The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1908-03-25
Rotten sport. you kno

| Wnat 90 you 90 IL TOT, MI. bldnkF
what did you come for if it's ro
ten sportg" asked Plank so simply tn
it took OTIara moment to realize D.
had been snubbed.
81 didn't mean to be offensive" h
drawled.
Il suppose YOU can't help it," sal
Plank very gently. "SOme people can't
you know" And there was another ii
elence, broken by Mortimer. whose eY
tire bulk was tingling with mixture
of surprise and amusement over hi
| protege's developing ability to take
care Of himself Did you say TIN,
Stephen Siward is in Westbury, Billy"
mo- he's in town." replied Fleet
wood. 81 took his horses up to hunt
with. He isn't hunting, you know"
Il didn't know. Nobody ever sees
him anywhere" said Mortimer. II
guess his mothers death cut him up "
Fleetwood lifted his empty glass and
gently shook the ice in it. THAT. and
the other business-is enough to cut
any man up, isn't it?"
you mean the action of the LenoX
club?' asked Plank seriously.
Eyes. He's resigned from this club.
too, l hear. Somebody told me that he
has made Il clean sweep of all his
clubs. Tina ) foolish. a man may he
an ass to JON too many clubs, but he's
always a fool to resign from any of
'em. You ask the weatherwise what
resigning from a club forecasts. It's
the first omlnous sign in young mans
career"
Under cover of rapid fire exchange
of pleasantries between Fleetwood and
O'Hara, Plank turned to Mortimer.
hesitating:
81 rather liked Siward when l met
him at Shotover," he ventured. 'I'm
very sorry he's down and out"
HE drinks" shrugged Mortimer di-
luting his mineral water with Irish
whisky. "He can't let it alone. He's
like all the Siwards."
Mortimer doesn't care for Siward.
but he's an awfully good fellow, all the
same" said Fleetwood, turning to
Plank. Hes been an ass, but who
lash 1 : iAhC hAili NANAhNbOOhoAgs anu
l feel very bad over the mess he made
of 1t after that crazy dinner gave in
my rooms. What? You hadn't heard
of it? Why. man, it's the talk of the
clubs"
II suppose that is why l haven't
heard" said Plank simply. "My club
life is still in the future"
"Ohw said Fleetwood with an invol-
untary stare, surprised, trifie uncOm-
Portable, yet somehow liking Plank,
and not understanding WIN.
Mortimer continued a desultory dis
cussiOn with O'Hara concerning a very
private dinner which somebody told
somebody that somebody had given to
Quarter and the IntercOunty Electric
people. which, if true, plainly indicat-
ed who was financing the Intercounty
scheme and why Amalgamated stock
had tumbled again yesterday and what
might be looked for from the Algon-
quin Trust company's president.
"Amalgamated Electric doesn't seem
to like it a little bit" said O'Hara.
"Ferrall, B~lwether and Siward are in
It up to thor neclls. and if Quarter is
really the god in the machine and if
he really is doing stunts with Amalga-
mated Electric and is also mixing feet
With the Intercounty crowd, why, he
s virtually paralleling his own road,
and why, in the name Of common
sense, is he doing that? He'll kill it.,
that's what he'll do"
"He can afford to kill it," observed
Mortimer, punching the electric but
ton and making a significant gesture
toward his empty glass as the servant
entered a man like Quarter can af-
ford to kill anything"
Eyes, bur why kill Amalgamated
Electric? Why not merge? Why, it's a
crazy thing to do; it's a devil of a thing
to do. to parallel your own line!' in
sisted O'Hara. THAT is dirty work
People don't do such things these days.
Nobody tears up dollar bills for the
pleasure of tearing"
Nobody knows what Quarter Will
do" muttered Mortimer, who had tried
hard enough to find out when the first
ominous rumors arose concerning
Amalgamated, and the first fractional
declines left the street speeches. and
stupefied.
OHara sat frowning and lingering
his glass. LAS a matter of fact" he
said, "a little cold logic shows us that
Quarter isn't in it at all. No sane man
would ruin his own enterprise when
there is no need to. His people are
openly supporting Amalgamated and
hammering Intercounty, and, besides,
there's Ferrall i'm it, and Mrs. Ferrall
is Quarters cousin; and there's Bel
wether in it, and Quarter is engaged
to marry Sylvia Lands, who is Bel
wether's niece. It's a scrap with Har-
ringtons crowd, and the wheels in
side Of wheels are like Chinese boxes.
Who knows what it means? Only it's
plain that Amalgamated is safe, If
Quarter wants it to be. And unless he
does he's crazy"
Mortimer, squirting sideways at
Plank and seeing him still occupied
1 "a.