The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1917-06-16

The members of the Sycamore Club
heard the news next morning at late
breakfast. Major Brent, who had been
fishing early upstream, bore the news,
and delivered it in an incoherent below.
What dye mean by that?" demand
ed Colonel Hyssop, setting down his
cocktail with unsteady fingers.
"Mean?" roared the Major; 1 mean
that Mum and lot O. women are sit
ting on the river-bank and singing
Home Again'!"
The news Jared everybody, but the
effect of it upon the president, Peyster
Sprowl, appeared to be out of all pro-
portion to its gravity. That gentle
mans face was white as death; and the
Major noticed it.
You'll have to rid us of this mob,
said the Major, slowly.
Sprowl lifted his heavy, overfed face
from his plate. ''I'H attend to it." he
said, hoarsely, and swallowed a pint of
claret.
81 think it is amusing" said Agatha
Sprowl, looking across the table at
COursay.
Amusing, madam" burst out the
Major. They'll be doing their laund-
ry in our river next!"
"Soapsuds in my favorite poolsi"
bawled the Colonel. "Damme if I'll
permit it,"
"Sprowl ought to settle them, said
Lansing, good-naturedly. 1t may cost
us few thousands, but Sprowl will do
the work this time as he did it before. "
-Sprowl checked in his claret, turned
a vivid beef-cOlor, and wiped his chin.
His appetite was ruined. He hoped
the ruin would stop there.
What harm viii they do?" asked
Coursay, seriously beyond the soap
suds?"
They'll fish, they'll throw tin cans
in the water, they'll keep us awake with
their fanatical powwows -confound it,
haven't seen that sort of
Yes, l have, at niger camp meetings!
And these people beat the niggers at
that sort of thingl"
Leave 'em to me, - repeated Peyster
Sprowl, thickly, and began on another
chop from force of habit.
About fifteen years ago." said the
Colonel, "there was some talk about
our title. You fixed that, didn't you,
Sprowl?"
Yes" said Sprowl, with parched lips
''Of course, " muttered the major; Z" it
cost US a cool hundred thousand to per
feet our title. Thank God it's settled. )"
SprowPs immense body turned per-
fectly cold; he buried his face In his glass
and drained it. Then the shrimp-color
EStuE4eu 70 HIS HGCk ana ears. anu deep
ened to scarlet. When the earth ceased
Keeling before his apoplectic eyes, he
looked around, furtively. Again the
scene in O'Hara's death-chamber came
TO him; the threat of Mum, who had got
wind of the true situation, and the
bribing of Mum to silence.
But the club had given Sprowl one
hundred thousand dollars to perfect
its title; and SprowI had reported the
title perfect, all proceedings ended, and
the payment of one hundred thousand
dollars to Amasa Mum, as guardian of
the child of O'Hara, in full payment
for the O'Hara claims to the club prop
erty.
Sprowl's GOODNESS began to return.
If FIVE thousand dollars had stopped
Munn's mouth once, 1t might stop it
again. Besides, how could Mum
know that Sprowl had kept for his own
uses ninety-fve thousand dollars of
his clubs money, and had founded upon
1t the house of Sprovel of many mil
lions? He was quite cool now 3
triAe anxious to know what Mum
meant to ask for, but confident that
his millions were buckIer and 8 shield