Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1911-11-09

SASxse
But the Red Butte proposition asks
for more, for something that / can't
give it. Stuart. there is yellow streak
in me that you seem never to have dis
covered. ! am a coward"
! The ghost of an incredulous smile
wrinkled about the tired eyes of the
big man In the pivot chair.
You forget that | have known you
pretty much all your life. Howard.
Let me recall one of the boyhood pic
lures that have never faded. 1t was
just after school one hot day in the IL
linois September. Our crowd had gone
down to the pond back of the school
house. and two of us were padding
around on a raft made OF sawmill
slabs One Of the two-who always
had more daredevitry than sense I'M
der his skull thatch-was silly enough
to rock the boat and it went to
! pieces. You couldn't swim, Howard.
but if you hadn't forgotten that trifling
3
Billy Mimms ashore l should have
been murderer"
Lidgerwood shook his head.
'You think you have made your case,
but you haven't. What you say is true
enough. | wasn't afraid of drowning
didn't think much about it either way.
l guess. But what l say is true also.
There are many kinds OF courage and
quite as many kinds of cowardice |
am coward of men"
"Oh. no, you're not; you only think
you are" protested the one who
/ thought he knew. But Lidgerwood
would not let that stand.
81 know | am. Hear me through
and then judge for yourself What !
am going to tell you | have never told
to any living man, but 1t is your right
to hear it. God, Stuart, you don't know
/ what fear means-the degradation, the
hot and cold chills of self loathing. the
sickening misery of having your own
soul turn upon you to rend and tear
/ you like a rabid dogr'
4 mo. don't know what 1t means"
said the other man. moved more than
he cared to admit by the AFFECT con
! fession.
! "Of course you don't. Nobody else
can know. / am paying the price here
and now. This is the fourth time
have mad to refuse good offer that
carried with it the fighting chance"
The vice presidents heavy eyebrows
slanted in questioning surprise.
+ you knew in advance that you were
going to turn me down. Yet you came
q thousand miles to meet me here, and
/ you admit that you have gone the
length of looking the ground over"
Lidgerwood's smile was mirthless.
/ "A regular recurring phase of the
disease 1t manifests itself in a de-
termination to break away and do or
die in the effort to win a little self
respect"
The vice president was still young
man, and he was confronting a prob
lem that annoyed him. He had been
calling himself and not without rea-
son. a fair judge of men. Yet here
was a man whom he had known IN
timately from boyhood, who was but
Just now revealing a totally unsuspect
ed quality.
How do you know you wouldn't
buck up when the real pinch comes?"
he demanded
because the pinch came once. and
] didn't buck up. It was over a year
ago and to this good day can't think
calmly about II. You will understand
when I say that 1t cost me the love OF
the one woman in the world"
The vice president did understand.
Being a married lover himself, he
could measure the depth Of the abyss
into which Lidgerwood was looking
His voice was as sympathetic as q
wOman's when he said: eco ahead and
ease your mind: tell me about. II you
can Howard It's barely possible that
you are not the best Judge OF your
own act.'
at was in the Montana mountains"
said i.idgerwood. IL was going In 10
do bit az expert engineering FOR her
father Incidentally ! was escOrting
her and her mother from the railroad
terminus 10 the summer camp in the
hills where they were 70 inln "A coach.
ing party Of their friends for the Vel
lowstone toU- We had 10 drive NY
miles ia a stage. and there were six ~
Us tho Two women aud four men on
the way the talk turned ~ stage rob
berries and todup>. Win tie chance