The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1923-03-30
CHAPTER VI-continued.
s.

s.
Consulted continually by MEN con
cerned in great projects, immersed
day and night in vast affairs, capable
OF living completely as he wished-he
had been, at the age Of forty-six, great
but not famous, powerful but not pub
tlcly known. At that time an event
had occurred which had forced the
blind man out unwilllngly from his
ObScurity.
This event had been the murder of
the great western ~financier, Matthew
Latron. There had been nothing In
this affair which had in any way
Swallowed dishonOr upon Santoine. So
much as in his role of a mind without
personality Santolne ever fought. he
had fought against LatrOn; but his
fight had been not against the man
but against methods. There had come
then q time of uncertainty and un-
rest; public consciousness was in
the process of awakening to the
knowledge that strange things, APP
preaching close to the likeness Of
what men call crime, had been being
done under the u~nassuming name of
business. Scandal-financial scandal
-breathed more strongly against La
trOn than perhaps against any Of the
other western . He had been
among their biggest he had his enc
mies, of whom Hnpersonally Santoine
might have been counted me-, and he
had his friends. both In high places /;
he was 0 world figure. Then, all of
n sudden, the man had been struck
~down-killed, because of some private
quarrel. men whispered, by an obscure
and till then u~nheard-of man.
The trembling wires and cables,
which should have carried to the wait
Ing world the expected news OF La
irons conviction, carried instead the
news of LatrOn's death and disorder
followed. The first public concern
lad been. of course. for the stocks and
bonds of the great Latron properties
md Iatron's bigness had seemed only
further evidenced by the %stanchRess
with which the Lairon banks, the La
iron railroads and mines and public
utilities stood firm even against the
shock OF their builders death. AS
sured OF this, public interest had shift
ed TO the trial, conviction and SEN
tonce OF Iatron's murderer; and ii
was during this trial that Santoine's
name had become more publicly
known. Not that the blind man was
suspected OF any acknowledgements
less of any complicity-in the crime:
the murder had been because OF a
purely private matter: but in the ca
ger questioning into Latron's circum-
stances and surroundings previous to
the crime. Santoine was summoned
into court as a witness.
The blind man. led into the court,
sitting sightless in the witness chair,
revealing himself by his spoken, and
even more by hts withheld, replies as
n OF the unknown guiders Of the
destiny OF the Continent and as coun
selor TO the most powerful-himself
tiii then hardly heard Of but plainly
one OF. the nations 'uncrowned rulers
had caught the public sense. The
fate Of the murderer, the crime, even
Latron himself. lost temporarily their
interest In the public curiosity oyer
the personality Of Santoine.
IL had been reported for some days
that Santoine had come to Seattle d.
rectly after Warden's death: bat,
when this was admitted, his associ-
ates had always been careful to add
that Santolne, having been a close
personal friend of Gabriel Warden,
had come purely In a personal capac-
ity, and the impression was given that
Santoine had returned quietly some
days before. The mere p~rolonging of
hts stay in the West was more than
suggestive that affairs among the
powerful were truly In such state as
Warden had proclaimed; this attack
upon Santoine. so similar 10 that
Mi,ich had slain Warden. and deliv-
cred within eleven days OF Warden's
deat.. must he Of the gravest signif-
canoe.
C,rlncry stood overwhelmed for the
moment with this fuller recognition
0f iti' seriousness Of the disaster
w',iri, ma come upon this man In
trusted 10 his charge: then he turned
to the surgeon.
Gan sou do anything for him here,
DOCTOR he asked.
Tie surgeon glanced down the car.
1nat stateroom-Is II occupiedT