Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1911-07-12

n1S IRE might nave Deen CQange0-1OF
the better. But again ambition. whiah
grimly forbade any clog upon his
movements, interfered, and he held
her hand with the tenderness Of q
brother-no more!
Really, Elsie, I wish I could have
done more for you" he said. 81 want
you to promise me that II you get into
difficulties Of any sort you VIII let me
smooth them out for you"
II have no one else to go to-" she re-
| Piled simply. do you know how much
suffering there is In the woridT' she
suddenly asked him.
az suppose there is a great deal Of II. !"
do you understand what suffering
isr"
II do" he returned IT had my
share Of it-of illness, Of poverty, of
| cold and hunger, Of uncleanliness, of
| the social degradation that belongs
| with want Of money. know these
| things not as one emerging from them.
but as one cast down among them
from luxury. Some people that expert
ence softens, others It hardens and
makes bitter. Sometimes I think 1t
| had that latter effect with me-"
ut must not be!' she said earnestly.
Phillip, what has happened 30 my
family has happened to three-fourths
Of the people in Hampton, which, as
you may or may not know. is compos-
ed entirely of poor people. workmen
who in better times try to buy their
own homes. In that village Of four or
I've thousand people there are per
haps one half Of them facing actual
starvation at this minute"
''Yes?' inquired Phillip. waiting.
There are hundreds and hundreds
OF other villages like Hampton, where
thousands upon thousands are In the
same condition. Things were never so
bad as they are now"
"YesT' he asked again
"They say-they say"-she halted
and stopped. and then, with her face
coloring, she stumbled on-'they say
that you brought on this panic and
that you could stop it It isn't true, is
it?''
I'm a measure I suppose it IS" ad-
mitted Phillip. The condition was like
a pile Of loose gunpowder at the side
Of a railroad track, where constantly
passing engines are sending up sparks.
One spark was sure to land In that
gunpowder and explode it. I merely
happened to be the spark, but with no
more power than that spark to stop
the subsequent destruction"
She recoiled from him with dilating
eyes. at is true, thenP' she said.
IT suppose it is, even in the way you
look at it, but 1 assure you, Elsie,
that it was necessary. Out Of this
better times will result, and better
times could not be reached except
through this devastation. 1t is like a
surgical operation, which, painful and
cruel as it may seem at the start, is
necessary to save the rest Of the body
from death and decay"
She shook her head. 81 cannot IN
derstsnd it, but then suppose could
never have been a surgeon
He smiled and laid his hand upon
her shoulder. NO. donf think you
could"
She WINGED under that touch and
glance, not because they were repul-
sive to her-oh, not because of that
but because they were the touch and
glance of brother.
Rensselaer, was announced just then.
and the interview closed.
In Phillips touring car, big Sam up
beside the chauffeur. Kelvin and Rens-
selaer bowled along a pleasant country
road, with the latter young gentleman
in state of stupefaction.
ITO Forest Lakes" Rensselaer, ex-
claimed for at least the twentieth
time. why, you old fox, you never
said a word about ever having known
Henry Breed or Of ever having been
to Forest Lakes!
81 didn't dare" answered Phillip.
Il didn't want my panic TO come on
too soon. which it would have done
had my connection with Breed been
known"
How did you happen to fall in
with the old boy?"
Hunted him up!" said Phillip. with
sudden fire. "As you know, this same
crowd, Of whom Pellnan was at that
time the head, led my father into a
carefully prepared stock deal. It was
as deliberate a plucking as any green
horn ever got at the hands OF lot of
confidence paen, and 1t not only broke
his purse, but II broke his heart 1t
left him without ambition, and when
he died he left me absolutely penni-
less. Even as a boy planned to get
even, but knew I must wait Down
south the chance came. made that
oil strike, then luck poured In on me,
and I began at last to make a lot of
money One day about a year ago I
read in a paper of Breeds anger
a 9ainst this same Wall street coterie =,
I had formed some good acquaintances
down there, and among them was a
man who knew Breed personally. Re
gave me q letter OF introduction.
then went to see Breed and proposed
this plan. He returned an evasive an
swer, and / went back south Shortly !
sitter I returned there. however, dis
covered that Breed had put into opera
ton the system by which suggested 4
be drain the country OF its currency. /
discovered, too, that there were
spies watching me and deiving into my
entire past history. said nothing, but
made up my mind then that my time