Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1908-01-16
CHAPTER vIII.-contlnued.

Jlm, yUu gave me dn awful SCdT0,
he said brokenly. Don't ever do 1t
again. l have little left to live for.
To be sure I have some feeling for
mother, Fred, and sisters. But for You
/ have a love second only to that !
should have felt for Beulah had I been
allowed to have her. The thought,
Jim, that l had wrecked your life,
with all you have to live for, would
have been the last straw. My life is
p~urgatory. Beulah is only an ever
present curse to me-a ghost that
rends my heart and soul, n minute
with a blind frenzy to revenge her
wrongs, the next with an icy remorse
that I have not already done so. II
i did not have her, perhaps in time
I could forget; perhaps l might lay
out some scheme to help poor devils
whose poverty makes life unendur-
taken from the main shaft of hell |
might do things that would at least
bring quiet to my soul; but it is i'm
possible with the living corpse of
Beulah Sands before me every minute
and that devil machinery whirling in
my brain all the time the song, Re
venge her and her father, revenge
yourself 1t is impossible to give 1t
up, Jim. l must have revenge. must
stop this machinery that is smashing
up more American hearts and souls
each year than all the rest of earth's
grinders combined. Every day l de-
lay I become more fiendish in my de-
sires. Jim, don't think l do not know
that / have literally turned into a
fiend. Whenever of late l see myself
in the mirror, I shudder. When |
think of what l was when your father
stood us up in his office and started
us In this heart-shrivelling, soul-cal-
1ousing business, and what / am now,
I cannot keep the madness down ex-
cept with rum. You know what it
means for me to say this, me who
started with all the pride of a Brown
ley; but 1t is SO, Jim. The other night
/ went home with my soul frozen with
thoughts Of the past and with my
brain ablaze with rum intending to
end it all. / got out my revolver, and
woke Beulah, but as | said, Bob is
going to kill Beulah and himself she
laughed that sweet child's laugh and
clapping her hands said, Bob is so
good to play with Beulah,' and then
! thought of that devil Reinhart and
the other fiends of the System be-.
ding left to continue their work unhin-
,dered and I could not do it. l must
have revenge; | must smash that
Eheart-crushing machinery. Then I
can go, and take Beulah with me.
Now, Jim, let us have it clearly under
stood once and for all"
Remorse and softness were past;
he was the Indian again. IT am going
Ito wreck that hell-annex some day,
and that some day will be the next
time I start in. Don't argue with me,
don't misunderstood me. To-day you
stopped me. / don't know whether
you meant what you threatened; I
don't care now. 1t is just as we'll that
I stopped. for the SYSTEMS machine
will be there whenever I start in
again. It loses nothing of its fend-
ishness, none Of its destructive powers
ny grinding, but on the contrary, as
you know, 1t increases its speed every
day it runs. Now, Jim Randolph, I
want to tell you that you must get
yours and the houses affairs in such
shape that you won't be hurt when I
go into that human rat-pit, the next
time, for when / come from it the
New York Stock Exchange and the
System will have had their spines
unJointed. Yes, and I'll have their
hearts out, too. Neither will ever be
able to take from the American people
their savings and their manhood and
~womanhood and give them in ex-
change unadulterated torment. am
going to be fair with you, jim; this
is the last time I will discuss the sub
jeet. After this you must take your
chance with the rest of those who
have to do with the cursed business.
When I strike again, none will be
spared. I will wreck the Street. and
the innocent will go down with the
guilty, If they have any stocks on
hand at that time.
my power, Jim, is unlimited; moth
ing can stay it. I am not going to
explain any further. You have seen
me work. You must know that my
power is greater than the Systems,
and you and I and the Street have al
ways known that the System is more
r. a. urowfx, A1on fhn xya ~ -, Arn
powerful than r the courts, legisla-
lures, congress, and the president OF
the United States combined, that II
absolutely controls the foundation on
which they rest-the money of the
nation. But my power is greater, a
than theirs. Jim, they say that | have
made more money than any man in
the world. They say that | have five
hundred millions of dollars, but the
fools don't keep track Of my move
ments. They only know that l have
pulled five hundred millions from my
open whirls, the one they have had
an opportunity to keep tab IN. But
tell you that / have made yer more
in my secret deals than the amount
they have seen me take. have had
my agents with my capital in every
deal, every steal the System has
rugged up. The world has been throw
ing up its hands in horror because
Carnegie, the blacksmith Of Pittsburg
pulled off three hundred millions Of
swag in the Steel hold-up-yes, swag
Jim. Don't scowl as though you want
ad ~ road ma a 1ectIira m tha ronraa