Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1909-02-24

could raise myself and bought enough
to be sure | could control the next
election Then-the slump came, ana
after the slump the long, slow crum
bling. controlled the election all
right, of course, but before the next
one came. was ruined, and Keatcham
put his own men in. l went desperate
ly to New York. ! didn't know how
to fight those fellows; it was a new
game | didn't find Atkins. Maybe
because that wasn't his name when
had known him l was SO sure that
the property was good-as II that mat
tered! AS if a ything mattered with
these gamblers VINO play with loaded
dice and dope the horses they BET
against Phil had all his property in
the mills; we all had We mortgaged
the house; we had too, 70 protect ouI
stock, You know how the fight ended
and what happened At Cambridge
That isn't all. NY wife" He stood
a little straighter, and the light went
0l. Of his ewes 81 told you l dot
Il g fIlsads eassy, ard | am not the
Kind of man women take to; all tee
ssGa. the loveliest girl in the souta
lovcd me. ever since / jumped 4er the
hiildam to save her rag doll, once,
Nhtl she was visiting her aunt near
~. III married. when we seemed pros
porous Now, understand me, dont
gay It wss my ruin and Pills death
that killed her ana the baby; she nd
pneH. Gna, and it may be that seeing
tn4t paper by accident didn't turn the
scale, isat do say that she had her iast
hoes smbitterad BY 1t. That's enough
for me- When ] got home with-w-th
Ihi she was dead"
Tough said the colonel. He be
gan to revise his impressions o.
Mercer
Wasn't it," the other asked, with
a simplicity of appeal that affected rhe
listener more than anything he had
heard. He jumped out of his chair
and began pacing the room, TALKING
more rapidly You're man; you
know what ] wanted to do"
XIII somebody, suppose. I should" "
: "Just that. | ran Atkins to cover
after a while through Endicott Tracy.
That boy is one of the noblest fellows
that ever lived; yes, sub He was
going to help poor Phil Pills room
mate had told him. All those boys
lock a-here Col Winter, if ever any
body talks to you about Harvard fell
l,,,-
81 shall tell him he can't get under
the American surface. A Harvard
boy viii do anything on earth for his
friends"
They were mighty good to me. 1t
was Endy found out about Atkins, just
from my description of MIN. | found
out about Keatcham for myself. And
YOU are quite right--for little while
| wanted to kill them both. Looked
like just naturally had to kill them!
But there was my mother. There was
nobody to take care of her but Sis and
me, and trial for murder is terribly
/ expensive. OF course, anybody can
get off who has got money and can
spend it; but it takes such an awful
| heap of money. And we were all
ruined together, for what little was
left was all in the company, and that
promptly stopped paying dividends.
couldn't risk it. / had to wait. | had
to go to work to support my mother.
to pay Sis and her back, don't you
see? We came here. / got job, a
well-paid, one, too. through Endy's fa-
ther reporting on the condition Of the
miIs--a kind of examiner. And the
job was for Keatcham."
why did you take it2 know.
y though. You did it to familiarize him
with your appearance, so that he
J would not be warned when your
chance came"
'How did you know tkat?"
/ "A man knew in the Philippines
1 FsIipino-was wronged by white
man, who took his wife and threw her
aside when he tired of her The girl
killed herself Her husband watched
his change for a year, found It at last
I .thsnks to that very fact. that his
7 victim wasn't On guard against him-
and sent his. knife home. He'd been
/ that fellows servant. / picked the
dead. man up. That Filipino looked as
you locked minute ago"
What. became of the Fifpino2" In
| auirad his listener.
The. colonel had not told the story
quite without intention. He argued
/ subconsciously, that II Mercer were a
good sort under all. he would have "a
movement Of sympathy for more
cruelty wronged man. than he; If not
he would drive ahead to his purpose,
whatever that might be. Ris keen
| eyes looked little more gentle as he
answered .He poisoned himself The
best way out, 1 reckon. l should hate
to have had him shot after knew the
story. But there was really no option
But I'm interrupting you. You did
your work well and won Keatcham's
confdsnceav ~
He isn't a very confiding man.
didn't see him often, Ny dealings
| we're with Atkins. He didn't know
that had found him out; he thought
that be had only to explain his twr
names. and expected gratitude for bis
warning. as he called it. He Is Shiny;