Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-11-13

But whyT' the young lawyer asked |
passionately. Such a purpose seems
to me in view OF this stunning revela- !
tion the sheerest insanity. Life. the |
one priceless thing we possess. is too |
short | can see you shoveling coal
through all eternity
"But happen to be going to the
other place" Bivens broke in good ma
turedly.
Stuart looked at the pile of gold a
moment and then at Bivens and said
slowly:
We'll. II you do get there. Cal.
there's one thing certain. the angels
will all have to sleep with their pocket
books under their pillows
Bivens' eyes sparkled and a smile
played about the hard lines of his
mouth In spite OF its doubtful ma
ture he enjoyed the tribute to his
financial genius beneath the banter of
his friends joke. With a gesture Of
conscious dignity he turned TO the
1 table and quietly said:
You will find on this table exactly
s9O.OO00O0 Within an hour you can
examine each division OF coin. stocks
and bonds and bear witness TO the
truth OF my assertions. I'm going to
close that door and leave yon here for
/ an hour"
Alone with all that?"
"Oh. there's only one way ont" Biv.
ems laughed-'through my little recep-
tion room. and III be there I'll meet
! Of no IN
ing. When you are satisfied of the &C
curacy OF my account. just tap on my
door and III join you Immediately. Do
the inspection carefully. It's Of grave
Importance. | shall call on you as a
witness by and by before that group
of newspaper men"
When Stuart had satisfied himself of
the accuracy OF the count, he stood
gazing at the queer looking piles of
yellow metal and richly tinted paper.
stunned by the attempt to realize the
enormous power over men which it
represented. When the huge pile
should thrill with life at the touch of
the deft fingers of the master who
could grasp its stunning force in hui
man affairs. who could tell its posi-
bilitiesI
The age of materialiSm had dawned
and the new age knew but one god.
whose temple was the market place
wave of bitterness swept his spirit
and for the first time he questioned for
the briefest moment whether he had
missed the way in life. Only for a
moment. and then the feeling passed
and in its place slowly rose "a sense OF
angry resentment against Bivens and
all his tribe. When the little swarthy
figure suddenly appeared in the door
way his soul was in arms for the
struggle he knew coming.
Well. you found I've not made &
mistaken"
NO To put it mildly. you will moi
be forced TO apply to the charity bu
reau for any outside help this year"
You have counted S90.0O0.O00 there
AS | told you awhile ago. I've just be
gun. I've schemes on foot that circle
the globe I've made up my mind Il
have you with me. We won't discuss
terms now-that's a mere detail-tht
thing is for US to get at the difference:
hardest things you can think. | under
stand"
My opinion. Cal. OF your business
methods are known TO every one. The!
. say that the warriors of the Dakot;
Indians used to eat the heart of ,
fallen foe TO increase their courage
Your business methods haven't mad,
much progress beyond this stage, so ia
as can see"
Bivens stroked his silken beard witt
a nervous. puzzled movement and said
: The passion for money. money 70
its own sake. right or wrong. is tn
motive power of the modern world
That's why laugh at my critics ant
sneer at threats | am secure becaus
I've built my career on the biggest fac
Of the century"
But" Stuart broke in. You don
live. You are engaged in an endles
fight, desperate. cruel. mercenary-fO
] what?"
=. The game. man. the gamer
Game? What game? To crush an
Kill for the mere sake of doing it. as
: sheep killing dog strangles fifty lamb
in a night for the fun of hearing theI
bleatF'
i But. jim" the little financier pre-
tested. 81 don't make men as they arr
nor did | make conditions"
You are a wrecker and not
. builder"
But is that trueT Bivens intel
rupted eagerly. I'm organizing tn
industries of the world. hav
furthered the progress Of humanity"
= Yes. in a way you have. And
the price of goods continues to ris
for another ten years as it has durin
the past ten under your organizing tn
human race will be compelled to max
still further progress. They will hav
= TO move TO another planet. Nobod
but a millionaire can live on this ont
A day Of reckoning is bound to com,
But a millionaire dies every day. NJ
body knows. Nobody cares Is sue
a life at it's best worth living? An
e yours is never at its best. You can
eat much. You don't sleep we'll an
I you can't live beyond fifty-ive."
! Don't talk nonsense. Jim; I'll liv
as long as you"
q And VET Won rurn male when sDea