Nebraska Newspapers

    DAKOTA COUNTY HERALD, DAKOTA CITY; NEBRASKA.
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MOME
TOWN
The Man Nobody Knew
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(Copyright by Dodd, Mead Co.,
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"ONCE I LOVED HIM."
Synopsis. Dick Morgan of Syra
cuse, N. Y., a failure In life, enlist
ed In the Foreign Lesion of the
French army under the name of
Henry Milliard, Is disfigured by
shrapnel. The French surgeons
ask for a photograph to guide them
In restoring his face. In his rage
against life he offers In derision a
picture postcard bearing the radi
ant face of Christ. The surgeons
do a good Job. On his way back to
America he meets Martin Har
mon, a New York broker. The
result is that Morgan, utider the
name of Hllllard and unrecognized
as Morgan, goes hack to Syracuse
to sell a mining stock. He Is de
termined to rrake good. He tells
people of the death of Morgan. He
finds In Angela Cullen a loyal de
fender of Dick Morgan. He meets
Carol Durant, who had refusod to
marry him.
m
(V, CHAPTER IV. Continued.
; v 5
"And . . . and I want to thnnk you
now," she said In a tone which would
have fallen as a blessing upon the cars
of any other man alive, "for speaking
as though you loved him. And for
all yon did for him. Perhaps you
know already . . . perhaps you can't
know . . . but I'm trying to tell you,
because he was ... he was one of
my very dearest friends."
1 His brain snapped; he bent down
to her.
"You loved him too?" ne said, un
controllably. "Yes." she said. "Once I loved him,
too I"
Alone In the appointed guest room
of the Cullen home for Mr. Cullen
had been as good as his word, and
sent a car to fetch his visitor's be
longings Hllllard lighted a cigarette
(an acquired taste, but advisable as n
minor deception, since he had been
notorious for his taste In cigars) and
grinned expansively. Leisurely he be
gan to undress, but before his shoes
were quite unlaced, he sat back com
fortably in his chair and meditated.
"All serene so far," he said. "But
when Carol came In . . ." He shook
his head vigorously. "Well, it's over
. . anyway. The doctor . . ." Hll
llard's face darkened. "There's the
man I want to get at 1 Pious old hypo
crite 1 And he didn't think ,T deserved
to be In the family I Sort of hate to
let him make money out of this deal,
but it's all In the game. Coals of fire !
But ten thousand's a lot from the doc
tor . . . we'll say ten thousand."
He closed his eyes dreamily; and
his thoughts reverted from Doctor
Durant to the doctor's daughter.
"Carol Caroll" he murmured. "One
minute there, I thought I'd crack. And
I was 'one of her dearest friends.' I
-was, was I? And she loved me once.
Once I Pity it wasn't twice I Pity she
.and the doctor didn't say so the night
they kicked me out so neatly. Well,
. . . business Is business . . . After
they've made their money out of it,
and found out this man Hilllard's
some little gold-plated whirlwind all
by himself . . . Gad I can't I see their
fates when they get the truth of It!"
With the cigarette drooping from his
lips, he stood up and swept a cleaV
space In the table. From his suitcase
he exhumed a tablet of thin transpar
ent writing paper of a kind not sold In
America; it was the paper on which
the letter to Cullen from Richard Mor
gan had been written, and It was sheer
luck that Hllllard had brought the re
mainder of the tablet from New York
with him. He tossed a blob of Ink
from his fountain pen and Inspected It
critically.
"Too black," he decided, and went to
the bathroom, where ho half-emptied
the reservoir of tho pen and refilled it
with water.
"That ought to be just about right
, . , sort of pale and mysterious and
war-strength."
He seated himself at the table, took
the pen In his left hand and inscribed
'circles on the paper; scribbled a
meaningless sentence and laughed
gently.
"Funny how some people can be
ambidextrous and take so long to
realize it. If I hadn't caught a bullet
In my arm, and tried to write left
handed In the hospital, I'd give myself
away up here In no time. Writing's
too blamed distinctive. But, as it Is,
Left Hnnd, very large and plain, Is
Henry Hllllard- Here he shifted
the pen to the other hand "And
Right and, small and curlicue, Is
poor, dead Dicky Morgan 'one of her
dearest friends." I'm glad I killed that
chap off he never amounted to a bill
of beans anyway. But this Hllllard
person a live wire, boy, a live wire 1"
And with a grin of sardonic humor,
he wrote on the flimsy paper, slowly
and a little Irregularly, as though in
physical discomfort:
"Neullly, 7-10-15.
