The Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 191?-19??, 1919-09-17
CHAPTER XIII.

not been altered by his talk with Kin
ney In the club window, though he was
somewhat disturbed. Kinney had rep
resented George as new Georgie-
at least in sp0ts-a George who was
proving that decent stuff had been hid
In him; in fact, George who was do
ing rather handsome thing in taking
risky job for the sake Of his aunt,
poor old silly Fanny Minafer Eugene
didn't care what risks George took, or
how much decent stuff he had in him !;
nothing that George would ever do In
this world or the next could change
Eugene Morgan's feeling toward him.
If Eugene had wished, he could cas-
lily have taken George out of the nitro
glycerin branch Of the chemical works.
Always interested in apparent impos-
sibilities of invention, Eugene had en-
cOuraged many experiments in such
groupings as those for the discovery Of
substitutes for gasoline and rubber;
and, though his mood had withheld the
infOrmatiOn from Kinney, he had re-
Gently bought from the elder Akers
substantial quantity of stock on the
condition that the chemical company
should establish an experimental labo-
ratOry. He intended to buy more |;
Akers was anxious to please him; and
word from Eugene would have
placed George almost anywhere in the
chemical works. The possibility just
edged itself into Eugene's mind; that
is, he let it become part of his percep-
tons long enough for it to prove to
him that it was actually possibility.
Then he half started with disgust that
he should be even Idly considering
such thing over his last cigar for the
night, in his library. "Nor' And he
threw the cigar into the empty fire.
place and went 10 bed.
His bitterness for himself might
have worn away, but never his bitter
ness for Isabel. He took that thought
to bed with hin-and it was true that
Eugene might not have done the odd
thing he did that day. He was an al
venturer; if he had lived in the six
teenth century he would have sailed
the unknown new seas, but having
been born in the latter part OF the
nineteenth, when geography was
fairly well-settled matter, he had be-
come an explorer in mechanics. But
the fact that he was a "hard-headed
business man. as well as an adven-
turer did not keep him from having a
queer spot In his brain, because hard
headed business men are as suscep'
tible to such spots as Adventures are
Two weeks after Isabels death, Eu
gene was in New York on urgent bust
mess and found that the delayed ar
rival of steamer gave him day witt
nothing to do. His room at the hOte
had become int0lerable; outdoors was
iptolerable; everything was intolera'
Bile. It seemed to him that he must
see Isabel once more, hear her voice
once more; that he must find some
way to her, or lose his mind. Under
this pressure he had gone, with com.
plete scepticism, to "trance-medium'
of whom he had heard wild accounts
from the wife Of a business acquaint-
ance.
The experience had been grOtesque,
and he came away with an encourag-
ing message from his father, who had
failed to identify himself satisfactor-
lily, but declared that everything was
ION a higher plane" in his present
state of being, and that all life was
continuous and progressive" Mrs.
Homer spoke of herself as a
''psychic;" but otherwise she seemed
oddly unpretentious and matter-of.
fact; and Eugene had no doubt at all
of her sincerity. He went to Mrs.
HOrner's after his directors meeting
today. He used the telephone booth in
the directors room to make the APP
/ pointment; and he laughed feebly at
himself, and wondered what the group
of men in that mahogany apartment
would think if they knew what he was
doing. Mrs: Horlsr bad changed her
address, but he found the new one,
and somebody purpOrting to be niece
of hers talked to him and made an APP
pointment for Sitting" at five o'clock.
Mrs. Horner appeared in the door
way, wan and unenterprising look
ing woman in brown, with thin hair
artifcially waved--but not recently
and parted in the middle over a blush
forehead. Her eyes were small and
seemed weak, but she recognized the
visitor.
"Oh, you been here before" she said,
in thin voice, not unmusical. 81 rec
ollect you. Quite time ago, want
it?"
Eyes, quite a long time"
II recollect because l recollect you
was disappointed. Anyway, you was
kind Of cross" She laughed family.
I'm sorry if 1 seemed So" Eugene
said. "Shall we"
"All right" she assented, dropped
into the leather chair, with her back to
the shaded window. 'Hou better set
down, too, reckon. hope you'll get