Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1915-02-11
CHAPTER XIX.
The Two Brothers.
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From port to port, sometimes not
stepping of the boat at all, moody
restless and irritable, Warrington
wendell his way home. There wai
nothing surprising in the fact thai
he never inquired for mail. Who wal
there to write? Besides, he sought
only the obscure hotels, where he
was not likely to meet any Of his erst
while fellow passengers. The mock
cry and uselessness of his home.goine
became more and moro apparent as
the days slipped by. Often he longed
to fly back to the jungles, to James
and leave matters as they were. Here
and there, along the way, he had trieG
bit of luxury; but the years of econ
omy and frugality had robbed him OF
the ability to enjoy it. He was going
home to what? Surely Chere
would be no welcome for him at his
journeys end. He would return aftel
the manner of prodigals in general
not scriptural, to find that he was not
wanted. OF his own free will he had
gone out of their lives.
He fought grimly against the
thought of Elsa; but he was not
strong enough to vanquish the long
ings from his heart and mind. Always
when alone she was in fancy with him.
now smiling amusedly into hts face
now peering down at the phosphores
cence seething alongside, now stand
ing with her chin uplifted, her eyes
half shut, letting the strong winde
strike her full in the face Many q
"good-njGht" he sent over the seas
An incident; that would be all.
His first day in New York left him
with nothing more than a feeling OF
foreboding and oppression. The OK
pccted exhilaration of returning to the
city of his birth did not materialize.
So used to open spaces was he, to dis.
tances and the circle Of horizons, that
he knew he no longer belonged to the
city with Its Himalayan gorges and
canyons, whose torrents were human
beings and whose glaciers were the
hearts Of these A great loneliness
bore down on him. For months he
had been drawing familiar pictures,
and to find none of these was like COM
ing home to an empty house. The old
life was indeed gone: there were no
threads to resume. A hotel stood
where his club had been; the house In
which he had spent his youth was no
more. He wanted to leave the city;
and the desire was with difficulty over
come.
Early the second morning he started
downtown to the Offices Of the Andes
Construction company. He was ex-
traordinarily nervous. Cold sweat con-
tinually moistened his palms. Change.
change, everywhere change; Trinity
was like an old friend. When the taxi
cab driver threw off the power and
Indicated with jerk Of his head
granite shaft that scared up into the
blue, Warrington asked: what place
is this?"
THE Andes building, sir The con-
struction company occupies the top
floor"
Very good" replied Warrington.
paying and discharging the man.
From reliquary Of the Dutch. an
affair of red brick, four stories high.
this monolith had sprung. With sigh
Warrington entered the cavernous
doorway and stepped into an express
elevator" When the car arrived at
the twenty-second story, Warrington
was alone. He paused before the door
Of the vice-president. He recalled the
"old man." thin.lipped. blue-eyed. erup-
tive. It was all very strange, this re.
quest to make the restitution in per-
son. Well he would soon learn why.
He drew the certified check from
his wallet and scrutinized 1t carefully.
Twelve thousand, eight hundred dol
lars. He replaced 1t, opened the door.