The Tupelo journal. (Tupelo, Miss.) 1876-1924, 1909-03-26
CHAPTER ll-Continued.


CHAPTER Il-Continued.
Gary was rich, but after he had
spent his youth with incredible indus
try and a great deal of ability to build
up steel business and had put 1t into
a little combination-not big trust,
just genuine corporation-some OF
the financial princes wanted 1t for
club-to knock down bigger game,
reckon-and proceeded to cheaper the
stock in order to control it. Cary held
on desperately, bought more than he
could hold, mortgaged everything
else: but they were too big for him to
fight. 1t was in 1908, you know, when
they had an alleged financial panic,
and scared the banks. Cary went to
the wall, and Phil with him. and poor
Phil killed himself. Afterward Cary
wife died; he surely did have mean
time. And, to tell you the truth, Ber-
tie. think there has been a little
kink in Cary's mind ever since"
did you hold any of Cary's stock?"
He was piecing his puzzle together.
"Yes: but my stock was all paid for,
and | held on to it; now it is over par
and paying dividends. Oh, the prop
erty was all right, had it been kept in
honest hands and run for itself. Inc
trouble with Cary was that in order
to keep control of the property he
bought a lot of shares on margins, and
when they began to run doWnhlll, ne
was obliged to borrow money on his
actual holdings to protect his flctltlous
ones. The stock went so low that ne
was wiped out. He wouldn't take my
advice earlier in the game; and l knew
that it would only be losing money TO
lend 1t to him, later-still, sometimes
l have been rather sorry l dldn T..
Would | better try the spade, BERTHE,
or the diamond ?"
The colonel advised the spade. He
wondered whether he should repeat TO
his aunt the few sentences which he
had overheard from Mercer and his
companion; but a belief that old age
worries easily, added to his natural
mans dissemination to attack the fem
mime nerves, tipped the scales against
frankness. So, instead, he began to
talk about Archie; what was he like?
was he fond of athletics? or was he
q bookish lad? Aunt Rebecca reported
that he liked riding and golf; but he
was not very rugged, and since his
fathers death he had seemed listless
to a degree But he is better now,
she added. with a trace of eagerness
quite foreign to her usual manner.
"Janet Smith has reused him up; and
what do you suppose she has done?
But really, you are the cause"
'T?" queried the colonel.
"Just you. Archie, Janet argued, is
the kind of nature that must have
some one to be devoted to-"
"And has he taken a fancy to her?
Or to your"
Aunt Rebecca's eyes dulled little
and her delicate lips were twisted by
a smile which had more usefulness
than humor in it. I'm not lovable
person; anyhow, he does not love cas-
lily. We are on terms of the highest
respect, even admiration, but we
haven't got so far as friendship. far
less oomradeship. Janet is different.
But don't mean Janet; she has grown
absurdly fond of him; and l think
he's fond of her; but what she did was
to make him fond of you. You, Gen.
Rupert Winter; why, that boy could
pass an examination on your exploits
and not miss question. Janet and he
have a scrap-book with every printed
word about you, I do believe. And
she has been amazingly shrewd. We
didn't know how to get the youngster
back to his sports while he was out
of school; and, in fact, an old woman
like me is rather bewildered by such
a young creature. anyhow; but Janet
rode with him; you are a remarkable
rider; l helped there, because re-
membered some anecdotes about you
at West Point"
"But, my dear aunt"
Don't interrupt me, BERTHE, it's a
QlSLluClly AHCIlCdu AuUiI. Auu VIC
read in the papers that you had
learned that Japanese trick fighting
--jiu-j itsu-and were wonder"
I'm not, assure you; that beast OF
a newspaper man
Never mind, If you are not won.
der, you'll have. to be; you can take
lessons in Los Angeles; there are
quantities of Japs there. Why, even
in Chicago, Janet picked up one, and
we imported him, and Archie took
lessons, and practices every day
There's a book in my bag, in the rack
there, very interesting book; Janet
and I have both read it so we could
talk to Archie. You would better skim
1t over a little if you really aren't an
expert, enough SO you can talk jiu
jitsu, anyhow; we can't be destroying
Archie's IDEALS until he gets better
appetite"
well, upon my world" breathed the
colonel. do you expect me to be a
fake hero? never took more than
two lessons in my life. That reporter
interviewed my teacher, who was
killed in the Japanese war, by the
way; he went to the army after my
second lesson He didn't know any
English beyond yes and If you
please and he used them both on
the reporter, who let his own fancy
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