Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-11-17

IN the room hau the erect OF DelnR seen
N the ncbulOsity Of water. Bancroft
saw a deal table and two chairs, one
on each side of the table. young man:
n little lcurning is a dangerous thing"
II might counter that. STR. by saying
hat a little misunderstanding II equal
~ a dangerous thing" 1'nncrOfts voice
vas thick, for HIS heart was pounding.
He must do nothing to inflnme this
mailman; he must wait patiently for
the dcnOucmcnt.
each other?" ..
"Yes. SIR.
. Stewart did not reply, but approach.
rd Bancroft and carried him to one OF
the chairs. Bancroft was forced to sit.
Nancy was probably In some room
above, numb with cold and terror.
Whatever he did. he must always Keep
this fact in mind, Nancy!
"Do you know who / amp Stewart
demanded, roughly :.
"iou are Charles Jeremiah Kennedy
my fathers friend"
Your fathers trusting friend"
Demoniacal laughter followed this, and
1t broke qucerly. "Ah. my God! And
in another minute I should have had
my hands upon his throat!"
''1n n little while you will thank
cd him."
ut would have been an. extrnor'li.' .'
nary miracle. ] have wandered. these
twenty years, tnrGugh all the labyrinths
Of hell :. 20 don't expect any mercy
"Do you intend to kill me In his
stead. sir? ! should like to know
II haven't decided" said Kennedy
moohily. 1t remains to be seen.'
II have never harmed you.
'What has that to do with it? You
are his SON. Then Kennedy burst into
the ironic strain again. '"rhe Grea,
Adventure C0mpany--somc absurd bus
mess to start your wonder. And Il little
later you put two and two together andl
connected me with the man who entered
your fathers office. Everything l plan.
ned for you to do you did. You reasoned
that by stepping into each pitfnll you
would eventually learn what I was up
to. Clever, but not clever enough
''Thut Is true. sir. I'm not much
more. than boz. Still. ! found out
who you wcrc.'
"Churlrs Jeremiah Kennedy, it has
been many year since l heard that
name spoken.' Kennedy turns, abrupt
gestures. He did not want to hurt the
boy and yet =" the fathers mouth
and eyes Of him stimulated the will to
murder. 80. to keep moving, to tire out
the inclination. Once he paused glOOnily
before his prisoner. "Are you afraid
of me?"
Eyes. But only rs n normally sanc
man has the right to fear another who
is----'
~ WONDER" mused Kennedy. "Why
not? Whit has there not been to drive
s,,rn I hn, I'LL I an
spent fourteen. years in prison, / have
lost all thnt earth held dear-my wife,
my child. Fourteen years with iron bars
between me and sunshine--becnusc Of
your fathers pcrfidy. t.usted him ab-
sOlutcly. and he bcggared me. My child
She may be dead. sh" may be hungry.
she may be drab thing Of the streets.
Day after day l have sought her in the
crowds. Oh, would know her instantly.
She would have her mothers SMILE"
The Mailman Becomes Sane
Tears welled into Bancroft's eyes
and began to roll down his cheeks.
What an Odyssey of sustained mis-.
turned: johnny Jones Of South Dakota,
content to be Il cowboy, but whose bones
rotted In France because n man by the
name of William Hohenzollern--the
innocent bystnnder. lie must let this
unhappy man. relieve his soul of All
its accumulated bitterness; tell his
story: then he should have the truth.
But what weak little staff it seemed
for these colossal miseries to lean on
The truth would not bring back the
wife and child. return the fourteen
years wasted in Il dungeon keep; 1t
might not bring back even the mans
faith in mankind.
Kennedy went on. He did not address
Bancroft particularly. "What have. l
done that God should pile these miseries
any human being. l had played square.
And here l stand, guilty Of an limo.
cent mans death, guilty of the death
Of your father. If not by deed, by intent.
From a kindly man. something of Il
dreamer. | became Il piece of machinery,
dedicated to destruction Rocked
me. when l was thousands of miles
away and could not defend myself! For
fourteen years I had nothing to do but
think and plan. think and plan. But
your father had hidden SO cleverly that
I found him only that day"
BancrOft's chin sank to his chest. In
nocent bystanders! This unhappy
wretch, Silas Bancroft and Silas Ban.
croft s son. all three innocent by
ISLANDERS, rocked and pulverized by
chance. medley! Bancroft thought Of his
fathers agony. never daring to throw
his arm across his sons shoulder for fear
the emotion might snip the slender
thread by which his life hung.
II knew nothing Of finance con-
tinued Kennedy, rasiming his pacing.
That was your fathers game. So
turned everything had into CASH
borrowed on call lOans--dumpcd it into
his hands, and sailed for South America.
! sailed away Kennedy laughed again.
II sailed away! When returned, two
months Inter. my wife was dead and
buried, my child gone. the savings of
years wiped ont. Why, ] didn' t even
know your fathers brokers!
was that trustful! | immediately wrote
to friend Of mine in l.nl'nz and turned
that mine had taken up most of my
ready cash; and would need capital
to work it. then destroyed all my
luggage and papers-unything that
would indentify me rs kennedy-and
started out to kill your father. But
first, ! wanted one more look at the
old home where ! had known such hap
piness. There was a crowd about the
door. An auctiOneer was chanting in
side. The world became red. ] pushed
people aside. 4 policeman interfered.
] knocked him into the areaway. He
died almost instantly from cOncussiOn.
An hour later ! was in the TOmbs
for manslaughter, under the name Of
Stew,frt, the first that came into my
head. Manslaughter!" Kennedy covered
his eyes for Il moment. II suppose
God wanted to see how much human
being could stand and selected me to