The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1909-03-04
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CHAPTER !.
The Man with the Moles.

cumstances calculated TO fix the Incl
dent firmly In HE memory. In the
year 1903, home from the Philippines
on furlough, and preparing 10 return
20 a task big enough TO attract him
in spite OF its exile and hardships. he
had visited the son OF friend at Har.
ward. They were walking through the
corridors of one of the private dormi.
tories where the boy roomed. Rather
grimly the soldiers eyes were noting
marble wainscoting and tiled floors.
and contrasting this academic en-
vironment with his own at West Point.
A caustic comment rose 10 his lips,
but II was not uttered. for he heard
the sharp bark OF pistol. followed by
a thud, and crackle as OF breaking
glass.
DO sou fellows amuse yourselves
shooting up the dormitory?" said he
The boy halted; he had gone white
1T came from MERGERS room" he
cried. and ran across the corridor to
door with the usual labelling OF two
visiting cards. The door was not
locked. Entering. they passed into
vesubule. thence through another
door which stood open For many a
day after the colonel could see just
how the slender young figure looked.
the shoulders in huddle on the study
table. one arm swinging nerveless: be
side him, on the floor. a revolver and
a broken glass bottle. The latter
must have made the cracking sound
Some dark red liquid. soaking the
open sheets Of a newspaper. filled the
room with the pungent odor OF alco-
hol Only the top OF the lads head
showed-a curly. silky. dark brown
head; but even before the colonel lift
ed IL he had seen a few thick drops
mating the brown curls. He laid the
head back gently and his hand slipped
TO the boys wrist
No use, Ralph" he said In the sub
dued tones that the voice takes I'M
consciously in the presence of death.
And Endy was going TO help him."
almost sobbed Ralph "He told me
he would. oh. why couldn't he have
trusted his friends,"
The colonel was looking al the
ewspaper-"Was II money!" said he;
for glance at the dabbled sheet had
brought him the headings Of the stock
quotations: Another Sharp Break
In Stocks. New London Records" It
had been money. Later, after what
needed to be done was over, after doc
tors and officers OF the law were gone,
Col Winter heard the wretched story
A young, reckless. fatally attractive
Southerner, rich friends, college so
eieties, joyous times; nothing really
wicked or vicious. only a surrender to
youth and friendship and pleasure,
and then the day of reckoning-duns,
college warnings, the menace of black
disgrace. The young fellow was an
orphan, with no near kindred save one
brother much older than he. The
brother was reputed to be rich, &C
cording to southern standards, and
young Mercer. who had Just come into
a modest patrimony of his own, invest
ed In his brothers ventures. AS TO
the character of these ventures,
whether flimsy or substantial, the col
onel's informants were absolutely
ignorant. All they knew of the elder
Mercer was that he was often in New
York and had "a lot 10 do with Wall
street. - He wasn't broker; no, he
was trying to raise money to hang on
to some big properties that he had;
and the stocks seemed to be going at
remarkable rates Just now, the bot
tom dropping out of the market. II
certain stock OF the Mercers-they
didn't know the name-could be kept
above q he would pull through. Col.
Winter made no comment, but he
remembered that when he had studied
the mornings stock.market pages for
himself, he had noted bad slump in
the southern steels," and Underwater
on the toboggan slide: on three to
four points. declining from 81 and
fraction to 49," ...
Another victim OF the Wall street
pirates" was the colonefs silent judg-
ment on the tragedy Lucky for her
his mothers dead"
The next morning he had returned
and had gone to his young friends
rooms.
The boy was still fun OF the horror
OF the day before MERGERS brother
was In Cambridge. he said-arriving
that morning from New York. "Endy
ID going TO fetch him round to get him
out of the reporters way sometime
this evening; maybe there's something
1 can do"--this In explanation of
his declining TO dine with the colonel
AS the two entered the rooms. Win
Ter was a little in advance, and caught
the first glimpse OF man sitting in a
big mission armchair, his head sunk
ON his breast. So absorbed was this
man in his own distempered musings
that the. new-oomers approach did
MOI arouse him. lie sat with knitted
brows and clenched hands, staring
into vacancy; his rigid and pallid
features set In gsastiy intensity OF
=. rrhara vaQ suffering In The