Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1920-09-01
CHAPTER XVI

The fortnight that followed con-
stituted long spiral Of decline in
Bradford Yinton's hopes and in the
power of his grip on the problems OF
life. Unrewarded by any success in
his hunt for Sylvia, and callously' ex-
plotted and deceived by Irwin Stage.
day by day he mired himself more
Fdeeply in sloughs of miserable de-
spond.
Every Way he turned. he found the
path blocked by rebuff and failAre.
Sylvia never went back to the mis-
sion; nobody there could give him
any news of her. tho Mrs. Wesson's
GondolIng sympnthies grew more Of
fusive, every time Bradford APP
preached her. Mr.. Crawley's attitude
became hostile. The missionary
seemed to blame Vinton fo~ the loss
of his best singer; no help was to
be expected Of him. At the sail loft,
the motion picture theater and the
doctors office Bradford found him
self regarded with suspicion.
] He conceived q haunting fear lest
the newspapers should take up the
endo compromise her reputation.
After few days he grew more cir
cumspect: and with this circumspec-
ton there developed growing sense
OF irreparable loss which seemed to
stalk beside him. whispering "Finis!"
in his ear.
He persisted in telephoning to the
East Boston flat and calling there,
until Aunt Margaret with quavering
indignation bade him begone and
come no more. Whether she and
Wright Alden now knew Sylvia's
whereabouts he could not tell He
rather suspected that they might;
but to hope for information from
them, in any case, lay outside the
bounds of possibility.
Baffled, he devised means of
getting news in case any might de-
velop. A five ollar bill, with prom
ises OF more TO come, extracted a
promise from one FragopuIos, a
Greek, fruit merchant at the corner
near the flat, that if Sylvia reap
peared he would Immediately phone
the tidings to Bradford.
In addition, he tried personals" in
Boston and New York newspapers,
begging an interview with her. Moth
ing came of all this. The silence re-
manned unbroken.
Hope dying. he< haunted Stages
office. The shyster led him off on
false trail, claiming to have news
Of the girl in| Springfield; but MOTH
ing eventuated save a demand for
more money, which Bradford refused.
He did not return to Staggx after
this, but wandered about the city,
hoping against hope that he might
pick up some thread or clue to lead
to Sylvia. = -
Another MAJ. ,han he might have
sought solace over polished bars, but
Vinton abhorred drink. He grew
shabby and unshaven, however, as
his despair blackened. Neglect of
eating and sleeping robbed him Of
flesh. A certain gaunt misery began
to show in his face. Lines developed
there, to rob it Of its immaturity.
More widely ever more widely,
opened the gulf that now divided
him from the soft life of Marlbor-
ough street and the aloof blue blood
edness that dwelt there Bradford
seemed sliding toward the long de-
cline that leads to unfitness-the de-
cline at the far end of which gapes
the abyss.
But one morning he awoke-awoke
to the realization of this trend, and
to the understanding that life had,
after all, some larger claim on him
than this sad, profitless brooding and
this unman1y yielding to adverse
fate. He Sawoke to the knowledge
that tho Sylvia had Withdrawn from
him-fo-ever, 1t might be-much still
remained.
His memories Of her remained,
lettering and purifying his spirit
balming his sorrow, comforting his
loneliness. His unshakable faith in
her held true, asking no explanation
OF the infamous affidavit, and need
ing none. The inspiration of her
still dwelt in him, and the knowledge
that thru her he had come to more
manly concepts of life than he had
hho"hA III liiS OtAiS-, CdoiSi uoS %
Realization of duty to himself and to
the world were born in him, as he
recalled her words.
Even tho everything is all over.
and we stand as far apart from each
other as the poles, we can still keep
on and on. There's endless work to
be done, endless good to be at
tempted
ITO be continued)