The Jasper news., 1907-08-22
CHAPTER Iv.-contInued.

6ToWlnS tendency 10 use Ine people
as pawns to enslave themselves and
their children. He said some man
of undoubted probity, standing, and
wealth, some one whom the people
trusted, must start the fight against
these New York fiends, whose only
thought is to roll up wealth. And
he told John Wilson he was the man,
since he had great wealth, honestly
got by his father and grandfather;
no one would accuse him of being
hypocrite, seeking notoriety, and his
standing in the financial world was
so old and solid that It would
have to listen to him. remember
how emphatically father said: L tell
you, John, even the discussion of such
proposition as that scoundrel Rein
hart makes is degrading to an Amer
leans honor He said it didn't make
the least difference If Reinhart count
ed his millions by the score, and was
director in 80 or 40 great institutions,
and gave fortune every year for
charity to the church-that he was
blackleg just the same. And SO Is
any man, he said, who dares to say
he will take the stock Of trans
portation company, which represents
a certain amount of money invested
and double or multiply it by five and
ten, simply because he can compel
people to pay exorbitant fares and
freight rates and so get profits on this
fraudulently increased capital.
'It was the decision arrived at by
father and the Wilson's at this meet
ing, decision to refuse in any cir
cumstances to allow our southern peo-
pie to be bled by. the Wall street 'sys-
tenn that started Reinhart and his
dollar-fends on the war-path. You
can see from what 1 tell you Of my
father the terrible condition he is
in now. At night, when I get to
thinking of him, hoping against hope,
with no one to help him, no one with
whom he can talk over his affairs,
when l think of his nobleness in de-
voting his time to mother and by
sheer will-power concealing from her
his awful suffering, 1t nearly drives
me mad"
Miss Sands, why will you not let
me lend you the money necessary to
tide your father over for awhile?"
asked
you are so good" Mr.. Randolph,
"but you don't quite understand my
father in spite Of what l have said.
He would not relieve his suffering at
the expense of another, not If it were
hundred times more acute. You
cannot understand the old-fashioned,
deep-rooted pride of the Sands"
But can you not, at least tempo
rarily disguise from him just how you
have arranged the relief?"
Her big blue eyes stared at me In
bewilderment.
"Mr. Randolph, could not deceive
father. l could not tell him a lie
even to save his life. It would be i'm
possible. My father abhors lie. He
believes man or woman who would
lie the lowest of the low things on
earth. When l go back to my ia
ther he will say: Tell me what you
have done l can just see him now
standing between the big white pillars
at the end of the driveway. l can
hear him saying calmly: 'Beulah, my
daughter, welcome. Your mother Is
waiting for you in her room. Do not
lose a moment getting to her. After
ward he'll take me over the planta
ton to show me all the familiar
things, and not one word will he al
low me to say about our affairs until
dinner Is over, until the neighbors
have left, for no Sands returns from
long absence without fitting home
welcome. When l have said good
night to mother and sister and he has
drawn up my rocker in front of his
big chair in the library alcove and I've
lighted his cigar for him, he will
look me in the eye and say: Daughter
tell me what you have DONE / woult
no more think of holding anything
back than l would OF stabbing hin
to the heart. No, Mr. Randolph, there
is no possibility of relief except ir
fairly using that $4,000 and fairly
winning back what Wall street has
stolen from father Even that will
cause both of us many twinges o.
conscience, and anything more is i'm
possible. If this cannot be done, ia
ther must, all of us must. pay the
penalty of Reinhart's ruthless act"
Bob had listened, but made no com
ment until she was through; then ht
said: 1T looks to me as though the
market is shaping up SO that we may