The Raymer enterprise. (New Raymer, Weld County, Colo.) 1910-19??, 1920-08-19


to be sorry for. and he vas. OF his
troubles here. I'm not capable Of sit
ting as Judge. Instead. I sat a. con-
fessor. So that you'll be more inter.
ssted In that part Of his life which
you evidently haven't known about.
and I have. He left here. I think, In
December. He hadn't any fixed pur-
pose: all be wanted was to find
place where he could begin over again
on q fresh basis. and make a man Of
himself. For that much. at
least. you can give him credit"
And do" said Cullen. approyingly.
billiard. swept again by the near
ness Of deliversnce from his deceits,
leaned forward. A strong Endorsement
OF Morgsn's ambition at this juncture
might YET have brought about . re-
cantntion.
I'm glad you do. Mr.. Cullen. :.
think myself It was the only course
he could have taken" He hung peril
ously upon the response; 1t would el-
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 a. for judg-
ment-" He shook bis head firmly.
what made him 80 to Francer
billiard sat back. The gates Of
truth changed shut.
THAT came to him ~ the logical
course" be said shortly. "He'd met
with some brother adventurers In New
York. and they put the idea into his
head. He had no money. 70 that he
worked bis passage across on the
Mouetts. q French tramp. In January.
1915. On the other side. he met
lieutenant Of artillery who took
fancy to him. A. you undoubtedly
know. be spoke French like q native,
and that made It easy for him. France
10 q land Of papers. and Of records;
and papers and records can be Great
ed. shu6ed-whsn there's q reason.
The reason was that Z republic need
ed men-And the lieutenant was WILL
Ing to be- foryer Il that were . con-
ditIon to his being . patriot. His con.
ception Of patriotism was to enlist ev-
cry able-bodied man n the service Of
France. But 1t that time. the war
was still rather exclusive a. far a.
Americans were concerned. So that
Dicky Morgan disappeared from earth
and there was q new soldier Of the
slxty-ninth Territorials BY the name
Of Pierre Dutout Peter No
body"
"What!" said Mr.. Cullen.
billiard shrugged his shoulders.
Il said he told me much about him
self. He sailed under his own name.
and l dare say you can verify that
In New York. But when be landed.
he took an alias. He had wanted to
start over again. unhampered. Moth
Ing could have been more opportune
than this chance. See what It gave
him! He simply dropped out Of the
world. 1t was the possibility
Of losing himself utterly that first ap-
pealed to him. And there must have
been good cause"
"Yes." said Mr.. Cullen absently.
There was. But always the
atrical. Dick was. That was 20 like
him-to do Just that sort Of thing. and
to do It just that way"
"As nearly ~ could gather" said
Hilliard. he had besn practically
|. er ostracixed here. Ii
that correctr' He noted that Angela
nlnched at the suggestion. and that
her head was dropping very low.
"Y.e-e-s, but there was good rea.
son for It"
"Oh! dad" said Angela, pleadlngly.
below her breath. please don't say
things like that-I can't stand any
more"
"What his offense may have been,
l don't know" said billiard. plung-
Ing doggedly into his narrative. But
he left town. 50 he told me. In a
tremendous revulsion Of feeling. His
one ambition was to make something
of himself, to wash out the past--to
justify his existence. And he went
overseas with the Idea Of genuine
service and sacrifice. And very soon.
terribly soon during 4 night
attack they got him." Hill
Hard paused effectively. There
wasn't a chance In q hundred for him
to recover. aud he knew It. And then
It came to him. blindlngiy and desper-
ately. that the world-tl,at is, the
world which had known him In his
failures-wOuld never hear what he
had done. He had made his sacri-
ice, and II was useless. In hospital.
he was Pierre Dutout. you see
and between that character. and his
own. was the barrier Of the subter-
fuge he had grasped 30 eageriy-his
alias. and bis false record. N, one
would have any reason to doubt that
he wasn't what he purported to be.
He craved to tell someone: to send
back a message to his old friends :
and I happened to be there-and he
connded In me. And here I am, Mr..
Cullen. Bringing credentials. Now,