Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1920-02-25

Hut the thrill dissolved, and anNio's
took its place when he discovered
that Il was past o'clock and this
was only Buffalo! His watch, anu
railway folder gave him indigestibl,
food for thought, and the snow, tax
ing upon itself the role or a barrier
to traffic, was suddenly less agree
able to look at. Wreaths In the win
dows OF nearby houses, holly berries
and red ribbon. glimpscs Of featherV
FIR boughs and tinsel thru the cur
tains--ali these awoke within him a
new and a disturbing fancy that nt
the end OF two thousand miles OF
visioning he might be irretrievably
late! Illogically he made haste to
rise; he wanted to flavor his i'm
patience by counting landmarks.
The diner was half filled when he
arrived for breakfast, and the train
was sti! standing in the yards. As
tho conductor wished him a perfume
tory Merry Christmas, billiard smiled
obliquely.
Not unless you make up some
speed between here and Syracuse"
he said.
Not much chance OF that" said
the conductor, punching the order
slip. It's deep snow from here on.
sir. Lucky Il we're in in time for
your turkey"
billiard sighed, frightened as the
train dragged itself into sluggish
motion. and gave his attention to the
landscape. u was typically n scene
from a Christmas card: all II needed.
at any moment, was few lines of
enErav.ngs in the foreground to be a
very fair counterpart of the cards
which tIiniard had ordered sent out
to all his friends. He smiled ex-
pansively. ar the conception OF what
the name of billiard on those cards
now meant to Syracuse. They were
undoubtedly magnifying his gran
deur now: he knew enough of human
nature 20 realize that In his home
coming he was certain to be greeted
as a multi millionaire. And 1t wasn't
MULTI was only the possibility of a
single one.
The thought OF riches turned his
mind 10 the individuals who would
share In them Dr. Durant. who. I'M
less he chose. need never keep office
hours again-he could devote himself
to the research he loved; Cullen,
whose blind, bulldog faith had made
him forever independent. even Rufus
Waring. whose modest contribution.
accepted out of spleenless COM
miseration had swelled to the dig
nifty of four figures, and given him
the means to show the world to
Angela. And billiard himself had
made far more than all the other
venturers comhir"d-not In money.
perhaps hut in divid0-ds PAYABLE in
the modir,r, If his ccrF-ras-ec-
And yet as the realities stood. now,
he was sensitive to the nothingness
of his triumph, until such time as he
had some one to divide ii with him.
For there is little pleasure in a mon
opoly Of happiness; not even a joke
is fully established until some one
appears to share it; secret is
dclectable only when it's repeated. a
conquest is empty without the popu-
lar acclaim, or the arrival Of the
historian. He felt this keenly; he
reflected that of all the syndicate. he
alone was without a beneficiary.
And today, when he had steeled him.
self TO speak to Carol Like
countless generations of men before
! him, he began vaugeiy TO wonder
I what he should do If she refused
| him.
| What would be left? Only the
| shell Of achievement. Would he go
| back to France? or would he remain
! in America and struggle for success
/ by best owing war charities out of
| his glorious income be? Also
and this was enervaung &. .
what should he say 10 her? II is
given to few men to propose twice,
! in different characters, to the same
girl
The train plowed and painted thru
| the thickening drifts; billiards.
watch was coming out Of his pocket
at Ave minute Intervals here was
! Rochester a los. three hours
! late . and there. shining dimly
thru banked clopds, was the SUM-
| The train seemed warmed to greater
effort by its mere appearance; Hill
| lard. who had measured time by
weeks, then by days. and more re-
Gently by reluctant hours, began to