The San Francisco call., 1910-02-06

calls them and thinks his money viii
take uim there. He is nearly right.
For one reason or another every promi-
neut family in town is under fnan-
cfal obligation TO him and they dare
not refuse his demands. For purposes
OF fiction the author has slightly eXag-
Eerated hi sOcia- blunders his uncOuth-
ness and his seeming lack of conscience.
one Of the most remarkable scenes in
the book describes an evening at the
ultra fashionable Arareek country club.
Al the height Of the festivities
drunken old man comes running out
among the guests. pursued by club
servants. They explain that he is a
tramp taken in for extra work and has
been caught stealing The drunken
man explains in a maudlin way that he
fought in the civil war, that drink
made him steal, but that he was all
, I gnt when he was sober; that he had
q rich son who didn't even know he
was alive; that he didn't know his
son was alive till he struck Granite;
that his name is Saul COnover. His
babbNngs electrify the company, who
are none too friendly toward COnOVer
anyway, and they are glad and appalled,
At the revelation one friend starts
- speak. hoping to save the situation,
but The Fighter" interrupts him:
Hold on - You mean we'll an
] thank you. But I think this is where
7 do the talking, an not you.
That man doubled up on the floor there
IS my father-I didn't know till five
minutes ago that he was still alive.
Ny father was risin'. hard
Norkin' man. He come Of decent peo-
pie. When the civil war broke
out he went to the front. There he
learned TO starve. TO loaf. TO forget his
business trainin'. There's
where he learned TO drink. too. When
men have TO go supperless TO bed on
the wet ground after an all day march
2 svig of whisky's a blessin'. It's
blessin', too. when It dulls the memry
Of the comrade at your side that was
bl0wed TO pieces by a shell or ripped
open by a baynet. Can you blame the
soldiers if they let the whisky bless
EN- so often that it gets TO be a habit?
After the war he
come back like a good many thousand
others none the better for four year
course in shiftlessness, booze an no
reglar work The folks who'd cheered
him when he went TO fight for en- had
cheered away a lot Of their spare
patri'tism by that time. There want
enough OF IL left in Granite to give my
father a fair start in the world again.
Because he'd learned TO drink. TO
loaf to be uneasy an unreliable when
he worked. they forgot he'd picked up
those tricks whileI he was defendin'
their country Heroes was a drug in
the market II any Of you fellers know
how ii feels to get down to work the
day after your fOrtnight's vacation,
maybe you can understand what it
meant TO him to settle down 10 a job
after four years in the open"
COnover's speech goes on for several
pa ges. The magnetism-brute magnet
ism-which is impressed upon the
reader throughout the story is as dis
tinctly felt in this speech as though
tho man himself were present. He
goes on to tell OF his fathers business
how ne fixed" the scales in the rner-
camille firm he was with and stole
small rakeOn per day. That was his
mistake. If he'd stole a million he'd
a been big man IN Granite" But he
was discovered and sent to jail and
herded with criminal wild beasts for
five years. What a fearful Indictment
his speech is against the prison-and il
is All so seemingly true and reason
able. He closes his speech by saying:
in short he's what s'ciety an loving
paternal gov'ment has made him. An
he's my father, God help him An
the man who says I'm ashamed Of him
liesw and Conover helps the poor old
beast out Of the room. The aftermath
of the speech is surprising. but the
readers interest in reading that part
Of Il must not be spoiled.
Conover has for a ward Desiree Shev-
lin. daughter Of an old friend. She has
been brought up thinking she is rich
but her father left nothing and Caleb
Conover has given her everything she
has The development Of this romance
IS as fascinating and thrilling as any
reader could possibly desire. Desiree
knows what she wants, but Conover is
slow TO discover his sentiments, but
when he does the author treats us TO .
love scene that has not been equaled
In modern fiction for many long day.
There are a number of minor faults
ia this novel. but as a whole il de-
serves high praise. II has a rugged
ness Of style quite in keeping with
fero and title and the story holds the
interest 70 the end. Many more pas
50 ges are worth quoting, but lack Of
space prevents. The book deserves
careful reading.