The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-02-02

thinking about your future all night,
and I am very much worried about
you. Bert has proved himself thor
oughIy Incapable. Els fine old family
blood does not seem to support him in
a crisis
DID you expect anything else Of old
| family blood p" she demanded, smiling.
| ST didn't
gAs your father, cannot help being
concerned replied Mr.. Marley. Bert
has done nothing but whine and make
weak threats and stay half intoxicated
ever since Sledge shook him away
from the comp1acent safety of his few
| thousands =
/ give given him two weeks to get
over the Shock she lightly answered.
Hell come up all waxed and curled.'s'
His times almost up" her father
pointed out. molly, I think Sledge
proved a very good case against Bert
He called him a pinhead."
Molly wanted to smoker, but she was
indignant instead.
That's better than being a fathead, >"
she retorted. That's what Bert calls
Sledge It seems to me that they're
/ about even
That's where they stop being even,"
declared Marley. 'eSledge threatened
/ TO Df0ak Bert anu OlU L Bert CQTGaC~
| ened to expose Sledge, and Sledge beat
] him to it,
That's my fault she half angrily
Acknowledged. 81 Dragged
Bert led you to think you might"
he countercharged. He even had me
| believing that could defy, Sledge, and
| it can't be done, Molly. That mans
! too big, too decisive and too fearless.
| The minute he found that Bert, and,
| through him, you and I, knew that
| Feeder would prove Sledge's guilt in
the public funds case he sent for Feed
er, knocked him down, had him beaten
half insensible and arrested for at
tempted blackmail."
| 'fHe isn't just instantaneous-he's i'm
| mediate" laughed Molly ct was a
fool thing to do, though. Feeder has
/ exposed him and saved US the trouble,
and S1edge probably will go to the
penitentiary, as I told him he WOULD
'You have innocent IDEAS" kindly
observed her father. Bert probably
encourages you in them, but it is my
duty to warn and protect you. Here
is exactly what will happen: Feeder
1 viii go to the penitentiary for the
crime of not having kept his mouth
shut. Sledge will be indicted by the
/ grand jury, but the case will never
come to trial. He has appointed half
the judges on the bench, and the other
/ half are afraid of him. His lawyers
| will fight from court to court on one
technicality after another until cleo
/ ton is over. and then the pubic will
forget all about it You can't fight a
man like that.
81 can be the one human being in
the world he can't order around" she
smilingIy insisted. s'What do you want
me to do-marry him?''/
Yes was the unexpected reply.
"Great goodness laughed Molly,
| fare you bluffed too ~
"WorseH' he said, rising and walking
up and down in the few short PAGES
the length of the room allowed him.
He had crumpled newspaper in his
| hand, and now he threw. it on the
table. do you want to be turned
homeless into the street,"
'tIn the shivering snow with a little
red shawl over my head?'' she giggled.
mo, father; gray heaven, mo-!
''It isn't a JOKE he insisted, stop
I ping before her, and now the mask of
constraint dropped from his face. s'Mo1-
| ", you know that he threatened to
| break me. Well, he has done it,
t1Nonsense!'- replied, unable to
conceive Of that condition in it's actual
| ity since there was no halt in their
luxury. t'It\is impossible"
1T is a fact he stated as calmly as
he could. CAT the various banks
which SIedge controls I had obliga-
| lions, which thought were only NOM
inally considered to be call loans. ag-
gregating a hundred thousand dollars
These were protected by my fraction
| stock Last week the bank called them
] recently received S87, 800 in cash on
/ a certain deal, and / had considerable
trouble to raise the additional $12,5OO.
1 had to deposit $4,000 worth of my
| stock to secure it, and yesterday had
to put up twenty-five Thousand more
"But why?" asked Molly, sitting
down and considering the matter seri-
ous1y for the first time.
Because in one day merely by an
nouncing that he was financially back
ing competing company Sledge low
cred the value of my stock from a hun
dred dollars a share to thirty-f1ve
That same announcement broke the
West End bank, has crippled two 9TH
ers and made paupers of a hundred or
more small stockholders"
How horrible!' she exclaimed "The
poor people!'' Then the wonder of
word,'' she unused. But father, L
dOA L SGC yCL wv AO COu4Q 10 H. lou
say that your stock was worth hun
dred dollars a share yesterday morning
and only thirty-fve now?''
He nodded his head in confirmation
each Nshare of stock represents
certain part ownership of the street
railway company, doesn't it?''
Again he nodded.
''Wen, the road is still there she
argued. you still own as much of it
as you did before. Why, father, Sledge
has just scared everybody. Your stock
will be worth what it was, or nearly
so, after this panic is over. Even com
petition can't keep you from hauling
| ,noc,,,Io and NO lrfr,or rnn,,or- ~ Il