"No matter what you ever think, no
matter what you have ever thought, I
have loved you."
He grimaced, pondered diligently,
and made a correction.
MI have Blways loved you more than
my own life. You said my ideals had
fallen do you think eo now? I don't,
deatvet; I think they're almost wtat
Inc.)
iran
you would have them. And It may be
that simply because of that, I've loved
you moso every day, and "
Hllllard sat back, and his eyes were
softly luminous.
"Suppose, by the luck of the very
devil, I should fall in love with her
again?" he said aloud. "Suppose I
should 1" He tossed away his cigarette
and rested his head In his hands. "Oh,
Caroll I did care . . .1" His shoul
ders shook spasmodically; (hen all at
once he flung himself out of the chair
and took to tramping the floor In a
hurricane of emotion. His face was
set In granite; he caught sight of It In
a mirror, halted and himself was
stunned by the transcendunt musk
which covered his soul In revolt. The
work of (he surgeons was not far
short of miraculous; he couldn't upset
It, not by any effort of his will. Tho
eyes might flush, or lower, or chill
the other features were still calm and
strong In their splendid glory. Even
now, the face which he saw reflected
In the mirror was one to convert the
most hurried of all passing strangers
to a new, If unformed, assurance In
the brotherhood of man.
"You dirty blackguard I" said Hll
llard. showing his teeth. He went
pensively buck to the letter, studied it,
gazed at the floor.
"But after all," he said, "no matter
what she or anybody else did to me
. . . and If I can kill two birds with
one stone, and he what I've wanted to
be--all jgxeept this damnable way of
going about It . . . he acted as
though this Infernal lying letter would
please her that's not the point ; lt,'s a
quicker way to get at the doctor. . . .
Well, It gets her a letter I never In
tended to write . . . and Dutout's
war cross, too . . . that'll make It all
the easier. . . . I'll give her that
Angela was going to have It, still.
... So i was 'one of her dearest
frIendsV was I? Whnt's that worth to
Ilenr Hllllard, bringing hack the
news from tho front?" He sniffed
scornfully. 'Ten thousand dollars I
hope. And the doctor'U make twenty
out of It. . . . Gad 1 that's turning tho,
other cheek with a vengeance I
Hanged If I don't almost wish he'd
lose his rotten money I But that can't
be helped I'll get some satisfaction
somehow."
He reread the unfinished note, fold
ed It, creased ft heavily for verslmlll
tude, und gave It the final examina
tion. "Business ... Is business," he said,
musing. "Thnt wns a pretty sporty
thing for lae to do ... to tell her
there was a letter. Bit of a chance,
too. And after smashing our engage
ment, she could stand there and tell
me . . . oh, rubbish I So suppose we
say . . . fifteen thousand from the
doctor 1 But confound It the better
salesman I am, the more I get out of
him, the more he makes I Whew I
Where's the satisfaction In that? . . ."
His pupils had narrowed again, giv
ing the lie to the sweetness of his
-pice
Hllllard Was Staring Fixedly.
smiling mouth. Then the smile faded
and Hllllard was staring fixedly ut the
document in his hands.
"I wonder who In thunder that man
Armstrong Is?" said the raasquerader
who had prided himself that he no
longer cared.
CHAPTER V.
Ho wakened early ; and In that state
of half-conscious rcvery which has less
of worldllness In It than perhaps any
other state of human existence, ho luy
vegetating, subtly nwaro that he was
very peaceful and content; hut pres
ently, when his brain had yuwncd and
stretched Itself, and begun to set
about Its usual functions (or, in other
words, when Hl'Mtrd was sufficiently
aroused to resume his usual Introspcc
tlvcness) ho was extremely unjiappy,
and not In the leust vainglorious.
He scowled, and btruggled to remem
ber what it was that had risen out of
thin air and ancered him lust night.
1 At the jery Instant of bis dropping oft
By HOLWORTHY HALL
to sleep. Not the Cultcns, nor Carol
himself, rior Armstrong. . . but wait
a moment 1 Who was Armstrong?
