The Red Cloud chief., 1920-07-08

not even Hunt knew Of his where
abouts-and for nearly a week vas I'M
seen in Chicago. The day he returned
he went to his safety deposit vault and
locked therein a packet of papers.
These papers, obtained at great price
and with commensurate difficulty. were
the deeds to the Fitzrandolph home
stead In Maryland. . And still
he was not happy. Still there remained
the void. the dull gap he could not Oil.
Time and again during his first year
OF grief Fitzhugh had e~ndeavored,
with characteristic audacity, to see
Kathleen, but always substantially In
vain. He had followed her to New.
port. whence she flew with her moth
err after the rupture, found she had
sailed the day before for Switzerland,
had taken the next steamer. only to
miss her again, and for three months
had played battledore-an -shuttlecock
with two defenseless women over the
major part Of the continent, often stay
ing In the same hotel. yet ever catch
ing more than a fleeing glimpse Of the
one he loved.
All efforts Mt communication we're
likewise fruitless. 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 ut 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 CLEAN Of hope fickered out.
She was abroad most Of the time
now, returning to Chicago only mt rare
intervals. and then but for a brief stay.
He heard that Artie Sparkle was often
with her. and sometimes ut the club
there were rumors Of
But he laughed loudly at these. He
refused to listen. The idea was pre-
| posterOus-absurd. Yet It was never
| theless true that this gossip Of Kath-
leen's engagement to Artie Immediate
ly preceded some extraordinary per
Torrance 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. Un-
conventionality was his dissipation.
and In his own way he became intoxi-
Gated.
Some four years after that day In
June-four years In which he had seen
Kathleen less than a score Of times
and had spoken to her less than thrice
-%Fltzhugh laid the foundation of the
throne upon which he was to reign for
a brief but blazing period as King Of
Wheat. These four years had bred IN
unwholesome change In the man. The
amassing Of gold had become his re-
ligion. Its virus had entered his soul.
He allowed nothing to stand between.
crushing all opposition with an iron
hand. Everything was subservient to
but n 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 It was always uppermost.
Hunt. In the erratic meanwhile. had
courageously 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
Fitzhugh entered the wheat pit. and
while these instances we're generally
emblazoned with a burst Of histrion-
les, he was never for q second blinded
by the glare. When he seemed most
ebullient 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 se~lf-centered to be
alive to his surroundings. While they
were plying him for his rawness, his
crudities, and confidently expecting his
downfall, he would astonish them by
executing some brilliant coup that sug-
gested deep-laid plans as splendid as
his daring.
When In the conflict OF the pit every
fiber Of his being vas quiveringly
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
Ing. Not a tremOr Of that higgledy'
piggledy turmoil escaped him. Eal
and eye were quick to grasp every
/ variation. He was instantly alive &c
. every trick, every subterfuge. He wa:
swift to seize upon the merest open
!, Ing, swift to attack the first unprotect
ed spot. He was the shrewdest Of
them all. and he played a game non,
could understand. Outwardly. tn,
greenest Of bunglers at 1t, secretivel,
he Unanswered with a master hand.
: 1t was In the winter Of this yea
that Fitzhugh wen deepest into tn,
: wheat pit. He plunged In farther ant
farther, and with such apparent reck