Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-09-07
CHAPTER TX.
DEARSON seemed pleased, but he
made no comment. Captain Elisha

think I'm interferin' in your affairs
but are you still set against comm uI
to where l live? l know you said you
had a reason, but are you sure it's a
good one?'
He waited for an answer, but nom
came. Pearson was gazing out of the
window. The captain looked at his
watch and rose
Il guess I'll have to be goin'," he
said. Its after l. now"
His host swung around In his chair.
"Sit down, captain" he said. I've
been doing a lot of thinking since |
saw you, and I'm not sure about that
reason. l believe I'll ask your advice.
It's a delicate matter, and it involves
your brother. You may see it as he did,
and if so our friendship ends, l sup
pose. But I'm going to risk it.
Mr.. Rodgers Warren and l." he
went on, were well acquainted during
the latter part of my newspaper work
l was financial man on the Planet, and
some articles l wrote took your broth
er's fancy. At all events, he wrote me
concerning them in highly compliment
tary terms and asked me to call and
see him at his Office. | did so, and
well, we became very friendly, so much
so that he invited me to his house. l
dined there several times, was invited
to call often, and-I enjoyed it. You
see, | had few friends in the city out
side my journalistic acquaintance, and
l suppose | was fiattered by Mr.. War.
ren's kindness and the fancy be seem
ed to have taken to me. And l ike6
Miss Warren-no one could help that
and | believed she liked me-
"She does like you," interrupted III
companion, with surprise. "CgIo}ine'~
a good girl
Eyes; she is. However, she isn't l.
this story except as a side issue. 1t
this time my ambitions were for &
newspaper career, and | thought J
was succeeding. And her fathers
marked interest and the things he sale
to me promised more than an ordinar.
success. He was a well known uas.
on the street and influential. So N
head began to swell, and l dreamed
a lot of ~foolishness. And them
He paused, put down his empty pip
and sighed.
"Well. then" he continued, cam
the upset. l judged from what yot
said at your previous conversation
captain, that you were well enough ac.
quainted with Wall street to know thai
queer operations take place there. Dix
you read about the south shore trolley
business"
Captain Elisha considered. "Why
yes" he said slowly; seems if l did
one of those consultations with hold
in companies and franchises and ex
tensions and water by the hogshead
Want that it? l remember now The
Boston papers had considerable about
Ill, AMI I rfesg1aeAk likely heNe# York
ones had more. One of those all ac
cordin' to law swindles that sprout
same as toadstools in a dark place, but
die out if the lights turned on too sud
den. This one didn't come to nothin
but a bad smell, if 1 remember right"
you do. And | suppose I'm respon
sible for the smell. / got wind of the
thing, investigated, found out some
thing of what was going on and print
ed a preliminary story in the Planet
1t caused a sensation"
He paused once more. Captain Eli
sha for the sake of saying something
observed, Il shouldn't wonder"
ut certainly did. And the morning
on which it appeared Mr.. Rodgers
Warren phoned me. He wished to see
me at once. l went down to his Office.
Captain, I dislike to tell you this. Mr.
Warren was your brother"
~ know he was. And I'm his execu.
tor. Both those reasons make me spe.
cially anxious to have you tell me the
truth. Heave ahead now to oblige me-
swell, / found him very polite and
cordial at first. He said that a ridicu.
lous and sensational story concerning
the trolley combine had appeared In
the Planet, and he would like to have
me contradict it and suppress further
falsehoods of the kind. l told him ]
couldn't do that, because the story was
true. / had written it myself. He was
angry, and l could see that he was
holding himself in by main strength
I went on to explain that it was tn,
duty of an honest paper, as l saw it
to expose such trespass upon the PEG
pies rights. He asked me if l knew
who was behind the scheme. l said l
knew some of the hackers. They were
pretty big men too. Then he informed
me that he himself vas deeply inter
eSted.
II was knocked off my feet by that,
you can imagine. And, to be frank,
Captain, if l had known it at first I'm
not sure that l, personally, would nave
taken the matter up. Yet l might, l
can't tell. But now that 1 had done it
and discovered what 1 had l couldn't
give it up. l must go on and learn
more. And l knew enough already to
be certain that the more 1 learned the
mora 7 should writa and have DubliSh-