Whence and whither, Armstrong? A
newcomer to Syracuse (that is, within
two years) and already proprietary
Hllllard frowned, and rubbed his eyes,
and wondered anew. He was a trifle
amused and a trifle ashamed of him
self; was It credible that he could be
jealous of a man who had merely ap
propriated what Hllllard had no fur
ther Interest In? How Inconsistent . . .
and yet how superbly characteristic of
human nature! Hllllard chuckled to
himself In recognition of It and dis
missed the proposition as unworthy of
further attention. Dismissed It, yes
. . . ns a child dismisses a rubber hall
with an clastic cord attached to It.
From below stairs a Japanese gong
chimed softly and Hllllard, without de
laying another Instant, leaped to tho
floor. Half an hour later, bullied,
shaved and dressed, ho descended
complacently; tho second day of his
remarkable pcrformunco was begun.
The Cullcns, father find daughter,
were waiting for him. They greeted
him cheerfully; and tic was glad that
grief lmdn't clung to their eyelids; ho
would have felt depressed, even al
though he would have sensed tho hid
den compliment. Quick to grusp the
nearest handle of diplomacy, he saw
that cheerfulness on his own part
would help the situation, for now that
his duty as a courier was over, there
was no need for long protracted mel
ancholy. It was a cheerful trio, then, that sat
clown to breakfast; there was no ex
hilaration about it, but at least there
was no somber cloud of mourning.
Angela, behind the coffee urn, had oc
casional moments of penslvcness, but
thnt was to be expected, and con
doned ; Indeed, Hlllinrd held himself to
be greatly favored by even this.
She wns Imaginative, and Hilllard's
pose wns calculated to appeal to ft live
ly Imagination. He treated her not as
a young girl, but with the respectful
deference which belongs to a mature
woman, a mistress of a household, and
a hostess In her own right. She was
charmed and captivated, and so was
her father most assuredly ho was!
So churmed. In fact, that Instead of
leaving for his ofllce at half-past eight,
he lingered' until half-past nine; so
captivated, that as his limousine slid
quietly down the long, steep hill of
Jame3 street, he found himself ascrib
ing a now degree of credit to Dicky
Morgan for the simple reason that
Dicky Morgan had gained the full es
teem of such a friend as Hllllard.
A mighty nlco young man, thought
Cullen, A man of soundest judgment,
through and through. A man of bril
liant intellect and razor-edged analy
sis. Had he not said, and furnished Il
lustrations from his broad experience,
exactly what Culln himself had said,
in regard to labor, and materials, and
transportation, and production, these
half a dozen years? Cullen sat back
and smiled triumphantly. It does a
man good to hear his pet convictions
approved, expanded and laid down as
axioms by another wise mat).
Back on the wide veranda Angela
had curled up comfortably in tho hum
mock and, beside her, Hllllard was en
Joying a cigarette. He was enjoying,
too, tills rare Interlude of respite; he
looked across at Angela, and thanked
his stars for the Invitation which had
made this quiet hour possible.
She lifted her eyes, caught nilllard
smiling at her and blushed furiously,
not for any shame uccrulug to her, but
because she had arrived at tho ago of
easy blushes.
"I , . . suppose you're going over
to Carol's pretty soon," sho said, con
strained to say something and grasp
ing nt the first available Idea.
"So anxious to get rid of me?" lie
asked, amused.
"Oh, no!" Horror was In her tone
and mortlflcatlon. "Only ... I wanted
to talk to you before you saw Carol.
Because Carol doesn't ... I don't
think she'll exactly feel as I do about
this ... I know sho won't. Maybe
It's because Dick ahd I were chums,
and sho and Dick were . . . oh, you
know. It's different. You ought to
tnke that Into consideration when
you talk to her, I mean. I don't moan
I don't care, becnuso I do terribly
but I ... I can see what it meant to
DJck . . . and I know how he'd have
loved it, nnd picked this out of ovcry
possible way, to . . . end things, but
Carol . . . she's different."
"How?" Hilllard's voice was even,
but very low.
"Older," she said, looking away.
"And . . . and they wore going to
marry each other some time."
"But wasn't that broken off?"
"Yes, but sho wns waiting."
"Waiting?"
