The Washington herald., 1909-04-18

OF the mouse WntcR SAeiteleu liiS Need
body Of his son there was no sign Of a
fathers grief upon his face. He stood
aWiSwardly with his black felt Rat in his
hand. awaiting the summons which would
lead him into the presence OF the dead,
and he looked with disapproval at the
cheaply furnished hail and long flight OF
shabbily-carpeted steps. as If resentful
at having been forced to find himself IN
such place.
The house was not less dingy that the
street outside and through its aged walls
there penetrated vario1s noises never
heard in better neighborhoods-calls Of
children al play, of vendors OF fruits.
ard the disheartened jangling OF n bell.
Asa Cutler had come from the country
within the hour and the city noises and
odors smote upon his senses with the
full force OF Unaccustomedness. The
journey had been trying to the old man.
but not for a moment did he waver IA
the intention which brought him 10 the
city.
He was always quick in reaching de-
cision. and 1t was seldom that he reversed
one When news came Of the death Of
Ralph he knew al once what he should
do. and ne lost no time IN uselessly dis
cussing details; he would so to New York
and rescue the child. rescue and carry Il
home with him. away from the contain
ination Of the evil surroundings IN which
il had lived since SIS birth. Fer the child
was his. all that was left of his flesh and
blood; no part or Asa Cutter should re-
mein in company Of the ungodly so long
as he had strength and authority 10 re-
move II. The woman the child's mother.
might protest, probably would do so; but
the old man had vet 10 meet the. woman
who could defeat his will.
Ralph's death seemed to Asa Cutler
rather a cause for congratUlation than for
grief. When his younger son. Joseph.
died. n honestly mOurned him. Joseph
had been a child after his own heart. the
one with mind and character like his
own; 10 Joseph his fathers business, the
management Of the farm. the looking
after the many mortgages the old man
held. the affairs of the church IN which
Asa Cutler had been deacon for many
years. the moral and material circum-
stances OF the neighbors. all were Of i'm
portance; to Ralph none of these things
had ynattered. His fathers keen avarice
was as repulsive 10 him as his hard
morality and uncompromising bigotry At
first Asa Cutler had been proud OF
Ra!ph's mental ability. and had given
him such schooling as the neighbOrhOod
afforded, and a promise OF more; later,
when Ralph seemed to be outgrowing his
authority. he took the most cruel means
OF enforcing it. insisting that the boy
should stay al home and farm, doing the
work that had been good enough for his
father and that should therefore be good
Dol, T,T .,
his first exhibition of recklessness, and
Deacon Cutler before long had TO bear
the ignOminy OF his sons being known in
the neighborhood as wild, fast, and finally
as a drunkard.
To the standards Of the countryside,
RaIph's escapades loomed as horrors: no
limelight is as searching as the peeping
gaze through village windows, and every
thing poor Ralph did became magnihed
the more through each pair Of spectacles
that beheld IT, by each nodding head and
wagging tongue that discussed II. When
the boy begged his father TO give him
money TO 90 away and study. the father
denied him and bitterly declared that a
ne'er-dO-Weel could never learn: as for
painting, which the lad had set his heart
upon, II wss we'll known that the ways
Of artists were the ways Of the devil and
% no son Of his should hard-earned
money be given with which 10 seek the
devil In his own abode. He professed TO
see the hand of God IN Ralph's wildness
and as a Christening Of the Almighty he
would endure II at home; but he would
not provide the means for new ways Of
wickedness.
When Ralph was missing Asa Cutler
asked no questions. Thereafter his elder
son was dead 10 him, and the fact that ne
had In reality, only yesterday breathed
his last made him no more lately dead to
the old mans heart. During the years
which had passed since Ralph's departure
he had. indeed heard of him now and
than: he knew that his wife sent the boy
money. and If he had been willing 10
acknowledge that son Of his was living
IN what he firmly believed 10 be the
haunts OF vice. he would have forbidden
her holding any communication with him:
hut rather than admit 10 himself or 70
her that Ralph still lived, he let her more
or less openly send him money. II was
not much that she had 10 send. indeed:
her husband saw to il that nothing was
left uninvested. But various small things
she sold. and her minute savings grew
into little sums that all went to Ralph.
Then. a year or two after his depart
ure. there appeared on the parlor mantel
a picture which had never been there
before: Il was unsigned. but Asa Cutler
did not ask from whence II came It was
commonplace enough, but even the old
man was. in his secret heart. very proud
Of II. and 20 the mother It was magnih-
cent. success. 10 Asa Cutter. was the
criterion Of life: If Ralph could reallyi
make pictures. pictures that would sell.
he might not be utterly lost, after all: but
the second picture Ralph sent home dis
PEELED any hopes OF his salvation. 1t
was a glaring daub or a woman's figure.
posed in Spanish costume; Asa Cutler
had never. seen its like. but he had no
hesitation In pronouncing II evil and he
forbade its remaining in his house, a
spot Of contamination. IF Ralph. he
argued. could look upon the indecencies
of half-dressed women twirling about In
short skirts and laughing entcingly over
their bare shoulders. there could be no
doubt as to the state of his soul II did
not need the reports coming from the
city. penetrating as evil tidings will. to
confirm Asa Cutler In his conviction that
Ralph was irredeemably lost: ne found
II easy 10 believe all they told Of his
sons life.
As a matter Of fact. the reports did not /
tell half the truth concerning Ralph: tai |
ent enough he had and faculty of maxi !
ing friends; and luck followed him, so /
that there always seemed TO be money /
enough at his command 10 satisfy his /
needs and cravings; Of the first he had /
few; Of the second he had many. and they /
increased with each year. Vice of the /
cheapest satisfied him. and he followed /
x increasingly; for years he knew no 1
revulsion OF feeling. but in the course Of 4
TINA il came Safety and repentance /
often go hand IN hand; to Ralph they 1