The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1915-08-12
He That Was Dead.
CHAPTER Xxx.

shouldn't get white over it, Arthur. 1t
isn't worth while. l can see that you
haven't changed much, unless 1t is
that your hair Is a little paler at the
temples. Gray? I'll wager I've few
myself" There was fiippancy in his
tone that astonished Warrington's own
ears, for certainly this light mockery
did not come from within. AT heart
he was sober enough.
To steady the laundering beat of his
pulse he crossed the room, righted the
chair, stacked the books and laid
them on the desk. Arthur did not
move save to turn his head and to fol-
low with fascinated gaze his brothers
movements.
Now, Arthur, I've only o little
while. l can see by your eyes that
you are conjuring up all sorts of ter
rible things. But nothing is going to
happen. | am going to talk to you;
then I'm going away; and tomorrow it
will be easy to convince yourself that
you have seen only ghost. Sit down
I'll take this chair at the left"
Arthur's hands slid from the desk;
in kind of collapse he sat down Sud-
denly he laid his head upon his arms,
and great sigh sent its tremor across
his shoulders. Warrington felt his
heart swell. The past faded away:
his wrongs became vapors. He saw
only his brother, the boy he had loved
so devotedly, Arty, his other self, his
scholarly other self. Why blame Ar
thur? He, Paul. was the fool.
Don't take it like that, Arty," he
said
The others hand stretched out
blindly toward the voice. "Ah, great
God, PAUL."
81 know! Perhaps I've brooded too
much" Warrington crushed the hand
in his two strong ones. 1.-THE main
fault was mine. couldn't see the
length of my nose. threw tempta-
ton in your way which none but a
demigod could have resisted. That
night, when / got your note telling me
what you had done, did damnably
foolish thing. ! went to the club bar
and drank heavily. / was wild to help
you, but couldn't see how. At two in
the morning thought / saw the way.
Drunken men get strange ideas into
their heads. You were the apple of the
mothers eyes; | was only her son. No
use denying it.. She Worshiped you;
tolerated me. I came back to the
house, packed up what l absolutely
needed, and took the first train west.
1t all depended upon what you'd do.
You let me go, Arty. old boy. sup
pose you were pretty well knocked up,
when you learned what / had done.
And then you let things drift. 1t was
only natural. l had opened the way
for you. Mother, learning that l was
a thief, restored the defalcat1on to
save the family honor, which was your
future. We were always more or less
hard pressed for funds. did not
gamble, but l wasted lot. The moth
er gave us an allowance Of five thou
sand each. To this | managed to add
another five and you another four. You
were always borrowing from me.
never questioned what you did with 1t.
] would to God had! 1t would have
saved us a lot Of trouble"
The hand in his relaxed and slipped
from the clasp.
Some of these things will sound
bitter, but the heart behind them isn't.
So | did what thought to be great
and glorious thing. was sober when
l reached Chicago / saw my deed
from another angle. Think of it; we
could have given our joint note to
mothers bank for the amount. Old
Henderson would have discounted 1t
in a second. 1t was too late. ! went
on. The few hundreds had gave out.
I've been up against it pretty hard.
There were times when / envied the
pariah dog. But fortune came around
one day, knocked, and ! let her IN.
returned to make restitution, only to
learn that it had been made by you,
long ago. A trick of young Elmore's.
| shouldn't have come back Ii could
have sent the money"
Arthur raised his head and sat up.
"Ah, why did you not write? Why did
you not let me know where you were?
God is my witness. IL there is cor
ner of this world unsearched for you.
For two years / had man hunting.
He gave up. believed you dead"
Dead? Well, was in a sense"
"You have suffered, but not as |
have. Always you had before you your
great splendid, foolish sacrifice. had
nothing to buoy me up; there was only
the drag of the recollection of an evil
deed, and moment OF pitiful weak
ness. The temptation was too great,
Paul"
How did it happen?"
How does anything like that hap
pen? Curiosity drew me first, for at
college never played but few games
OF bridge. Curiosity, desire, then the
full blaze Of the passion. You will
xox,ar lnnxu xulacf fha+ Sc Do,,1 r. a.