"Why, of course."
Hilllard's breath quickened.
"I should have guessed that this Mr.
Armstrong"
"Oh, but that wasn't until she
thought Dick wasn't over coming back.
And besides, sho Isn't really crazy
about him Just lonesome."
"Indeed' Hllllard compelled him
self to relax. "So you think slio'll bo
. . . hurt?" '
"nnrt?" Anccla'a volco was thin
J with emphasis. "Rather I"
"If there's anything you think I'd
better say, or not say " Ho rose, out
of sheer Inability to endure this In
genuous estimate of Carol's heartache.
"Perhaps you'll tell me because it's
time for me to be going over."
Angela had risen, too, and stood be
side him. Her features were com
posed, but still suggestive of inward
emotions a little too tender to convey.
"If there's anybody In tho weld."
she said, "who could give Carol any
consolation Just now, It's you. I don't
suppose you ever were a minister, but
you look as though everybody could
come to you nnd tell 'most everything,
and you'd help . . . anyway, you'd
try lo. So I wish you'd . . . you'd
sit and listen ... V Cnrol's got to
talk to somebody, and when you're
hurt tho way she Is, you can't talk to
your family . . . and you were a
friend of Dick's. And . . ." Sho
swallowed, and went on more slowly.
"You can use your own Judgment, of
course, but If I were la your place
I'd lie."
"Lie!" he repeated, aghast.
"Yes, I would! Ho . . . he
must have sent her some word, Mr,
Hllllard! no must havel" She was
desperately serious now, nnd thor
oughly aroused. "It means tho whole
world to her! It's everything I Why,
even I've got more than sho has, nnd
she was waiting for him to como back
to her! I'd lie myself black In tho
face, but I'd tell her something tell
her anything I could think of to make
her believe ho hadn't stopped caring!
It can't do any harm now. It can't
hurt you. And I won't even ask you
whether you do or not. Only you're
here, and she'll trust you"
"Will she?"
"How could she help it? And . . .
and that's all. Please don't let her
think he didn't care!"
Hllllard stood Irresolute; chaos In
his brain. "I'll . . . see," he said
with dldlcnlty. "I'll see."
"Won't you promise me? I won't
ask you afterward, If j'ou "
"Does It mean so much to you?"
"Ever and ever so much. . . .
Won't you plcaso promise?"
He gazed nt her a moment, yielded
wltli a show of reluctance.
"Very well I promise. Because
you've asked It. And because It's the
denrest, most generous, most thought-
ful thing I ever heard of in all my
life. . . . And after that, cun't we
be truly friends?"
Flushed, perplexed, honored, she
gave him her hand with a hesitancy
which betruyed the deep senso of, com
pliment she felt.
"I don't think I could bo prouder of
anything that could possibly happen
to me," she said.
Was It worth the blatant mummery
he had conceived nnd executed? Wns
It not worth that, and Infinitely more?
Sho wn3 proud of his friendship
. . . and sho shared that distinc
tion with no one else In tho entire
universe.
Proud of It! Hllllard was fulsome
ly ubashed. Abashed yes, nnd simul
taneously glorified, no had como to
make the city proud, lgnoruntly proud,
of the man whose deeds had merited
no renown, nore, nt the very Incep
tion of his plans, a seventeen-year-old
girl was proud of him ns ho wus.
Courage. Inspiration. Resolve.
He had won her respect by tho prom
ise of a lie; and In this instant he
vowed to deserve, by other and In
creasing lies If need be, the prestige
he was unalterably committed to gain,
whereby tho past should be as noth
ing, nd tho future should he n mng
nlllcent citadel of reconquered dreams.
Sho was proud of him, and she had
approved tho Ho In behalf of Dicky
Morgan's memory. Unwittingly, she
had sanctioned tho very purpose of
his coming, und the method of ids ap
proach. Sho hnd confirmed his own
Intentions, nnd given him the will to
advance. He wns to act oh the stanch
dofender of her playmate perished,
and to make of himself a now and n
better man, worthy of the eulogies
which, ns trustee, ho now accepted for
tho unworthy Morgan. Ho consecrated
himself to this end.' Told himself
fiercely thnt ho would succeed, And
she wns proud of him! It was an
other omen.
