The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1915-07-16

Ho. bul, ioI ai lHdt, ne ueSpllcu
them-justif!ably SO. no doubt, if one
bears in mind the fact that they signi-
fled more to James Brood than did
his ong-neglected son.
The cold reserve that extended to
the young mar did not carry beyond
him N relation to any other member
Of the household SO far az James
Brood was concerned. The unhappy
boy, early in their acquaintance. came
to realize that there was little in COM
mon between him and the man he
called father. After a while the eager
light died out of his own eyes and he
no longer strove to encourage the in
innate relations he had counted upon
as a part of the recompense for so
many years Of separation and loneli-
ness 1t required but little effort on
his part to meet his fathers indiffer-
ence with a GOODNESS quite as pro-
nounced; he had never known the
meaning OF flial love; he had been
taught by word Of mouth to love the
man he had never seen, and he had
learned as n learns astronomy-by
calculation. He hated the two old men
because his father loved them.
the patient butler, Jones, had made
no less than four visits to the library
since ten o'clock to awaken them and
pack them OF to bed. Each time he
had been ordered away, once with the
joint admonition to mind his own
business"
But it is nearly midnight" pro-
tested Jones irritably, with a glance
at the almost empty decanter.
Jones'" said Danbury Dawes, with
great dignity and an eye that de-
ceived him to such a degree that he
/, could not for the life Of him under
stand why Jones was attending them
in pairs. Jones, you ought to be in
hic-bed, d-n you-both of you. VIVA
you mean. sir, by coming in-hic-
ing"
you Internal migrate" broke in Mr..
Riggs fiercely. don't you dare to touch
that bottle, sir. Let it alone!"
Its time you were In bed" pro
nounced Jones, taking Mr.. Dawes by
the arm. Mr.. Dawes sagged heavily
in his chair and grinned triumphantly
He was a short, very fat old man.
Take him to bed, Jones'" said Mr.
Riggs firmly. Hes drunk and-and
Take him along"
who the dev-hic-il are you, sir?'
demanded Mr.. Dawes, regarding Mr.
Riggs as if he had never seen hin
before.
You are both drunk" said Jones
succinctly.
The heavy front door closed with {
bang at that instant and the sound Of
footsteps came from the hall-a quick
firm tread that had decision In it.
Jones cast a f~urtive, nervous glance
over his shoulder.
I'm sorry to have Mr.. Frederic SCI
you like this" he said, biting his lip
He hates it So"
The two old men made a commend
able effort to stand erect, but no eff
fort to stand alone. They linked
arms and stood shoulder to shoulder
"Show him in" said Mr.. Riggs, mag
nificently.
Now we'll find out wass in tele
gram off briny deep" said Mr.. Dawes
s~praddling his legs a little farthe
apart in order to declare a stanci
front.
Its worth waiting up for" said MI
Riggs.
absolutely" said his staunch friend
Frederic Brood appeared in tn
door, stopping short just inside tn
heavy curtains. There was a momer
tary picture, such as a stage directo
would have arranged. He was still
wearing his silk hat and %top-coat, an
one glove had been halted in tn
process of removal. Young Broo
stared at the group OF three. o fran.
stare OF amazement. A crooked smil
came to his lins.
Somewhat later than usual, | see,
he said, and the glove came off with
jerk. whats the matter, Jones? Rt
bellion?"
NO, sir. It's the wireless, sir"
"Wireless?"
"Briny deep" said Mr.. Dave.
vaguely pointing.
oh" said young Brood, crossin
slowly to the table. He picked up tn
envelope and looked at the inscril
: ton. oh" said he again, in quit
: a different tone on seeing that it wa
addressed to him. From father,
, dare say" he went on, a fine line al
pearing between his eyebrows.
The old men leaned forward, fxin
, their blear eyes upon the missive.
. Les hear the worst. Freddy" sal
] Mr.. Riggs.
The young man ran his finger undo
the flap and deliberately drew out til
message. There ensued another pi
! ture. AS he read his eyes widene
d and then contracted; his firm youn
jaw became set and rigid. SUDDEN
a short, bitter ~execration fell fro
his lips and the paper crumpled In h
: hand. Without another word, h
c-.-r--MF n~S A--.-.