The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1916-07-13
CHAPTER vi.
The Hate of Men.

CHAPTER vi.
The Hate OF Men.
At sunrise, after a wretched
few hours, while the men dragged
the swamped launch from the
canal, bailed and righted it, and
had begun to take an inventory
of the damage done, | came upon
Virgil silently looking at his
dredge.
Two weeks" he unused,
that's what the pawty cost me"
He looked down the shining
length of his canal, and then for
ward at the painless waste yet to
be traversed to save his option
on the lands beyond Isle Bonnie.
I'm going to beat 1t out front
today and get the new fittin's in
N'Awlyns. Two weeks gone out
of our sixteen, Doctor Dick. Coin
to be close work"
An hour later he was on his
way. Laure went with him and
Big Jim. The launch would leave
her at John-the-Fool on its re-
turn trip.
That night Clell and sat down
to a silent supper in the cook
house. NANCY shuffled in and
out.
You can't get back to the
baron's very WE'LL" observed Clell,
unless you wait till the mos
quitoes quit this evening rush.
All the same, Doctor Dick, I don't
want you here. To stay all night,
that is"
stared at him somewhat in
creduously. "Why?" ! muttered.
| He was laughing now. "Oh, you
won't understand. The things
got me-that's all. That fellows
l-Williams-I just want to stand
in his shoes day and night and
face 1.-THE big failure. He went
off without a word, leaving his
plant in my charge--and he
knows l hate him-and could
ruin him. Why-it's big!"
l looked at Clell silently.
81 could throw monkey
wrench into some OF his gear" he
went On evenly, land ruin him.
Or a match into this oil waste. /"
He rubbed his hard hands. Look
Doctor Dick. Three months ago
l was a lackey for ten-million
dollar trust-and never could get
close enough to man in 1t to
know whether he was real or not.
A big real man. That's the fine
thing down here. Things count.
You can hate big-or love-"
He checked himself and his
gaze grew long out of Mangy's
sodden window at the splendor
of that sky. II was hoping he'd
fail-just as I'd known failure
The city had screwed ME up that
way-to a hating tension. Why
l was sore because couldn't get
married on dinky twenty-five a
week-and stick at a dog-trot foi
the Amalgamated Electric the
rest of my life!" He laughed
sheepishly. Married."
! WELL" l said placidly,. there
is not a deal in marriage that
should interfere with ones hap
piness. But it's funny this thine
is put up to you. Maybe you
, don't know how we are fixed
both Mary and myself-to say
nothing of lot more. I've go'
absolutely every dollar I possess
sunk into Virgil's Internal lane
scheme. And Mary
Doctor Dick!" he exclaimed
cts true. Mary and well
everything else failed Virgil the
last two months. Besides what
had in beforehand all Mary's
little fortune-and she's always
put by few thousand a year
I've cleared out of everything
to keep this concern afloat.
hate to confess I'm a fool. I be.
lieve-on my soul-we're al
cleaned out. Only this fellow
virgil-somewhow, you can't hell
trusting him."
YES" Clell muttered, chats
what bothered me SO long!'
didn't want to. And now"
See here" / retorted, "you
say you hate him?"
Yes" He made a grand
flourish off to the outer world
ITS as great as love. / like the
: fellows game, you see. He is the
creator, fighting the sea back
from a hundred thousand acres
of the earth for other human
beings to live on. see now why
he used to look on Mary's culture
crowd as merely children-and
me as a whimperer who imagined
he was licked to begin with"
l could hardly conceal my won
der at him. For Mary's sake"
murmured. and he looked quick
ly at me and shook his head.
I'm all over that. / was jeal.
Gus of him-but that's gone
Mary's free. | made good, you
see; and Williams will have to
see 1t. He-he's got to see i'll"
| listened to the boys desper.
ate iOv. ha would urfng fhfa o,,i