Evening star., 1909-05-29
CHAPTER1II-Continued.


the table spoke.
I'm afraid he said, that We don't
quite understand each other, Mr.. Como
yer. This is not a business concern. 1t
is a social club. 1t is place where the
women of our families are also welcome
guests. The presence of man we can
not introduce to our wives and daughters
will only
why can't you?,' demanded Conover.
why can't you introduce me? An for
that matter. I haven't asked you to yet?
Wait till do before you say you can't"
This club went on the other. repre-
sents all that is best and most congenial
in GRANTEES social life. With q discord-
ant element introduced into it. the club 8
chief feature is gone. If there is a man
who freauents the place whom We do
not know and whom we do not wish to
know-who cannot meet our
Il see well have to waste more time
over this than l thought" grunted Caleb.
Let's go back a little Why don't you
want to know me? Hey?"
Need we go into that? Surely
LAS you have made it one of the rea-
sons for wantin me fired, I guess we'd
better. Why don't you want to know
me-" -.
IF you force me to say it, because you
are not a gentleman
No?" Sneered Caleb. as new and
fainter murmur of depreciation ran along
the table. Maybe I'm not l don't get
tanked up on cheap booze down in the bar
after golf tournaments. like a lot of your
gentlemen here, an then wander up to
dinner on the veranda an talk so loud
that the women at the next table can't
hear themselves cackle. I don't ask a
party of men and women to dine with me
here an then get silly jag an sing
Mother, Pin Rose on Me, every five
pv.Jx rtAo ,,rfVR a1ry
the table gets scared for fear I'll sing
somethin' worse-like you did last Sunday
night
Conover's >interlocuter sat down very
hard and tried to look loftily Indifferent.
Gaines undisguised laugh made the effort
more difficult.
NO pursued Caleb, with impersonaI
calm, I'm not a gentleman. l used to
don't any more. l come down here for
dinner sometimes Sunday evenin. As
there's no one exactly clamorfn' to enter
tain me I've plenty of chance to use my
eyes an ears. So i get line on gen.
tlemen' an on how they act when they're
In their own crowd. At the table next to
me last Sunday there was little dinner
party Bout dozen in all. You was
BY the, time dessert came everybody was
a-telln' stories-stories l wouldn't tell in
a barroom Women, too. Gee! l never
knew before that women"
''Mr. Chairman cried Featherstone,
jumping up Il protest against this vile
abuse. AS member of the Arareek-"
AS member of the Arareek," cut In
Caleb. you'll set down an be quiet.
You've had your say, What I've just told
I've told as member of the cuban to
fellow-members. OF course. II I'm kicked
your vote. Featherstone-I won't feel
bound 10 keep my mouth shut about
those same stories or who told 'em. Nor
what you whispered to girl as you
GAA fok
This is blaekmail." shrieked Feather
IT'S anything you like to name it."
agreed Caleb, cheerfully. but it goes.
thin to say?' --ess
II Should like to ask Mr. Conover," put
In another man, 'if he can truthfully
deny that his business dealings will not
bear such inspection as"
"As your own deal in buyin' the tip Of
where the new high school was to be
built an then gettin' an option on the
land an, saneezin' the city for s4s.ooo:"
business will frame up pretty we'll along
side of that. Say. your talk of business
methods makes me laugh when I remem-
ber what You offered for that tip an
YOU got As a feler-club member. my
mouths shut on that. When I'm kicked
out, it'll be a diff'rent story. That's
blackmail again, If you like"
of the board checked comment by saying:
ITS scarcely needful. Mr.. Conover, to
adopt that tone. For the sake of the
clubs good name. we are simply inquiring
into the truth of certain reports of the
way your money was made. We"
Its my own business how it was made
Mr. Hawarden.' countered Caleb. THE
way / spend 1t is anybody's business An
when leave this club I'm willin' to make
public the accounts of some of my dis
bursements.
Though the retort was not rough of
tone and seemed quite harmless-even
vapid-of meaning, Hawarden all at once
dropped out of the dispute. In vain did
several of his ellow-committeemen who
had relied on him to press the prosecu-
ton signal for renewal of attack
Theneeforth, throughout the session
Hawarden was gloomily mute. But there
were others to carry on the attack he had
90 unexpectedly abandoned. Notably a
downy little man who sat at Reuben
Standish's right
1T is said, Mr.. Conever." observed the
new assailant. with an air of nervous
relish that your father was convict"
Again the murmur of depreciation at the
leaned far forward. hoping to catch a
glimpse of Caleb's silhouetted face. and
half expecting to see the downy-haired
accuser tossed bodily from the window.
For an instant COnover made no reply.
His cigar had gone out and he was busy
fumbling for match. But when he did
speak, it was with perfect, unaffected
cslm:
Yes, Mr.. Vroom," he said MY father
was a. convict. He may be ore again, by
this time, for anything l know. I've never
set eyes on the old crook since the day
they sentenced him to five years in the
PEN
He puffed at his cigar. Then rambed
on. half to himself:
81 was ten years old then. 1t was my
birthday, ] remember. The Id man had
a job in the C., q. X. coal yards l
came home early from school. Ma had
promised me a birthday cake with can
dies for supper. She an dad had planned
to have some measly little cerhration for
me. an take me to variety show in the
evenin'. I ran home all the way from
school. When I got to the tenment
there was a crowd Of gapin' kids an
women around our door. Just then out
came couple of cops with dad between
head. cryin' to break her heart. / re-
member she still had one of those silly
birthday candles gripped in her hand
Shed been putin 1t onto the cake when
the cops came. After that there wasn't
any talk of birthday sprees n lie Con-
over fiat. 1t was up to us TO hustle. An
we did. My mother went out Washin' an
as a floor -scruhher. An l got job as
tally boy in the c., G. e. X. yards. That
was my start"
He paused again. looked thoughtfully
at his cigar ash and went on in q more
business-like tone.
"Yes. Mr.. Vroom, my father was
convict. Not much of one; but as much
as his small chances allowed He was
only weigher at the coal scales. He
fixed the scales an took his rakeoff