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About The Alliance herald. (Alliance, Box Butte County, Neb.) 1902-1922 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 19, 1914)
eeooeeeeteoooeOOf Broadwau Jones From the Play of George M. Cohan B, EDWARD MARSHALL Wsa riilnwth lw tcmm fa tU fhf Ctoprrtffat. 101 It by aW. DUlincbtm Ootapaa SYNOPSIS. CHAPTER 1 Jack on Jem. ntrknamad "Broadway," Kecauaa of hla continual rlortAeatton of New Tork'e great thor iuhfara, 1 anxloua to net away from hla konte kirn of Jonesvllla. Abner Jonea, kla ancle, le rery angry because Rroad ray refuses to settle iown and take a Ma7 In the rum factor? In which he to lxled to Me fathera ljntereet. t. CHAPTER II Judre 6potW60d inform Broadway that tW.m left him by hla father la at hla dlapoaaX Broadway Mite record time In heading for hla far rite etreet In New York. CHAPTER III With hla New Tort Mend, Robert Wallace, Broadway oreatea mention by hla extravairanca on the White Way. Four yeara paaa and Broad way suddenly discover that he I not nly broke, but heavily In debt. He ap- raa to nia uncie tor a loan mi packaxe of chewin rum with the ad- eioe to chew It and forpet his troubtea. Re quietly seeka work without eucceea, CHAPTER IV Broadway sires what la Intended to be a farewell supper to hla few Tork fiienda, and before It la over kenomea en;ajred to Mrs. Gerard, an an al, nt widow, wealths and very Biddy. CKAPTKR V-Wallaca expostulate arlth the aged fllrti and her youthful fence, but fatla to better the altuatlon. Be learna that Broadway la broke and ffere him a poeltlon with hla father's ad rertlnlnr flrra, but It la declined. Wallaoe taaaa rharv of Rrnariwav'e affaire. "You mean to ten me that " "I've got a whole lot to tell you. Sit own." , As Wallace found a chair and, as if exhausted, sank Into it, Broadway aced the room uneasily. The bell rang and Rankin hurried in, oa his way to answer it. "If It's anyone for me, I'm not at , pome," said Broadway. 1 m visiting In Paterson He turned again to Wallace. "Now, In the first place," he said gravely, "I want you to understand thoroughly that I'm positively serious about this whole affair and that noth ing you can say will change my plana. Is that understood?" "Well, go on.1 "Mrs. Gerard and I are going to be N'ew York, I dreamed New York. Why, married, and it's going to happen very j r the time I was a kid, in knlcker shortly, whether you like It or not. If bockers, to the time I left Jonesvllle, ou care to retain my friendship you ! everybody called me 'Broadway.' oust get used to It" he sighed "the j That's where it began." tame as I Bhall have to. Am I clear?" "I thought it started here." "Well, I'm listening." 1 "No! when I was a kid In Jones- Broadway sighed again. "I know sev- i Hle. That was my name 'Broadway eral girls who will cry very bitterly, Just because I wore patent-leather and I know a lot of fellows who will t shoes and put on a clean collar, now laugh very heartily: but the fact re- I and then. That's the kind of a town it main a that the ladv who lust left this ! room Is to become Mrs. Jackson Jones. Ho, once and for all, get it out ol your bead that it is a Joke." He glanced distastefully at his very mournful friend, who seemed, some bow, to have shriveled as ho heard all this uncompromising talk. "And don't sit there like a pallbear er! Smile! Utter a few kind words! Bay something, anyhow! I " Wallace leaned toward him, his eye lighting with the fire of combat, j ; "Now" "Don't you dare to give me any ar gument about this thing! It would only be a waste of words. My mind is xsltively made up." "IX) you realize what " j "What people are going to say? Of j course I do. I've gone over all of that. I've threshed it out with myself from every possible angle. I know what they're going to say, and I know exact- ! ly what they're going to think." J "Well, what are they going to I think?" j' "The natural thought will be that I ' am marrying her for her money." "Nonsense. They'll know better than j that. Everyone's aware that you have i all the money any man could " 1 "So you think so?" For the first ! time Broadway laughed. It was a 1 scornful, scathing, tragic laugh. It i startled Wallace. "Well, haven't you?" "Just a second. Rankin! Oh, Ran- I