Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1913-10-02
CHAPTER xxxvl.

The Man Within and the Man Without.
An instant of silence, during which
the two men eyed each other; then.
Sweetwater, with an ironicaI smile
directed towards the pistol, lightly re-
marked:
Mr.. Challoner and other men at the
hotel are acquainted with my purpose
and await my return. | have come"
here he cast glowing look at the
huge curtain cutting off the greater
portion Of the illy-lit interior-..to of
fer you my services, Mr.. Brotherson.
have no other motive for this intru-
sion than to be of use, I am deeply
interested in your invention, to the
development of which / have already
lent some aid, and can bring to the
test you purpose a sympathetic help
which you could hardly find In any
other person living
The silence which settled down at
the completion Of these words had a
weight which made that of the previ-
GUS moment seem light and all athrob
with sound The man within had not
yet caught his breath; the man with
out held his, in an anxiety which had
little to do with the direction of the
weapon, into which he looked. Then
an owl booted far away in the forest
and Orlando, slowly lowering his arm,
asked in an oddly constrained tone:
How long have you been in town 2"
The answer cut clean through any
lingering hope he may have had.
Ever since the day your brother
was told the story of his great mis-
fortune"
"Ah! still at your old tricks! I
thought you had quit that business as
improbable"
Il don't know. / never expect quick
returns. He who holds on for a rise
sometimes reaps unlooked-for profits"
The arm and fist of Orlando Broth
ierson ached to hurl this fellow back
into the heart of the midnight woods.
But they remained quiescent and he
spoke instead:
Il have buried the business. You
will never resuscitate it through me-"
Sweetwater smiled. There was no
mirth in his smile though there was
lightness in his tone as he said:
Then let US go back to the matter
in hand. You need a helper; where
are you going to find one If you don't
take me?"
A growl from Brotherson's set lips.
Never had he looked more dangerous
than IL the one burning instant follow
ing this daring repetition of the de-
tective's outrageous request. But as
he noted how slight was the figure OPP
posing him from the other side Of the
threshold, he was swayed by his nat
ural admiration of pluck in the physi-
cally weak, and lost his threatening
attitude, only to assume one which
Sweetwater secretly found it even
harder to meet
You are fool" was the singing
remark he heard flung at him "Do
you want to play the pelice-officer
here and arrest me in mid air?"
sMr. Brotherson, you understand me
as little as l am supposed to under
stand you Humble as my place is in
society and, l may add, in the depart
ment whose interests / serve, there
are in me two men, One you know
passably well-the detective whose
methods, only indifferently clever,
show that he has very much to learn.
OF the other-the workman acquaint-
ed with hammer and saw, but with
some knowledge too of higher mathe-
MATES and the principles upon which
great mechanical inventions depend,
you know little. and must imagine
much. was playing the gawky when
] helped you in the old house in
Brooklyn. / was interested in your
airship-Oh recognized it for what it
was, Notwithstanding it's oddly and
lack of ostensible means for flying
but / was not caught in the whirl OF
its idea; the idea by which you doubt
less expect, and with very good reason
too, to revolutionize the science Of
aviation. But since then I've been
thinking it over, and am SO filed with
your own hopes that either | must
have o hand in the finishing and sail
ing Of the one you have yourself con-
structed, or go to work myself on the
hints you have unconseiously given
&pe, and make a car of my own"
Audacity often succeeds where
ubtler means fail. Orlando, with
Ecurious twist Of his strong lip, took