Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-03-28


his thin fingers impatiently and re-
turned to his writing.
His personal appearance was truly
insignificant. When, in the street. he
was pointed out to people as the great
Samuel Statham, they Invariably ex-
pressed establishment. There was
nothing of the blatant millionaire
about him. On the contrary, he was
thin, gray, sad-looking man, rather
short of stature, with face very
broad in the brow and very narrow
at the chin. with small, scraggy
white beard clipped to a point. His
cheeks were hollow. his dark eyes
sunken. the skin upon his brow tight
ly stretched, his lips pale and thin,
and about his clean shaven upper lip
hardness that was In entire opposi-
ton with his generous instincts to.
ward his less fortunate fellow men
One Of his peculiarities of dress
was that he always wore a piece Of
greasy black satin ribbon, tied loose
ly In bow as cravat. The same
piece did duty both by day and at
evening.
His clothes, for the most part, hung
upon his lean. shrunken limbs as
though they had been made for a
much more robust man, and his hats
We're indescribably greasy and out Of
date. When he went to the City Levi
compelled him to put on his best silk
hat and decent frock coat, but often
OF an afternoon he might be seen sit
ting alone In the Park and mistaken,
for some poor. broken-down old man
the sadness of whose face compelled
sympathy.
This carelessness Of dress appears
to be one of the inevitable results of
good fortune. man should never be
Judged by his coat nowadays The
struggling clerk who lives In busy
Brixton or cackling Corydon usually
gives himself greater airs and dresses
far better than the head of the firm,
while the dainty typewriter wears
Iprettier blouses and heater footgear
than his own outdoor daughters. with
their slang, their pals" and their dis.
torted ideas of maiden modesty
But old Sam Statham had neither
kith nor kin He was lonely man -
1how utterly lonely only he himself
knew He had only his perpetual calcu-
lations of finance, his profit and loss
accounts and occasional chats with
the ever-faithful Levi to occupy his
days. He seldom if ever left London,
Even the sitting August days, when
his clerks went to the mountains or
the sea, he still remained in London,
because. as he openly declared, he
hated to mix with strangers.
Curiouslv enough, almost the only
man he trusted was his private secre.
tary, Charlie Rolfe, the smart young
man who came there from ten O'Clock
till two each day. wrote his private
letters. and was paid a very hand
some salary.
Usually, old Sam was very quiet.
hammered man whom nothing disturb
ed. But that morning he was dis.
tinctly unset He had scarcely slept a
single wink, and his deep-sunken eyes
and almost haggard face told of a
great anxiety wearing out his heart.
He tried to add up long column
of figures upon sheet of paDer before
him. but gave it up with deep sigh
Again he rose. glanced out of the win.
dow. audihly denounced in unmeas
ured terms a motor'-h bus which. tear
ing past caused his room to shake
and then returned to his table.
But he was far too impatient to sit
there long. for again he rose and
paced the room. his gray brows knit
in evident displeasure, his thin, bony
hands clinched tightly and from his
lips escaped muttered imprecations
upon some person whom he did not
name.
Once he laughed = hard little
LAUGH. His lip curled in ex,lltant tri
umph as he stuck his hands into the
pockets of his shabby ia cl-et and again
went to look over the brise-hrise cur
tains of pale pink silk into the road
way.
For moment he looked. then. with
a start. he stood glaring out Next in
slant he sDrang back from the window
with look Of terror upon his blanch
ed cheeks. He had caught sight Of
somebody whose presence there was
both unwelcome and unexpected and
the encounter had filled him with anx
ietv and dismay
As he gazed inruiringlv forth. with
his face close to the window pane his
ewes met those Of a man Of about bis
own age. shabby with gray. RAGGED
hair. thraadbare clothes broken boots
and soft gray felt hat. darklv stained
i'ipuIn Tue DdHu-H Ir21nn pN1UGntlN
The stranger was leaninc idlv against
the mark ratings. evidently raeardine
the house with some wonder when
the sod face Of its master had ap
peared
| The pair glared at each other for e
: single second Then Sam Statham. rec
ognizing in the others crafty eyes {
look Of cruel. relentless revenge
, started hack into the room. breathless
and deathlv male He staggered to hi!
chair. srlrnorting himself by clutchins
: at its back
"Then thew did not lie.' he gaspet
aloud "He-hes alive therefore Sc
its all over! IL saw his intentions
r'ainlv written In his face. I've played
: the game and lost, He has returned
6 therefore ] must face the newt ahle
Yes he added with that same bite
]aush onlv this time it was tho hoars.
i discordant laugh of man who founf
himself cornered. without anv rossi
BILE means of escape. "Yes-this is tn,
end must die!-todav," And HI
l whienered glancing around the room
as though in terror of his own voice