hence he
could not comment on what was not
proved. Mr. Churchill, he knew. would
readily recognize the unftness Of such a
thing. nor could he tell what he should do
in suppositiuous cases. because even if
the latter came true. circumstances might
give them another appearance.
Churchill skirmished as delicately as he
could about the subject of Sylvia, and the
surmise that she was the key to the situa-
ton, which. If true, would make one Of
the greatest stories told in a newspaper:
but here the candidate was imDervious
Not only was ne impervious. but he
seemed to be densely ignorant: all the
hints of Churchill glided off him like ar
rows from a steel breast plate. all tho
most delicate and skillful art OF the inter
viewer failed. So far as concerned the
subject of politics. Sylvia was unknown
e., NJ Iatelel ,-ro..