Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-15
By
REX
BEACH

ing cry. then turned swiftly 10 niue
her face She felt ONeirs fur clad
arm about her shoulder. His hand
was patting her. and he was saying
gently: You are a dear child. 1t was
tremendously good Of You both, and
ought TO be shot for acting as | did. l
wonder If you can accept wrctched
apology as bravely as you accepted
wrong accusation"
1T wasn't wrong: it was right" she
sobbed. Dan told her. and she told
Gordon
There, there. I was 20 blame. after
all. for letting any one know, and II
Dan made Il mistake he has more than
offset it by his unselhshness-his sac
rifices. 1t seems l forgot how much
really owe him"
That affair with the shift bosses
wasn't anything" said Dan hastily.
and ii was EliZa's idea. l refused at
first. but when she started to pay them
herself weakened" He suffered
awkwardly. for his sister was motion
ing him desperately to be silent. But
he ran on: oh. he ought to know the
whole truth and how miserab l acted,
sis, I deserve to be discharged"
please don't make this any harder
for me than it is Murray smiled.
I'm terribly embarrassed, for I'm not
used to apologies. | can't afford to be
unjust. l have so few friends that l
want to cherish them. I'm sorry you
saw me in such a temper. Anger is a
,Teacherous thing, and 1t always be-
trays me. Let's forget that l was
here before and pretend that just
came TO thank you for what you did"
He drew Dan into the shelter of his
other arm and pressed the two young
people to him. II didn't realize how
deeply you kids care for each other
and for me-
The same ship which had brought
the Ominous news to O'Neil also
brought Curtis Gordon north. He had
remained in Seattle only long enough
to see the Ills story in print, and then
had FASTENED back to the front. But
his satisfaction over the mischief he
had done received a rude jolt when at
his first moment of leisure he looked
over the late magazines which he had
bought before taking leave. In one
which had appeared on the newsstands
that very day he found to his amaze
ment an article by Miss Eliza Apple
ton. in which his own picture appeared.
He bounced upon it eagerly, and then
as he read his eyes narrowed and his
jaw stitched. There. spread out to
the public gaze. was his own record In
full, including his initial venture into
the kyak coal fields. his abandonment
of that project in favor of Hope Con
solidated and an account of his CON
nectiOn with the latter enterprise
Eliza had not hesitated to call the mine
worthless, and she showed how he
knowing its worthiesSness from the
first. had used it rs a lure to investors
Then followed the story OF his efforts
TO gain foothOld in the railroad strug-
gle. his defeat at the Salmon river can
yon, his rout at the delta crossing and
his final deathblOw at Kyak. His ca
reer stood out boldly in all it's fraudu-
lent colOrs; failure was written across
every one of his undertakings. The
naked facts showed him visionary. in
Competent. INSCRIPTIONS.
Thus far he had succeeded in keeping
Il large part of his stockholders in ig-
norance of the true condition of Hope
Consolidated, but he quailed at the in
evitable result Of this article. which
had been flung far and wide into every
city and village in the land. He dared
not think of its effect upon his present
enterprise. now so auspiciOusly launch
ed He had made a ringing appeal to
the public. and its support would hinge
upon its confidence in him as a man Of
affairs. Once that trust was DESTROYED
the COrtez Home railway would cr1Im-
Bile as swiftly as had all his other
sc hemes.
The worst of it was that he knew
himself shut off from the world for five
days as effectually as If he were locked
in dungeon. There was no wireless
equipment on the ship. be could not
start the machinery of his press bu-
reau, and with every hour this damna-
BILE story was bound TO gain mOmen-
tum. He cursed the lnck which had
set him on this quest for vengeance
and hound his hands.
Meanw lille Dan was struggling with
his problem in his own way. The pos
sibility that Natalie had voluntarily
betrayed him was a racking torture
and the remembrance of Eliza's words
added TO his suffering He tried to
gain some hint of his chiefs feeling.
but Murray's frank and friendly atti-
tude baffied him.
When at last he received a brief
note from Natalie asking him to call
be raced TO Hope afraid. vet eager to
hear what she might say She met
linn on the dock as he left the S. K.
and \. motorboat and led him directly
to the house,
Natalie went straight to the point.
I'm in dreadful trouble" she said.
and | sent for you 10 fell you that |
had no idea of betraying condolences" |
Dan uttered some inane platftude.
but his eyes lighted with relief.
When | saw in the papers what a
stir that North Pass and Yukon story /
lad made | was afraid | had done I
dreadful. Tell me. is Ii go? |
Did ] make trOuble:"