Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1915-05-12

unlnk III can De arranged.
Thank you. uncle" said Eric, rather
lifelessly.
They passed out of the building and
descended the broad stone steps le:,d-
ing to the sidewalk. Street lamps We're
being lighted by men who made, a
pretense of hnrrying up and down the
quiet thoroughfare. Corinth was still
using the primitive gas lamp on its
streets, although the world at large
had been Illuminated by electricity for
years. 1t seems that Blagden, ct III.
owned the lighting franchise for .he
town. II they believed in letting We'll
enough alone. AT least. until they
could get their price from the outside
capitalists who were ready to put in
a big electric plant. The Corin,h
Electric Light company supplied the
homes and the business houses with
light. but the municipality was con-
tent, perforce. TO cling to it's ancient
friend, the lamp post-staid and trust
ed teetotaler that never went out
nights.
Uncle and nephew walked side by
side up the narrow sidewalk. lnmeward
bent. They were silent after tina, last
masnanimous effort on the part of
Horace. each wrapped in his own
thoughts. not amy of which possibly
could have peer pleasant. Eric found
some satisfaction in the discovery of Il
WNstN sIoN lI liiS lISlC at
thought the consolation afforded by
this knowledge was not likely to pro-
vide q lasting sense of victory. His
uncle contaminated, An hour before
he would not have believed it possible.
But now, Where would it end? How
far would an ill-wind carry that hith-
TO answering craft out of its estab-
lished course" What was Horace Blag-
denis estimate of himself to be as time
CAV it a chance to develop?
AS for the tall. gaunt man who strode
beside him. what were his thoughts?
What must they have been. to drag
down his shoulders in this way and to
lower a chin that never had dropped
before?
They entered the gate in the stone
wall guarding the sanctity of the grey
house on the hill. Not until then did
Horace Blagden give sign of the
thoughts that We're burning in his
brain. He stopped, checking Eric with
a word.
ut die seem to me. Eric, on seeing
the two drawings, that the one hear
ing Your name was rrudely done. /
could not understand il. was
amazed, and I must say l was graft
fed. Now / understand. You could
not possibly nave made the design at
trihuted to you. But the thing that
puzzles me most, is how ChetwynG,
with his traing and his extra prepar-
alton for he contest, could have pro-
duced such a miserable botch. He has
had the best OF instruction in New
York. IL can't see why he did not
do better"
Eric had his own private opinion.
but he could not bring himself to the
point of advancing it at this time. Mr..
Blagden would find out soon enough.
without his help. Still, the boy could
not quell he secret JOY that filled his
soul as he contemplated the harsh
times ahead of Chetwynd. and the bit
would AVE to swallow. h thought
of this actually revived his fallen spir-
its. The future would pay handsome
ly for the present; he could afford the
gloom of today in view of tomorrow's
glory.
"Perhaps he didn't consider it worth
WHILE he explained.
Horace eyed him sharply. III he did
not consider it worth while. why should
he nave gone to the trouble to But
there. We were to say no more about
it. He shall explain for himself. We
can't judge him unhcard."
They went forward. AS they came
into the shaf of light thrown out by
the open hall door, the older man again
stopped. This time he grasped Fries
arm in a grip Of iron.
Eric he began in a low, tense
voice, you heard me say back there
in the office that | could have killed
you. Will you be able to appreciate
my state of mind when l tell you now
that it was in my heart to kin you il
you refused to accede to my demands
in this matter? There is a revolver in
my desk drawer. You were not to have
! gone out with that awful story on your
lips. But that is not all. 1t would
have died there in that room, for no
one would be alive TO repeat it,"
He looked into the haggard face Of his
uncle as il stood out clearly in the light
from the doorway. 1t seemed to him
that MIR. Blagden suddenly had grown
very old.
II should have killed myself as WE'LL"
said Horace Blagden quietly.
The boy stared at him in utter
Amusement. Suddenly it was revealed
to him what all this really meant to the
head of Blagden family. He was
conscious of a choking sensation in his
throat; there was a rush Of moisture
to his eyes A great, perhaps unwel-
come wave of pity for the man swept
over him.
Its all right now, Uncle" he muir
INJURED b~rokenly."
AS they entered the hall. Mrs. Elag-
den emerged from the library. She
sent IA swift, searching glance into
Eric's eyes, a glance expressing doubt,
anxiety and no little antipathy.
Eric smiled. a bitter, scornful little
smile. h real inwal dness of which she
was to grasp.
He could account for her uneasiness.
He had but to go bach for a few min
utes to that second call on the tele-
phone. She had said to him then, in
accents of real despair and dread:
You are not telling him of Chef
wynd and Mary, are you? You can't
be such a beast, such a dog as to for
get your promise to me. If thought