Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1912-01-04
CHAPTER x.

Back in San Francisco, Daylight
quickly added to his reputation. In
ways 1t was not an enviable reputa-
ton. Men were afraid Of him. He be
came known as fighter, a fiend,
tiger Yis play was a ripping and
smashing one. and no one knew where
or how his next blow would fall The
element of SURPRISE was large He
baked on the unexpected, and, fresh
from the wild North. his mind not op-
Grating In stereotyped channels, he
was able in unusual degree to devise
new tricks and stratagems. And once
he won the advantage, he pressed it
remorselessly. "As relentless as
Red Indian,' was said Of him, and it
was saId truly. -'.assaE,sssnauss.-~ss'
He was free lance, and had
no friendly business associations.
Such alliances as were formea
from time to time wsF3 purely az
fairs Of eSpedieney. and he regarded
his allies as men who would give him
the dauble-cross or ruin him if a
profitable chance presented. In spite
Of this point of view. he was faithful
to his allies. But he was faithful iust
as long as they were and no longer.
The treason had to come from them,
and then it was Ware Daylight.
The business men and hnaaSiers of
the Pacific coast Fever forget the les
son OF Charles Kiintner ind the Cali
| fSrnia & Altamont Trust Company
/ Klinkner was the president. In part
nershi1 With Daylight, The pair rcided
the San jose mteSorban. The power
fpf Lake Power & Electric Lighting
Corporation came to the rescue, and
/ ISlMknee seeing what lie thought was
the oprortanity, went ever 10 the en-
envy in TIE thick OF the pitched battle,
| Day9:9M lost three, millions before he
was E6ne With it, and before he was
done with it he saw the California &:
A.Smont Trust Company hopelessly
! wrecked, and Charles Klinl;ner sui
! side in fetesSs cell.
So It was that Daylight became q
successful Ilnancier. He did not go
in for swindling the workers. Not
only dsa he not have the heart for it.
but IL did not strike him as sporting
proposition. The workers were Sc
easy, so stupid. 1t was more like
slaughtering fat, hand-reared pleas
ants on the English preserves he had
read about. The sport. to him, was
in waylaying the successful robbers
and taking their spoils from them
The grim Yukon life had failed Il
make Daylight hard It required civ
ilization to produce this result. II
the fierce, savage game he now play
ed, his habitual geniality fmper
ceptibly slipped away from him. as dit
his lazy Western drawl.
He still had recrudescenceso OF genial
fly, but they were largely periodical
and forced, and they were usually du,
to the cocktails he took prior to meal
time. In the North he had 'drunl
deeply and at Irregular intervals; bu
! and disciplined. It was an unconsciou
development, but II was based upol
, physical and mental conditions. TIT
cocktails served as an Inhibition
, Without reasoning or thinking abou
: It, the strain OF the office, which wa
essentially due to the daring and au
dacity Of his ventures, required checl
or cessation; and he found, through
: the weeks and months. that the cock
] tails supplied this very thing. The!
/ constituted stone wall. He neve
: drank during the morning, nor In OF
! fee hours; but the instant he left tn,
, ONCE he proceeded 10 rear this wal
| of alcoholic inhibition sathwart hi
consciousness. The once became i'm
, mediately a closed affair. II ceaset
: to exist In the afternoon. after lunch
, 1t lived again FOR one or two hours
| when, leaving It. he rebuilt the wall o
Inhibition. OF course, there were q