The daily monitor leader. [volume] (Mount Clemens, Mich.) 1942-19??, 1943-01-30

less in their effect upon Other
people, became in short my
hobby. Until, at last, il dawnec
upon me that it was something
more than a hobby - that i
would perhaps play a critica
part in my plan.
OF course, I had no real con
ception as to the manner II
which the ultimate scene woulo
be played out. l had wit enough
TO realize that the stage-man
agement of that scene-in which
my own complete safety woulc
be of major importance mus
depend exactly upon the setting
and the circumstances in which
! would at last find him.
/ knew, with a complete GER
| tainty, that would find him
, II never occurred to me for
single instant that my search
would fail, or that other, ano
higher justice would take it!
retribution before / could take
mine. For, you see, / had my
own religion - and ! had faith
in it.
/ was in Chicago, on an err
rand connected with my spora
die business affairs, when | did
! at last, find him.
Which is not to say that / saw
him, nor recognized at the mo-
ment that my quest was at ar
end. l had brought along witt
me a small accumulation of my
trade journals. And in one o.
them, on a bitter morning Wher
the wind from the lake flutter'
ed the curtains even through
the closed windows of my hote
room. / came upon an item:
Col. Wesley Hope Merriweth.
er has announced his retirement
from all active interest in hi:
gold and silver enterprises, ano
resignation from the. boards OF
Twin Valley Smelling Company
Spillway Development Corpora
ton, and other companies with
(which he has been associated
He will retire TO an estate which
he has recently acquired at Gull
Point, Long Island.
/ telephoned to the editor Of
the journal.
This is the Chicago Mirror,
I said. I'VE noticed your item or
MerriWether in the current is
sue, and we haven't got anything
on him in the files. Can you tel
us a little about him? Is he 9
Chicago man."
There was a wait.
Hello. We haven't got much
on him either. One of our boy:
picked up that bit of news, ano
we ran it. That's about all
know. He hasn't been in the
news much, l guess. Maybe just
some 1lgureneau.
THANK you"
Telephone calls to the corpor-
atoms listed produced a fact
All of them were singularly
averse to talking about Wesley
Hope Merriwether. Colonel
Merriwether has given instruc-
tions that he is to receive nc
publicity"
1t was simply a matter of rou
tine to complete my business af
fairs and take the train to New
York.
Gull Point was less than ar
hour from the city, and on my
second day there l saw Col. Yves
ley Hope MerriWether, looking
into his face as he was pointed
out to me, passing in the street
- and knowing that / looked
into the face of Norman Tinker
felt no surge of citation. Such
a moment had been ordained
from the start of time.
spent four days at Gull
Point as a salesman of drug
sundries, this time, and living
in a cheap room - meeting the
small business people, and lis.
tening, and discovering the ma.
ture of this community called
Gull Point. ! learned that Col.
onel Merriwether had a daugh.
ter in his household, and l saw
that daughter.
saw also my mother in her
hair and in the proud fine lift
of her face. But, again, it must
be confessed that my emotions
were not profoundly stirred
Those emotions had been burned
brittle on a day long ago, in the
far distant forest.
During the four days, l learn
ed enough to enable me to &C
back to the life of Paul Gray
in Cleveland, and to sit down
and think.
That thinking occupied the
better part of three weeks. From
it there emerged the basic pat
tern Of the plan. Not the details
of course. Those must wait up
J on events, upon the imponder'
ables of chance and of human