The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1936-05-14
By EDWIN BALMER
CopyriKhtb by Edwin Balmer
WNU Service
CHAPTER l

Braddon. with finishing flourish. on
the last of the sheaf of checks before
him, and he flung his fountain-pen
accurately Into Its bell-lipped holder.
he liked to hit 1t like that, after sign
Ing checks for four hundred thousand.
And 1t was his money, or funds under
his control His name. written by
himself, converted these green slips
OF paper into cash. Sometimes. sit
ting here. he had signed for more
than half million; once for a mill
lion. And ne could sit back and spear
that holder with his pen so that 1t
stuck In, two out of three tries. That
was showing your nerves were In
shape, that was staying twenty-eight
and beating business at the same
time.
Miss Gilbert came In to gather up
the checks
.Who's waiting?" Jeb asked
Mr.. Saunders about insult utili-
ties, Mr.. Hazen :. And have you
forgotten your brother, Mr. sBraddon?"
Jeb laughed. Good Lord. | did Is
he still out there7 Shoot him In first"
Left alone. Jeb swung about slow
~ In the winter sunlight and gazed
out his windows over the city All
Chicago except a rival pinnacle or
two, lay below him. for the offices
of j. E. Braddon and Company
claimed two floors high In one Of the
tallest towers Roofs white with last
nights new snow reached away.
square after square.
Hidden under those roofs. and In
the deep ruts of the streets between.
were three millions OF people. The
conflict Of their lives. In its innumer
able forms, set beating this tense,
eager Impulse that you felt here In
Chicago
Crude and cultured; pagan and Pur-
titanic; savage and overclvilized; In
credibly cruel and extravagantly. abb
surdly maudlin In many Of Its mer
cies. A city, like all the nation, SUI
perspeeded for making money. 1t put
Hiiuou5 iHto iuhuS Hduuo that hCFti
before had fingered either wealth or
privilege.
Judson Elliot Braddon's were far
from the least familiar with these
He had much more behind him than
most OF these young men Of destiny
of 1925; and the place he won for
himself In this city had surpassed
theirs.
How important 1t was. his splendid
impressive offices declared; and at
the sound of the door. Jeb swung
back, giving q glance around his big
room. 1t had not ceased pleasantly
to impress him. 1t never impressed
his brother. No display Of jobs swift
success ever aroused Rodney. He did
not envy or disdain it; he simply
seemed not to be affected by 1t. Rod
always had been that sort, utterly diff
ferent .Ieb could not remember that
Rod ever had expressed desire to
make money. neither as boy nor man.
Some day, both boys had known, each
OF them would -'c0me into forty thou
sand dollars left In trust BY their
grandfather
That day. when he was twenty-one,
had come for Rodney eight years ago !,
and In the bank at Andover reposed
the Identical forty thousand dollars
In bonds of the city of Anaover and
the Commonwealth OF Massachusetts.
which eight years ago had been for
mally delivered to Rodney Rraddon.
The day. for Judson. had arrived
seven wears aro. and the forty thou-
sand IN bonds had become four mil.
lions In stocks and equities; In fact,
nearly fye-lf Jeb sold out at today's
. nrices
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