Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1916-11-18
CHAPTER II


II was three in the morning before
Peter Stark, having to the best of his
endurance and judgment tired Whit
aker out with talking, took his hat and
his departure from Whitaker's bach
elor rooms. Whitaker shut the hall
door add turned back YEARLY into his
Yivine.room. 1t was three in the morn
Ing; his body ached with fatigue, yet
he made no move toward his bedcham-
Der.
Picking his way across a floor lit
tered with aliases, charts, maps and
gutdebooks, he went to the bathroom
and took q bottle of choral from the
medidne closet.
What he took brought him three
hourN Of oblivion. He rose at eight,
ordered his breakfast up by telephone,
bathed and dressed. When the tray
came up, his mail came with it. Among
others there was one letter in which
he read:
Dear Hugh: can call you that, now,
because you're Peters dearest friend and
therefore mine, and the proof of that is
that I'm telling you first of all of our
great happiness. Peter and I found out
that we loved one another only yesterday,
so we're going to be married the first OF
June and e"
whitaker read no more. He could
guess the rest. and for the moment
he felt too sick man to go through
10 the end. Indeed, the words were
blurring and running together beneath
IDS gaze.
After a long time he put the letter
aside, absent-mindedly swallowed
cup of lukewarm coffee and rose from
an otherwise untasted meal.
"That settles that, of course" he
said quietly. and 1t means I've got
20 hustle to get ahead of Peter"
Whitaker packed a handbag with
few essentials, not forgetting the bottle
of choral He was not yet quite sure
what he meant to do after he had de-
fnitely put himself out of Peter Starks
sphere of influence, but he hadn't much
doubt that the drug was destined to
play most important part in the ulti-
mate solution, and would as readily
have thought of leaving it behind as
OF going without a toothbrush or rail-
way fare.
Leaving the bag in the parcels-room
at tne Grand Central Station, he went
downtown to his office. Happily his
partner, DrummOnd, was out of town
Tor the day. He worked expeditiously,
h4Ting no callers until just before he
was ready to leave. Then he was
obliged to admit one who desired to
make a settlement. He took Whitakers
receipt for the payment in cash, leav-
4ng behind him fifteen one-hundred-
DOLLAR notes. Whitaker drew his per-
sonal check for the right amount and
1elI 1t with memorandum under the
paper-weight on Drummond's desk !;
Put match to a shredded pile of per-
soaal correspondence in the fireplace !;
anu caught a train at the Grand Cen
Ilai at one-three.
"ot until the cars were in motion did
Le experience any sense of security
Gom Peter Stark. He had been ap-
p'euenSiye until that moment of some
Unforeseen move on the part of his
1'lend Peter was capable of wide but
sure casts Of intuition on occasion,
specially where his affections were
.ouched. But now Whitaker felt free,
Tree TO abandon himself to meditative
despair. Cold horror crawleC in his
o-a.u IKE a delirium-horror of him
seD' Of his morbid flesh, Of that MORT
oono body unfit to sheathe the clean
fire Of life.
at about four o'clock the train
stopped to drop the dining-car. Wholly
9"ayed by blind impulse, Whitaker got
y, 'ooN his handbag and left the car.
On the station platform he found
,1i-iSeI pelted by pouring rain. He
P. isoned himself In the body Of an
e9u and decrepit four-wheeler, and
- 1aey rocked and crawled away, the
o.'Aa windows wept increasingly. and
,@-1eaSingly the rain drummed the
wig roll on the roof.
~ ume they stopped before a
A~oAng structure whose weather
ro1 leu Tacade, white with taking
~ bore the legend: Commercial
whitaker carried his handbag
- ule steps and across the rain-swept
a0aa into dim, cavernous hall.
N4u!ele fenced OF in che corner
med the Office proper. Whitaker
80 led BY the desk, gaunt, weary
- - hagridden by fear. There was in
''-'ua desolate picture of the room
80 [''Is when he-his soul: the i'm
'Shaole essence Of hinself-should
AhiShed with IL
a. n's elbow lay the hotel register,