Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-12-03

Geological moment had arrived when
Abbott, stung and bitter, might be in
duced to detail his relations with the
saloon keeper. This would put Flan-
merry In a hole-perhaps in cell-and
that would smirch the Mayor Older
rose in his stirrups like the remorseiess
strategist he was, and through ms eol-
torial columns winded a long. LOUD cay
to the man hunt; then secretly tooA
the trail himself, going with MS usual
stop-at-rothing rate of speed.
Hot on tho Blood Trail.
wav was instantly found to reach
Abbott with his proposal: oonie
through on Flannery and l Will use
my influence to get you out Oh yum
present trouble"
Late in the day Abbott's release on
bail. a party of five persons, arriVins
in a motor car coated with the dust
of many miles, registered under as
s,,med names at q small resort hotei
folded deep in a crack of the noun
tains far from any beaten track.
Four of these persons were Joe ABB
DOH, his Wiz ICi SioNSib eiiN 49,
ter,s husband; the fifth was Fremont
Older For weeks upon end the edi-
tor did not visit his office, but spent
the time in daily, hourly Intimacy
with the bunko man and his compan-
ions, with the sole object of holding
Abbott Of fixed mind till he could tes-
tify against Flannery. AS human be-
ings, as individuals, Older had not
the slightest interest in these people.
They We're pawns upon his board. His
every attention was a part Of that
Interior purpose which all but un-
masked itself when he went so far as
Gaol"
But his attitude changed. Shut
away from all other society," talking,
walking, reading with these folks, he
began to be interested in them upon
their own account. To his surprise
they appeared no different clay from
other folk. As matter of fact, OF
course, only one of them was GRIM
inal, but the others were his init
mate relations, and to Older's mind,
and no doubt to their own, they CO.
group. They seemed. if anything diff
ferent, more sensitive. moro sympa-
thetic, more appreciatiye even more
trustful, once their confidence was
gained, than the common run. ri
The Man Helper Is Born. ~
This struck older with all the force
of great surprise. He tried reading
Emerson to them, and they liked It,
shifted to Tolstoy, and they liked
that. AS discussions resulted and
they disclosed themselves more free
ly, he discovered that they loved the
world and wished 1t well; that they
had even a code of morals, although
they weighed some acts with tricky
| balances and measured some conse-
quences with an elastic rule.
I told you Older was a man who
went to lengths. In n1arvelotisiy
short time he had conceived an af-
lection for this quartet had lost sight
of his main point-to hold Abbott
straight for, the witness box and the
story that would damn Flannery-
and begun to concern himself with
clarifying Abbott's moral perceptions
and inducing in him a desire to re-
take his place in honest society. He
succeeded. Abbott struck palms with
him while his wife sobbed out her
joy By becoming a State witness
against Flannery, Abbott escaped
prosecution for his own crime. and is
today an orchardist in a Rocky Noun
tain State. and growing better fruits
| than his trees. ''-A T ~