Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-07-29
CHAPTER VIII-Continued

ing him. He mad met Governor Del
roy once-the fighting anti-ring gov
ernor, whom the rebellion of the north
insurgents had put in the chair. But
that Delroy remembered him! After
all, with his philandering old News,
had he really done something? He
raised his eyes to see Janet smiling
fondly at him, that old affectiohate Ca
maraderie of days long dead. Harlan
too, smiled 1t was rather droll to con-
slider this obscure country editor as q
contestant against James Hall, one
time his fathers law partner, now one
of the most powerful figures of the
lower house. What, then, was Wiley
Curran in the new civic conscience OF
the state? What hidden forces were
arrayed against the old order, the easy
dominance of property and class to
which privilege had given a sort of
sanctity? He had his first feeling OF
class consciousness, now, with these
challenging friends. And slowly his
thoughts went back to Aurelie, to that
sullen resentful shame with which he
had become aware of his failure to
reconcile his love for her with his
sense of obligation to his parents, their
tradition, breeding, their loves and
hopes for him. This seemed deepest In
him, this abiding sense Of honor to
them, to their gentle birth and the
manners of their kind. There were two
sorts of right, then-the clamor OF
those who fought up to seize the good
of life and the steadfast resolution Of
those who possessed this good and
would hold it against the others. Moth
ing new in the problem; it was the
problem Of democracy. Harlan was
considered an amiable and democratic
young man, yet he could not define
certain reserves in himself and why 1t
was almost impossible to pass these
reserves or admit others to them, al
though they were the common under
standing of cultured people every
where. That was it-this bond of cul-
tured people! And social rebels, polit-
ical rebels; the eternal spirit Of rebel
lion of any sort did not have this, or
cared nothing for 1.-THE rough-and-
tumble of life left little time for its
fneness. That was left to those OF the
established order, an aristocracy to
which, much as he hated the word, he
must belong. That was why he could
actually see Aurelie as the little vul-
garian, after all; of obscure origin and
social gaucherie once she was placed
with people Of his sort. His sense Of
orderliness detested any such thing,
and so, in his cooler moments, he told
himself he did not really love her. She
had touched him with the pathos Of
her love for him, the pathos Of her de-
feated gaiety and courage. the meager-
ness of her life; that was all, he told
himself. He had been sorry for her
yes, that was all. But he wondered at
his anguish and his shame that night
she ran away from him.
His thoughts came back to his
friends in the News Office. In this din
gy shop the sense of social revolt CEN
tered; it was not strange that through
the News, Aurelie had come to this
abominable notoriety; all the things
about Aurelie that would exasperate
Harlan, would merely delight the vag-
abond soul of Wiley Curran. 1t was
no use being angry at Wiley about 1t;
his yellow dog of a paper would mere
ly yelp the louder.
Even now, when Janet Vance and
Arne were trying to compel a mo-
ment's serious thought in Mr.. Curran,
the editor was yawning, "Me-for con-
gress? And you actually think l am
beginning a career? Janet, yesterday
l was kicking away at this old job
press when a drummer blew in here and
tried to sell me q set Of desk stamps.
He was one of those ingratiating
boosters, and as l had my hat on he
thought was about ewtnty-o one. He
set down his case, as / didn't stop
work, and began to tell me how much
good it did him to see young man
fighting away down here to make
start in life.
'T said, Stranger, what you see
here is no start in life; it's flnish!' "
Miss Vance did not smile-at first.
Then, at Wiley's rueful discontinue
she did. But she said sternly: Wiley,
I'm ashamed of you!"
80 am /, Janet" He crossed his
haSEat and
sighed. But I'm growing up-slowly
I know what Arne means. The tramp
tramp of his northmen-the big-limb-
ed students up the hill. And l see his
leaders. too l know what Delroy Is
and means. Good God, l gave my life
to the west!" He sat forward, his eyes
shining. only ii was its poetry and
its epic bigness that got me, not its
outcry of conscience, it's political
idealism. Arne felt that; he brought IL
back to us here in the south. And
know, Janet! Something at last mas
stirred me!"
Arne arose and was winding his big
silver watch. Maybe now you'll get
a hustle on and change the News to a
daily"
THE bank turned me down on that
dinky loan. And when / tried to get II
in Earlville, some mysterious power
blocked me there. know we'll enough;
it's all because of the fight 1 made to
get the town to take the pumping con-
tract away from Thad Tanner and
have a municipal plant
Harlan stirred. His father was d.
rector of the bank. He did not like
Wiley's insinuation; but then his
father did not like Wiley. He MUIR
INJURED some inconsequential badinage
and followed Arne out to where the
student-farmer was bringing his mud
splashed colts to the News horse
block.
"I wish," muttered Arne, you'd get
Wiley into this. He's got a chance
such a big chance for the nomination
It's going to be our year-the young
An oil