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About The Nebraska advertiser. (Nemaha City, Neb.) 18??-1909 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 8, 1907)
-- CHAPTER VIII. Continued. "Jim, you gave mo an awful scare," he said brokenly. "Don't evor do it again. I have little loft to live for. To bo suro I havo somo feeling for mother, Fred, and sisters. But for you I havo a love second only to that I should have felt for Beulah had I been allowed to havo her. The thought, Jim, that I had wrecked your life, with all you havo to live for, would have been the last straw. My life is purgatory, Hculah is only an ever present curse to me a ghost that rends my heart and soul, one minute with a blind frenzy to revenge her wrongs, the next with an icy remorso that I have not already done so. If I did not havo her, perhaps in time I could forget; perhaps I might lay out some scheme to help poor devils whoso poverty makes life unendur able, and with the millions I have taken from the main shaft of hell I might do things that would at least bring quiet to my soul; but it is im possible with tho living corpso of Beulah Sands beroro me every minute and that devil machinery whirling In my brain all tho time the song, 'Re venge her and her father, revenge yourself.' It is impossible to give it up, Jim. I must havo revenge. I must atop this machinery that is smashing up more American hearts and souls each year than all the rest of earth's grinders combined. Every day I de lay I become more fiendish in my de sires. Jim, don't think I do not know that I havo literally turned into a fiend. Whenever of late I see myself In the mirror, I shudder. When I think of what I was when your father stood us up in his office and started us in this heart-shrivelling, soul-callousing business, and what I am now, I cannot keep the madness down ex cept with rum. You know what It means for me to say this, mo who started with all the pride of a Brown ley; but It is so, Jim. The other night 1 wont homo with my soul frozen with thoughts of the past and with my brain ablaze with rum, Intending to end it all. I got out my revolver, and woke Beulah, but as I said, 'Bob is going to kill Beulah and himself,' she laughed that sweet child's laugh and clapping her hands said, 'Bob is so good to play with Beulah,' and then I thought of that devil Relnhart and tho other fiends of the 'System' be ing loft to continue their work unhin dered and I could not do it. I must have revenge; I must smash that heart-crushing machinery. Then 1 can go, and take Beulah with me. Now, Jim, let us have it clearly under stood once and for all." Itomorse and softness were past; he was the Indian again. "I am going to wreck that hell-annex some day, and that some day will bo the next time I start in. Don't argue with mo, don't misunderstand me. To-day you stopped me. I don't know whether you meant what you threatened; I don't care now. It is just as well that I stopped, for the 'System's' machine will bo thero whenovor I start In again. It loses nothing of its flond ishness, none of its destructive powers by grinding, but on tho contrary, as you know, it increases its speed every day it runs. Now, Jim Randolph, I wart to toll you that you must get yours and tho house's affairs in such shape that you won't be hurt. when I go Into that human rat-pit the next time, for when I como from it tho New York Stock Exchange and tho 'System' will have had their spines unjointed. Yes, and I'll havo their hearts out, too. Neither will ever bo able to take from the American people their savings and their manhood and womanhood and givo them In ex change unadulterated torment. I am going to bo fair witli you, Jim; this is the last time I will discuss the sub ject. After this you must tako your chance with the rest of those who have to do with tho cursed business. When I strike again, none will bo spared. I will wreck 'the Street,' and tho innocent will go down with tho guilty, if they have any stocks on hand at that time. "My power, Jim, is unlimited; noth ing can stay it. I am not going to explain any further. You havo seen mo work. You must know that my power Is greater than tho 'System's,' and you and I and 'the Street havo al ways known that tho 'System' is moro powerful than the government, more powerful than are tho courts, legisla tures, congress, and the president of tho United States combined, that It absolutely controls the foundation on which they 'rest the money of tho nation. But my power is greater, a thousand, yes, a million times greater than theirs. Jim, they say that I havo made more money than any man in the world. They say that I have five hundred millions of dollars, but the fools don't keep track of my move ments. They only know that I havo pulled live hundred millions from my open whirls, the ones they havo had an opportunity to keep tab on. But I tell you that I have made oven moro In my secret deals than the amount they have seen mo take. I have had my agents with my capital in every deal, every steal tho 'System has rigged up. Tho world has