Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1914-08-13

staring at slip. OF paper he had drawn
from the yellow envelope. you re-
member this. Andrew" he asked
abruptly.
Merry nodded. He caught glimpse
Of Wentworth's name and his own
upon the flimsy thing they had called
the bond. Enoch leaned back against
the pillow and began to destroy the
paper with slow elaboration. tearing
1t across and across until 1t was re-
duced to a heap OF fakes which flut-
tered down into the hollow OF his
gaunt palm. He shook them into the
envelope and handed 1t to Merry. who
took 1t without a word and slipped
1t between the leaves Of the bank
book.
If you can trust me, Boy, until the
right time comes and reach the right
place, / will make full restitution be-
fore the world"
Don't, old man, let us bury this
now and forever. Good God! isn't 1t
restitution enough to have saved my
life?"
no." Enoch spoke with swift pas
sion, mo, 1t isn't restitution. Don't
stand in my way. You have to humor
sick men, you know. Besides, want
to lay my soul bare to you now. An
drew. Had / been a Catholic should
have done 1t to a priest long ago. ]
suppose"
Go. ahead, Enoch, I'll listen." he
said gently.
Wentworth turned in bed and
clasped his hands around one bent
knee. Years ago." he began brus-
quely, II was wandering about in the
Tennessee mountains on an assign
ment when l fell in with a chap who
taught psychology in Yale. He was
nothing wonderful, but his science was
fascinating. Time and again. since
those days, have planned. II / could
find the leisure, to go into psychology
and study the thing out Still. any
man who knocks about the world as
l have done learns to puzzle things
out for himself There must be some
thing alluring, though, to be able to
reduce the promptings OF ones own
soul to a science and then to work out
q problem In yourself. Don't you
think so?"
II should imagine SO. Still, it's an
unopened book to me-" Merry admit
ted.
I'VE used to sit and talk every night
around the campfire. / remember once
this young MacGregor explained TO
me why q man we had both known
committed murder. He killed his
wife first, then. horror.stricken, shot
himself. It's q common enough story,
you read It in the papers every day
of the week, but It came close to us
because we had both known the fellow
well. He was a decent, quiet, cheerful
citizen, with genial, kindly way
about him. His taking OF seemed q
mystery. None OF us had even seen
him angry. Suddenly he turned into
a flaming fiend, murderer, and a sui
eide. Nothing but insanity or the
Yale. mans theory explained IT,"
What was his theory?"
wentworth paused for q minute with
a haunted look in his eyes. He claims
that the morals of every human being
are nodded during the first twenty
years Of his life. Into q fairly decent
career there comes occasionally-for
the life Of me can't remember his
technical name for I'll should call II
n moral lesion. Some sin which man
has committed, and you might say
lived down, before he was twenty.
crops out again years after and 1t
conouers him. Each time he may
repent and turn over q new leaf The
world looks on him not as an Admir-
able Crichton perhaps, but as toler-
ably good fellow. Then suddenly.
without the ghost Of a warning, even
after he imagines he has outgrown the
tendency to that particular sin. there
comes a temptation, and he goes under
as II his backbone was gristle. He falls
as quick a. that!"
wentworth paused for q moment
and snapped his fingers. Curious.
isn't TT" he added.
ut certainly is curious" agreed
Merry.
"When the career Of this murderer
was brought to the light Of day, they
found that once when he was school
boy. and again, when q friend stole his
sweetheart, he might have committed
murder II q weapon had been At hand.
The third time q gun lay close 70 his
elbow"
Andrew Merry did not speak but
sat watching Enoch with bewilderment
In his eyes.
Il am going to tell you about two
LESSONS which occurred In my own hfe
There was a third-you know about
that one yourself"