The Dolores star., 1924-05-02
CHAPTER TX
Below the Falls,


From the ninth Of October, when
Joe telegraphed Jennie for infOrma-
tion on the totals of the drafts that
were coming in, his office heard no
word of him until within a week of
the expiration of Williamson's offer
1t was an anxious time for Jennie
saved from being desperate only by a
continual asseveratlon of her faith
that Joe would turn up in time, bring
ing some sort of means of salvation
with him.
But on Tuesday. the second Of No
vember, Just as she was getting ready
to leave the Office ut the end Of the
afternoon. a boy from the Strstford
hotel brought her note written in
lead-pencil in a hand so little like
Joe's that momentarily she doubted
the signature. 1t asked her simply to
come up and see him as soon as she
could, telling her the number Of the
room he was in. He had scribbled the
words, "Its all right" after signing,
but this she took as referring merely
to the propriety Of her visit.
With heart-sickening premonitlon
that everything that mattered had
utterly gone wrong, she went along
with the bellboy to the hotel and
had MIN show her up to Joes room.
He called in answer to her knock,
Come in, Jennie, If that's you."
1t was then nearly six o'clock, fully
dark long since out-of-doors, yet his
room was unlighted save by small
night-lamp upon the bed-stand Joe,
all alone, was sitting In an easy chair
that had been drawn up to one Of the
windows, a rug across his knees. He
| looked round AT her and nodded toward
another chair that shared the en-
brasure, but made no other move.
1t was all she could do not to weep.
| II did not seem possible that the six
weeks since she had last seen him, in
Fargo, could have made such devas-
tating changes in the man she knew.
| He was shrunken, chilly-hudded un-
der his rug; the hand he finally Of
| fered her was slack and his voice spir-
| itless, despite the pitiable effort he
1T mo iIuuHtT. she
stood speechless, holding the linn
hand he had given her in both her own.
"Oh, let's get it over with" he ex.
claimed at last. "Slt down. You want
to know what's happened, | suppose
Pm licked-that's the short Of It,"
| You're SICK" she retorted. "Thars
the main trouble"
See that in the dark, can you?" he
asked, with drawn grin. "Well
you're wrong What you see Is only a
| by-prOduct Of the biggest drunk | ever
had, guess 1t must have been.
wasn't there. except at the start. til
after it was all over. but that's my
best Judgment on It"
Celebrating something were your
she asked, keeping back the tears.
You might say ! was, In a way
II wasn't over having sold our fax
though, nor borrowed the money tc
pay for 1t. Not pound nor dollar
But celebration Isn't d bad word 70,
It, at that"
They've really beaten US, then
have they, JOer'
ihere was d long-stretched silence
IT want they that beat me-" he sait
at last. "Ihey couldn't have done IT
IL was the other thing guess yor
know that. don't your Didn't YOU sc,
anything queer when you came up tt
Fargo In Scptemberi Not abou-
them: about meT'
She nodded. whisky. you mean ?,
Ihen slowly and carefully Joe toIc
no" things had seencd about to breal
right for him In New York, only a,
me last moment lie had taken drin,
ana mat had led to n big drunk. n
the end Of which he found himself II
Bellevue.
when he became master Of blmsel
J again hs had wired Doctor Bennett