The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1923-02-16
CHAPTER Vl-Continued.


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
iicly known. At that time an event
had occurred which had forced the
blind man out unwillingly from his
obseurity.
This event had been the murder of
the great western financier, Matthew
Latron. There had been nothing in
this affair which had i any way
Swallowed dishonor upon Santoine. So
much as in his role of a mind without
personality Santoine ever fought, he
had fought against Latron; but his
fight had been not against the man
but against methods. There had come
then a time of uncertainty and I'M
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 unassuming name of
business. Scandal-financial scandal
-breathed more strongly against La
tron than perhaps against any of the
other western men. He had been
among their biggest; he had his enc
mics, of whom impersonally Santoine
might have been counted one, and he
had his friends, both in high places 4;
he was a world figure. Then, all of
a sudden, the man had been struck
down-killed, because of some private
quarrel, men whispered, by an obscure
and till then unheard-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
had been, of course, for the stocks and
bonds of the great Latron properties
and Latron's bigness had seemed only
further evidenced by the s-anchness
with which the Latron 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
tence of Latron's murderer; and i
was during this trial that Santoine
name had become more publicl,
known. Not that the blind man wa
suspected of any knowledge-mucl
less of any complicity-in the crime
the murder had been because of
purely private matter; but in the ca
ger questioning into Latron's circum
stances and surroundings previous t.
the crime, Santoine was summone,
into court as witness.
The blind man, led into the court
sitting sightless in the witness chair
revealing himself by his spoken, an
even more by his withheld, replies a
one of the unknown guiders Of tn
destiny Of the Continent and as cour
SelOr to the most powerful-himsel
till then hardly heard of but plainl
one of the nations "uncrowned rulers
had caught the public sense. TIL
fate of the murderer, the crime, eve
Latron himself, lost temporarily thei
interest in the public curiosity owe
the personality of Santoine.
1t had been reported for some day
that Santoine had come to Seattle d
rectly after Warden's death: BIT
when this was admitted, his assoc
ates had always been careful to ad
that SantOine, having been a clos
personal friend of Gabriel Warde,
Lad come purely in personal capa
ity, and the impression was given tn;
Santoine had returned quietly son
days before. The mere prolonging
his stay in the West was more tha
suggestive that affairs among Il
powerful were truly in such state
Warden had proclaimed; this attat
upon Santoine, so similar to TIL
which had slain Warden, and deli
cred within eleven days of Warden
DEATH must be of the gravest signi
canoe.
Connery stood overwhelmed for II
moment with this fuller recogniti,
of the seriousness of the disast
which had come upon this man u
trusted to his charge; then he turn
to the surgeon.
"Can you do anything for him hel
Doctor?" he asked.
The surgeon glanced down the G:
'That stateroom-is it occupied?"
"Its occupied by his daughter"
"We1l take him in there, then"
The four men lifted the inert figu
of Basil Santoine, carried il into t
drawing room and laid it on its "a
upon the bed.
II have my instruments" Sincl.
said. "Pll get them; but before
eide to do anything, / ought to s
his daughter. Since she is here, h
consent is necessary before any opel
tion on him.
Miss Santoine is in the observati
ear" Avery said. ''I'll get her."
The tone WAS in some way false