The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1910-08-11

On THE telephone rings and he
gathers himself together and answers
1t In a firm voice. Then he comes
back to the table, takes up his pen
and writes"
She ceased speaking and the hand
with the pen began to write. Honora
leaned forward and crept closer the
better to see what was written. The
pen began to write halfway down the
sheet:
MY little girl must forgive me and
be brave. 1t was the only thing to
do. The only way to provide for your
future. They may say what they like
of me; Part of it will be true and part
the kicking that goes to every man
who is down, but they cannot touch
you. my darling. Be brave, little girl,
and remember that in whatever others
duties your father may have failed,
| he loved you as he loved your mother,
faithfully and to the last"
The pen stopped writing abruptly
and the hand dropped from the paper
| to the woman's side Then Claudia
gave shudder and gasp and ierked
her head forward. The horrid vacant
look in her pale face gave place to
the normal expression, and she stood
up.
Honora was waiting for me outside.
Isn't it good to be out in the sunshine
again?'' she exclaimed. ooh, Jack,
wasn't it joke, the way she bit?"
1t was, and l laughed The bare
idea of Clinton Wortley, banker when
he was not a clubman and clubman
when he was not a banker, with two
hours out for church on Sundays,
writing letter of such sickly senti-
mentality was ludicrous in the ex-
IRENE
HOnora laughed too. Wont it be
fun at the dinner tomorrow night?"
A long nights work made my awak
enings an hoYr later than usual, in
consequence of which dilatoriness |
had to rush breakfastless for my train
AS | took my seat in the smoking car
a neWsboy passed through with his
shril cry Of Papers. Examiner.
Chronicle. Call. All about the sui
eide of wellknown banker" |
beckoned him to me and bought one.
One the first page, in scarlet letters
an inch and a half in length, the
suicide of the prominent and popular
banker, Clinton Wortley, was an
nounced. | gazed at it in stunned
horror, not able to take in that it was
Clinton Wortley, the man that | knew,
| fof u-hn fat
in these huge scare-lines. Then
man | knew slightly, leaned across
the aisle and said, conversationally:
awful affair, this of Wortley's, isn't
it? You knew him, didn't you?"
"Yes-yes," l answered. Then I
realized it, and thought of Honora,
poor little Honora, all alone at this
crisis | would go to her at once;
but first ! must know all about it.
In those six columns was told the
story of a man who had invested heav-
lily in mines which, after paying a
couple of dividends. had failed. The
mans losses were unknown to the
world, and with the lust of gambling
still on him he had taken a large sum
from the banks funds and invested
it in another mine. Anyone would
have called this latter a safe invest
ment, and he should have been able
to repay not only the bank but him
self his loss on the other speculation;
but by the rascality of some official
of the mining company it had also
failed leaving Clinton Wortley, pau
per save for the house in San Fran
cisco and the ranch in the southern
part of the state which he held in
trust for his daughter.
The letter to Horora was heart
breaking. In a few words he told OF
his sin and assured her that the
law could not touch her. He adj
vised her to sell her estates and
change her name, ard if ever she met
a good man who would give her an
undisgraced one for her own, to tell
him the truth. He ended up by beg
ging for forgiveness and telling her
to be brave
The last few lines seemed familiar,
and my mind flew back to the events
of the previous afternoon. Again
was in the little room on Ellis street,
. the Englishwoman with the vacant
eyes was writing. Mechanically
felt in my coat pocket and drew out
folded paper, unfolded it and COM
pared it with the last part of the pa
per. Word for word they were iden-
titled
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