Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-09-28
Ibe Giants @trenatb
BY BASIL KING
Copyrighted, 1906 by Harper & Brothers
B y B ASH KING.
Copyrighted, soe, by Harper & Brothers.

week after their first meeting, he
had come every second. day to the
Pavilion de Ia Refine. i, During the
week after that his visits had been
daily. In the third week, Traffori
had invited him to move out to Yer
sailles and become their guest.
To this arrangement Paula had
given the welcome of acquiescence.
Though she was aware of what her
rather meant, she was sensible, too,
of the relief which Wiltshire's pres
ence brought into the tension Of their
daily life. Whenever he was with
them there was return to something
like the old-time happiness. Her
father seemed to grow younger in his
society. and She herself drew com.
Tort from the knowledge that this
good mans support was near. She
could not bear to check his gentle
tentative advances; still less could
she bear to give back cold refusal to
the silent pleading in her fathers
eyes.
Little by little she began to see all
that this marriage would mean to him.
1t would be more now than anything
he had said when he had first spoken
OF 1t months ago. Then the adyan-
tages Of protection and position were
to be for her; now she could see that
he was not without need of them hiri-
self. 1t gave her feeling that the
foundations of the earth were loosen
ed to think that he, whom she hal
locked upon as almost omnipotent,
Should require aid. But there was
no doubt that his position In the
world was shaken-as much so as his
moral courage, or his bodily frame.
The strong, resourceful, self-indepen-
dent man had reached the moment
when he was beginning to hold out
his hands for help.
1t was help which she could give
him only to the extent Of her love,
and tenderness These she could still
offer to the father, when she had
nothing for the f1nancier. From the
.clamor OF his countrymen against him
she would gladly have transported hin,
into another world, where all attacks
would be powerless She remember
ed suddenly that 1t was what he had
wanted to do for her, when he had
been eager to see her become Wit
shire's wife. The reflection struck
her like blow. but she did her best
to remain firm and calm beneath the
weight Of 1t. The other world for
her, she argued, would be the other
world for him. That was clear. With
Wiltshire as a son to him, he would
nave an ally whose strength 1t would
be hard to overestimate. She had
no Skill in calculation, and little know
ledge Of the world; and yet she could
not be unaware that an English duke
rich, powerful, highly placed, and
full of goodwill and sympathy, could
not be other, than an able friend to
any man with needs and ambitions
like her fathers.
So the days at Versailles were slim
ping by with courage growing in Witt
shire's heart and hope Frightening +,
Trafford's, while in her own she was
searching for strength to make the
sacrifice.
AS Wiltshire drew near, his in
creased confidence was expressed In
his eyes, his smile, his attitude, and
the very tones OF his voice. 1t was
not until he had drawn wicker chair
near to hers that he noticed the emo
ton she had been unable to conceal.
You've been crying" he exclaimed.
Not quite" she said, trying %
smile at him through the mist of tears
I've been reading this"
She held up the magazine, at which
Wiltshire looked with a certain air
of embarrassment.
You know what's in It." she went
on, as he said nothing. you're
read 1t, too"
hope You don't let these things
distress you" he said, after minutes
hesitation.
IF they were said Of your father,
wouldn't they distress your"
He leaned forward and drew the
magazine gently from her hands.
Its always well to remember" he
said, in kindly voice, that one
story is true till another is told. TIA
perfectly astonishing how many differ
ent versions you can get of what
seems like one plain. unyarnished
tale"
"Oh, yes; like the Ring and the
Book for instance. But this" she con-
tinued,. with a little break In hte
volce-"this doesn't seem to me the
same sort OF thing, There you have
dlHerent points Of view and here it's
succession of facts
Facts are to the writer what OBJ.
jects are to the painter. He pro-.
duces them In different lights. The
writer of these articles has chosen
the atmosphere which will be most
unfavorable to your father. Some one
else might treat the very same Incl
dents in a way which would give you
quite another effect"
Gould any one treat them In way
that would prove that-that every
thing was right?"
Suppose they couldn't" he reason
ed, gently, "evea so, we've one i'm
portant condition to remember, and
that is the imperfect conception If
honor that exists in the financial
world"
Il don't see why that, should make
any difference" she declared, with
touch of honest indignation.
''It does in this way, that it's very
hard for any but the highest moral
natures to be superior to the sur.
roundings in which they live. That
is, it's a phase of the much-discus-
sed question of environment. It's even