The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1909-01-21
A Senator'S Foes.
convrIrbt. Iooa by r. Q. Mcclure.J


An old wheel horse called on Sena-
tor Hardman In careless way and
talked about the lieutenant governor
ship and what would naturally follow
It. Lieutenant governors had come to
be presidents. The senator nodded bis
head in the affirmative. but did not rise
to the bait. The old wheel horse limited
at the financial obligations the ring
would be under II certain new sena-
tor went straight" and Hardman
opened the door and held 1t open until
the other had passed out.
The ring employed bureau to hunt
up Hardmans record, and there was
gnashing OF teeth when the report
came back that all was clear. There
was not even the robbery Of henroost
In his boyhood days on which to found
a charge against him. He had once
been engaged to be married. and 1t was
whispered that the girl had learned
something against his character and
broken the engagement A detective
was sent west to hunt up the female
and offer her a thousand dollars to ex.
pose the senator, but the officer was
too late. She had married a butcher
two weeks before he found her. and
the husband threw the sleuth out
A female lobbyist tried to throw her
charms about the senator, and pitfall
was nicely arranged, but he glided over
II and escaped. 10 was at length real
tied that the battle must be fought out
knee to knee, and the ring girded up its
loins for the combat. Hardman was
hunting up facts and statistics for
telling speech against rings and graft
ers. He worked quietly, but faithfully.
and he finally gathered such mass Of
evidence in favor of the stand that he
had taken from the first that his enc
mics became alarmed and desperate.
When the senator's notes were at last
completed he put them in the form Of
speech. and the copy was given TO
female typist to be transposed into
print. There was no fear of trickery In
that II ulu uOt ccelu " hldiuuinh lhdb
young woman who was seeking to
support widowed mother could prove
recreant to her trust Nevertheless in
the last two hours the manuscript was
left with her she sold him out for
money and turned everything over to
the enemy. The ring shouted In glee.
He was baked. The statistics that had
been dug up out Of the past would new
er see daylight. The senator's facts
and figures and denunciations had van
ished into thin afr. The speech that
was TO be the effort of his life would
remain undelivered. He had promised
much, but he would be unable to de-
liver the goods and his downfall would
follow.
Hartman could not go over the
ground again. The ring had made that
impossible. without his statistics his
speech would not amount to more than
general denunciation. No trust or cor
poration cared for that They had been |
denounced for years and years, and YET |
their dividends were growing all the
time. A few hundred dollars had
bought the honesty Of trusted girl |
and drawn the sting of an honest sena-
tor, and the ring spoke of it as an in
terposition Of Providence.
Three days more and had all gone |
well the senator would have been |
ready to open bis batteries. He sat in
his room Of an evening with his head
on his hand and knew that he was a
beaten and vanquished man. He had
promised much. and he could do moth
Ing. At the end OF bis term the people
would want him no longer. As he sat
thus In his bitterness the door opened,
and a girl stood before him. He had
to look at her twice before he recog-
nized her as the typist who had sold
him out. he did not upbraid her. There
was no scowl on his face as he re-
garded her and waited for her to speak.
They lied to me-" she finally said.
.eYes?'
Mother was III, and we were In 9TH
Or trouble, and Ill didn't think
speech amounted to SO very much
hat is, | thought you could easily
make up another"
Yes? Two or three hundred dollars
seemed great sum to you. If men
ieli their honesty, why shouldn't wom-
.ni''
But mother died, sirp' sobbed the
siii. II wanted to get her to the hos.
,ital, but she--she diedla
II am sorry for that. ] believe hef
leath leaves you alone in the worldT
Yves, sir. I'd have brought 1t soon.
+ only there was the funeral, and !
bought 1t was only just a speech.
Vas it to be great speech?'
well, hoped so.
"But mother said II was ard that we
houldn't use penny of the money
nd that I'd done very wrong. She
aid | must get 1t back and give up
he money, and here is the copy"
THE speechr exclaimed the senator
S he reached her side. "You don't tell
ne that you have got the speseh back" ..
This is 1t, sir
"And where where
"Tn the next room down the hall"
"In Senator Blanks room! Bless 3
on. but he has been loudest In de.
ouncing those who brihed you and
,udest In his sympathies over my lossl
on can't possibly mean him7"
HE was the one who paid me the
honey. ! have been in bis room rum
raging around for half an hour. I )
nally found the speech and left the
Ioney on his table,.
s-hera Woo n 1onev eflnr,a as 4ho ,,t,.t Z