Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1916-04-14
CHAPTER ".

Mr.. Vertrees, having watched their
departure with the air Of man who
had something at hazard upon the ex
peditiOn, turned from the window
and began to pace the library thought
fully, pending their return. He was
about sixty; 4 small man, Withered
and dry and fine. Il trim little sketch
of the elderly dandy. His lambre-
4uin mustache. like his smooth hair,
was approaching an equally sheer
whileness; and though his clothes were
old, they had shapeiness and a favor
OF mode.
The room was cheerful and hideous.
Under mantel Of imitation black
marble a merry little coal fire beamed
forth upon high and narrow "Eastlake"
bookcases with long glass doors, COM
Portable, homogeneous furniture, half a
dozen LandSeer enSravings which Mr..
and Mrs. Vertrees sometimes men,
toned to each other, after thirty years
Of possession, as very fine things
They had been the first people in town
to possess Landseer engravings, and
there, in art, they had rested but they
still had feeling that in all such mat
tiers. they were in the van.
The growth of the city, which might
easily have made Mr. Vertrees a mil.
lionaire, had ruined him because he
had failed to understand it, When
towns begin to grow they have Wllims,
and the Whims Of Il town always ruin
somebody. The dainty little man was
one of the first to fall down and wor-
ship Bgness. He was a true prophet
Of the prodigious growth, but he had a
fatal gift for selling good and buying
bad He sold his inherited office build
ing and house in town to buy lots;
then he sold his farm except the house
and the ground about it, to pay taxes
on the lots. But he had to do some
thing to keep himself and his family
up. so in despair he sold the lots
(Which went up beautifully the next
YEAR, for Traction stock" that was
paying dividends; and disappeared al
together from the commercial surface
at about the time James Sheridan
came out securely on top.
But there came day when three
servitors Of Bigness in Philadelphia
took greedy counsel with four fellow
worshipers from New York, and not
long after that there were no more
dividends for Mr.. Vertrees. In fact
there was nothing for Mr.. Vertrees, be-
cause the "tractiOn stock hencefOrtt
was no stock at ALL and he had mort
gagged his house long ago to help man
age somehow" according to his concep
ton of his position in life'-one of his
own old-fashioned phrases. Mr.. Yer
trees had discovered, too, that there
was no salary for him in all the buz
zing city-he could do nothing.
1t may be said that he was at thu
end Of his string Such times do come
in all their bitterness, finally, to thu
man with no trade or craft, II hi:
feeble clutch on that slippery ghost
Property, shall fail.
The windows grew black while HI
paced the fan shaped zone Of freight
But as the mantel clock struck wheel
lily six there was the rattle of an QUITE
door, and Mary Vertrees came rushin!
into the library and threw herself int
deep chair by the hearth, laughin,
so Internationally that tears were II
fc1l ,n1 II q
corously, no mirth about her; on tn
contrary, she looked vaguely disturbed
rs if she had eaten something not quit
certain to agree with her, and regret
tel it.
Papa! Oh, ohv' And Miss Vel
trees was fain to apply handkerchie
upon her eyes. I'm so glad you mad
US 90. l wouldn't have missed it
Mrs. Vertrees shook her head. .
suppose I'm very dull she said
gently. 81 didn't see anything anus
ing. They're most ordinary, and tn
house is altogether in bad taste, but "
anticipated that, and"
"Papa!'' Mary cried, breaking II
"They asked us to dinner!'
WHAT
And I'm goingv' she shouted, an
was seized with fresh paroxysms
think of it! Never in their house DC
fore: never met any Of them but tn
daughter-and just barely met her
What about you?" interrupted MI
Vertrees, turning sharply upon III
wife.
She made a little face as if postiv
now that what she had eaten woui'
not agree with her. Il couldn't. 81
said. Il"