Grainger County news. (Rutledge, Tenn.) 1917-current, 1920-05-05
stand why he got my sympathy"

uncomfortable II had simply never
occurred 10 him In announcing the
death Of man who had run away
from Syracuse I'm disgrace. he might
find pity and forgiveness waiting for
EXPRESSION. Was there Stil an oppOr-
tunity for him 10 change his tactics,
10 admit that II WAS only the unrc-
generate soul and the outward coun-
tenaucr Of Dicky Morgan that had
ucriShcd. and 10 maintain that new
being. a pCnitcnt and rCsOutc being,
had arisen phOeniXlike Ia make atone
mcnt for the wasted years that had
been ended by shrapnel fire from the
Huns? And suppose he did 50, what
would they say? If public opinion
were to model Itself upon the sorrow
of poor little Angela Cullen, was it
not better to confess mt once, to wipe
the slate clean, and to begin afresh?
Had he said So much that the path
way To truth was closcd--or was
half told?
Morals. which are nothing hut neg
alive virtues anyway, hang on trncS,
billiard was lettering on the utter
most edge Of dcciS!oIi-and Mr.. Cullen
fuug the weight of an aimlrSs charge
against him, and settled the matter
OUT of hand.
lie certainly had plenty to be Sor-
ry for" said Mr.. Cullen
ooh. dad :" said Angela, with Il quick
intake of her breath.
VirmouS. was Mr.. Cullen. A church,
g0pr and u commitment. was Mr.. Cul-
len. A givcr Of aims, and friend to
his fripudS-but in forgetting that the
evil that men do shouldn't rigltfully
be allowed to live on after them. and
in remembering. perhaps too clearly ut
that moment. the final interview he
had held with Dicky Morgan. Mr.. Cul-
len thruttled repentance into II state
Of furious helplessneSs, and brought
back billiard to his senses.
"Yes." said billiard che had plenty
TO be sorry for, ana he was. or his
troubles here, I'm not capable Of sit
ting us Judge. Instead, | sat as con
feSsor. So that y0u'll be more inter
ested in that part Of his life which
you evidently haven't known about,
and ! have He left here, | think. in
December. He hadn't any fixed pur-
pose; all he wanted WAS to find a
place where he could begin over again
on fresh basis, and make man of
himself. For that much. at
least, You can give him credit"
And do" said Cullen, spprovIngly.
HiIIiard. swept again by the near.
ness of deiverance from his decets.
leaned forward. A strong Endorsement
If Morgsn's ambition at this juncure
might yet have brought about a re-
cantatiOn.
I'm glad you do, Mr.. Cullen. :. .
l think myself 1t was the only csslrse
he could have taken" He hung rtril-
ously upon the response; 1t would Ell
ther justify or condemn his present
attitude.
That's probably why he took It."
said Mr.. Cullen. "Oh, I'm fair enough
to him, Mr.. billiard. but as for judg-
ment--" He shook his head firmly.
what made him 90 to France
billiard sat back. The gates of
truth changed shut.
"rhat came to him as the logical
course" he said shortly. He'd met
with some brother adventures in New
York, and they put the idea into his
head. He had no money, so that lie
worked his passage across on lie
Mouette, a French tramp, in January,
1919. ON the other side. he met Il
lieutenant of artillery who took a
fancy to him. AS you undoubtedly
know. he spoke French like native
and that made it easy for him. France
is a land of papers, and of records
and papers and records can be Great.
ed, ShufIlrd-when there's IA reason.
The reason was that II republic need
ed men-and the lieutenant was will
ing to be forger II that were a CON
dition to his being Il patriot. His con
Ccplon of patriotism was to enlist ev-
cry nble-bodied man IN the service of
France. But at that time, the war
was still rather exclusive as far rs
Americans We're concerned. So that
Dicky Morgan disappeared from earth
~ 4 r : IA,
siXty-ninlh TerritoriHls by the nam,
Of Pierre Dutout Peter No
body"
"What" said MI Cullen.
billiard shrugged his shoulders
II said he told me iHucl about him
self. He sailed under his own name
and | dare say You cam verify that
in New York. But when he luudcd
he took. an alias. He had wanted t
start over again, unhHmpcTrd. N0th
INK COULD have been more oppurtun'
than thiS chance. See what it gave
him. He simply dropped out of lIr,
world. 1t was the possibility
Of losing himself utterly that first Hp
p"aIed to him. And there must have
been i good cause"
"IcS," said Mr.. Cullen abSently
"Thrre was. But always the
alriral. Dick was. That WAS so liI'
hini--io do just that sort of ding, un'
to do it Just that way"
"As nearly as could gather" sal,
. billiard, he had been practical,
er o>trHciZ"d here,
/ that correct:" He noted that Angel;