The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1914-02-19
\ with PHOTOGRAPHS FROM SCENES N TT PLAY

~ coem
Wall strese o@wod nothing. for when
hs went down to go his friends there
his courage failed entirely and instead
of asking them to ind a place for him
he bought them, one by one, expensive
luncheons.
He went to nadghboring cities, hop
ing there to md some means OF get
ting food to eat without getting it on
credit, and there he had some strange
experiences which lasted several days.
But, while he Just escaped the uniform
of the Salvation Army, he did not find
work and wandered back to Broadway,
the apartment and more debt.
He had no profession, knew no
trade. Half erased with the obsession
that he must no longer run in debt,
he decided to sell out the fiat, dis
charge the servants and do mental
labor. Running through the list Of
his abilities he decided, with frank
'self-contempt, that about the best
which he could do was help in hotel
as bellboy. He knew too little about
mathematics to keep books; he never
would succeed az desk-clerk. But he
could not bring himself to try to get
q Job of that sort-it would too often
bring him into contact with the folk
he knew.
One afternoon, while wandering in
- a yn1o af1 or 10
saw card in front Of an apartment
house announcing that an elevator boy
was wanted. He rushed in with alac-
rity and Northumberland at the
very threshold met Mrs. Gerard, who
had been calling on friend there. In
stead Of asking for the job he took
drive with her.
It was while this drive progressed
that the sordid. vicious tempter def
nitely seized him In his tolls. The an
cient but vivacious dame was very
affable-most agreeable indeed. She
was not motherly; she was flirtatious.
And she accompanied her c0quetry by
a shrewd exposition of the magnitude
of her unquestionably enormous
wealth. It staggered him.
If he had not at the moment had a
simple little Josie Richards letter in
/ his pocket he might have been swept
under. A thousand times he had dis
covered the necessity Of assuring him
self, as he travelled up and down
Broadway, that he did not care for
Josie Richards. She was not the sort
Of girl who captivated one who knew
life as he knew It; she was dear, but
she was simple, unsophisticated and
what he most admired was wide So
phistication; he thought as little Of
her as he could, but now she popped
into his mind and made him edge away
from the aged, wealthy widow.
When he went back to the fiat he
found awaiting him new sheafs of
bills, none pressing him-mere state
ments. The rumor had not started
that he was not good pay. Broadway
still delighted In him, still endeavored
to induce him to accept its credit. This
gave him new distress; he knew him
self-he knew he would go out that
night and run more debts.
Suddenly he knew what to do. It
came to him without an effort of the
brain. It was a tragic inspiration.
Without word to Rankin, stealthily
and secretly, he went forth into the
afternoon in his smart runabout, still
driven by the taxi-cabman, who now
regarded him with something akin to
worship, and sought gunshop and a
chemists.
In the former he made purchase of q
large, grim, blued-steel automatic pis-
tol Of the largest caliber they had in
stock, and secured one box of cart.
ridges. It seemed waste of money,
which by rights was definitely the
property of creditors, to buy 50 many
cartridges, for he should need but one!
However, he feared that to ask for one
would pin attention to him and frus-
trate what he had in mind, so he put
the heavy box into his pocket. It
made 1t sag outrageously, which very
much annoyed him. No man on
Broadway was more careful of his
clothes But what, after all, did a
sagged pocket matter now?
At the chemists he secured an ounce
Of bichloride Of mercury, which had
been fashionable of late among smart
suicides. He had no difficulty in OBJ
tanning it. This .eased him and a fur
ther satisfaction grew out of the fact
that though 1t held potentialities as
deadly as the automatic gun and cart
ridges could hold 1t made a little pack
age. not heavy in the least, and so
did not sag the other pocket, where he
placed 1t very carefully.
AS he whirled uptown In the run
about he frequently felt of the deadly
things.
He liked the feel of neither Of them.
The revolver was 80 hard and bust
ness-like, the pill bottle was so slip