been throw ing up its hands in horror because Carnegie, the blacksmith of Pittsburg, pulled off three hundred millions of swag in the Steel hold-up yes, swag, Jim. Don't scowl as though you want ed to read me a lecturo on the coarse ness of my language. I have learned to call this game of ours by lis right name. It is not business enterprise with earned profits as results, but "Whej I Strike In Again, Don't Attempt to Stay Me, for It Will Do No Good." pulled-off tricks with bags of loot black-jack swag for their end. "I got away with three hundred mil lions when Steel slumped from 105 to 50 and from 50 to 8, and no one know I'd made a dollar. You and Mho Street' read every morning last year tho 'guesses' as to who could bo rounding up hundreds of millions on the slump. The papers and tho mar ket letters one morning said it was Standard Oil; tho next, that it was Morgan; then it was Frlck, Schwab, Gates, and so on down through the list. Of course, nono of them denied; it is capital to all these knights of tho road to bo making millions In the minds of tho world, oven though they never get any of tho money. Dick Turpin and Jonathan Wild never woro fonder of having tho daring hold-ups that other highwaymen per petrated laid to their doors, than are these modern bandits of being credit ed with ruthless deeds, that they did not commit. But Jim, 'twas I who sold Pennsylvania overy morning for a year, while the soiling was explain ed by tho press as 'Cassatt cutting down Gould's tolograph poles. Gould and old man Rockefeller soiling Penn sylvania to got oven.' Jim Randolph, I havo to-day a billion dollars, not tho Rockefeller or Carnegie kind, but a real billion. If I had no other power but tho power to call to-morrow for that billion in cash, it would be suffi cient to lay In wasto tho financial world before to-morrow night. You aro welcome, Jim, to any part of that billion, and tho more you tako tho happier you will make me, but when I strike in again, don't attempt to stay me, for It will do no good." Shortly after this talk nob left for Europo with Beulah. A great Gor man expert on brain disorders had held out hope that a six month's treat ment nt his sanitarium in Berlin might aid In restoring her mind. They returned tho following August. Tho trip had been fruitless. It was plain to mo that Hob was the sanio hope lessly desperate man as when ho loft, more hopeless, moro desperate If any thing than when ho warned ino of his determination. When ho left for Europo "the Street" breathed more freely, and aa time went by and thoro was no sign of his confidence-disturbing Inlluenco In tho market, the "System" began to bring out its deferred deals. Times woro ripe for setting up tho most wildly inllated stock lamb-shearing traps. It had been advertised through out tho world that Tom Relnhart, now a two-hundrcd-timc millionaire, was to consolidate his and many other enter prises into one gigantic trust with twelve billions of capital. Ills Union ami Southern Pacific railroads, his Southern lines, together with his steamship company and lead, iron, and copper mines, were to be merged with tho steel, traction, gas, and other enterprises ho owned jointly with "Standard Oil." Some of tho railroads owned by Rockefeller and his pals, In which Relnhart had no part, woro to go In too, nnd with these was to unlto that mother hog of them all, "Stand ard Oil" itself. The trust was to bo an enormpus company, the llko of which had until then not evon been dreamed of by the most daring stock manipulators. The "System's" banks, as well as trust and insurance com panies throughout the country, had for a long time been getting into shapo by concentrating the money of tho country for this monster trust. It was newspaper and news bureau gossip that Relnhart and his crowd had bought mil)Ion3 of shares of the different stocks involved in the deal, and It was common knowlodge that upon 'Its successful completion Rein hart's fortune would be in tho neigh borhood of a billion. On October 1st tho certificate of tho Anti-People's Trust, ?1 2,000,000,000 capital, 1 20,000, 000 shares, were listed upon tho New York, London, and Boston Stock Ex changes, and tho German and French Bourses, nnd trading in them started off fast and furious at 10G. Tho claim that one billion of tho twelvb billions capital had been set asldo to bo used in protecting and manipulating tho stock in tho market, had been so wide ly advertised that even the most dar ing plunger did not think of selling it short. It was evident to all in tho stock gambling world that this was to bo tho "System's" grand coup, that at its completion the" masses would bo rudely awakened to a realization that their savings woro invested in tho combined American industries at vast ly inflated values, that tho few had all tho real money, and that any at tempt upon tho people's part to regu late and control tho now system of robbery, would' bo fraught with un paralleled disaster not to the "Sys tem," but to the people. Since Bob's return from Europe I had seen him but a few times. Up to October 