The Red Cloud chief., 1917-06-14

ms a be achieved In a short social
hour-had followed. At oil points the
bewitching young from the will
derness had proved to be n mocking
critic Of the commonplace conventions,
| and had been moved to pillory the
same In the person OF her ~momentary
entertainer. Some thrills this young
person from the wide horizons had
stirred in him were his only excuse for
stealing her glove. There remained
now nothing Of the clashlng encounter
Mt the lawn party save the soiled glove,
a rather obscure memory Of a face too
piquant and attractive to be cheapened
by the word 'pretty; 4" these and a
thing she had said at the moment Of
parting: Eyes; I am going back home
very soon. I don't like your SNUG mid
die West civilization, Mr.. Smith-it
smothers me. I don't wonder that II
breeds men who live and grow up and
die without ever having a chance to
find themselves"
Some day, perhaps. he would tell
verda HIGHLANDER Of the sharp-tongued
little Western beauty. Verda-and all
sensible people-would smile at the
idea that he, John Montague Smith,
was Of those who had not found"
themselves, or that the finding-by
which he had understood the Western
young woman to mean something radi-
cal and upsetting-could In any way
be forced upon q man who was old
enough and a n enough to know his
own lengths and breadths and depths.
He wal stripping of his coat to dress
when he saw two letters which had EVIL
IDENTIFY been thrust under the door dur
ing his absence at supper time. One Of
the envelopes was plain, with his name
scrubbed on 1t in pencil. The other
bore a typewriter address with the
card Of Westfall Foundries company In
Its upper left-hand corner. Smith
opened Carter Westfall's letter first
and read 1t with a little twinge Of
shocked surprise. as n reads the story
Of a brave battle fought and lost.
"Dear Monty" 1t ran. II have been
trying to reach you by phone of and
on v since the adjournment Of our
stockholders meeting ut three o'clock.
We, of the little inside pool, have got
It where the chicken got the ak. Rich.
lander had more proxies up his sleeve
than we thought he had, and he has
put the steam roller over us to a finish.
He was able to vote 55 per cent Of the
stock straight, and you know what that
means: a consolidation with the Rich
lander foundry trust, and the hearse
and white horses for yours truly and
the minority stockholders. We're dead
dead and buried.
"Of course, I stand to lose every
thing, but that isn't all Of 1t. Tn hor-
ribly anxious for fear you'll be tangled
up personally In some way In the mat
ter Of that last loan Of 100000 that ]
got from the Bank and Trust. You will
remember you made the loan while
Durham was away, and I am certain
you told me you had his consent to
take my Foundries stock as collateral
That part Of 1t Is all right, but, as mat
tiers stand, the stock isn't worth the
paper 1t Is printed on, and-well, tc
tell the bald truth, I'm scared Of Dun
ham. Brickley. the Chicago lawyer
they have brought down here, tells m,
: that your bank Is behind the consolida
ton deal. and II that Is SO, there Is 90
{. Ing to be a bank loss to show up on m,
paper, and Durham will carefully cove
his tracks for the sake Of the bank
standing.
, 1T Is a hideOus mess, and 1t has oC
Cured to me that Durham can put 70,
. In bad, II he wants to. When you mad
that 100000 loan, you fOrgot--and
forgot for the moment-that you owl
y ten shares Of Westfall Foundries Il
your own name. If Durham wants t
: stand from under, this might be use
D against you. You must get rid Of tina
: stock, Monty. and do 1t quick. Trans
s fer the ten shares to me, dating tn
transfer back to Saturday. I still hav
d the stock books In my hands, and II
y make the entry In the record and dat
n II to fit. This may look a little crook
ed, on the surface, but it's your saliva
ton, and we can't stop to split hair
a when we've Just been shot full of hole!
"WESTFALL."
e Smith folded the letter mechanical
and thrust 1t into his pocket. Carte
Westfall was his good friend, and tn
cashier had tried, unoficially, to di!
suade Westfall from borrowing afte
he had admitted that he was going I
use the money In al attempb 70 bu
= up the control Of his W company
stock. Smith was thinking of the bi
bank loss and the hopeless ruin {
It Carter Westfall when he tore the Sc
Is ond envelope acros and took out ii
inclosed slip of scratch-paper. 1t WI
a note from the president ana 1t WI
a dated within the hour. Mr.. Dunha'
d was back In Lawrenceville earlier tina
lie expected, and the note had been wri
ct ten at the bank. 1t was a curt sur
e. mons; the cashier was wanted. at ono
At the moment, Smith did not CO