Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1916-08-04

asphalt lay IN the shadows IKE dafk
5o0is. Up the approach TO the Queens
borough bridge it swept, and took the
loEg incline like soaring bird. Black
wells island slipped under them, an
inky, bottomless pit Of despair. TIE
breath of the overheated city changed
as by magic, and the thin-faced suf-
ferer at Lorelei's side drank it In ea-
gerly. Even in the dim flash of the
passing illuminations she noted how
tired and worn he was, and a sudden
pity smote her.
Wont you pretend I'm not here,
and drive just as you always do? I
won't mind" she said.
my dear, it's late. Youth need to
go home"
'No, no."
Really" His eagerness was genu-
me- Won't your people worry?'
Her answer was a short, mirthless
laugh that made him glance at her Gu
riously. "They know I'm perfectly
safe. It's the other way round: a man
OF your standing takes chances by be-
ing alone with woman of-mine."
(which reminds me of Miss Lynn
and Mr.. Harmon. You've decided to
accept my offer?"
mo. I can't be hired spy"
"You said over the phone that you
had learned something"
II have. / believe there Is an effort
on foot to get some of Mr.. Hammon's
money dishonesty. I have a reason
for wishing to prevent it."
"I knew I wasn't mistaken in you"
smiled Merkle
'Oh, don't attribute my actions to
any high moral motives! I'm getting
little rusty on right and wrong. Per-
sonally, have no sympathy with Mr..
Harmon, and I don't imagine he &C
quired all of his tremendous fortune
in a perfectly honorable way. Besides,
he's a married man."
''It isn't alone Jarvis or his family
or their money that is concerned"
Merkle said, gravely. "Great financial
institutions sometimes rest on founda-
tons as slight as one mans person
ality-one mans reputation for moral
integrity. A breath of suspicion of
any sort at the wrong time may bring
on a crash involving innocent people.
"Hammon at this moment carries n
tremendous top-heavy burden of re-
sponsibilities; his death would be no
more disastrous than a scandal that
would tend to destroy public conf
dence in him as a man.
Doesn't he know that himself?"
perhaps. But his infatuation over
took him at an age when a man is a
fool. Young men are always objects
of suspicion in the financial world, for
their emotions are unruly; but when
old men fall in love they are superbly
needless of the consequences. / prom
ised to tell you something about Jar
Wis, and l will, since you spoke of bis
married life. From the time he could
walk he never knew anything. never
heard anything except steel. He be-
came a rolling-mill superintendent al
most before he was of age They say
he never did less than two mems work,
and often more; but he could make
others work, too, and there lay the Sc
cret of his success. His mill held the
tonnage record for years.
"When the corporation was formed
he played a big part in the deal and
got a big slice of the profits. He
went into other things than steel, and
he prospered. He never failed at any
thing. Jarvis had no vices and but
one hobby-at least his vices were neu-
| trail, for he had never taken time to
acquire the positive kind. His hobby
was Napoleon Bonaparte. He read ev-
erything there was to read about Ma
poleon; he studied his life and pat
termed his own on similar lines. Do
bore you, Miss knight"
"No: go on. I'm tremendously in
terested."
"Well, naturally, Harmon began to
consider himself another Napoleon,
and his accomplishments were In a
way quite as wonderful. He even con-
fided to me once that his Idol sur
passed him in only one respect
namely, the power to relax. Jarvis
had never taken time for relaxation.
and he was beginning to wear out; and
so-he deliberately set about learning
to play. The emperor Of Frauce, so
history tells us, took his greatest pleas
ure in the company of women; there
fore Harmon sought women. He
doesn't know the taste Of defeat so
the result was foreordained."
"But surely he thought something
Of his family" protested Loreei.
didn't he consider themp
81 fancy he wasn't well acquainted
with his family. I'm sure he never en-
joyed any home life, as we understand
it. He lived with a rich old woman
who bore his name but scarcely knew
him; his daughters were grown women
whom he saw on rare occasions and
whose extravagant whims he gratifed
without question. But there was little
real intimacy, little sympathy This