Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1915-11-24
GbeBLL9 Id
BYG[0RGE RANDOLPH QI[ST[R.
and LILLIAN CHESTER ~
1 $; & =. ILLUSTRATED 81 CDRF1ODES


still sat with his chin in his hands.
looking out at that weirdly waving
willow. Old Peabody thought that he
must be asleep. until he tiptoed up az
the side. Allison's gray eyes, unblink-
ing. were staring straight ahead, with
no expression in them. It was as if
they had turned to glass.
Excuse me, Mr.. Allison. Chicken
or steak? got EN- both. one for sup
per and one for breakfast"
Allison turned slowly. part way to-
wards Peabody; not entirely.
Chicken or steak?" repeated Pea
body"
Ehg Yes. Oh. yes. Yes. The
chicken"
The fire had gone out. Peabody re-
built it. He came in an hour later,
and studied the silent man at the desk
for long minute, and then he decided
an important question for himself He
brought in Allison's dinner on tray
and set it on a corner of the desk.
At eleven Peabody came in again. to
see if Allison were not ready to go to
bed; but Allison sent him away as
soon as he had fixed the fire. The tray
was untouched, and out there in the
dim moonlight, which peered now and
then through the shifting clouds, the
long-armed willow beckOned and
beckoned
Morning came, cold and gray and
damp as the night had been Allison
had fallen asleep towards the dawn.
sitting at his desk with his heavy
head on his arms, ard not even the
clatter of the building of the fire
reused him. At seven when Peabody
came, Allison rose up with a start
at the opening of the door, but before
he glanced at Peabody, he looked out
of the window at the willow.
"Good-morning, said Peabody, with
a cheerfulness which sounded oddly
in that dim, bare room. 81 brought
you the paper, and some fresh eggs.
There was a little touch of frost this
morning, but it went away about time
for sun-up How will you have your
eggs? Fried, l suppose, after the
steak. Seems like you don't have
much appetite" and he scrutinized the
untouched tray with mingled regret
and resentment. Since Allison paid
no attention to him, he decided on
eggs fried after the steak, and started
for the door.
Allison had picked up the paper me-
chemically. 1t had lain with the top
part downwards, but his own picture
was in the center. He turned the pa
per over, so that he could see the
headlines.
Peabody" No longer the dead
tones of man in mental stupor, a
man who cannot think, but in the
sharp tones of a man who can feel.
Yes, sir" Sharp and crisp, like
the snap of a whip. Allison had
scared it out of him.
Don't come in again until / call
you"
Eyes, sir" Grieved this time. Darn
it, wasn't he doing his best for the
mani
So it had come; the time when his
will was not God! A god should be
omnipotent, impregnable, unassailable,
absolute He was surprised at the
calmness with which he took this
blow. It was the very bigness of the
hurt which left it so little painful. A
man with his leg shot off suffers not
one-tenth so much as man who tears
his fingernail to the quick. Moreover.
there was that other big horror which
had left him stupefied and numb. He
had not known that in his ruthless.
ness there was any place for remorse,
or for terror of himself at anything
he might choose to do. But there was.
He entered into no rawlings now, no
writings. no outcries. He realized
calmly and clearly all he had done.
and all which had happened to him in
retribution. He saw the downfall Of
his stupendous scheme of worldwide
conquest. He saw his fortune. to the
last penny, swept away. for he had in
vested all that he could raise on his
securities and his business and his
prospects, in the preliminary expenses
of the International Transportation
SNAhPN AAio put vi tue
financial burden himself, as part of
the plan by which he meant to obtain
ultimate control and command of the
tremendous consolidation, and become
the king among kings, with the whole
world in his imperious grasp, sway
larger than that of any potentate who
had ever sat upon a throne, larger
A. -.
earth put together, as large terrestri-
ally as the sway of God himself All
these he saw crumbled away, fallen
down around him, wreck so COM
plete that no shred or splinter of it
was worth the picking up: saw him
o-~~~~~~~~~-~~-N-~-~~Oo~
as high as the great storage reservoir