Judsonia weekly advance., 1918-05-15
CHAPTER XVI.
The Note Discordant.

tDiii 1ldh hiNIottd lliluoCil Ol lilt scowl. He smiled as man who had solved some knotty problem to his en- tire satisfaction. Moreover, he bore no mark of conflict, none of the con- ventional scars of a rough-and-tumble fight. For a moment Hazel found her self believing the Herald story a pure canard. But as he walked across the room her searching gaze discovered that he knuckles of both his hands were bruised and bloody, the skin bro- ken. She picked up the paper.
 "Is this true?" she asked tremulous- ly, pointing to the offending headlines.
 Substantially correct" he answered coolly.
 Bill. how could you?" she cried. "It's simply disgraceful. Crawling in public like any saloon loafer, and get ting in jail and all. Haven't you any consideration for ine-any pride?"
 "Yes," he said deliberately. "I have. Pride in my word as a man. A sort of pride that won't allow any bunch of lily-fingered crooks to make me a party to any dirty deal. I don't pro- pose to get the worst of it in that way. I won't allow myself to be tarred with their stick"
 "But they're not trying to give you the worst of it," she burst out. Visions of utter humiliation arose to confront and madden her. You've insulted and abused our best friends-to say noth- ing of giving us all the benefit of news paper scandal. We'll be notorious p
 Best friends? God save the mark l" he snorted contemptuously. "Our best friends, as you please to call them, are crooks, thieves and liars. They're rot ten. They stink with their moral rot tenness. And they have the gall to call it good business"
 "Just because their business meth ods don't agree with your peculiar ideas Is no reason why you should call names," she flared. "Mr. Brooks called just after you left at noon. He told me something about this, and assured me that you would find yourself mis- taken if you'd only take pains to think 1t over. I don't believe such men as they are would stoop to anything crooked"
 "So Brooks came around to talk 1t over with you, eh?' Bill sneered. "Told you It was all on the square, did he? Explained it all very plausibly, I SUD- pose. Probably suggested that you try smoothing me down, too. It would be like 'em."
 ''He did explain about this stock selling business" Hazel replied defen- siyely. And I can't see why you find 1t necessary to make a fnss. I don't see where the cheating and crooked ness comes in. Everybody who buys stock gets their moneys worth, don't they? But don't care anything about your old mining deal. It's this fighting and quarreling with people who are not used to that sort of brute action and the horrid things they'll say and think about us."
 About you, y6l mean-as the wife of such a boor-h ats what's rubbing you raw" Bill flung out passionately. You're acquiring the class psychology good and fast. Did you ever think of anybody but yourself? The petty larceny incident of my knocking down two or three men and being under ar- rest as much as thirty minutes looms up before you as the utter depths of disgrace. Disgrace to you! It's all you-you! How do you suppose 1t strikes me to have my wife take sides against me on snap judgment like that? It shows a heap of faith and trust and loyalty, doesn't 1t? Oh, 1t makes me real proud and glad of my mate. It does."
 'If you'd explain" Hazel began hes itatingly. She was thoroughly startled at the smoldering wrath that flared out in this speech of his.
 "rll explain nothing" Bill flashed stormily. "Not at this stage of the game. I'm through explaining. Pm going to act. refuse to be raked over the coals like a naughty child, and then asked to tell why I did 1t. I'm right, and when I know I'm right I'll go the limit. I'm going to take the kinks out of this Free Gold deal inside of forty-eight hours. Then Pm through WlIH DTdHFllit. leTcdlteT lHtcuu to fight shy of breed of dogs who lose every sense of square dealing when there is bunch of money In sight. I shall be ready to leave here within a week. And want you to be ready, too"
 ''I won't" she cried, on the verge of mysteries. "I won't go back to that cursed silence and loneliness. You made this trouble here, not I. won't