The Washington times., 1913-12-23
THE HOUR OF CONFLICT
By A. Hamilton-Gibbs esRZE las By Frank Mgesy ee3
Of .Cheade & Son
Ccopyright. 1913. BY Frank A. Munsey Coz

| the ROAD, Dltliig on his cigar his hdiios
deep in his pockets. looking about him
restlessly. Everything he wore was
4 stamped with a strong personality. Lit
/ tie details caught the eye; such things
as the arrangement of buttons on his
coat, the way in which he knotted. his
| tie and did his hair: the pattren Of his
| shirt, the design on his stockings.
All these minute points appealed to
you Immediately. They were well
| thought out. right; and when coupled
TO his robust length and breadth,
approved of him at once: And yet, in
| spite of all these things. there was
| something about him which made you
| hesitate.
Was it his manner? Was ir the ex-
preston in his eyes, Wnaaecer T ce,,,dn,t Il , bs
! quite so sure whether you liked him or
As he went along the lonely road
with the sea mumbling to itself on IN
| ing in the mashy pools on his rtsht
| III q young man, little more than ooy
| was in a very curious frame OF mind
He had come into. the world un.
wanted, almost, as II were the result
of an accident. His mother refused tt
| have anything to do with him from the
moment of his birth, hating him FOL
having given her SO much pain anc
, spelling SO many months OF her me
! She held that her husband had not kept
| faith with her. , 9,
The marriage had been one in which
love had no place. She was young ano
he was very old, and IL was marriage
of fnanee. She had Tar too much to
She had never expected a child. Why,
then, should this surprising brat nave
been allowed to upset all her arrange
ments? 1t was unspeakable!
II his mother grudged him his exist;
| ence, his equally amazed father looked
, upon him as an intolerable interference
The whole incident was very regret.
table but, after all. there 1t was! And
he shrugged his shoulders and thought
whether the child lived or died was
Of small account. There was a nurse
She understood babies-or she was sup
posed to; otherwise why were they pay
Eng her? The nurse, crotchety, bad
never to have had children under her
fcare, caught the attitude of the father
and mother and neglected the unlucky
infant without any fear Of consequences.
She dangled the parents like sword
of Damocles over the boys head, telling
him what horrible things they would do
to him II he were naughty. 1t was the
quickest way she knew to stop him
crying.
isters, he hardly ever saw his father
and mother, and II ever he was un-
lucky enough to meet them on the
stairs, they either swept by. without
taking any notice, or looked at him
When the time came for him to 60 to
school, he was naturally sent to a good
one. 1t would not have been the thing
for a Leyden to go to the wrong place.
and, since he was a factor I'm their ex-
~ -,,t
sooner or later. let him be at least
civilized.
Everard had never felt any of that
much despised thing called home infiu-
ence. The word mother" meant only
unpleasant things to him. He had never
felt that last tender kiss which colors
the whole OF a child's days, the men,
ory Of which remains with him to the
very end.
troubles in two soft arms which held
him tight and safe from all his fears.
He had never romped and made noises
about the house to his hearts content.
There had never been a mothers knee
at which to say his prayers at night
He had never heard of God-except as
an expression of anger on the part of
the butler.
He knew nothing until he went to
school, one of the best" schools. and
cluded in the curriculum. things which
real mothers and fathers warn their
children about and tell them how to
avoid. He got through with some ves-
tiges of self-respect left him because
ne had a habit of letting out right and
the fact that he was somewhat bigger
than most boys of his age helped him.
When he came home for the holidays
with a new outlook upon life. he saw
IN, ,Iah rf,fx
zled him; and, although at the time he
did not understand. they remained IN
his memory. He heard his mother send
the same maid out for drugs once or
twice 4 week, when, to all appearances
she was bright-eyed and well. He
noticed that his fathers hair changed
color at the roots, and that he leaned
more and more heavily upon his stick.
Extraordinary people came in and out
at all hours Of the day and night, I'M
peasant looking men who Jeff smell
of scent In the passages. women who
wore wonderful clothes and laughed
very loudly.
II was a strange medley of inpres-
sions that the boy got in that curious
home which at times had n creepy ef-
feet and he preferred being at school.
where at least there were things to do
and he could fend for hinsett He took
an impish pride in knowing the weak
spots of every one of the masters with
whom he came in contact, and with in
finite pains discovered to Just what
lengths he could go with each one.
Among the boys he made few friends.
They disliked his sarcastic tongue, and
when he passed on to Oxford. as mat
ter of course. hone of them looked him
up. They were content to let him drop
out.
When this important milestone-fn his
life was reached. Everard was about
as complete a specimen Of paganisU as
II was possible to find. Such religious
teaching as the school gave seemed to
him merely a confused jargon of nom
sonsical rubbish which no person Of any