kin!" Rankin was entering, even as he ; called, bringing in a telegram. Broad- , way took it without heeding it and thrust it in his pocket unopened. He j was intent on showing Wallace how affairs really were with him. 1 "Rankin," he warned the man, "I don't want to be disturbed for the next ' ten minutes. I have some business which I wish to talk over with Mr. Wallace without a single interruption.' "Very well, sir." As Boon as the man bad left the : room Broadway settled to his task of ' making a clean breast of it. "I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Bob my secret. No one else : in the world knows. I wouldn't tell I anyone else but you. I wouldn't tell ' you if it weren't for the fact that we've always been so close and such good friends. But remember lt's'Masonlc!" Wallace gravely bowed. "Certain ly." He was intensely puzzled; he could not Imagine what was coining. "Well," said Broadway, with no further prelude, "Bob, I'm broke!" "You're . . . what?" said Bob incredulously. "Broke. Dead broke. Are you sur prised?" "Say, what kind of a Joke 1b this?" Broadway laughed ruefully. "It's no Joke to be broke, Bob; but It's even worse than that with me. I'm ' In dpht!' "In debt!" j "To the extent of about fifty thou I ssnd dollars." I "Well. what have you done with all ! your money?" "Put it back Into circulation where : It came from," Broadway answered, ' sighing. "You mean Wall street?" i "No; Broadway." j "Invest ments gone wrong"? i I rover Invents any mon' . The . only thing I ever Aid was to spend It" "Out you couldn't spend all the . money you had!" ' "It was easy. Everyone seemed glad to take it." "But I supposed you had an enor tnous Income." "Well, that's what they all thought and still think. Thats why I've been able to go along and run head over heels In debt. I owe tailor bills, boot bills. Jewelry bills, flower bills, res taurant bills. I've got a stack of bills In that room there that would make Rockefeller complain of the high cost of living, and I can't ray them be cause I'm broke. Flat . . . broke! It's hard to believe, Isn't It?" "Why, you always led me to believe that you were a millionaire?" "Not exactly that. But I did not , ., muwra 7 ; " ; going round Maybe I lied a 1 tie. At that, I would be worth a million by deny the stories that, somehow, got to now If I'd had any business ability. with the bank roll I had to start with." "When I came here to New York and started to burn up Broadway, five .,. , 1,,,- years or so ago, I was worth two bun dred and fifty thousand dollars. There I was cafh, real estate and my small In- terest In the chewing gum factory, j First thing I did was spend the cash, i then I sold the real estate, then I i sold my Interest In the factory, i "I had no use for anything but cash, j "My Uncle Abner bought me out ' and cheated me. He paid me Just a , hundred thousand, a measly hundred ; thousand, for my share of the prop- ; erty out of which he's since then made i a dozen fortunes. I hear the gum trust offered him a million dollars for the plant and the good will last year." "Jones' Pepsin!" i "Yes; Jones' Pepsin, made la ! Jonesvllle. It's the oldest gum on the ' market Ever chew it?" u No." Don't. It's awful. It's terrible stuff!" "Well, go on. What happened. then?" "I could scarcely valt to get bold of that money and get out of that town, I wanted New York.; nothing but New York. I had heard about New York; I had read about New York; I'd been down here as a kl J on visits. I talked '3- "I've lived up to the name, I guess! I know every newsboy; policeman, ac tor, chorus girl, wine agent, gambler and bartender on the street. I've been to bed Just one night In five years be fore six o'clock in the morning and that was when I had a toothache and my face was swollen. It was not the pain that kept me in; it was the looks of the puffed face." He drew his breath in slowly, almost wonderlngly. "Oh, what I haven t done to Broadway!" he continued. "Well, you've seen me. You've been with me. You know." Wallace nodded. "I always thought you were pretty speedy, but I thought Peter Pembroke. you could afford it. The trouble with you Is you've been too liberal." "l.merai! wny, wnen 1 go into a ' restaurant the waiters come to