Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1921-01-02


loyalty, on which he had built MS
creed Of life, turned to bitterness.
The first day of his idlenesS he wan
dered into the back room OF the COD
bler's shop near by, where the butter
seller from the corner, the maker OF
artificial flowers for graves, and the
cobbler himself were gathered, ana us
tened without protest to such talk as
would have reused him once to White
anger.
But the iron had not yet gone very
deep, and one thing he would not per
NIT. 1t was when, in the conversation,
one of them attacked the king. IheD
indeed he was reused to fury.
Once upon a time a student named
Haeckel had occasionally backed him
I'D in his defense of the royal family
But for some reason or other Haeckel
came no more, and old Adelbert missed
him. He had inquired for him fire.
Quently.
"Where is the boy HaeckelT he had
asked one day. 81 have not seen him
lately"
No one had replied. But a sort OF
grim silence settled over the little
room. Old Adelbert, however, was not
discerning.
But, that first day of idleness, when
he had left the cobbler's, he resolved
not to return. They had not been
unfriendly, but he had seen at once
there was q difference. He was nc
longer old Adelbert of the opera. He
was an old man only, and out of work
He spent hours that first free after
noon repairing his frayed linen ana
his shabby uniform, with his wooden
leg stretched out before him and his
pipe clutched firmly in his teeth,
Then, freshly shaved and brushed, he
started on painful search after work,
With no result. And, indeed, he was
hopeless before he began. He was ole
and infirm. There was little that he
had even the courage to apply for.
True, he had his small pension, but
1t came only twice a year, and was
sent, intact, to take care of an invalid
daughter in the country, That was
not his. He never used penny OF
it. And he had saved trlfle, by liv'
ing on air, as the concierge declared.
But misfortunes come in threes, like
fires and other calamtties. The after.
noon of that very day brought a let
: ter, saying that the daughter was
worse and must have an operation.
Old Adelbert went to church and
burned a candle for her recovery, and
from there to the bank to send by
registered mail the surgeons fec.
He was bankrupt in twenty-foul
hours.
That evening in his extremity he did
a reckless thing. lie wrote letter tG
the king. He spent hours over it, first
composing it in pencil and then copy
ing it with ink borrowed from the
concierge. 1t began "Sire," as he had
learned was the form, and went on tC
remind his majesty, first, of the hos.
pital incident, which, having been for
ty years ago, might have slipped the
royal memory. Then came the facts
his lost position, his daughter, tbs
handicap Of his wooden leg. 1t ended
with a plea for reinstatement or, fail.
ing that, for any sort OF work.
He sent it, unfoldcd, In large fiat
envelope, which also he had learned
was the correct thing with kings, who
for some reason or other do not like
folded communications. Then he
waited. He considered that u few
hours should bring return.
No answer came. No answer ever
came. For the king was i'll, snd sccre'
taries carefully sifted the royal mail
That night, in the conCierge's bu.
reau, he was treated to many Incl,
dents, all alike. The government took,
but gave nothing. AS well expect
blood out Of q stone. InstanceG were
given, heartlessness piled on heart
lesSness, one sordid story on an
other.
And as he listened there died in old
Adelbert's soul his flaming love for his
sovereign and his belief in him. His
eyes took on hard and haunted look.
That night he walked past the palace
and shook his fist at it. .ae VIZ
greatly ashamed Of that, however, anG
never repeated 1t. But his soul was
now an open sore, ready for infec-
ton.
And Black Humbert bided lis time.
On the day of the excursion to the
fortress old Adelbert decided tn appeal
to his fellow ledger, Herman Spier
Now and then, when he was afflueQt
he had paid small tribute to Herman
by means of the camp cookery on
which he prided himself.
ga soldiers mess!" he would say,
and bring in a bowl of soup, or Slice
of deer meat, broiled over hot Goals
in his tiny stove. EAT it, man. These
restaurants know nothing Of food"
Herman could pot help him. But
he eyed the old soldier appraisingly.
He guessed shrewdly the growing I'M
easiness behind Adelbe-t's brave front.
If now one could enlist such a man
for the cause, that would be worth
doing. Among the veterans the old
man was influential, and by this new
policy of substituting fresh blood for
stale, the government had made many
enemies among them.
The old mans bitterness had been
increased by two things. First, al.