The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1913-03-19
IR IHII lESlEE
lt.ontinued lrolu Yeslerday.l

NouStu&e~L NOuIQH accept HSIp
Of that sort. lin not reduced to so
Letting charity yet. guess i'd pre-
fer the river 70 that. But II you hear
Of anything, keep me in mind"
The athlete made no response. He
was apparently lost in thought wheA
suddenly he blurred out:
Say, Jefrles, you haven't got any
money, have yoyl--say. a couple OF
thousand doIIars?"
Howard stared at the QuestIoner as
II he doubted his sanity.
Two Thousand dollars!" he gssped
DO you suppose that I'd be wearing
out shoe leather looking for u Job
If had s2.OoO?"
Coke looked disappointed as he re-
piled:
"Oh. Of course, understand you
haven't it on you only !, thought you
might be able TO raise It."
why do yOu ask?" inquired How
ard. his curiosity aroused.
Coke looked around to see II any
one was listening. Then In whis'
per he said: .
Its cinch. If you Had $4,000
you and. ] could make snug little
fortune. Don't you understand? In
my office get tips. I'm on the inside.
know In advance what the big men
are going to do, When they start to
move a certain stock up, I'm on the
job. Understand? II you had $4,000
could raise as much, aud we'd pool
our capital. starting in the business
0MrSelves-On small scale, OF course
II we hit It right we might make Il
nice income"
towards month watercd. Certain
ly that was the kind OF life he liked
best. The fevcriSh excitement OF
gambling, the close association with
rich men, the promise Of luxurious
style OF living-all this appealed to
him strongly But what was the use
Where could he get $4,000? He
couldn't go to his father. He shook
his head.
I'm afraid not old sport" he said
as they left the saloon and he held
out his hand TO say good-by. but III
bear It in mind, and if things improve,
I'll look you ZIP. So long"
Climbing YEARLY up the dirty stairs
Of the elevated railroad. he bought q
ticket with one Of the few nickels re-
naming in his pocket. and taking a
seat in a n0rthbound train started on
his trip back to Harlem.
The day. was overcast, rain threat-
encd. a pail Of mingled smoke and
mist hung over tn" entire city. From
the car window as the train wound
its scrpentine course in and out the
maze Of grimy Offices. shops and tene'
nentS. everything appeared drab,
dirty and S0WalM. New York was
seen at its ugliest Ensconced in q
cross-seat. his chin leaning heavily
an Ills hand Howard gazed dejectedly
ont Of the. window. The depressing
outlook was in keeping with hiS own
state Of mind.
How would the adventure end?
Reconciliation with his father was out
Of the question. Letters sent home
remained without response. lie
wasn't surprised. He knew his pateT
too we'll to expect that he would re-
lent so soon. Resides. II the old man
was 40 informally proud. he'd show
him he had some pride. too, He'd
drown himself before he'd go down on
his knees, whining to be forgiven. His
father was dead wrong, anyway. His
marriage might have been foolish );
Annie might be beneath him socially.
She was not educated and her father
wasn't any better than he ought to
he. She did not talk correctly, her
manners left much to be desired, at
times he was secretly ashamed Of her.
But her bringing up was her miSfor'
tune, not her fault The girl herself
was straight rs a die. She had a
heart Of gold. She was far more in
tcligent, far more likely to make
him happy home than some stuck
up, idle society girl who had no
thought for anything save money,
dress and show. Perhaps II he had
been less honorable and not married
her, his father would have thought
more highly Or him. II he'd ruined
the girl. no doubt he would have been
welcomed home with open arms.
pshaw! He might he Il poor weak
rooI. but thank God. they couldn't re-
proach him with that. Annie had been
LOYAL to him throughout. He'd stick
to her through thick and thin.
As the train swept round the curve
AT Firty.third street anE started on its
Long, straight run up the West side,
his mind reverted to Robert Under
wood. lie had seen his old associate
only once since leaving college. lie
ran across him one day on Fifth ave
me, Underwood was coming out OF
a curio shop lie explained mrredly
that he had left Yale; and when asked
about his future plans talked vaguely
Of going in for art His matter was
fyisid and nervouS-the attitude OF
the man who fears he may he APP
preached for small loan. lie was
evidently well aware OF the change in
his old associates fortunes, and hav-