blows to see who'll get me. Iu barber shops I approach you'd think some one bad just yelled 'Fire!' the way the bar bers dash far the chairs. Oh, I've been the bright-eyed baby boy around this ! town, all right It's cost me a fortune all I bad." Ills voice trailed Into silence; Wal- i lace. BatJpoklng. at him dumb. t ; " " 1 ' n 4 1 f V1 " a :W .. i"W "4 f i " 4 x - t I v. ' 1 r "Tf - r ' " i ' A ' V: ' - ' : "Hut I've had a wonderful tlmel" said nroadway finally. "How long have yon born broke?" "About six months. My credit's car ried me on. When I first went broke I made up my min.l I wouldn't run in debt, no matter what happened. I put on an old suit of clothes that morning, and started out looking for a Job." "Whnt kind of a Job?" "Any kind of a Job. Messenger boy, elevator boy I didn't care! I promised myself I'd earn my living without beg ging, borrowing or stealing." He told Wallace of his stealthy search for the elusive Job which was to have paid up his debts and started him again, this time as a millionaire In process of construction of now mil lions. "I started looking for a 'boy-wanted' sign. It sounds funny, but It is a fact. My intentions were the best in all the world. But I got to thinking of some thing else, after I had walked a block or two, and where do you suppose I was when I woke up? In Delmonlco's, eating breakfast! Turned In there out of force of habit. "I made a dozen attempts to do the right thing. I cut out automobiles and rode in street cars for three days; I went to an opening night at a theater and sat in the gallery; I bought a pair I f d d ,h . , & A ,nrivni toK, ...V ot . atnnll. forty-cent table d-hote and smoked five-cent cigars practicing, Just prac ticing, trying to get used to it "But I couldn't. That was all I sim ply couldn't! All my good resolutions went to smash every time I took a look at Broad vt ay. I knew my credit was good; the things I wanted were there; I could have them; so well. I took them, that was all!" "And now," said Wallace, who had sat, at first Incredulous, and, later, spellbound, during the recital, "you tre fifty thousand dollars In debt!" "I don't know the exact amount, but that's a fairly good guess." "You've been pretty quiet about It. It hasn't seemed to worry you much!" "Hasn't worried me?" Broadway's voice was bitter. "Well, I don't mind telling you that I have Just come out of the first sound sleep I've had in weeks. I'll bet I walked to Chicago and back every night the first month I was broke." "I don't understand?" "I mean if you had measured up my carpet by the mile. I thought so much and worried so much that I didn't dare trust myself alone. I bad the weird est ideas; I did the craziest things. Do you know that I belong to the Salva tion Army?" "What!" "On the level. I went to Newark and joined one night" "What was the idea?" "I thought it might help me forget my troubles. I played the bass drum for two nights and couldn't stand It any longer. Er have you ever been in Newark?" "I've been through there on the train." t "That's bad enough. Ouess what I suffered! I got off the train! Oh. you cun'J. realize what I've been through. Bob! I've made a bluff and pretended to be happy all the time; but, believe me, old pal, tnere have Deen times when I've started for the Brooklyn bridge and I won't tell you about a bottle of poison and a gun full of lead which I considered using. I didn't care about the money I'd spent; what wor ried me was that running in debt, day after day, with no chance of repay ing." "But you kept on accepting credit." "And it was wrong dead wrong! But well, T guess it must be in my blood. I couldn't help It" "How about your uncle?" Broadway laughed, a cackling, scorn ful laugh. "He's a rich man. Have you tried him?" "Yes; tried him and found him guilty. I wrote and told him I was short of ready cash, after I had spent the pittance that he paid me for my Interest In the Jones' gum. I asked him if he wouldn't lend me, say, ten thousand dollars." "Did he answer?" "Sure, he answered. Sent me a pack age of the gum and the advice: 'Chew this and forget your troubles.' He's in Europe now. He's worth a million, if he's worth a nickel, and he bought me out for practically nothing!" "Stingy?" "Stingy? He's so mean