Cut Bank pioneer press. [volume] (Cut Bank, Mont.) 1909-current, 1914-12-18

papers put that into your head or"
and he paused significantly, did you
put 1t into the evening papers"
Strickland's laugh was q practical
admission.
"It would mean a hard aght, Elade.
The waterfront crowds against you,
and you can't get on without their
influence"
Not in this town. at least" amend
ed Katherine.
you've got to have Wesley Merritt,
his paper, his highfaluting editorials
and his speechmaking-and his wife,"
Strickland explained. He and his
crowd run the town"
"Oh, you mean my neighborsf"
asked Slade. They'll come around"
he finished; meaningly.
But, man alive! Only today Mer-
ritt's attack on you was scurrilous. /
demonstrated with him myself. He's
your o~ut-and-out enemy. I've tried to
get him-to-to come over and shake
hands, but he swears he'll never cross
your threshold"
II guess they'll come when l wan
EN- to come" Slade interrupted, with
an assurance his auditors could not
understand. "In fact, I'm looking for
'em any minute now" and he consult
ed his watch.
you're looking for them-here-to-
night?" gasped Strickland, showing
plainly he thought Slade was making
a joke of the matter.
yes, tonight" replied the would-be
governor, quietly, and turned to Kath-
crime.
Strickland subsidized, q question
growing in his mind as to whether he
had fully measured the man he expect
ed to use for his own political and
financial ends. There was in SHADES
method of fighting a direct and open
quality that would make him hard to
handle in the crooked and indirect
ways of political life.
Katherine Strickland's eyes mar
rowed as she met SHADES gaze. Her
quick, calculating mind saw In this
man the possibility of realizing her
highest hopes and ambitions. With
such a man a woman could scale any
heights-reach any goal. He was hard
yes! But a man needs to be hard
in these days and times If he is ever
to accomplish anything. In her fer
tile brain smoldered ambitions as
great as his ambitions that she now
realized would never be attained I'M
less she made some great, radical
change in her life.
She had pushed her father as far
as the man would-could go. She
had o~utdistanced every girl in her
circle. She had reached high, but she
had triumphed. Now she was at the
end of her tether. 1t was a matter
of making some one huge stroke or
sinking back into stupid ~obscurity, a
situation all the more bitter because
of her previous successes. The
thought of settling down into the ev-
eryday life of the western city where
she was born made her very soul
squirm. Surely there was something
more in life for her. Surely there
were bigger goals to be gained.
She had never realized how empty
the old home life was until now, when
she suddenly found herself a part of
it again after the brilliant European
season and the stimulating, exciting
life in diplomatic circles at the capital.
The thought of remaining In the West,
a big frog in a little puddle, had
grown positively hateful to her. Big
or little herself, she wanted a big
puddle. She was quite satisfied in her
own mind that no puddle would be so
big that she couldn't become a frog
of considerable size in 1t.
Now, as her restless brain and soul
clamored for higher goals and a wider
field, the thought of SHADES millions,
SHADES dominating, forceful personal.
ity, SHADES reputation for sweeping
everything before him. SHADES prob.
able ~governorship. flashed through her
mind like a burning streak of electric
fire. With him, with his weapons
what a career lay before a woman!
Just as suddenly she found herself
wondering what sort of a woman had
been a mate to this man for SO many
years. She was conscious of a poign
ant pang of envy-jealousy almost
against this woman who had the op
p%ortunity which was denied her.
well, what do you think of your
own country, now you're back?" she
heard SHADES voice saying. "Seen
big to you?"
ITO RE- CONTTNTTEn