Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1916-08-04

| lidt his udyS VI pOllutui puWeE nSLS
numbered.
Charlie Thomas didn't have 20 see
his subjects in person. He drew from
photographs. He did not miss fire once,
nor was it necessary for him to confine
himself to portraiture. Now and again
he made picture of home that drink
had ruined, of pitiful children, of for
| lorn women. People studied these pic
lures and cried; then they went saw
| agely to the polls and drove a nail into
the coffin Of the liquor business in Shelf
field. After election the mound of
votes on the grave of the enemy was
so high, as the jubilant Jones an
nounced In the Evening View, that 1t
could be surmounted only by aid of a
fireman's ladder
"And there's only one more picture
for you to draw. good old boy" said
Jones, on the day after the obsequies.
you've been doing some great work;
but it's been so uniformly negative, I'm
thinking the public would be delighted
with the portrait of real good citi-
zen-let's run John Willett's picture
tomorrow He's been stanch through
it all, put his money, brains and infiu
ence into the scales, and is the one man
who deserves the thanks of this COM
munity. His personal interests have
been sacrificed for he is thousands OF
dollars poorer today than he was yes
terday. For instance, his stock in the
Waldemere is probably cut in half.
But Willett's true blue; let's run his
picturev'
Jones produced photograph Of John
Willett, and Charlie set to work. Jones,
standing at his elbow, frowned.
Hold on, boy" he said, '.you're get
ting all mixed up. This is John Willett
you're drawing, not Simon Legree.
Say, it'd never do to print that"
Charlie surveyed his handiwork with
horror. His picture of John Willett
equaled in the unpleasant quality Of its
revelation almost any that he had done
during the campaign. Dominating the
: caricatured features was Sefishness.
a refined, subtle and Indifferent Self
ishness. 1t was not hoggish--no. it
was nothing so frank as that. But the
menace was there. unspeakably ter
rible. Charlie covered his face with
his hands.
"Oh, Jonesy," he cried, "you
couldn't use that; you couldn't use that
Why, Mr. Willett's one of my very best
friends" He sat and pondered.
Il will get you picture of Mr.. Will
lett" he said. "You wait here, Jonesy."
He hitched briskly away, although
the defect in his gait was notably di-
minished. In ten minutes he was in
John Willett's office
A man sat at John Wilett's desk,
man with gray at his temples and deep,
haggard lines in his face. Gray streaks
appeared, too, in his closely trimmed
beard, but his eyes laughed when he
; greeted Charlie Thomas.
Hello, Little Sir Galahad," he said
How goes the Quest today?"
Il think we gained few steps yes
J terday," said the boy.
II should say we did" cried John
: Willett. Say, young fellow, what are
you doing?"
drawing your picture for tomor
rows View"
y
you going to- Look here, Charlie,
boy. How many people know you are
, the mysterious cartoonist? There are
men in this town who would be de-
lighted to skin you"
, "Only three or four people know it.
and they'll never tell. I'm afraid I've
hurt lot of feelings. It's dreadful to
know that you have done that"
II used to think so, too, Charlie; but
this thing we have been fighting has
, hurt your feelings and mine, hasn't 1t?
We don't regret the results, do we,
boyT"
Nope" said Charlie. There, that's
better"
He drew out the sketch he had made
from the photograph of John Willett
six years younger; a jaunty, care-free,
irdulgent John Willett.
"Murder!" cried Willett. "You don't
say ever looked like that?"
Your soul used to. I guess" said
Charlie; but 1t doesn't now The pic
ture in tomorrows paper'll suit you
better"
"I'll never get over this, Charlie"
said Willett. ut isn't the sketch that
hurts; it's knowing that I can't deny
the truth OF it. No man can look at
one of your portraits of himself and
say truly that it does not reveal his
SOUL"
Next day, when people got the View,
they nodded sagely and commented
THAT'S just like John. He always
was q fine man; this proves it. He's
aged lately, but he doesn't lose char
acter. That certainly is our own John
Willett. the one who's always been our
most useful, public-spirited citizen"
CHAPTER XIV.
Two Years L ater