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About Dakota County herald. (Dakota City, Neb.) 1891-1965 | View Entire Issue (July 1, 1920)
i&m&SirtWfr'X pmi,iuto$W9 DAKOTA COUNTY HERALD, DAKOTA CITY, NEBRASKA. HomeTown The Man Nobody Knew A m .wMftWMWlii'W-JAKt,'''y ylfefpsjfr flj II 1 . 'Y w tj4 U (Copyright by Dodd. Mead ft Co., CHAPTER XII Continued. 13 "Oh, lie's going to tnko a look nt It n his way West," said Hilllard, dllll dently, and added, with more generos ity than Waring had anticipated. "Rufus and I both asked him to. Let Rufus and Jack hnndle It together. Between them, they'll make rather an exhaustive study, don't you think 7 And they might turn up something tlint all cf us would want to know." "That's right I It's a thought Well " Cullen looked at his watch. "I can't waste any more time on this tom fool business. I ought to have been in the oillce an hour ago. Anybody go ing downtown?" "I am but I'll walk," said Waring sullenly. "Can I stay?" nsked Illlllnrd of An cola, In an undertone. "I want you to," she said. Ller eyes followed Waring to the doorway. After they bad been nlone for a full minute, and neither of them had ut tered a syllable, It came to Illlllnrd that the chief difficulty In being evil Is to make an end of It, but tlint the chief dllllculty In being virtuous is to begin. His brain was active and his emotions were placid; but o his mild perplexity he had no compelling de sire to make n start. There was no restraining impediment working against him. as on the occasion of his interview with Carol; his Impulses were merely lazy. Indeed, he was rather highly gratified at tlto course of things this morning; he argued tlint Waring's zeal and Armstrong's Itinerary had relieved him from any necessity of an out-and-out avowal of his Innocent frnud; It was much more satisfactory, since all the Issues were so confused, to turn his affairs over to Cullen, and to await the Inevitable Terdlct on an Impersonal basis. In the meantime, he was deeply touched by Cullen's conJldence in him ; Cullen and Carol Durant alike had refused to bo leve the obvious truth; he wondered stolidly what It would liuve meant to him to have had such a reputation from his youth onward; the gratifica tion now would have been superlative provided only tlint he had been en titled to his pride. "He's Jealous of you," snld Angela abruptly. "That's all he's jealous. Simply wild with It. You know that don't you?" Uilllnrd started; for It wasn't an emboldening beginning. Not the least bo; It Implied exactly the sort of rival ry which he had feared, and which he had come to relinquish. "Who Is? Oh! Rufus Waring?" "Terribly Jealous. Perfectly crazy with It. That's what all this whole mess Is about." She tossed her head willfully. "I don't care; do you?" The unreserved bluntness of It near ly took him off his feet; renewing the devastating suspicion that Angela had grown to care too much for him too much for her own good. "Why, Angela 1" he said lamely. "Of course I do. It hurts me." She hammered a gold-embroidered ofa-cush!on with ono tiny fist. "Oh, he's Jealous of everything and everybody. That doesn't count any more. Only It made mo perfectly furious. ... I wanted to scratch him . . . the very Idea of his daring to sny Anything like that about you I Even if you do Uko me a lot I" She sighed heavily. "And yet If you stop to think .about It, it was sort of brave, too tandlng up to all of us when It was three to one, nnd he was wrong poor dear!" Hilllard looked down at her with deep affection and troubled relief. "As long as I've a defender like you I wouldn't worry," he said, "but I'm afraid 11 won't be for so very long, Angela, that you'll feel llko defending me." "Why not?" she nsked. "Just a notion of mine. It strikes xne tlint you're fonder of Rufus thnn you let yourself think. And ho needs n chnmplon worse than I do; I'm more used to taking care of myself." The corners of her mouth were pe culiarly sensitive. "Such a queer notion I" she snld. "Where'd you ever get it?" "Oh, It came of Its own accord. . , "It's been such a funny day," sho said, musing. "Rufus was funny, nnd Dad was funny, and you're so funny, and Carol was funny this morning, and I'm funny now, and" "Carol!" ho echoed Involuntarily. She laughed at him, enjoying his dls comfltnre with the sweet Insolence of n naughty Juvenile; and It was note worthy tlint her arraignment of War ing stopped short nt this point "I know something about youl" sho taunted wickedly. "What do you know, bright child?" be demanded, red to the temples. "I know I" ner tone was singing. "So do youl Look nt the man blush 1 Why, you guilty thing! Why, you red geranium I" Ho sat