Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1908-05-08
The Fighting
Chance, SCI IL, ,5ST X:
II cssgr-at sd 5y tie Pzs.,la:
III CrPyrl--, o.. e. " taa.a.sr~
TWELVE


clutches laid against his chair
~ sat poriug over the plies OF Ia
pers left there 10y Beverly PLANK SON,
days before with Il curt recommends
ton that he master their contents
The curious persistence % youth IN
his features seemed uuuc-uuu-J be .I
view " tie heavy marks imprinted
there. IT, every movement, every
turn Of his head. there sri.. Remained
much Of thar inleuuat.e attractive
Less which Lad always charay-cri1e
his race-mucl Of tue unconscious
charm usually known as breeding
In men u MoItimer's nber di>>lpd-
ton produced coarsrr symptoms dis
tended veins and sa-ging te>A-wAeee
in Siward il seemed 10 Jrll>e and
harden. driving the color OF blood oal
of him and leaving the Va..1g OF mar
bic and the blush shadows Of i,
staining the hoioWs Only the eyes
had begun 10 change radically: some
thing in them had been queuyArd.
That he could never hope To become
immune he had learned at last when
he had returned, physically Whole
some, from his long course Of traiuin.
under 4 famous Irish specialist Oh the
Hudson.
He had been a fool. He had imag
ined that he could contro, himself aut
practice the moderation that other
men practiced when they chose. The
puerile restraint annoyed him: his i'm
piled inability TO master himself In.
inflated him. the more - because ~,
cretly he was horribly afraid in the
remote depths of his heart.
Exactly how it happened be did not
remember except that he had gone
downtown on business and had lunch.
I'd with several men There was
claret. Later he remembered another
cafe farther uptown and another
more brilliantly lighted. Gumb.r he'd
found him again. this time in the area.
and this time the same ankle. not Yet
strong. had been broken.
Through the waning winter da-s as
AT III t[N4tl4- III IAttt'L LAt'~~. 4tst|4
Ing that it was all to do over again.
Plank's shy visits became gradually
part of the routine But il was many
days before Siward perceived in the
big, numbering. pink listed man any
thing TO attract him beyond the faint
" amused curiosity Of one man for
another who IS in process of eStab-
fishing himself as the inst OF a race.
AS for reciproCation in other forms
except the most superficial or Of per
hitting personal note to sound ever
SO discreetly Siward tolerated no
such idea Even the tentative ad-
vances OF Plank limiting on willing
ness and perhaps ability 10 help 81
ward in the Amal-amated tan-,e We're
pleasantly ignored. Unpaid services
rendered by men ike Plank were i'm
possible; any obligation 10 Plank was
utterly out OF the question Mean
while they began TO like one another
at least Siward often found himself
looking forward with pleasure To a
visit from Plank. There had never
been any question of the Iatters at
titude toward siward.
Plank began to frequent the house.
but never informally. Ii Is doubtful
whether he could have practlced in
f0rmality in that house event at S.
wards invitation.
One very bad night Plank came To
the house and was admitted by Gum
bic. Wands. the second man. stood
behind the aged butler Both were
apparently frightened
That something was amiss APPEARED
plainly enough, and Plank. instructive
ly producing a card, dropped it on a
table and turned to go. II may have
been that the old butler recognized the
innate delicacy of the motive or it
may have been sudden confidence
born Of the necessities Of the case. for
he asked Plank to see his young mas
ter.
1t was a bad night outside. and It
was bad night for Siward Tie mas
ter vice had him by the throat. He
sat there clutching the arms of his
chair, his broken leg in It's plaster
casing extended in front Of him. and
when he saw Plank enter he g!ared al
him
Hour after hour the two men sat
there, the one white with rage. but
helpless; the other stolid inert. deaf 10
demands for intercession with the arch
vice, dumb under pleadings for d com
promise. He refused to interfere with
the butler, and Siward insulted him.
He refused to go and find the decan-
tiers himself, and Siward deliberately
cursed him.
Once toward morning Siward feicn-
ed sleep, and Plank, heavy head on his
breast, feigned ii TOO. Then Siward
bent over stealthily and opened
drawer in his desk, and Plank was on
his feet like fash, jerking the NOR
phine from Siward's fingers.
The doctor arrived at daylight. re-
spending to Plank's summons by tele-
phone, and Plank went away with the
morphine and Sivard's revolver bulg-
ing in the side pockets of his dinner
coat.
He did not come again for week.
A short note from Siward started him
toward lower Fifth avenue.
There was little said when he came
into the room.
Hello. Plank. Glad to see you"
Hello. Are you all right"
"All right Much obliged for pulling
me through. Wish you'd pull me
through this Amalgamated Electric
knothole. too, some day"
"Do-dO Won mean itS" v-auf,,ro3