River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1913-07-31


the paper, said somewhat petulantly:
"Oh, of course" and hesitatingly
signed it.
Nov, Hennessey," said Jennings.
carefully placing the paper In long
pocketbook he drew from the region
of his left hip.
Hennessey held the bag out toward
the secretary of state.
NO" said Jennings, who was pour
| ing himself drink. give it to the
gineral."
The attorney general took the bag
and opened it. Inside were four big
bundles of bank bills He lifted them
out Each bundle was composed of
ten smaller packages, held by rubber
bands, and each package was bound
with pink paper strap neatly pinned
and marked five hundred" He
counted and replaced the packages in
the bag. Then taking his coat and
hat, he turned to Jennings and said:
well, let's be gone"
| The secretary of state rolled his
head toward the attorney general,
waved his long arm and tapped his
hand fin-like at him, and said:
We'll wait here, Mike and me. You
won't need u.s."
The attorney general scowled and
then went out, accompanied only by
1 the assistant state treasurer. Hurry
ing down Capitol avenue, Grigsby shiv-
cred, glancing up dark alleys.
The clock In the hall of the execu-
tive mansion had struck the half-hour
after midnight, and the governor was
descending the stairs in gray bath
robe and slippers. The old house
was dark and still Even the room oc-
cupied by Gilman, who should, at that
hour, have been reading the maya
zines in bed, showed no light. The
governor, softly treading, entered the
! library. The last embers of the fire
were smoldering. The governor light
ed the lamp, and in the circle of soft
| light it spread on the library table, he
bent over a book, his glasses on his
nose, their cord hanging down into
| his lap It was not The Thoughts or
Marcus Aurelius 1t was the second
volume Of The Revised Statutes of ILL
nois, stupid work which many men
consult laboriously, far into the night.
He softly rustled over the leaves un-
! til he found chapter one hundred and
| thirty. He ran his finger down the
pages till it stopped at section six
teen. And then he read very slowly:
"In case of the death of the treasurer,
it shall be the duty of such governor
to take possession of the office of such
! treasurer and cause the vaults there
of to be closed and securely locked.
and so remain until" He read the
words again, and again third time,
and yet again.
He closed the book, put out the
lamp and slowly felt his way back up
the stairs.
Ten minutes later he descended
again, and cropping in the hall, drew
a greatcoat over his broad shoulders,
covered his head with the SLOUGH hat
he wore when he went down into
southern Illinois, and let himself out
of the wide front door. The asphalt
driveway that filings its long curve
through the grounds of the guberna-
torial residence from Fifth street to
Fourth, cleaned like the surface OF
river at night. The rain no longer fell,
but the trees dripped dismally. Across
the low night sky black clouds were
flying. The governor walked down the
driveway to the big iron gates at
Fourth street, whose watered surface
as far as he could see, wavered under
the electric lights at the crossings.
The governor turned at Jackson
street and walked down the sleeping
little avenue toward Second street.
Below a low brown house trickling It's
caves behind two sentinel cedars, he
walk, and pulled the white bell-knob.
The bell tangled harshly upon the
sleeping stiffness. The jangling trem-
bled away. He rang again. There
was a reluctant stir within and a
voice, 2 scared woman's voice, said:
who's there?"
"The governor" he responded. rs
Mr. Mendenhall at homer"
The woman slid back bolts and
opened the door circumspectly. She
thrust out towsled head and shout
ders wrapped In shawl. The gov
ernor heard a baby's cry. The wom-
ans teeth chartered with nervousness
and the cold.
''No. sir; he hasn't got in yet"
The governor thanked her and
turned away The woman opened the
door wide and watched him as he
retreated down the moist brick walk
At the street he paused. Then he
turned on toward Second street. The
woman closed the door, and her key
grated in the lock.
The governor strobe on into Second
street, past the residence of the
bishop of Springfield, standing behind
white pillars deep in it's naked grove,
past st. Agatha's seminary sleeping in
its gloom, until he reached the state
house. The brooding building doomed
above him. dark and dour, heaving
It's great gray dome into the grim
night. Huge granite pillars lifted
themselves above him, he was lost in
| the shades of the left portico He
unlocked and pushed open the heavy
door. The great marble corridors
were dark and echoed to the touch
of his heel upon the stones. In the
wide rotunda, under the enormous
dome. thick with billowing gloom,
janitor, the peoples solitary night
watch, slept profoundly in his chair,
/ L. 70 r.