The state herald., 1910-10-21

and thankful to have escaped notice
l paid for my breakfast and left. At
the cabstand ! chose the least dilapi-
dated hanson could find. and giving
the driver the address of the Gilmore
residence. In the East end. 1 got In.
was Just in time. As the cab
turned and rolled of, a slim young
man in straw hat separated himself
from little group Of men and hur-
ried toward us.
Hey! Wait minute there!" he
called, breaking into a trot.
But the cabby did not hear, or per-
haps did not care to- We logged COM
fortably along. to my relief, leaving
the young man far behind. avoid
reporters on principle. having learned
long ago that / am an easy mark for
a clever interviewer.
1t was perhaps nine o'clock when /
left the station. Our way was along
the boulevard which Rugged the side
of one of the city's great hills. Far
below, to the left, lay the railroad
tracks and the seventy times seven
looming stacks of the mills. The white
mist of the river. the grays and blacks
of the smoke blended into half.re-
veallng haze, dotted here and there
with fire. 1t was unlovely, tremen-
dous. Whistler might have painted It
with its pathos. its majesty. but he
would have missed what made II In
finitely suggestive-the rattle and
wheels. the throbbing beat. against
the ears, of fire and heat and Drawn
welding prosperity.
Something of this | voiced to the
grim old millionaire who was respon-
sible for at least part OF 1t. He was
propped up in bed in his East end
home. listening to the market reports
read by nurse. and he smiled little
at my enthusiasm.
81 can't see much beauty in 1t my
self" he said But it's our badge OF
prosperity. The full dinner pail here
means nose that looks like fiue
Pittsburg without smoke wouldn't be
Pittsburg. any more than New York
prohibition would be New York Sit
down for a few minutes. Mr.. Blakeley
Now, Miss Gardner. Westinghouse
Electric"
The nurse resumed her reading in
a monotonous voice She read liter
ally and without understanding. using
initial and abbreviations as they came
But the shrewd old man followed her
easily.
As the nurse droned along, found
myself looking curiously at n photo
graph In a silver frame on the bed
side table. II was the picture of a
girl III white. with her hands clasped
loosely before her. Against Me dark
background her figure stood out slim
and young. Perhaps II was the rather
grim environment. possibly 1t was my
mood, but although us a general thing
photographs OF young girls make no
appeal to me, this one did. found
my eyes straying back to II. BY a
little fnesse ! even made out the
name written across the corner. All
/ SON.
Mr.. Gilmore lay back among his
/ pillows and listened to the nurses
listless voice. But he was watching
for when the reading was over. and
we were alone. he indicated the pic.
ture with gesture
II keep II there to remind myself
that I am an old man." he said. That
is my granddaughter. Alison West"
expressed the customary polite
surprise, at which. finding me respon.
sive. he told me his age with chuc-
kle of pride. More surprise. this timo
genuine From that we went 10 what
he ate for breakfast and did not eat
| for luncheon. and then TO his reserve
power. which at s5 became matter
for thought And so. in wide circle,
back TO where we started. the picture.
Father was rascal" John oil.
more said. picking up the frame. THE
happiest day OF my life was when
knew he was safely dead In bed and
not hanged II the child had looked
like him. i-weli. she doesn't She's
Gilgore. every inch. Supposed TO
look like me"
Very no,iccably." I agreed sobcrly.
had produced the notes by that
time, and replacing the picture Mr.
Gilmore gathered his spcohclca from
beside Il. He went over the four notes
methodlcally. examining each caro-.
fully and putting II down before
he picked up the next Then he
leaned back and took on his glasses.
They're not 10 bad" he said
thoughtfully. "Not NO bad but
never saw them before. That's my
unofficial signature. am inclined TO
think"-ho was speaking partly TO
himsolf-"to think that he has got
hold OF letter Of mine. probably to
Alison. Bronson whs friend Of her
rapscallion Of father"
took Mr. Cillmoros deposition and
put II into my travelling bag with tho