Red Lodge daily news combined with Carbon County news., 1933-01-11

the great windows against which
a savage December gale hurled it
self in across sullen Lake Michigan.
That's somethin' else" he
growled.
Harrington p~ersistently eyed him.
and the old man squirmed again.
There's only one thing that
really matters, when all's said and
DONE" he said finally. That's a
mans reputation. And a mans rep
utation narrows down to his reputa-
ton with certain folks. I've got a
rating as an honest man, which is
something everybody with self-re-
spect's got to have; and I'm rated
as rich. but | don't give a boot about
how much money the Belknap Lum
Der company's worth. or the value
of any of the outfits ii controls IN
der other names. I'm glad I've got
q name for bein' a hard fighter
gladder that men must concede I'm
a fair fighter. But there's only one
thing that matters much, that gets
In close to a mans heart" He
paused. That's what John thinks
of me-"
Silence for a moment, except for
the ~buffeting of the gale about that
Chicago s~kyscraper.
You've got three kids, Harring-
ton. | had only n and a
humdingerl That cub HIS
bells, a man can't say what he feels
on ONE thingsl Nobody'll V e
know how hard | tried to play up to
what he's thought me ever since he
was so high nobody yer can know
what q burden it's been to be the
kind of a party he thought | was"
The rough voice had become q mon
otone now, as though he fought for
self-control.
HE opposed me just once; he
warned me just once. Him. a kid,
warnin' me about my judgment of
a man. | laughed at him and
Well. | laughed at him and"
Harrington added:
"And he was right"
another guess"-in another surly
growl. "But"-looking up again,
face furrowed with intense eagerness
-"if that was so-I'm not adj
mittin' 1t, but If 1t was so-would
you let him find 1t out first? Would
you let him come to you and say
| told-you-soY Pause. mot on your
life, you wouldn'tl
"You wouldn't LET him even sus-
pect that the thing he'd worked
for and waited for wasn't what he'c
expected You wouldn't let him
think that the one present he'd
wanted was married before II got
into his hands. Not much, you
wouldn't! You'd fix 1t up, some
how. even If the trouble was so mys.
FERROUS you couldn't locate 1t, be-
fore you handed 1t over SO
so the estimate he had of you
wouldn't lose anything of . of
what II hadi Then you'd tell him
he'd been right, but not beforei"
he waited a long moment.
wouldn't your" he insisted.
IF | had your devotion and the
Belknap pride, Tom. | expect I
would" Harrington answered grave
ly. "But the devil of II Is that you're
leaving today for Europe, and won't
be-"
"Yesi The devil of i'll And the
devil of 1t Is, the d-n doctors are
right I'm no fool. Harrington; I
know that they know. know when
they say | need three months in a
place where business can't reach me
that I'd better hit the grade for that
place. Well, nobody but the doctors
and you know this trips forced. |
amt going to worry anybody. A big
timber operation can't go to HI In
a heap in ninety days. I'll be back
I'll be fit to go INTO the Kampfest
thing with sleeves rolled up, find out
just what and how much IL wrong
and I'll set 1t for John as we'd
planned it'd bel"
"But don't you see that while you're
away the office could"
Il wash my W dirty linen I"
But suppose, Tom, something
should happen?"
The old man shook his head, half
in negation, half In agreement.
"Td have to come clean, then,
guess. I'm prepared for that" He
opened a drawer and took out q
sealed envelope. Il wrote this last
night. It's for John If IL some
cathedral should fall on me. If |
come back, | want 1t back from
you. And If | don't come back.
you might just say, Harrington
say 70 the boy that that he was
a humdinger will your"
The strong voice shook a trifle as
Harrington eyed the firm pen
strokes. i%nscribing the name of John
Steele Belknap on that envelope.
"Sure, Tom" the secretary said
just a bit huskily. "Sure thing. And