It was eleven o'clock to the minute
when Hlllinrd, not quite so blithe ns
a wedding guest, and yet not ulto
gethor os doleful as a mourner, waved
his hand to a slender girl who stood
on the verandu of a house diagonally
across tho street, and went slowly up
tho Durunts' brick walk. Ho had an
ticipated tho effect of this pilgrimage
upon his nerves, he had discounted
it; nnd Angela's advice had given him
an urtificlul stimulus for the moment;
nevertheless, ns tho front door opened
to him, nnd he saw, over the head of
a smirking maid-servant, a hallway
and a vestibule unchanged, his breath
came a llttlo faster than usual, nnd
Ills checks went a llttlo darker. It
was, so in speak, a return to n shrine,
nnd n normal Mian might easily be pur
(lmiptl ror n llttlo sentiment oji the
vide, no matter how often he had
changed his religion during tho mean
time. The maid, having deposited him in
tho living room, disappeared In a quick
flurry of skirts; Hlllinrd, standing at
the end of tho long, high-roofed apart
ment, found himself surrounded by a
thousand goads to remembrance. Not
an Item wns out of place; not nn Item
wa' otherwise than as ho had often
recalled It; nls memory had been
photographic.
At tho opposlto end of tho room,
flunking the hluck-marhlcd fireplace,
was a graceful, swan-necked sofa,
beautifully curved and splendidly up
holstered. Doctor Durant hnd onco
remarked that Carol represented tho
fifth successive generation of -her fam
ily to be courted on It. And evening
after evening, In the ages that had
gone before, Hlllinrd had sat there
nnd dreamed and loved ; nnd sometimes
when Carol had slipped awny from
hlta ke bd sat there and dreamed and
11 " !P
"Caroll"
loved and smoked, while sho played
Chopin and Rubinstein and Moscowskl
to him. And tho piano somewhat
battle-scarred hut wlthul n muster in
strument was still over in Its accus
tomed place, with the "Military Polon
aiso" perched open on tho rack.
Then his pupils nnrrowed to gray
necks of Ice; for memory, by ono of
those tricks against which there Is no
defense, told him that he stood In
tills same position, in exactly this
same spot, when two years ago tho
doctor had pronounced his sentence,
and Carol, In terrible silence, hnd then
and thQro confirmed It. His Imagina
tion conjured up that scene again;
his blood chilled; he could fancy that
Carol nnd the doctor were actually be
fore him, and that ho was staring ut
them in tho flesh, nnd feeling tho lush
of the doctor's quiet peroration. . . ,
At the threshold there was a faint
rustle of fabric, and nilllard turned.
Carol! Ills hands went out mechan
ically, and hers to him; nnd Hllllard,
tasting tho odd of his somber mood,
smiled benignly.
"I mustn't keep you waiting," ho
said, dropping her hands. "I've brought
you the letter I spoko nbout." Ho
gavo It to her, and coughed his, em
barrassment. "I'm posltlvo lt'H for
you. And I'm sure you don't want
anything to prevent you from read
ing It at onco, so If you'd rather pre
fer to have mo como buck later for
tho talk you wuntod "
Ho wns already moving townrd tha
doorway; sho restrained him gently,
although her eyes couldn't bo drugged
from tho folded paper ho had given
her.
"No," sho said, "plcaso don't go. I
particularly want you,to meet my fa
ther, Mr. Hllllard. He's nnxlouB to
sec you, too. Won't you wult while I
call hlra?"
Ho Inclined his head; followed her
with his oyesto the hallway, strained
his hearing, and knew thnt sho had
opened tho letter ns soon as sho wns
out of his sight, nis lips twitched
cynlcnlly und then, us ho remem
bered Angela's Injunction, straight
ened. After all, this much wns puru
charity. Down tho hallway, there was
the roverboratlon of a closing door,
and sllenco.
Justice to Dick Morgan's
memory.
(TO JJH CON 1'INUKD.)
For Musical Beginners.
Builders of modern flats might well
take a hint from u unlquo feature In
liuckland's hotel in Brook street, now
undergoing transformation to accora.
modato the new Guards club. This
was a sulto of "sound-proof" rooms
called tho "nandel suite," nfter tho
composer, who lived and died In Brook
street, for tho use of musically In
clined visitors. This admirable ar
rangement enabled amateurs of sucr
distressing Instruments in the hand
of tho novice ns tho piccolo or tho bug
pipes to practice without disturbing
thulr follow-gueota. Loadoa Timea.
