Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1922-09-29
CHAPTER Iv-continued.

"Some of them, yes-and all that
prince stuff with them" Smiling as
he dropped into English, Gramont
glanced about the room, and his eyes
softened
'This is a lovely and lovable home
of yours, Lucie !" he exclaimed grave
ly. $50 few Eomes are worthy the
name; so few have in them the inti-
mate air of use and friendliness-w
are so many furnished from bargain
sales? This place is touched with re-
pose and sweetness; to come and sit
here is a privilege. 1t is like being
in another world, after all the money
striving and the dollar madness of the
city
"OhY The girls gaze searched
him curiously. 7 hope you're not go
ing to take the fine artistic pose that
it is a crime to make 4noneyY
Gramont laughed
''Not much I want to make money
myself; that's one reason I'm in New
Orleans. Still, you cannot deny that
there is a craze about the eternal
clutching after dollars. can't make
the dollar sign the big thing in life,
Lucie. You couldn't either"
She frowned little.
"You seem to have the European
notion that all Americans are dollar
chasers Z"
He shrugged his shoulders slightly.
ain a sense, yes; why not?" he an
swered. 81 am an American. | am
a dollar chaser, and not ashamed of it.
/ am going into business here. Once
it is a success, I shall go on; shall
see America / shall come to know
this whole country of mine, all of it!
L have been a month in New Orleans
do you know, strange thing hap
pened to me only a few days aftHr I
arrived here!"
With her eyes she urged him on,
and he continued graveIy:
"In France I met a man, an Ameri-
can sergeant named Hammond. 1t
was just at the close of things. We
had adjoining cots at Nice"
"Ah!'' she exclaimed, quickly. ST
remember, you wrote about him-the
man who had been wounded in both
legs! Did he get well? You never
said"
81 never knew until I came here"
answered Gramont. zone night, not
long after I had got established in my
pension on Burgundy street, man
tried to rob me. 1t was this same
man. Hammond; we recognized each
other almost at once.
Il took him home with me and
learned his story. He had come back
to America only to find his wife dead
from influenza. his home broken up,
his future destroyed. He drifted to
New Orleans, careless of what hap
pened to him. He flung himself des-
porafeIy into a career of burglary and
r1!1age. Well, gave Hammond a
lob: he is my chauffeur. You would
never recognize him as the same man
now! I am very proud of his friend
ship"
"That was well said" Lucie nodded
her head quickly. 81 shan't call you
M. lie prince any more-unless you
offend again"
He smiled, reading her thought. 81
try not to be a snob, Ell? Well, what
Tn driving at is this: want to know
this country Of mine, to see it with
clear, unprejudiced eyes. We hide our
real shames and exalt our false ones.
Why should we be ashamed of chas-
ing the dollar? So long as that is
means to the end of happiness, it's all
right. But there are some men who
see it as an end alone. who can set no
finis to their work except the dollar
dropping into their pouch Such
man is your relative, Joseph Maillard.
I do not wish to offend you, and l shall
therefore refrain from saying all that
n In my mind. But you have not hest
tated to intimate very frankly that you
are not wealthy. Some time ago. if
you recall, you wrote me how you had
3ust missed wealth through having
sold some land. have taken the lib
erty of looking up that deal to some
extent, and have suspected that your
uncle had some interest in putting the
Bale 'hrOuab----"