Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1911-06-16

SONSc
y WU,, HAVE MY CONCENTRATIONS TAM
PEHED WITH
ever, he held inc Irhti"... -. .........u.,.i "
suspense.
At the dinner table the professor
held forth dictatorially upon matters
pertaining solely to the pliocene age
and never once suffered the table con
verSation to come within several mil
lions of years of the twentieth CEN
fury. and at the dispersal-on there
was no dispersal-it was his father
who led the way to the drawing room
and persuaded Patricia TO go TO the
piano.
The young man with the fighting
determination III the back part of his
brain was willing enough TO listen to
Grieg and Brahms as interpreted by
Patricia, but the greater matter was
still outweighing the lesser Later,
when Miss Anners had played herself
out. the talk went back to he dino
saurs and the pterodactyls. and when
smoke he did it alone.
The Wartrace den was an annex to
the dining room, and through the
loopcd back portieres he could hear
the animated hum of the prehistoric
conversation, in which Patricia had
now joined. as loyal daughter should
Hoping against hope that the pro
fessor would some time 20 to bed and
that his father would come to the den
for his bedtime Whit at the long
stemmed pipe, Dlount smoked and
waited. When his patience was finally
rewarded 1t was not the honorable
senator who drew the portieres aside
and entered the coy smoking room
1t was Patricia. and she was alone
Il thought perhaps l should find you
here" she said calmly. taking the easy
chair at the opposite corner OF the
hearth. Did we bore you to eytinc-
tion:"
Not quite" he laughed. but since
hadn't got myself born 6,OO0.OO0
years ago l can't somehow seem to
galvanize very active interest In the
dead and buried periods"
Nor l." she confessed frankly,
though for papa's sake do try to.
But for us who are living today there
are 50 many problems Of really vital
Importance. problems that the ptero-
dactyls never knew anything about"
Il know" said the young man, half
absentiy. Il am up against one Of
them right now. and don't know how
to meet it,
viii it bear telling:" she asked.
And he hoped that the sympathy in
her tone was personal rather than
conventional
ut Will not only bear telling; 1t de-
mandS to be told to some one whose
sense of right and wrong has not been
drawn and quartered and tlayed alive
until 1t has no longer life or breath
left with which to protest"
Thereupon lie told her all that had
happened to him since the evening he
had left the sleeping car ut Aretas. :
concluding almost shamcfacedly with
the story of the lumber magnate's at.
tempt at corruption, OF which he sup
pressed nothing but the fact that the
professors name appeared in Mr.
Hathaway's list Of shareholders.
When he made an end her eyes were
shining. either with quickcncd sympa-
thy or indignation-he could not de
termine which.
what did you dog she asked. re-
ferrins to the incident Of the after
noon.
IL didn't do half enough" he fumed.
y am afraid I let Hathaway get away
without my telling him plainly enough
what a hopelessly irreclaimable scoun-
drel he is. l made a mistake In not
throwing him out bodily"
You made your greatest mistake In
the very beginning. Evan" she said
decisively. You should have made n
confidant OF Your father"
Il did try to at first" he protested.
"But the game is everything and
everybody plays tiny father, his
wife. the railroad officials and the pol
iticians. Surely you wouldn't say that
l should have let my father put me on
the state ticket as cand!date:"
Certainly not" was the quick reply,
mot unless you We're convinced of the
purity of his motive. But if you have |
been telling me the truth and all the !
truth 1t would seem that you didn't /
stop to inquire what that motive might |
be-"
What was the use OF inquirlng? |
He IS the boss OF the machine He |
would have used the machine TO put !
me into Office rs attorney general. In !
other words, ! should have owed my |
election not to the will Of the people,
but the will Of one man, and that .
man my nearest kinSman. Under such /
would it have been pos
sible for me to administer the office
without fear or favor:'
Il don't know why not" she return
ed. Your nearest kinsman,' rs you
call him, would have been the last
man to interfere. Wasn't that the
very reason he gave for wanting TO
put you on the ticket?"
Il know" said Blount, whose mind
was beginning TO cloud again. But
there are 50 many other mysteries.
nm not sure At this blessed moment
that my father hasn't conspired with