down beside her, staring nt ner vivid, llower-llke face. "Angela, you little demon, stop laughing at me!" It was fresh Incentive; she only bub 'bled the more. "I told you I'd laugh nt you some Inc.) time," she reminded him triumphantly, "and this Is the time!" "Think so?" "I know sol" All at once sho be came demurely sober. "I'm awfully glad, honestly ... it Isn't out yet, of course, but everybody knows about you and Carol, especially since Jnck Armstrong lost out, and went West, Just the way they do In novels. I'm Just ns glad as I can be. Only you might have given me n wee little hint Just to me, you know, mightn't you?" "Angela!" He caught at her nanu. "Oh I That wakes you up, doesn't It?" Her manner changed to the mn tcrnnl; If Hilllard had been In a dlf fernt frame of mind It would hnvo convulsed him. "Now, just bo calm and tell me all about It," she Instruct ed him Indulgently. "Tell mo every thing I won't repent It to n single soul! I'm nwfully excited nbout It. Please tell me." "Angeln I Where did you" Sho pouted Instantly. "Not just plain 'Angela' put some trimming on it." "Well Angeln, dear . . . what's that about Jack Armstrong? Sny that ngnln nnd tell me everything you know about It. Re serious for once. That's a good girl!" ner eyes were mischievously tender; somehow she reminded Hilllard of that moment In the hallway of the Du rants' house the most precious of all his recent memories. "Will you tell me If I tell you?" "Yes. I guess so." Her finger was upraised In warn ing. "Say 'Yes, dear.' " "Yes, dear," said nilllard, writhing. She settled herself with n little flounce of cxcltcmnt. "Well . . . Jnck asked her, nnd sho refused him. . . . Flat as a pancake. That's gospel truth! She told mo she'd refused him, and he told me the panenke part. And every body's glad of It he's a nice boy; awfully nice but nowhere near as nice ns you nre. And he's just natu rally gone away to get over It. And you're the only one left. So that's finished." He stnred at her unbllnklngly. Had he' really been nt such cross-purposes with Armstrong nt the stntlon, then? The conception wns Illumlnntlng. "Everybody?" ho repented, red and white by turns, nnd mightily hushed. "What does that mean?" "Just that. Everybody. That Is" ner accent was dellclously superior. "That Is, all the pcoplo ono knows." "They think . . . they think I'm the . . . the one?" "Silly 1" She patted his head. "I didn't believe you'd try to camouflage me. No honestly Isn't It true?" ne studied her n moment. "Whnt would you sny If It were?" he nsked so berly. She returned his gaze with engaging frankness. "Oh, I want It to be I want It to bo!" sho said. "Carol's tho sweetest thing In town, and as for you . . . well, sometimes I almost wish I could marry you myself!" His heart leaped dangerously. Ono complication tho less I Oh, the respite of It ! Angela removed from the prob- That Wakes You Up, Doesn't It?" lem and he sank back wearily C,nrol coming into It ngnln, and Irrevocably. " 'Almost?' " he queried mechan ically. Sho looked nt tho floor; when sho raised her eyes ho saw tho well re membered depths In them. She was half-child, half-woman and tho wom an was speaking with the child's tongue, ner hand covered his; tho wnrm. timid pressuro wns very nssung Ing. "Yes, 'almost' ... I suppose I enn really talk to you, enn't I? I nl ways thought I could . . . well, when you first came hero I was per fectly crazy about you ... I am yet, In a way, only sort of boiled down . . . yon know. Not like a sister at all, but . . . not the other sort, either. I thought It was By HOLWORTHY HALL going to be once but ... I . . . I llko you better than any body else In tho world all but two. . . . I liked to bo kissed by people I llko . . . and . . . you know It's sort of llko sunlight j I need lots of It Peopln liavo nlways fussed over me. . . ." Hero she gave a poignant sigh for her lost youth. "Only . . . It's funny, too . . . but one of tho two pcoplo I do like bet ter thnn I do you ... In a dif ferent way ... Is ... Is Rufe Wnrlng. Ho's Jenlous as a ... a torn cat . . . but somehow I don't mind It from him; I nlwnys llko It. , , , He was so frightfully Jealous nbout you, and I ... I teased him nbout that. It wns Just because be thought you weren't quite good enough for me, I guess. And you've. got to give him credit for that, now, haven't you? . . . And ... I hope you and Carol '11 bo awfully hnppy to gether." "Dear girl I" said Hilllard gently. "Do you understand?" Her eyes were very pleading, very misty. "Understand? yes. Can I wish you hnpplness, too?" "Not yet," she said, ndornbly prim, "no hasn't . . . oh, we both know nbout It, but ho's got to grndunte from Inw