The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1914-11-27


| memorandum: 20 cali up the Todd hos
pital. From the hospital he received
word that Mrs. Whiting had gone to
Rose alley and asked him to follow
her. Some one was dying. He did
not wait for dinner, hut hailing cab,
set out on another journey to Rose
alley
He stumbled hastily up the gloomy
staircase to Romans door and raped
| lightly. 1t was opened by s1 upkeMit
foreign woman, doubtless ne,ghbcg,
and he entered. Save for her tte
kitchen was empty. But by the light
of a smoky lamp that stood on the
table near an inner door, he saw g
group dimly outlined. On narrow
bed lay huge dropeical figure, SEEM
ing to Mark already dead. The Matka,
more faded than ever, sat at the dy-
| ing mans side, motionless as he. her
gaze fixed rigidly upon him.
Thank you for coming" Kazia said.
-f'm glad you sent for me. Is there
anything can do?"
Yes, get Piotr. He went away early
this morning and doesn't know. 1t
was very sudden. You'll probably find
him at" She named a corner a mile
or more distant. "He makes speeches
there every evening"
| The cab came to halt at a corner
where many people passed. A small
changing crowd had gathered around
man who from his soap box ha-
rangued them. He preached gospel
that, beginning with germ of love,
had grown In him into creed of hate.
1t was rambling incoherent ha-
rangue, full of bitter denunciation and
vague generalities that never came to
a point-the grotesque but pitiful out
| pouring of feeble mind obsessed by
a sense of injury real or fancied and
cracking under the effort to inoculate
others with its venom. Mark listened
a moment.
"The man must be mad" he thought
pitifully.
Piotr in his ramblings came to the
late strike. He began roll call of
the masters OF the Quinby company
Quinby himself, Henley, Higsbee,
Hare
"And Truitt!- The hoarse voice be-
came, If that we're possible, even more
bitter. He fairly writhed as he shrieked
out his charges. "Truitt the wife
beater! The rounder! With his
women" For several minutes he
raved on, RECALLING his audience with
an array of disgusting but apocryphal
details of Truths life that to his dis
eased fancy must have become proved
facts.
go tell him to come here" Mark
ordered the cabman. Tell him his
father is dying"
Jaw, HE'LL" growled big Irishman
in the crowd, audible even to the cab.
Shut up! Truths tn only wan av tn
lot wild BOWLS t him."
"Fool-fool!" Piotr shook clenched
fists at the Irishman. Are you taken
in because he tried to stop the strike?
Who was he working for then, you or
Quinby? Where was he when Hen
: ley's strike breakers came to steal
your jobs and shoot down your women?
Where was his money when your
children were starving for bread?
, Where"
: But the cabman had reached him
with Marks message. For a moment
} Piotr stared stupidity, trying to take
! in it's meaning. Then he uttered a
: wild piercing cry
7 "Dying!" He leaned toward the
crowd, hands and face twitching in his
7 frenzy. my fathers dying, but he
can wait while l tell you about this
7 Truitt. When he was starting out
7 he came to our house, because my
father took pity on him. My father
loved him, better than he did his own
son. He watched over him, cared for
? him, taught him all he knew of his
! trade. Then the old man broke. He
wouldn't have been old anywhere else
. but he had burned himself up trying
/, to make Quinby's furnace bells pay.
They threw him out, of course-and
1 Truitt took his job. Truitt-partner
: of Quinby! The old mans heart broke.
r Then his mind gave way. And now
Q he's dying-do you know where? In
Rose alley!"
: The crowd had become very still.
" To them, too, the tragedy that tor.
tured the mailman was clear; infinite
:, repetition could not take away its bit.
!. terness.
s And that isn't all" The emotional
Q delirium reached its climax I'm that
house was girl-just an ignorant
/ Hunky girl but the kind men love. And
g Truitt made love to her. But when he
s left US, he left her, too-another
y broken heart! To forget him she mar.
ried a worthless rummy she had to
4 leave. Then she went out into the
v city to make her own living-you
know the fight and the price women
= must pay or go down. And she-the
J. girl he wouldn't take up with him
o she paid"
h Bewilderment choked back the
It stream of words. For man-whose
q pallor was not due to the garish arc
a lamp-had leaped from the cab and
was elbowing a way swiftly toward
!" him. The crowd fell back to let the
d man through, then pressed closer