Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-11-18

proof OF that at the bankerC. For ne,
too, had thrown his all into the deal.
He sold the house for q fresh start,
and with some Of this money he bid
In your books and vases and chairs,
attend attend the he auction st himself. lie felt il
pretty well battered up, but that was
Of minor Importance against what had
happened to you. You had lost every.
thing, and he considered himself d..
rectiy responsible. He was Wild with
II canu imagine II! Poor silas"
"Sir, my fathers loyalty to you
lasted until the hour Of bis death.
What about your loyalty to him-that
took fight at the first cloud? It is
evident that you took. no trouble to
ascertain the facts. instantly you
sUesnt sSss .he my beass entssF DOUBT n'n But Sof
understand, cir. You were mad, and
you have been madman ever since"
- A shade Of bewilderment passed over
Kennedy's face, disyipatinS the sar.
donic smile.
Where were you? What had be.
come Of you? MY father never knew"
| II was a trusty in prison." said
Kennedy, the sardonic smile returning.
''How was he to know that? You
never appealed to him."
appeal to Silas Bancroft7"
Bancroft sighed. The man was still
cabsessed: There was rain and sleet
only hall. conscious Of what he was
doing. He wore no Overcoat. He
! hadn't the heart to cable you. He
could not 60 to your wife and tell
her that Silas Bancroft had innocently
ruined her husband, his friend. The
next day he was taken to hospital,
stricken with double pneumonia. You
Will find these facts In the hospital
records. For eight weeks he hovered
between life and death. When he
finally pulled through his heart was
In such a precariOus condition that he
was frankly advised to put his house
IN order. that he had about a year to
live. All. Mr.. Kennedy. when you
entered that window, it was not In fear
that my father extended his hands.
Here. miraculously before him, was the
man he loved. the man who had been
and always would be an integral part
of his life. The emotion Of that
moment was too much, and he died,
thank God. without comprehending that
you had entered with murderous in.
. Kennedy's face became set, stony ;
the expression was not describable;
but Bancroft noted the change, and
hoped. -,
suited n great specialist. who told him
that he might be able to extend his
years perhaps by five II he made q
groove for himself and moved back and
forth in 1t, never deviating from the
line, never putting himself in the way
Of haste or shock, destroying all the
emotional senses, keeping out Of bust.
ness excitements and turmoil. This
he set himself to do. So, mocking
science the. absolute, deriding the
prognOstications Of the medical, de.
flying death, he re- established bis for.
tunes to the considerable eextent
whereof you know. For you and for
me. sir. A life as barren as the desert,
loveless and friendless. hooted at az
q miser. know now that it was not
the evening sunshine on his face; 1t
was the celestial light within"
A Deep and Tender Yearnlng
Bancroft cleared his voice, for his
emotions were choking him.
Human love; to make it negative,
aloof, detached. The thought that he
must, to live! The thought that he
must deny himself Of love. what could
that do but accentuate the need and
longing? BY will alone. Had l been
older at the time he might not have
been able to go through with it. But
by the time ] craved affection he had
mastered all emotion. Had he made
the least sign at any time l would
have flung myself into his arms, and
he knew It Remember that, SIR"
He fumbled In his pocket for tho
letter.
Here Is a letter. sir. which OK
plains everything fully. You will note
that it begins My beloved SON. VIII
you read 1t, sir! You know what my
own youth was. was the village
pariah; but in compensation for that
l discovered your books. And all the
while my father loved me: and all |
the while he dared not put his arm
across my shoulder. fearing the result |
of such an emotion. He dared not |
visit even my mothers grave. Cant
You see. sir: your life and his wrecked
and part of mine by a man you and |
never saw. whose name we do not
know. who was physically as remote |
AZ the pole? All three Of US innocent |
bystanders. lie searched for you.
through detective agencies, to the day |
Of his death. 10 win for you the fortune
lie had promised you. To win q
separate one for me, to compensate me
TOR TOR, a.! forlorn youth. VIII you read
He was not aware of it, but he threw !
into his voice deep and tender yearn.
Ing. lie did not recognize that, In this |
there was nothing else COM
parable to bringing this man back to !
sanity. back to life, shattered though
ne was. and In the end to make a
friend Of him.
1T cannot return to you your dear
ones. 1t cannot recall those dreadful
years in prison, 1t cannot restore my
empty bOyhoOd but IL II brought under.
standing to me 1t will bring under.
to you, SIR"
Slowly Kennedy stretched out his
hand for the letter.
For fully minute Kennedy held tho
in his hand without attempt.
Ing to extract the contents; stared at
i as u man might stare at q strange
ioor, wondering what he should find
{ he opened 1t. Everything. or moth.
ng? There was flash of grim humor,
perhaps the last he was ever to know.
Charles Jeremiah Kennedy would not
love a single thing to live for. Almost
instantly he would change from the cor
'orcal 70 the ghostly from n human
,eins, filled with passionate desire for
'engeance, he would become an empty
shade. physically without direction,
mentally without conference.
Something in the boys tone and
manner carried Kennedy back thirty
nd years, to Cambridge, to the days
when he and Silas had been a pair Of
lively young scamps. into all kinds Of
but always passing their ex-
'minatiOns creditably; in the end, to
30 awarded their sheepskins. to the