The Ordway new era., 1922-07-07

muscles in his shoulders; but his BODY
had become fat and soft, his face was
puffed and his eyes watery and bright;
his brown hair, which was shot all
through with gray, was dirty and mat
ted he had three or four days growth
of beard. When he sat up and looked
about it was plain that whisky was
only one of the forces working upon
him-the other was fever which
burned up and sustained him intermit-
tently.
"Lo." he greeted Alan. "Where's
shat d-n Injin, hey? l knew Ben
Corvet was shere-knew he was shere
all time. Course he's shere; he got
to be shere. That's shrlght. You go
get 'iml"
"Who are you?" Alan asked.
"Say, who'r you? What t'hells syou
doin' here? Never see you before
go-go get Ben Corvet. JUS
say Ben Corvet, Lu-luke's shere. Ben
Corvet'n know Lu-luke all right; al
waysh, alwaysh knows me.
whats, the matter with yOu?"
Alan had drawn back but now went to
the man again. The first idea that this
might have been merely some old sail
or who had served Benjamin Corvet
or, perhaps, had been comrade in
the earlier days, had been banished
by the confident arrogance of the
mans tone-an arrogance not to be
explained, entirely, by whisky or by
the fever.
How long have you been this way?'
Alan demanded. Where did you come
from?" He put his hand on the wrist;
ii was very hot and dry; the pulse
was racing, irregular; at seconds it
seemed to stop; for other seconds it
was continuous. The fellow coughed
and bent forward. "What is it
pneumonia?" Alan tried to straighten
him up.
"Gi me drink! Go get Ben
Corvet, tell you! Get Ben
Corvet quick! Say-yous shear? You
get me Ben COrvet; you better get
Ben Corvet; you tell him Lu-uke's
here; won't wait any more; goin'
t'have my money now sright
away, your shear? Kick me out s'loon;
1 guess not no more. Ben Corvet give
me all money 1 want or 1 talk ~
Talk. :"
"Syou know it, l amt goin' -
He choked up and tottered back
Alan, supporting him, laid him down
and stayed beside him until his cough
ing and choking ceased, and there was
only the rafting rasp of his breathing.
When Alan spoke to him again, Luke's
eyes opened, and he narrated recent
experiences bitterly; all were blamed
to Ben Corvet's absence; Luke, who
had been drinking heavily a few
nights before, had been thrown out
when the saloon was closed; that was
Ben Corvet's fault; If Ben Corvet had
been around, Luke would have had
ell the money any one wanted;
no one would have. thrown out Luke
then. Luke slept in the snow, all wet.
When he arose, the saloon was open
again, and he got more whisky, but not
enough to get him warm. He hadn't
been warm since That was Ben Cor
vets fault. Ben Corvet better be
round now; Luke wouldn't stand any
more.
opened the coat and under fannels
and felt the heaving chest. He went
to the hall and looked in the telephone
directory. He remembered the name
of the druggist on the corner Of Clark
street and he telephoned him, giving
the number on Astor street.
Il want a doctor right away" he
said. ANY good doctor; the one that
you can get quickest" The druggist
there within quarter of an hour.
Alan went back to Luke, who was
silent now except for the gasp of his
breath; he did not answer when Alan
spoke to him, except to ask for whis-
ky. Alan stood watching, strange,
sinking tremor shaking him. This
man had come there to make a claim
"a claim which many times before,
apparently. Benjamin Corvet had ad-
mitted. Luke came to Ben Corvet
for money which he always got-all
he wanted-the alternative to giving
which was that Luke would talk"
that meant. of course;
blackmail which not only Luke had
told of but which Wassaquam too had
as Alan now realized. Money
for blackmail-that was the reason
for that thousand dollars in cash
which Benjamin Corvet always kept
at the house.
Alan turned with sudden shiver
of revulsion toward his fathers chair
fn place before the hearth; there for
hours each day his father had sat
with book or staring into the fire
always with what this man knew
hanging over him, always arming
against 1t with the thousand dollars
ready for this man, whenever he came.
Meeting blackmail paying blackmail
for as long as Wassaquam had been
in the house. for as long as 1t took to
make the once muscular powerful fig