River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1915-12-09
GBoZALLgfTI Id
2YGEORGE RANDOLPH QLTST[R-
and LILLIAN CHESTER w.
1 1%S$s5 200, ILLUSTRATED @~CDRHODES
ILLUSTRATED &C.D.RHODES

| swiftly place him last. Her Uncle
Jim? Too hot-headed. Her Aunt
Grace? Too inexperienced. Her Aunt
Helen? Too conventional. Lucille,
Ted, Dick? She laughed. Arly?
| There was a knock at the door. and
Arly herself appeared.
Selfish" chided Arly. Were all
wanting you"
That's comforting" smiled Gail.
Il have just been being all alone in
the world, on the most absolutely de-
serted island of which you can con-
ceive. Arly, sit down. want to tell
you something"
The black hair and the brown hair
cuddled close together, while Gail, her
tongue once loosened, poured out IN
torrent all the pent-up misery which
| had been accommodating within her for
the past tempestuous weeks; and
Arly, her eyes glistening with the ex-
element Of it all, kept her exclama-
tons of surprise and fright and indig-
nation and horror, and everything
else, strictly to Auch low monosyl-
tables as would not impede the gasp
ing narration.
I'D like to kill him!" said Arly, in
low voice of startling intensity, and
jumping to her feet she paced up
and down the confines of the little
stateroom. Among all the other sur
prises of recent events, there was none
more striking than this vast change IN
the usually cool and sarcastic Arly,
who had not, until her return from
Calls home, permitted herself an emo
ton in two years.
"The only way in which that person
can be prevented from attacking your
Uncle Jim, which would be his first
step, is to attack him before he can
do anything" said Arly, pacing up and
down, her fingers clasped behind her
slender back, her black brows knotted,
her graceful head bent toward the
floor
"He is too powerful" protested Gail.
"That makes him weak" returned
Arly quickly. I'm every great power
there is one point of great weakness.
Tell me again about this tremendously
big world monopoly"
Patiently, and searching her mem
DRY for details, Gail recited over again
all which Allison had told her about
his wonderful plan of empire; and
even now. angry and Inundated and
terror-stricken as she was, Gail could
not repress a feeling of admiration for
the bigness of it. 1t was that which
had impressed her in the beginning.
ITS wonderful, commented ArIy,
catching trace of that spirit of the
exultation which hangs upon the un-
folding of fairyIand; and she began to
pace the floor again. why, Gail, it is
the most colossal piece of thievery the
world has ever known!" And she
walked in silence for time THAT is
the thing upon which we can attack
him. We are going to stop it,
Gail rose, too.
"HoW?" she asked. "Arly, we
couldn't, just we two girls!"
why not?" demanded Arly, stop
ping in front of her. ANY plan like
that must be SO full of criminal crook
edness that exposure alone is enough
to put an end TO it."
Exposure" faltered Gail, and
struggled automatically with life
long principle. 1T was told to me in
confidence"
Arly looked at her in establishment.
81 could shake you," she declared,
and instead put her arm around Gail.
did that person betray no confidence
when he came to your uncle's house
this morning! Moreover, he told you
this merely to OveraWe you with the
glitter of what he had done. He made
that take the place of love! Conf.
dcnce! I'll never do anything with
so much pleasure in my life as to be-
tray yours right now! If you don't
expose that person, l will! If there's
any way we can damage him, l in
tend to see that it is done; and if
there's any way after that to damage
him again and again, want to do it,"
For the first time in that miserable
day, Gail felt thrill of hope, and
Arly, at that moment, had, to her, the
aspect of a colossal figure, an angel
of brightness in the night of her de-
spair! She felt that she could afford
to sob now, and she did it.
do you suppose that would save
Uncle Jim?" she asked, when they had
both finished highly comforting time
together.
1T will save everybody" declared
Arly.
81 hope So" pondered Gail. But
we can't do it ourselves, Arly. Whom
shall we get to help us?"
The smile on Arly's face was a posi-
tive illumination for a moment, and
then she laughed.
Gerald" she replied You don't
know what dear he isl" and she rang
for a cabin boy.
CHAPTER XVI.
Gerald FcSIand Makes a Speech,