Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1925-10-31
chic BLACK GANG

/ the uOOI, termed out or MS wits D
the look Of diabOlical fury IN the
| hunchback's eyes. Three or four
clerks, who had been surreptldously
peeping through the open door. melted
rapidly away, while from his chair
| Dir. Latter watched the scene fasci-
mated. He was reminded of a bird
, and snake and suddenly he gave
a little shudder as ne realized that his
own position was In reality much the
same as that Of the unfortunate
Cohen.
And then just as the tension was
becoming unbearable there came the
interruption. Outside in the passage,
clear and distinct, there sounded twice
the boot Of an owl. To Mr. Latter
It meant nothing: to the frightened
little Jew 1t meant nothing but on
the count the effect was electrical.
With a quickness incredible in one
so deformed he was at the door, and
into the passage. hurting Cohen out
| or his way into a corner. His power
full fists were elenched by his side:
the veins in his neck were standing
out like whipcord But to Mr.. Lat
ter's surprise he made no movement,
and rising from his chair he too peered
round the door along the passage,
only to stagger back after a second
or two with feeling Of sick fear
| In his soul, and a sudden dryness in
the throat. For twenty yards away.
framed in the doorway at the head
of the stairs leading down to the office
below, he had seen a huge. motionless
| figure For a perceptible time he had
stared at 1t, and II had seemed to
stare at him. Then the door had
shut, and on the other side a key
had turned. And the figure had been
draped from head to foot In black.
Charles Latter was immoral rather
than immoral: he was a constitutional
| coward with a strong liking for I'M
derhand intrigue. and he was utterly
and entirely selfish. In his way he
was ambitious; he wanted power, but,
though In many respects he was dis
! tinctly able, he lacked that essential
factor-the ability to work for 1t. He
hated work: he wanted easy results.
And to obtain lasting results is not
easy, as Mr.. Latter gradually discov-
cred. A capabllity for making flashy
speeches covered with veneer of
! cleyerness is an undoubted asset, but
| II is an asset the value of which
has been ganged to a nicely by the
men who count. And so as time went
on, and the epoch-making day when
he had been returned to parliament
faded into the past. Mr.. Latter real
lied himself for what he was-a
thing Of no account. And the realiza-
ton was as gall and NORWOOD to
his soul. II is a realization which
comes to many men, and it takes them
different ways. Some become resigned
some make new and even more
| futile efforts: some see the humor
Of II, and some don't Mr.. Latter
didn't: he became spiteful. And
spiteful coward is a nasty thing.
II was Just about that time that he
met Count Zadowa. It was AT dinner
at friends house, and after the
ladies rad left he found himself sit
ting next to the hunchback with the
strange, piercing eyes He wasn't
conscious Of having said very MUCK.
he would have been amazed had he
been told that within ten minutes this
charming foreigner had read his I'M
pleasant little mind like a hook. and
had reached certain and definite de-
cision. In fact, looking back on the
past few months, Mr. Latter was M a
loss to account as TO how things had
reached their present pass. Had he
been told when he stood for parlla-
! ment. Haunting all the old hackneved
formuHae that within two years he
world be secretly engaged IN ved-hot
! CssimuniSt work, he would have
isasaed the idea TO scorn. Anarchy.
too: nasty word. but the only one
that fitted the bomb outrage In Man
chester. which he had himself organ
lied, Sometimes In the night. he used
70 wake and lie sweating as he thought
OF thar episode.
And gradually It had become worse
and worse Little by little the charm.
ing Count Zadowa. realizing that Mr.
Latter possessed just those gifts which
he could utilize 20 advantage, had
ceased to he charming. There were
many advantages in having a men,
her Of parliament SIS chief liaison
/ officer.
/ There had been that frSt small sl,r
when he signed receipt for money
| paid him 70 address revolutionary
meeting In South Wales during the
coal strike And the receipt specified
the service rendered. An unpleasant
/ document IN view Of the fact that NJ,
! principal supporters m his constftu.
ency were coal-owners. And after
that the descent had been rapid.