The Clio messenger. (Clio, Mich.) 1907-current, 1916-08-04

between her teeth to stop liz tren,-
bling.
"As you know, had q debt to pay
before ! could say: Come, little girl,
let's go and get married. So became
stakeholder in Cortwright's power
company, knowing perfectly well when
/ consented that the hundred thousand
dollars worth of stock he gave me was
bribe-the price of my silence and
noninterference with his greedy
schemes"
but you didn't mean to keep Il;
you know you couldn't keep it," she
broke in; and now he did not need to
look to know that her lips were trem-
bling piteously.
II did keep it,"
She dropped quickly on the step be-
side him and sympathetic hand crept
into his.
"You kept 1t until the unhappy day
when you gave 1t to my father. and he
and he threw It away" She was
crying softly. but his attempt to COM
fort her was almost mechanical.
the DEVILS thumb-prints on 1t, and he
merely claimed his own and got it,"
Then he went on as one determined to
leave nothing untold. "Cortwright had
bought me, and served him as only q
man in my position could serve him.
became promoter, booster with
the others. There have been times
pricked the bubble haven't said the
word; am not saying it now. II I
should say 1t I'd lose at a single
stroke all that have been fighting for.
And am not good loser Amy"
For once the keen. apprehending per
ception failed.
II don't understand" she said, speak.
ing as il she were cropping in thick
darkness. 81 mean don't understand
the motive that could"
He turned to her in dumb astonish.
ment.
II thought I had been making IL
plain as l went along. You wanted
! something-you needed it-therefora
it must be purchased for you And
the curious part OF the besetment is
that have known all along that was
killing your love for me. If it wasn't
quite dead before, it will die now-now
that have told you how | am f,inging
the last vestiges of uprightness ano
honor to the winds"
But how" she queried. "You
haven't told me-"
with the dam completed before con
gress could intervene, Mirapolis would
of course, be quite dead and ready for
it's funeral But if the Cartwright peo-
pie industriously insist that the spend
ing of another million or two Of gov.
eminent money is only another plum
for the city and its merchants and in
dustries, that, Notwithstanding the re-
newed activities. the work will still
stop short of completion and the city
will be saved by legislative enactment.
the innocent sheep may be made to
bleed again and the wolves will es.
CAPE"
She shuddered and drew a little
apart from him on the log step.
but your part in this horrible plot,
Victor?" she asked.
at is as simple as it is despicable.
In the first place, am to set the stu.
alton before the department in such a
light as to make it clearly matter Of
public policy to take advantage of the
present Metropolitan crisis by pushing
the work vigorously to conclusion.
After thus turning on the spigot OF
plenty, l am expected to crowd the
pay rolls and at the same time to hold
back on the actual progress OF tho
work. That Is all-except that l am to
keep my mouth shut"
"But you can't, you can't" she cried.
Then, in a passionate outburst: IF
you should do such a thing as that, 1t
wouldn't kill my love-I can't say that
any more; but it would kill mel
shouldn't want to live!"
He looked around at her curiously,
as If he were holding her at arms
length.
shall do what you would have me
do. Amy? Or shall do what is best
for you?" The opposing queries were
as impersonal as the arm 's-length gaze.
The tears had burned out Of the
steadfast eyes which were resting,
with the shining soul looking out
through them, upon the crimsoning
snow peaks Of the distant Timanyonis.
How little you know the real Lowell"
she said slowly.
He got up stiffly and helped her to
her feet and together they stood look.
ing down upon the city of the plain.
lying now under the curved, sunset
shadow cast by the mighty, intending
sweep of the great dam.
Monsieur Poudrecaulx Bongras, ro-
tund, smiling and reached and waxed
to broad burlesque Of second-empire
fierceness, looked in vain among his
dinner guests that evening for the
chief of the reclamation service. and
Brouillard's absence held small dis
appointment for the Frenchman. Ru-
a. ...l. la