that every time he's asked to have a drink he takes a cigar and then saves up the 1 cigars, puts them in old boxes, and gives them away for Christmas pres- j enta." j "Where have you been getting j enough for tips and pocket money?" ' "I sold that big French car I said j was In dead storage. And do you re- , member that I said I'd lout a lot of Jewelry? I hadn't. I had pawned it. 1 How's my work, eh?" "You're a wonder! I've got to band It to you. But why didn't you confide In me long ago?" "I didn't have enough courage., to conflJe in anyone. I could only keep on hoping that some miracle would happen. I've thought of nothing ex cept money and how to get it. "And, Bob, last night, at that ban quet table, I sat looking at Mrs. Ge- ; rard, thinking of her millions and won- dering what su'd say to me if I should ! tell my story, trying to pluck up nerve enough to take her into my confidence and see if she wouldn't help. That's how it started. I didn't realize what I was doing; but I must have been staring at her for ten minutes when she called a waiter who, presently, handed me a note." "What did it say? Waa it from her?" ; "Yes, and It said: 'Why do you stare ! at me so?' ' ' "Did you answer itf "Yes." 1 hat urn you sayr "Ob. I couldn't help it I waa dea- perate, I said, 'Because. I love vou!" "And she answered?" "Yes; i love you, too." "And you wrote?" "'Not as much as 1 love you.' We had quite a correspondence. Seven or eight notes each way." "Who sent the last one?" "She did. and it said: Will you tnarrv me?" "She really proposed to you?" "On the level, and I didn't say A thing. The Utter carrier lout his Job right there. For fear she'd change her mind btfore the next mall arrived I leaned across the table and yelled: 'Yes!'" "I'd gone, you know. Exactly what then happened?" Wallace asked. "She fainted; general excitement; smelling salts; she slowly came back to her senses. Then the usual speech: Where am I?' That was my cue of course although It hurt! Embrace, kiss, announcement to the dinner par ty; wild applause. Then somebody ordered 20 cases of wine. "And the next thing I remember Is old Rankin calling me when you came here today. What do you think of all of It?" "It's terrible! You can't afford to let It go any further." "I can't afford to do anything, with- "You're Not 8 ore at You?" Me, Bob, Are out signing a tab for it," said Broad way ruefully. ' "You can do something. Haven't you any 'get up and go?' " i "That seems to be all that Is left for me to 'get up and go' as far as pos sible unless I marry her." ' "If you'd go to work you'd have the makings of a business man." "If I went to work I wouldn't have the makings of a cigarette." "How do you know? You haven't tried. I ll get you a Job." "Where?" "With my firm, on my recommenda tion." "You'd lose your reputation." "I'll see the guvnor tomorrow. I can get you, probably, five thousand a year to start with." "Five thousand a year? How could I stay here in New York on that? I pay more for this apartment! I owe ten times that much, right now!" "I've got twenty thousand dollars of my own. I'll lend you that." "I'd never be able to pay It back." "That doesn't make any difference. "Yes, it does," said Broadway Btub bornly. "Even though you loaned me enough to pay up all I owe, I'd owe you, wouldn't I? What's the odds whether I'm In debt to you or to the other fellow? I'd never get even witb the world that way." "But you mustn't marry her; it isn't right." "How do you mean?" "Would you do anything so low, and so contemptible, as to marry a woman deliberately for her money?" . j Broadway shrank a little, then rose in self-defense. "Who says I'm marry ing her for her money?" "You know you don't love her." Broadway answered botly. He felt that he must answer hotly. It was the only thing remaining for biru. ; "I don't know anything of the kind! Now, you see here; suppose you were' in trouble. Wouldn't you love any one who'd come along and help you out of it?" He sighed. "Besides, it's too late now. The engagement's been announced." Wallace was Intensely stubborn. He would not have this thing. "Engage ments are broken every day iu the j week," he argued earnestly. , Broadway made a gesture of dissent. "Now, you leave it all to me," said 