FAVOR WELL-KEPT GROUNDS
ReaJ-Eatate Buyers Will Invariably
Olvo Preference to House With
Attractive Surroundings.
It pays to add a few frills when
making u home, writes Edward Irving
Farrington, In the Philadelphia Ledger.
This fact was Illustrated when n cer
tain man owning n small suburban
property found It necessary to innke a
quick sulo. Having n keen apprecia
tion of tho beautiful In nature, thin
man hud surrounded his modest houso
with ornnmontul trees nnd flowering
shrubs. They had been growing for
only n few years, to bo sure, but they
had become so well established that
nil appearance of newness hud (lis
nppenred. Now, this man wus nblo
to obtain for his property 2T per cent
more than n neighbor who had u cost
lier house, hut who hud neglected its
external embellishment. Moreover,
ho sold his property several months
before his neighbor could find u pur
chaser. Now, of course, the average man
will not plant grounds for tho prlmo
purpose of making his place salable.
It must bo admitted, in passing,
though, that rcul-estato men tho cqju
try over are beginning to learn that
they can got u much larger price for
their now houses If they plnnt tho
grounds before offering them for sale
From this point of view of tho houso
owner, however, tho free use of trees
nnd shrubs Is desirable In two ways.
It adds greatly to his enjoyment and
comfort nnd to that orf his ngrecnblo
knowlcdgo that these sumo trees und
shrubs are rapidly growing Into mon
cy. If ho has any doubt upon tho lab
tor point he has only to put up n "For
Sale" sign on his front gate. It is al
ways tho house which has been given
nn Inviting, homcllko appearance thnt
catchai tho eyes of n prospective
buyer.
FINE EFFECT AT SMALL COST
Concrete Front and Entrance Add
Much to Attractiveness of Other-(
wise Unpretentious Home.
Viewed from tho street, n residence
In n middle-western city appears to bo
nn expensive concrete building, though
In renllty the structure la mado al
most entirely of wood, nnd was erected
at a. very moderate cost. This effect
Is ohtnlncd by means of nn artistic
Side View of the Dwelling: In This
Picture Can Be Seen the Frame Por
tion of the Structure, Which la
Scarcely Visible From the Street!
concrete front nnd entrance, which add
to tho beauty of tho dwelling, hut
represent only n small outlay of cash.
Tho entrance resembles u pergola, and
Includes two massive square columns,
whllo tho front 1b designed to har
monize. A small window Is located
on ench side of the doorway. Popular
Mechanics Miiguzlno.
A Well. Laid Garden.
A garden has this advantage, thnt
It makes It Indifferent where you live.
A well-luld garden tnnkcs tho fnco of
the country of no account; let thnt
be low or high, grand or mean, you
have mado n beautiful abode worthy of
man. If tho landscapo Is pleasing, the
garden shows It If tame, It excludes
it. A llttlo grove, which any fanner
can find or cause to grow near his
house, will In a few years make cata
racts and chains of inountnlns quite
unnocessory to his scenery; und ho
Is so contented with his valleys, wood
hinds, orehnrds, and rlvor, that Niag
ara, and tho Notch of tho White moun
tains, nnd Nantasket beach, are super
fluities. Emerson.
Cut Cost of City Lighting.
City administrations anxious to cut
down running expenses will find much
of Interest In tho proposal recently
ndvuncod by two llluralnntlng en
gineers. A duplex electric street light
Is their suggestion, tha globe to con
tain two lumps Instead of ono as at
present. These lamps are to be
placed tip to tip; ono Is to bo of 000
to 1,000 cp; the other of 100 to 250 cp.
From sundown until midnight, accord
ing to this scheme, tho stronger' lamp
would burn. At midnight the city cur
rent would bo momentarily reduced,
causing a small mercury cut-out In
cuch gloho to extinguish the big lump
and turn on tho smaller. Popular Me
chanics Magazine
BrltUh Courts Bar Veils.
According to English law, u womnn
witness must nilso hor veil and ox
poso her face, so that tho Jury may
judgo by hor features us to her truth
fulness. '
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