The Oklahoma miner. [volume] (Krebs, Okla.) 1912-192?, 1920-08-26

miss her again, and for three monrhs
had played battlcdore-and-shu
with two defcuSclcss women over the
major part of the continent often stay
ing i'm the same hotel yet never catch
ing more than deeting glimpse of the
one he loved.
All efforts at communication were
likcvisc fruitlCSs. His letters were re
turned unopened. His gifts, too. When
they returned home in the autumn he
had ordered a box Of violets delivered
to Kathleen every morning. The
florist WAS an honest man, and at the
months end he had rendered a bill
only for carriage
But Fitzhugh died hard. For three
years he never gave up trying. Then
the last glcam of hope hickered out.
She was abroad most of the time
now, returning to Chicago only at rare
intervals. and then but for a brief stay.
He heard that ArHe Sparkle was often
with her and sometimes at the club
there were rumors Of
But he laughed loudly at these. He
refused to listen. The idea was pre-
noSterouS-abSurd Yet it was never
tholeSs true that this gossip of Kath-
leen's engagement to Artie Immediate
ly preceded some extraordinary per
formance that kept the name of Fitz
hugh on the lips of thousands for
weeks afterward As another man
would have turned TO drink so he
turned To STACEY extravaganza. Tn
conventlonality was his dissipation,
and i'm his own way he became intoxi-
Gated.
Some four years after that day In
lune-four years I'm which he had seen
Kathleen less than a score of times
and had spoken to her less than thrice
-Firzhugh laid the foundation of the
throne upon which he was to reign for
q brief but blazing period ms King Of
Wheat. These four years had bred an
unWholeSome change in the man. The
amassing of gold had become his re-
liEion. Its virus had entered his soul.
He allowed nothing to stand between,
crushing all opposition with an iron
hand. Everything was subservient to
hut one end, and that end was Money.
All his faculties, all his tireless energy
and zeal and ambition were concen-
trated upon ii. Waking or asleep, the
/ thought Of II was always uppermost
Hunt in the erratic meanwhile. had
! coCrageously piloted the deserted ship.
/ knowing its rightful captain would
/ again take the helm when "he came to
/ himself More than any other. Henry
! Hunt enjoyed the full confidence of
/ his chief. He was one Of the very few
/ who knew Fitzhugh's real name and
/ family history.
At irregularly recurring periods
/ FiJzhush entered the wheat pit, and
/ while these instances were generally
. emo.azoned with burst Of histrion-
+ les, he was never for a second blinded
. by the glare. When he seemed most
/ ebu.l.enC he was really most cool-head-
+ ed. He fooled the pit traders. They
. could never quite penetrate his bluff
ing They perceived his propensity
for posing. and made the mistake Of
. thinking him too self-Centered to be
alive 10 his surroundings. While they
were pitying him for his rawness, his
crut.rieS, and confidently expecting his
downfall, he would astonish them by
. executing some brilliant coup that sug-
seSted deep-laid plans as splendid as
his daring
I When in the conflict Of the pit every
fiber Of his being was Quiverlngly
alert. Seemingly absorbed in thinking
of himself and the effect of his pos
lures, he was searching his opponents
faces for the slightest trace Of mean.
iuS. Not q tremor Of that higgledy.
pi-EIedy turmoil escaped him. Ear
and eye We're quick 70 grasp every
variation. He was instantly alive to
every trick, every Suhtertuge. He was
SWit, 20 seize upon the mereSt open
.DS. swift 10 attack the first unproteCt.
ed spot He was the Shrewdest ot
them ALL and he played game none
could understand Ourwardly. the
. EreeneSt OF bungIerS at it, Secretiyely
. DE maueuveCed with a master hand.
u was in the winter OF this year
TIA, FicEhuSh wen, deepest into the
Nshear pit BE plunged In farther and
farther scd with such apparent reck.
ls>S--Ss that many times Hunt held
back. ccuuSeEuE g slower and more
. cautious gait. Buy rhs leader was OBJ
Gu-ge lie would listen 90 no advice.
He rushed ye, deeper into the plt.
D.