Evening star., 1915-02-07
SUNDAY MAGAZINE FOR FEBRUARY Z 1915
THE MORROW MAN

WHO d Gay OF TWO before ldu SIeppcu De-
tween two whisky-maddened stiletto fight
ers, and Gained them as by the fiat of Om-
| Impotence.
Now she no longer feared, and in her
heart, motherly glad, was something, per-
haps more of anger than contempt, for the
morally wind-blown, spineless creature, so
f1awless in physical courage, so faccid in the
higher heroisrn. AS she looked upon him
with kindlier eye than of old, he appeared
as utterly wasted as the great Stag and stone
dumps that lay heaped about the pits. She
sat for some moments looking out stornily
on the far, faint blue hills, thinking, review
ing, judging. Then she rose and went down
the garden path to the gate, at which Macfar-
lane stood, waving CHEEKY farewell to Abel.
"Jim!" she said
He turned to her with start.
II want to say something to you My boy
is growing and taking notice. He hears folks
talk of what you are, and-well, l don
want his friends to be cutters and drunk
ards"
His face flushed dull red The lash cut
deep, and he WINGED. He opened his mouth
and began stammeringly to speak.
II know what you would say she inter-
posed sharply. 1--WE spoiled your life,
cheated you, and all the rest of the whimper-
ing story. A blow, foul blow if you like,
put you down, and you have proved ever
since that you deserved to go down by never
and whine, slobber yourself with self-pity,
besot yourself with drink, like the weakling
you are! l want my boy to grow up among
men, and become one of them, who'll fight
as long as they can stand: not among those
who keep down because they re afraid to
stand up" and she turned and left him.
She watched him, from the windows of an
upper room, pass slowly up the hill toward
the pits, until turn of the winding road
hid him. Then happened an unparalleled
thing in the life of this woman: she bowed
her head and burst into passionate storm
of weeping.
MATTERS were not going well at the
AvA Havilah pits, and the face Of Adam as
he sat down to supper reflected the troubles
Of his spirit.
Damn all furriners!" he snapped virldic-
lively, waiting for his cup of tea.
"What's the matter now?" inquired Eve
amusedly.
"Threw down their tools this afternoon,
saying they won't take them up again till
| raise them five cents an hour-and I'll
see EN- in hades first!' and he emphasized
his determination with a thump on the
table.
Leave lilSiil " jim, eioNiSCd LHS' Ioe
can't handle them"
4Jim's gone" he replied duly.
"Gone!" she echoed. "On the drink
again?'
Adam shook his head. @Wisll he had" he
answered gloornily. Something's cof.le
over him. They say he's through with the
liquor. He came to me this morning, got his
money, and went off.
@And you let him go?" she cried, the old
time fire in her eye. Don't you know, Man,
that all we have rests on hinn?'
@I know it" he replied. @And the men
know it. offered him his own price to stay;
but no USE Going to be his own man, he
said. The pit trouble started within an hour
of his going"
Poor Adam! On hay wagon, or at the
tail of plow, he was where Nature intended
him to be- In charge of five hundred men Of
divers tongues and nationalities, jealous and
wrong headed with the stubborn, Blind, I'M
reasoning prejudices and hatreds Of al--2ost
british ignorance, he was helpless and dan
gerous as mischievous child il a gunpov1der
factory When he should have been ir2lex-
ible he yielded; where he should have yielded
he remained inhexible.
Production fell off, and the milling work
was gradually approaching chaos. Mining
engineers with the sheen of graduation day
,,Do,, tbo,, and r,Occncci-1o diClOnaS that