The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1909-05-21

in his own cold-blooded way | know
him only casually. But my cousin,
Ralph Schuyler, went to prep. school
with him, so | got his character
straight off the bat. His father was a
patent-medicine man from Mississippi,
who made a fair pile, couple of hun
bred thousand which looked good to
that section you know. | don't know
anything about his people except that
his father made the Celebrated At
kins' Ague Busters and that Atkins
was ashamed of his people and shook
his married sisters who came to see
him, in rather a brutal fashion; but |
know a thing or two about him; he
was one of those Founders who curry
favor with the faculty and the popular
boys and never break rules apparently,
but go off and have sly little bats by
themselves. He never was popular,
yet, somehow, he got into things; he
knew where to lend money; and he
was simply sickeningly clever; in
math. he was a wonder. Ralph hated
him. For one thing, he caught him in
dirty lie. Atkins hated him back
and contrived to prevent his being
elected class president, and when he
couldn't prevent Ralph's making his
senior society the happy thought
struck Atkins to get on the initiation
committee They had CHEEKY little
branding game to make the fellows
quite sure they belonged, you know,
and he rammed his cigar stump into
Ralph's arm so that Ralph had blood
poisoning and narrow squeak for his
life. You see that I'm not prepos.
sessed in the fellows favor. He's got
too vivid an Imagination for mel"
Seems to have" acquiesced the
colonel.
Il think, you know"-Tracy made an
effort to be just think Atkins was
rather soured. Some of the fellows
made fun of the 'Ague Busters he
had a notion that the reason it was
such up hill work for him in the school
was his fathers trade. No doubt he
did get nasty ticks at first; and he's
revengful. He hasn't got on in society
outside, either-this he lays to his not
being a university man. You see his
father lost some of his money and put
him to work instead of in college. He
was willing enough at the time
think he wanted to get married-but
afterward, when he was getting a good
salary and piling up money on his tips,
he began to think that he had lost
more than he had bargained for. AL
together. he's soured. Now, what he
wants is to make a laundering big
strike and to pull out of Wall street,
buy what he calls "a seat on the
James and set up for a southern gen
tleman. He's trying to marry south
ern girl, they say, who is kin to the
Carriers and the Byrds and the Lees
and the Carys-why you know her,
she's Mrs. Winters secretary"
"Does-does she care for him?' The
colonel suddenly felt his mouth
parched: he was savagely conscious of
his mounting color. What a fiendish
trick of fate! he had never dreamed
of this, Well, whether she cared for
him or not the man was a brute; he
shouldn't get her That was one GER
tainty in the colonels mind.
why. Cary VOWS she doesn't, that
it was only a girlish bit Of nonsense
up in Virginia, that time he was pros
pecting. you know. But don't feel so
safe. She's too nice for such a cur.
But you know what women are; the
incest of them seem to be awfully
queer about men. There's no betting
on them"
I'm afraid not" remarked the colo
mel. lightly. But he put his fingers in
side his collar and loosened it, as if
he felt choked.
Because he had dozen questions
ouarreling for precedence in his head
he asked not one. He only inquired
regarding the situation; discovering
that both Mercer and Tracy were
equally in the dark with himself as to
Atkins plans, Atkins store of infor-
nation, Atkins resources. How he
could have waylaid Tracy and the boy
without knowing whence they came
was puzzling; it was quite as puzzling,
however, assuming that he did know
their whereabouts. to decide why he
was so keen to interrogate the boy. In
fact, it was, as Tracy said, too much
like Prof. Santa Annals description
of a German definition of metaphysics,
a blind man hunting in a dark room
for a black cat that isn't there "
In any event, you would better keep
away from me" was the colonel's sum-
ming up of the situation; Il don't want
TO be inhospitable. but the sooner you
are off. and out of the hotel, the safer
for your speculation
Friends will please accept the in
timation," said Tracy. good-humoredly.
Very well. it's % for me. I'm hoping
you'll see your way clear to run over
as soon as the old man has surren-
dered: I'm going to invite him to make
us a proper visit. then. and see the
country I'm always for letting the