Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1908-10-20
PART II.
1855.

day after day, as a friend and comrade
perhaps a lover, when she would nave
shrunk from him in horror and loathlng
had she known who and what he was
Silently they turned their backs on
the hospitable cottage which had been
their common destination, and maze
their way back to the camp. They en-
tered the hotel together, and the men
lounging around there looked at them
with half averted curiosity. There was
always a crowd here in the early even
ing, good d-naturedly or turbulently mol
sy, but tonight there seemed more than
usual, and an odd quietness seemed TO
have come upon them as the two men
approached. The ex-cOnvict went with
Everard to the door of his room.
May 1 come in for a moment?"
In response to Everard's preoccupied
nod ne stepped in, closing the door be-
hind him, and looked about the room
with fiercely hungry eyes. In the flood
of the rosy after-glow, which still filled
the room, it had changed from barren
hole to crawl into for sleep, to the
cosiest of primitive dens. There were
certain traps" relics Of gayer and
idler days, which Everard always car
ried with him. Boxing gloves, foils, a
tennis racquet, battered football, COL
lege banners and innumerable photo
graphs were hung and tackled up all
over, to hide the uninviting baroness
of board walls, and the afterglow of
sunset was over all Of them.
II merely wanted to warn you to be
on your guard" Hartley said slowly,
his gloomy eyes still turned away from
his host There is trouble brewing
among the men-not yours, just the
miners-and being right here in the
midst of it, you might get dragged in.
That is what l was going to talk with
Thornton about. ="
He stopped suddenly, his eyes fixed
on a group of photographs arranged on
the wall in front of him. His face
twitched convulsively for a moment,
then fierce blaze Of anger swept over
ii, as though he cursed the fate which
had made him what he was, and then
the anger was gone, and only bitter
acceptance of the present was left. 1t
was the face Of man standing outside
the gate of Paradise, watching it in
exorably close against him!
Il guess that's all. Goodbye" he
oh h1rf
sound of his footsteps came stumbingly
to Everards ears, as though he knew
not where he went.
Everard went closer to the pictures
and examined them, wondering which
of them could possibly be the cause of
this strange agitation. There were fif-
teen or twenty photographs there
friends, relatives, girls he had known
at home, college friends, amateur
groups-of his own taking. Which one
could it be? Come to think Of it,
most of these pictures had been sent
him from the very city in which Carter
had committed his tremendous embez-
element. 1t might very reasonably be
any one of them, but Everard had been
at home so little during recent years
that this enlightened him but little,
and he rubbed his head and favored the
innocent photographs with a puzzled
frOwn.
Then a new inspiration came to him
suddenly, driving the pictures and
their strange effect on the ex-convict
entirely from his mind. That money!
The paper had said that no record or
trace of it had ever been found. and it
was supposed that the clever defalcator
had hidden it away for use on his re-
lease. This was the money which had
bought his interest in the Croesus
mine! These stolen funds had changed
the gliding, furtive fugitive in the strip
ed suit to the man of power and sue
cess. calmly self confident and rising
in the world each day. What else
could have done it?
The audacity Of the thing took Ever
ards breath away. His wrath boiled
in an instant, but with it all he was
conscious of sharp sting of pain. He
had liked Hartley. Even as a rival
he could not find it in him to hate this
man with the pleasant voice and mag
netic friendliness Of manner. Deep in
to the night Everard lay awake and
threshed it all out again and again, and
each time the complications Of his own
situation with regard to this man
seemed worse and more tangled.
Plainly, his duty was to tell John
Thornton what manner Of man had in
sinuated into his confidence. If Hart
ley. as Carter, had deliberately stoler
until he almost ruined the bank and
the group of men who stood back OF
it, would he hesitate now to ruin the
president Of CrOeSus mine at the first
chance? 1t was intolerable to think
of permitting this man, with crimina
instincts and criminal record, to en-
ter the presence Of a pure ana lovely
woman as a trusted guest-a possible
lover. More than this. would moi
Everard himself be deserving of hel
haughtiest scOrn and contempt if he al
lowed this situation to continue?
And yet-Hartley was on his mercy
as he had been once before. Should he
give him the little push downward
much as he doubtless deserved it
Unless Hartley had lied, he was living
an honest enough life now, barring tina
unforgettable stolen money invested il
the CrOeSuS mine. Everard knew
enough of human nature to understand
how far all chances Of reform would bt
flung away. if he delivered this eX'
convict over to his just deserts. Or
one side stood a fair woman, the pos
sibilitv Of her love. were this strangely
likeable felon removed from her patti
and the financial security of her un
suspecting father. On the other tn
betrayal of a fellow-man to the re
venge of outraged justice vision o
Shaven heads and grotesquely striped
suits. seventeen or more years OF lock
step and the old mOnOtOnOuS horror o
the prison cell.