Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-12-04

A mere toddler of boy stood on the
bank above the railroad track. In his
hand was a stone. Aiming blindly. he
tossed the stone upon the track. and
it Struggled against the cleaning rail.
In less than forty-eight hours that
stone, tossed by Il baby hand, had
thrown Wall street and the money
market of the country into 4 panic.
The single track of the little western
road afforded rough travelling. Not
many of the travellers aboard that par
ticular train even noticed the somewhat
harder jolt when the car wheel struck
the stone.
But Gilbert Fairbain, smoking a
good night" cigar as lie leaned alone
against the railing of the observation
cars platform. felt the jar-and then
felt nothing more.
And it was two weeks before Wall
street learned that Fairbain. the one
man who could have stopped the panic,
had been found beside the tracks and
removed to 4 farmhouse on the quarter
section nearest the road.
For ten days he had been uncon-
seious, and for two days or more he
had been in no condition to be left
alone. There was but one inmate of
| that farmhouse besides himself, and
| she had been too busy nursing him to
make the trip to the nearest town to
report that he had been found.
As soon as his whereabouts had been
| discovered the lonesome little town was
| nd orr,-
| ed physicians from the east were hur-
| ried westward on special trains and a
regiment of nurses attended them, but
Fairbain waved them all away.
81 don't need you," he said irritably.
Little Mrs. Bodington pulled me
through without lot of palaver or
| thousand dollar doctors to help her.
Leave Il couple Of nurses to wait on
her, and the rest of you go away"
''There is IAN excellent hospital not
fifty miles from here" suggested the
family physician. Il can look after
you with better assurance of success,
full treatment"
"Sugden. you're an ass" declared
Fairbain irritably. ''This little woman
nursed me single handed through an
attack of brain fever. l guess she can
attend to the convalescence"
81 will not undertake to be respon
sible for the consequences" said Sug
den. with ponderous emphasis.
"You don't have to be-" was the acrid
response "You are going to be packed
out of here, the whole lot of you. I've
spent most of my life with doctor or
one side Of me and a lawyer on thu
other I'm sick of it all, and I'm en-
titled to a rest"
He looked contentedly about the tiny
room. The outlook from the narrow
paned windows was dreary, and the
room itself was walled with rough
plaster and decorated with cheap print:
in homemade frames.
The bed on which he rested was ;
wooden affair with cotton mattres:
and coarse cotton sheets, but thu
sheets were Immediately clean, anf
there was an air Of nominees abou
the place that Fairbain had not know
in years.
He closed his eyes contentedly ant
dozed off. Sugden, mindful of his ia
fees, waited in deferential silence dur
ing the half hour the nap lasted
Fairbanks glance fell first on him a
his eyes opened again.
"You still herev' he cried. "Sugder
il you don't take the first train bacl
to New York I'll make you sue 70
whatever l owe you and I'll take it o
appeal and appeal until you spen
| - -
Now get out of here"
Sugden took his departure, vowin
that his patient was insane, but Fai
balm only smiled contentedly an
turned to the sweet faced woman WI
sat beside the bed.
] THAT'S the way to talk to tho:
sharks" he declared. 81 have hea
ache. and Sugden. gives me somethir