1 Wallace soothingly. "I'll have a ulk j with Mrs. Gerard, and I'll guarantee ; to prove to her thai it's all an utter j impossibility. You needn't enter into j it at all. I'll take the whole thing on i my shoulders, and " Broadway shook his head emphatic ' ally, although regretfully. "No; there'i ; no use. Bob. I told you I wouldn't lia- ten to any argument against it. My l mind Is quite made up, and that's all there is to it." He pulled a yellow back out of bis pocket. "See this? A ' hundred dollars. That's my bank roil." I Wallace went to him with friendly warning. "You'll lose every friend you ever had in all the world!" j "No; I won't; people with money 1 never lose their friends." "I know one you'll lose," said Wal lace gravely. "You?" "Yes; unless you tell me within the next 24 hours that you've reconsid ered all this rot, and that you're going to fight things out the way a real man 1 ,hould. I'll never speak to you again!" j "Bob!" Broadway actually paled, I "That. g: Is it getting me any- thing this giving you advice? WfUlt , put a dollar In or out of my pocket whether you marry that old woman or not? You're nothing to me except a friend and a pal; but I don't want to see you do something you'll regret for all the balance of your life. I'm sorry you're In trouble, and there Isn't any thing I won't do to help you. I'll go the limit in everything I've got. But. If you don't give tip all Idea of that marriage, never expect the friendship of a man who has any decency or silt respect. "That's all I've got to say. Now, I'll be going." (To be Continued) SHOW A MMICIT OK UtATI.KMTY I'jiMor f llemlnitforil I'liunh Comes to Alliance to Administer Or dinance of llnpllMii The spirit of fraternity Hint lyis been so prevalent among the church es of Alliance reaches out to neigh boring towns. Miss Frances Olds of lleniingford, daughter of the druggist at that place, wished to Western Nebraska Hard Wheat makes the best Hemingford Q know bow to make It. you a sac k of our Hour. M. L. MILLER, Prop. iii:mi;i oi;i, argain 600 acres at $38 per acre, 100 miles north of Billings, Mon tana, in the Judith Gap country, on the (J. N. Railroad. Price in-' eludes the following: 30 h. p. tractor engine. Minn-plow attachment. All Imple ments to work 900 acres, ft 00 bushels wheat. 500 bushels oats. C'.O bushels flux. 300 bushels barley. 8 head good, big work horses. 2 wagons. 4 sets harness. IT. head hogs. 1 fanning mill. Wagon scnleH. 1i-ear of coal. All household goods, almost new. 3 tine springs on place. Hunk bonne 10x14. 3 granaries 16x16. Chicken house 14x14. 40 chickens. Cattle shed to hold 100 head of cattle. Burn 18x28, room for 8 horses. 550 acres under cultivation. 50 acres grass. Land la all fenced and cross fenced. Wheat made 4 5 bushels to the acre, oats made 90 bushels per Here, last year. Abstract perfectly pood. Inquire at Herald Office, Phone 340, or Ad dress Box 3247, care Herald AnnounGement We have purchased the Check ered Front Livery Barn from H. P. Coursey and wish to announce to the puhlic that we will continue to this business at the same place. prices will be the same and you will receive the best service. Only ex perienced help will be employed. We solicit a continuance of your patronage. Checkered 6. H. Mapps and E. Join the Methodist Episcopal church. It was neronfjary for her to be bap tired in order to be received Into full membership. Thn ritual of the churrh permits baptism either by affusion or Immer sion. Ah the young lady preferred the latter' mode and as there wna UO convenient moans of administering baptism by immersion In Ileming ford in cold weather, she came to AN llance Friday, accompanied by her mother and pastor. Rev. Normal O. 1'uluier. They repaired to the Bap tist church where Mr. Palmer, as sisted by Rev. Frank (J. Barrett an-t Rev. O. S. Baker, pastors respective ly of the Baptist and M. E. churches of Alliame, performed the sacred rite. The baptismal party returned to lleiulnf ford on 4 3. , l'oficovk cxU, a new Colorado coal, Is the bc4 on the market. Try X an4 you will like it. $9 per ton. Phone 73. FOREST LUMBER CO. Adv3l9Hf Hour, 1 lie Roller Mills Ask your grocer to send Every sack guaranteed. NLUUASK.V in run Our Front Barn P. Pederson, Props. Ranch