1st ho had not boon near tho Stock yxohango or "the Streot." Shortly nftoJ tho listing of tho "Peo ple Be Damned," as "tho Streot" had dubbed the new trust, ho began to show up at his office regularly. This was the condition of affairs whan Fred Brownley called mo up on tho telephone, as I related at tho begin ning of my story which I did not real ize I had been bo long in tolling. My thoughts had been chasing each other with llghtnlng-liko rapidity back over tho last five years and tho 15 bo fore them, and each thought deepened tho black mist over my present men tal vision. In the midst of my re flections my telephone rang again. "Mr. Randolph, for Heaven's snko havo you done nothing yet?" It was Fred Brownloy's voice. "Things aro fright nil bore. Bob's brokors aro sell ing stocks at five and ten thousand lot clips. Barry Conant Is loading Relnhart's forces. It Is said ho has tho pool's protection order In Ant! People's and that it is unlimited, but Bob has the Relnhart crowd pretty badly scared. Swan has just finished giving Conant a hundrod thousand off tho reel In 10,000 lots, and ho told mo a moment ago he was going to got Hob himself to face Barry Conant. They're down 20 points on tho nvor ago, although they haven't lot Anti People's break an eighth yet. They have it pegged at 100, but there is an ugly minor Just In that Hob, undor cover or a general attack, Is unloading Anti-People's on to tho Relnhart wing for Rogers and Rockefeller, and tho rumor Is getting In Its work. Evon Barry Conant is growing a bit anx ious. Tho latest talk is that Rolnhart Is borrowing hundreds of millions on Anti-People's, and that his loans aro being called In all directions. Do you know Relnhart is at his place In Vir ginia and cannot get here boforo to morrow night? If Bob breaks through Anti-Peoplo's peg, It will bo the worst crash yet." (TO 1113 CONTINUED.) DIDN'T THINK HELP NEEDED. Simplo IF8herman Had Heard of the Wonders of Science. II. G. Wells, tho novelist, spoke at a Boston club about tho wonders of modern invention. "So thick and fast," he said, "thoso new inventions como, life grows rather confusing for plain and simple folk. Thero was an old fisherman rowing in his boat one day when an automobilo canoe sprung a leak near him and immediately sank. To tho Indignation of the canoo's oc cupants, the old man paid no heed to them, but rowed calmly on his wny, pulling an old clay pipe. However, tho wrecked canoeists managed to swim to him, and as they clambered into his boat one spluttered angrily: 'Confound you, why didn't you lend us a hand? Didn't you see we were sinking?' The old man took his pipe out of his mouth and stared at them in astonishment, 'lilest. if I didn't think yo wuz ono o' them new-fangled submarines, ho said." Extravagance in Dress. Very few persons outside of tho glittering circle of our enormously rich families, who constitute what Is referred to as "the best society," can understand how any young woman in tills or any other country can spend upon her wardrobo such vast amounts of money as aro expended by tho daughters of somo of thoso families. The history of tho world does not show such reckless extravaganco in the way of dress. Nor, for tho mat ter of that, does tho history of tho world show so riotous a use of money as Unit practiced by our very rich In their strictly social divertisements. Happy Is the lot of tho man or wom an who Is not tempted to such foolish Indulgences, which tako tho edge from life's real joy! Good Enough for the Dog. Bobby's mother was often distressed by her small son's lapses from corroct speech, all the moro because his re ports from school were always so good. "Hobby," she said, plalntivoly, ono day, "why do you keep telling Major to 'sot up' when you know 'sit up' is what you should say?" "Oh, well, mother," Bobby answered hasti ly, "of courso I havo lots of grammar, but I don't llko to wasto It on Major when ho doesn't know tho difference, being a dog." Youth's Companion. Good at Figures. A lawyor in a seaport town adver tised for an ofllco boy. A lad applied for the situation who had hitherto been employed In tho local fish mar ket. Tho boy, on being asked If ho was a good writer, answored In the afllrmativo. "And can you do men tal arithmetic?" "I think so, sir." "Well, what would 30 pounds of sal mon at ono-half-cent a pound bo?" "Bad, sir," was tho cpilck reply. 'Twas Ever Thus. "I thought you called up information for tho number," said lie. "Why did you quit and ring oft?" "Information hud either dropped dead suddenly or gone off to dinner with a friend," she replied. "1. waited and waited and waited, and all I could hear was somo blooming phonograph playing away." A TALENTED WRITER ip Ptruna -..-.t.., "iH MRS. E. M. TINNEY Mrs. E. M. Tlnnoy, story writer, 835 E. Nuova St., Bun Antonio, Tex., writes: 'During 1W)l I Buffered form nnmil catarrh, which various other remedies fulled to relieve. "Mix bottles of Pcruna, which I took, entirely cured mo, tho catarrh disappearing and never returning. 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