Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-03-27

The Daily Story
After Election


dropped her arms 10 relieve the strain
on them and then resumed the waving.
The sun had Just risen above the mills.
She dropped her arms put on the
sweater and jumped down from the high
rock TO the path beneath 1t.
What were YOU DOING \ young
man stood at the base of the rock
For moment Virginia looked at MIN
in amazcmeut. II do not explain my
actions to strangers" she said codly.
~ was impcrtinent. ! beg your pardon.
But your signals interested me-
"They are no concern of yours
"Of course not he agreed hastily
But how could help being Interested?
This Is desolate country; nothing hut
scenery and few widely separated
! houses I came last night to spend a few
| 1avs in these hills. The first person
/ saw. except my landlord. was young
/ woman waving signals from high rock
I lie stood harcneaded in tho cold No
! vembcr breeze Around his white forehead
/ his hair crspcd in tightly cropped red
/ curls When he smiled the lines Of
laughter crinltlcd about his keen blue
/ eyes.
what arc YOU doing here?" Virginia
asked. Are YOU one OF the water-poWer
| pcople?"
Water power" he repeated 81 do
not know what you are talking about,
wish to take away from Us our right
to this river?'
~ certainly am not"
"Nou speak sincerely. But We are sus-
picious Of all prosperuus-Iookiug. we'll
dressed strangers. This river runs he
/ side my fathers property II is nc'cs-
sary to the success of his farm. Through
small plant of our own we secure power
from the river for our grain elevator
and electric lights for our buildings
But certain envous and mCddlCSome
marauders have set up a prcposterous
claim that my father has no right to
power plant here, and that the state
should remove it and grant them, by act
of Legislature. the right to establish "A
power plant and a factory | feared
YOU were one of those evil spectators
who want to take our plant
II am not a maraudcr nor specu-
lator"
you know Dick Calvin well. do YOU
not?' Prentice asked. "You have heard,
of course, the stories that he and "a
crowd of other young fellows have n
still at their club Deer Lodge. whore they
make moonshne whisky. They arc not
ignorant mountaineers. They are wild,
harum-scarllm young sinners. Virginia.
are you willing to tell me anything YOU
know about this still?"
81 know nothing"
"ls Calvin friend of yours"
'He is member of the Legislature
from this country. The bill to take away
our rights in Spring River will come be
fore the Assembly in a few weeks Dick
Calvin is the man we depend on to de-
feat it,"
II am also member of the Legislature.
Do you not expect me to help defeat the
bill? You know there is nothing in the
world that would not do for you.
Virginia answer this question: What is
Dick Calvin to you?"
Nothing"
Then why did YOU signal to this
moonshner that Il stranger was in the
hills? Why did YOU go at sunrise to the
highest point of the hills and wave
banner where it could be seen from Deer
Lodge? If Calvin is nothing TO you, why,i
did YOU do this for him?"
Did do this for him?" She had risen
from her chair and stood facing him. Her
eyes were blazing. Did I signal danger
TO a moonshiner? / will not answer YOUR
question. | will never speak to you
again. / hope | may never see SOU
again"
Gordon Prentice and Virginia Barnes
met in the corridor Of the State House
Prentice raised his hat and would have
passed her without speaking. She stopped
him.
"NIr. Prentice is it true that you, as
chairman of the Committee on Rivers
and Lakes, intend to smother the power
bill in the committee"
"It is"
"Why?"
~ told you that l should do my best
to defeat that bill The corporation be-
hind il is enormously rich. If the bill
goes to the House for the vote the cor
poration will buy its passage. The only
way it can be defeated is by smothering
1t in the committee. gave YOU my prom
lse. ! am keeping it"
MEN say that this corporation will
never let YOU come back to the Legis-
lature. You are rsking your political
future for me. Why are you doing thls?"
Because I love YOU"
''You love a woman who Is in league
with moonshiners?"
81 cannot blame you for helping the
man You love even IL he is moon
sinner"
You think love Dick Calvin? / never
have loved him. | never waved him a
warning signal"
"I went to Spring River to get evil
dence against Calvin that would drive
him out of the Legislature. lie is n
CRATER of the worst kind, but we have
never had proof of his legislative dis
honesty ] heard that he had at Deer
Lodge moonshine still. l went there
TO get proof of it. This proof could be
used TO compel him to leave the LeGis-
some one, After l had secured the proof
of the existence of the still / realized
that your signal was for Calvin. But |
have not used the evidence against Cal
win. ! thought YOU loved him. 1 would
not harm the man you loved"
You are harming the man | love You
are trying to ruin his whole career by
keeping the power bill in tho committee.
That sgnal-GoTdOn, YOU saw me waving
a white sweater early in the morning Of
the 4th of November, the day after cleo
tion. Across the yalleeS from my home
live the NeWtOns, close friends of mine.
Their telephone wires We're down that
day, and they could not get the election
results. ] promised them that as soon as
1t was light enough to see / would go TO
the high rock TO signal the returns. II
Republican President was elected | should
wave my red sweater. The white one
would mean a Democratic President. You
had so much curiosity about my signal
that l thought 1t rather clever to keep
you wondering Then when you accused
me of signaling danger to a moonshiner
L was too angry TO explain. Gordon, the
man ! loved, was at Spring River that
morning. But he was not moonshiner.
He was hunting a moonshiner"
Copyright. 1915.