The toiler. [volume] (Cleveland, Ohio) 1919-1922, 1920-04-02
Chapt. XIV.
The Fathers Confession.

his daughter had overheard his tele
phone conversation with the Judge
He felt that he had done more than
all ether untoward agencies in rend
ing the veil of deluson with which
he had tried to screen her form the
world. He gladly would have lost one
of his best farms if by so doing
he could have blotted the memory of
that conversation from her mind. But
the fact was Olive had heard and
what she once heard she did not for
get. She was different from the aver
age run of girls of her age. She took
life seriously; its problems were her
problems. Their solution she consider
ed her business. She was crusader
of no common zeal. She had been
taught to worship God. She did so
as matter of form. She felt that she
must serve mankind, this to her was
religion. She had been shielded from
the world, yet she thirsted for reality
and spared no effort to fan every
spark of fact into a blaze of truth.
She wanted 10 know the world as
it was and not as it is said to be.
~uC tN huON ubN NtNuS dlltCl
Jed man for good or i'll. She believed
that God was universal father and
could not conceive why he should be
partial with his children, blessing one
with weakness
Slowly she had linked together a
chain of evidence from tiny glimpscs
of worlds of truth which contradicted
the teachings of her parents, the
preacher. and the leading ladies of
the church. She had begun to realize
that she was living in dream world
of strange, mythical unreality Ander.
son realized that in his telephone con.
versation he had given her what lie
considered strongest evidence of his
own perfidity. It had all been well
meant. He had always acted for her
own good. The trouble was he was wise
business but fool in life.
He locked the door of his office
and for few minutes paced reck.
lessly back and forth, while he
spun a web of profanity and obscenety
which he hurled at the preacher S head.
1t was the preacher whom he blamed
for bis daughters awakening. He fan.
cied that if she had not entered that
Jail and met that boy she might never
have discovered that the world was
in reality quite different from the
way it had been painted.
Throwing himself in his chair he
ncrvously lit cigar alternately puff.
fling and chewing it. Then grabbing
the telephone called up his wife but
before that lady could answer he hung
up the receiver and resumed his walk.
He was worried, angered, he seethed
with conflicting emotions. He did not
realize that his child was what she
was by virtue of her hereditary, that
she was mental high explosive only
swaiting to be touched off by the fire
Of circumstance. He was convinced
that as his child he could make her
twhat he wanted her to be, and there.
fore resented the winds of circum.
stance which blew her toward her own
shores. Anderson could only think
of one man responsible for this en-.
evitable happening. This was the Rev.
Goodman. He called him up on the
telephone. When that person answered
Gus let loose volume of vocefe.a.
tion into the receiver which caused
the preacher to hang up, there by pour
ing the irate fathers anathemas into
the delicate ears of the operator, who
Immediately informed him of the COM
lpany rules. This caused him to set
down the instrument with bang
an clasping the arms of the chair he
had it out with himself.
| A few minutes later he called up the
thigh school and ordered the principal
to send his daughter to his office at
loncc.
To this the principal agreed and in
another half hour Olive walked into
(her fathers office. She was not ex-
Icited in the least. What she mad heard
that morning had not surprised her
as much as might be expected. 1t had
the effect of a vcrification. II was
as if new aud austere philosophy
was being driven into her head blow
upon blow. 1t had the effect of making
her mentally i'll, confused is perhaps
the better word, but then illness is
Iconfusion.
On her way to her fathers office
she tried to speculate on what it
was that he wanted, Perhaps he would
scold her for following him. Then
again she was quite sure that he would
not call her out of school for that.
Again she could not conceive of him
scolding her, he had never indulg.
ed in that pastime. He would rehuke
ncr occasionally with 4 sharp tongue
and a present in his hand. AS father
he was indulgence itself. Thus IL was
that she turned every possibility in
her mind until she came to the office.
IL is needless to say that Anderson
was as much bewildered as the girl.
He did not know how to attack the
problem before him. He wanted to
solve 1t in business way, but this
was not n business proposition. He
hoped that Olive might open the
subject and thereby show him way
out. To have been caught by her rcd
handed in the practice Of his custom.
AIRY ways was the thing that morti.
fled him. Had the supreme court Of
the United States convicted him of
high treason and exiled him from all
he held dear IL would have hurt him
less than this consciousness that his
child knew some Of the ruthlessness
with which he abused power He want.
ell to ask her forgiveness but that
would never do. He would have to
promise her to conduct his life differ.
Int and that would Interfere with
business. Within him tho father and
the business man were at war. Ideal.
lam and commercialism can scarcely