The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1907-03-19
ICoNTIEUED.l

claTed that he no longer sympathized /
with the attitude Of the Tocsin toward
bis stepbrother and regretted that he
had previously assisted in emphasiz-
ing the papers hostility to Joe, par
ticularly in the matter of the approach
ing murder trial. This being the case,
he felt that his effectiveness in the
service Of the paper had ceased. and
he must in justice to the owner re-
sign.
"Well, I'm cursedv' was the simple
comment of the elder Louden when his
stepson sought him out at the factory
and repeated this statement to him.
$50 am 1, I think" said Eugene wan
ly. "Goodby. I'm going now to see
mother, but I'll be gone before you
come home"
"Gone whereY'
"Just away. l don't know where"
Eugene answered from the door st
couldn't live here any longer. r.
you've been drinking" said Mr..
Louden, inspired. you'd better not
let Mamie Pike see you"
Eugene laughed desolately. Il don't
mean to. l shall write to her. Good
by" he said and was gone before Mr..
Louden could restore enough order out
of the chaos in his mind to stop him.
Thus Mrs Louden's long wait at the
window was tragicaIly rewarded, and
she became an unhappy actor in c.
\ 49, no 10
attended at other windows or near
their front doors throughout the after
noon-the families Of the three patri-
archs awaiting their return as the time
drew on with something akin to fren-
zy. Mrs. Flitcroft, q lady of temper,
whose rheumatism confined her to
chair, had her grandson wheel her out
upon the porch, and as the dusk fell
and she finally saw her husband COM
ing at a laggard pace, leaning upon
his cane, his chin sunk on his breast,
she frankly told Norbert that although
| she had lived with that man fifty-seven
years she would never be able to IN
derstand him. She repeated this with
genuine symptoms OF hysteria when
she discovered that the colonel had
not come straight from the Tabor
house, but had stopped two hours at
Peter Bradbury's to talk it over
One item Of his recital, while sufli-
ciently startling to his wife, had a re-
markable effect upon his grandson
This was the information that Ariel
Tabors fortune no longer existed
whats that?" cried Norbert, start
Ing to his feet what are you talk
ing about?"
Its true" said the colonel deliber-
ately. "She told me so herself. Eskew
had dropped off into a sort Of doze-
more like a stupor perhaps-and we
II all went into Rogers old studio, ex-
cept Louden and the doctor, and while
we were there talkin' one Of Pixies
clerks came with basket full of tin
boxes and packages of papers and
talked to Miss Tabor at the door and
went away. Then old Peter Numbered
out and asked her point blank what IL
was, and she said it was her estate
almost everything she had, except the
house. Buckalew, tryin' to make a
joke, said he'd be willin' to swap his
house and lot for the basket, and she
laughed and told him she thought he'd
be sorry; that all there was, to speak
Of, was a pile of distillery stock
What" repeated Norbert incredu-
lousy.
Eyes. 1t was the truth" said the
colonel solennly. Il saw it myself
Blocks and blocks of stock in that dis
tillery trust that went up higher n 6
kite last year. Roger had put all OF
Jonas good money
mot into thatr' shouted Norbert, un
comfortably excited.
eyes, he did. l tell you saw itr'
81 tell you he didn't He owned
Granger gas, worth more today thar
1t ever was! Pike was Rogers at
torney in fact and bought 1t for hin
before the old man died. The checl
went through my hands. You dom
think I'd forget as big a check a.
that, do you, even if 1t was more thar
year ago? Or how it was signed ant
who made out TO? 1t was Martin Pix
that got caught with distillery stock
He speculated once too oftenr'
NO, you're wrong" persisted tn
colonel. Il tell you l saw it myself"
Then you're blind" returned hi
grandson disrespectfully; you're blin
or else-or else He paused. opel
mouthed, a look Of wonder strugglin
e its way TO expression upon him, grad
: ually conquering every knobby out
post of his countenance. He struck hi
fat hands together Where's Joe Lot
den?' he asked sharply. II want t
see him. Did you leave him at Mis-
Tabor's?''
v He's goin' to sit up with Eskev
t What do you want of him"
e Il should say you better ask that.
Mrs. Tlitcroft began shrilly at
enough, ! guess, for one Of this fan
e lily to go runnin after him and shakiI
; hands with him and heaven know
what not. Norbert Flitcroftr'
But Norbert jumped from the porcl