Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-01-02

successor of his own. James Kahn
was that man. =,
He grew certain that the old man
would not PASS his daughter BY
blood will telI,'' said the Serb SEN
tentionsly, who in his own country
had several ~unsatisfed blood-feuds
awaiting his return. Having made his
fortune. he would go back to no in
gfilorious ease, but with the certainty
OF spending his declining days in the
excitement of continued long-distance
rife-practice among the Balkans. To
such an one human life did not count
not ven his own.
1t is hard to convey the impression
which such a Ia took on of life in the
southwest Of Scotland, with its alter
nate ~"douceness" and "dourness,' it's
general kindness in deed and equally
general incivility of word-especially
Of the ~tendernesses of it's religious
life, which we're as the foolish plays
Of BARNS to him.
PROFOUNDLY superstitious by nature,
James Kahn boasted among his
cfonies at the"Caravanserai" that
such a man as he had no use for
religion And, indeed, it was true at
least OF the land of his temporary
adoption. He understood neither MI.
Lamont's easy going, kindly ways nor
the sternness of Benjamin .Irongray's
historic faith. Still less did he see the
beauty which underlay John Fowler's
mysticism-the glory undimmed THAI
made bright for him all-the shadows
OF this world. when, like him of Mount
Horeb, he could say, 81 testify my
Saviour openly. y y = am ready for
the everlasting light that shall shine
upon me-"
From the long result of centuries of
education. practically free and cam
pulsory by the weight of public opin-
ion James Kahn was shut out, and
never knew it. He lived in Scotland,
surrounded with up-to-date luxuries,
and they were to him but pearl and
barbaric gold. He rushed hither and
thither in Mercedes ~motorcars. He
conducted complex businesses accord
ing to the ideas Of Jacob Romer. But
the foundation of the mar was as I'M
Scottish as If he had been a Norman
captain Of Duke Williams sailing out
from Saint Valery-sur-Somme.
Cunning and ready of ruse, Kahn
was no coward. He would turn to bay
with a snap of white teeth like the
wolf OF his mountains. He had by no
means given up all hope of Vida,
though to Mr.. Romer he never more
mentioned her name.
He had accompanied the fitting to
the sea cottage, though none had seen
him. Vida heard his footsteps, even
In the distance the throb of his auto
mobile. He knew how often Phil Call
mont found his way thither. And he
was an unseen Assistant" in the
French sense, at the water prone
nades under the cliffs of Rough Is
land, He had the most powerful
binocular possible, specially made by
Aitchiscn of London, and through 1t
he watched with anger and jealousy
the little attention which the younk'
people bestowed upon Dicks c~easeless
lectures on ORTHODOXY. He had his
suspicious. too, as, to the hands under
the waterproof covering. And only.
the fear of a law other than his own
prevented him from putting a bullet
through Phil Calmont as he rode slow.
ly hcmewards in the long spring
gloamings.
81 knew one was dead; l thought
the other was" he had explained to
Mr.. Romer. "Helstone thought the
same, that was why we left the Good
Intent, the last men on board. That
is why sent you the telegram. At
the time | thought the news would
hardly be unwelcome."
How dare you tnink?" cried Jacob
Romer. And he raised his hand to
strike. But the little foxy Serb neve
finched. To raise the hand in anger
was to bring things to a common de
n%ominator. He understood striking,
and doubted lot that, If the worst
came to the worst, he would easily
have the best of it. In a settled coun-
try it gives a man power to be with
out moral scruple. without, fear, and
with an ancestry behind MIN which
holds it much easier to kill than to
pay rates.
Sole among those whom he came in
contract, Vic Morris had something Of
that same wild spirit. Instinctively
James Kahn recognised the man who
stood willing to back his opinion with
his life. But he did not mean to let
Phil Caluont come between him and
his projects.
1t is doubtful if the Serbs counting
OF Vida had anything beyond the adj
miration Of interest in it. He would
as soon have made Rose Nunsby the
object of his plans. He had been ready
to condemn Vida to death, and with
her an entire pit swarming with men
and boys. For this no remorse haunt
ed him. The plan had failed, that
was all. Yet he mad been prominent
in the ~after-search. He had superin-
tended the placing Of the now pump.
Ing plant which was to empty No. 2
pit. He mad been a large subscriber
to the fund for the widows and or
phans. His word had gone far In OBJ.
tanning that browning grace for the
widows-that they should remain in
their homes during the winter. There
was no needless cruelty about James
Kann.
Only he drove straight to his goal.
And whoever or whatever stood in his
way, he would crush without a
thought, like a wriggling worm under
the wheels Of his 60 H. P. car.
CHAPTER XXXIV.