school first, and after that . . . mnybo I can . . . travel a little." Sho blushed shnmeftilly. "You needn't grin like n Cheshire cat I" guess I'll see Niagara Falls, anywnyl" "I wasn't grinning," ho said. "I wns smiling nt you right out of my henrt. . . . Rut I do wish hnppl ness to you nlwnys nnd always. And I'm hnppler myself than I've been for ages . . . dear . . . ." Ho stop ped, swamped by tho recollection tlint It wns Wnrlng who wns to share In the demonstration of his per--fldy. To wish happiness to an exe cutioner nnd not be a hypocrjte? In credible yet true! nilllard wished him hnpplness. "Whnt Is It?" she demnnded, nlcrt to his altered expression. "Nothing, . . . I'm Just sorry I'm not n Mormon !" "You're fibbing! Still . . ." Illlllnrd rose hastily. "Walt!" sho said. "You can't go until you've told mo ono more thing . . . you don't honestly think Rufe's underhanded, now, do you?" "No oh, no, Angeln. A man enn bo so upset tlint he enn " "You know we were Just shocked nnd surprised nnd Dnd's nwfully quick tempered. And It wns so sud den I Wo didn't stop to tnlk It over, wo sailed right Into him, nnd nil of us got excited, nnd then you enme In. Wo didn't know how frightfully jeal ous Rufo could be he's been bad enough before, but this time wns tho limit nnd It's only because ho's n boy It's . . . sort of primeval. You know." "Yes, dear yes I" "And ... ho did know us long before ho ever knew you. no thought he was protecting us. It was Just an obsession " "It's all right quite nil right Please I" Ho touched her hair lightly. "I wish I were as sure you'd alwnys de fend mo ns I nm thnt you'll stick to him, Angeln." "That's twice you'vo said thnt . . . nnd you know what I think I I've told you. And . . . aro you going off without telling mo anything nt all?" Her voice betrayed tho Irreparable In Jury In It Illlllnrd moistened his lips. "Angeln, dear, next to one other per son I love you better than nny ono elso on earth." "That's nice," sho said, with n sigh of perfect content He bent to her, but she eluded him. "Oh, nol" she gnsped In fluttering protest. "Even if you . . . but I'vo told you nbout Rufe now you , haven't told mo nbout Carol, but it's plain ns day It wouldn't bo right I "Angela !" Sho relented swiftly; his voice wns something to rely on. "Well Just my cheek, then. Hon estly, I . . ." "No, denr," snld Illlllnrd. Ho com pelled her chin upward, and mulled down Into her lovely, startled eyes, and stooped and kissed her forehead . . . then her lips. "Thnt's for good-by," ho said, "to tho dearest little girl I ever knew. . . . Wo're both growing up, tttiA we?" CHAPTER XIII. In the colorless days thnt followed, nilllard listlessly set about tho order ing of his Hnnl plnnB. Fortunately, thoro were few of them; his mind would never hnvo been cqunl to Intrl cnto detail. It was a slight consolation to him to rcnllzo that the city had a tinlilt of Judging men by personal rather than by financial standards; for nil Its prldo nnd wealth, It would censure him more for his wrecked personality than for whatever money losses ho hud caused. Ho was prepared to endure that censure; and becnuso ho under stood the provocntlon behind It, he wns nil the more enger to nld In the snlvnge. Them would be more saved from the underwriting project, he thought, thnn from his character. lie had deposited with Cullen nil he owned, except for his prlvnto belong ings, his runabout, nnd n trivial sum for current expenses. The ninnbout ho would offer for snle; It meant a few hundred dollars more to bo divided nmong his contributors. Reyond that, there wns nothing elso ho could re store to them. He didn't bellevo thnt Harmon would ever carry out his promised be trnyal; not thnt he hnd faith In Har mon's code of ethics, but because he trusted Harmon's horso sense. If Illl llnrd were alone to be licensed, Har mon would gain nothing and might, If he offered any adverse testimony, even Implicate himself. Indeed, If Harmon should sny enough to establish tho proof In the dangerous status of nn ac cessory before tho fact. No . . . this was the same procedure; to let II vvfjiffHja I Esliu y i - "That's for Good-by." the memory of Dicky Morgan rest in peace, and to let the brunt of anger fall on Henry Hilllard, who was a no body from nowhere, with a lying face, a lying tongue, and no claquo to mourn at his exit Rut then there wns Angela's start ling allegation . . . Sho had declared that "everybody" In town knew nil about Hilllard and Carol. "Every body" would hnvo a different opinion, no hnd tried to explain himself to Carol, and he had failed; and In tho light of Angela's revelation, It was dif ficult to decide whether Carol herself, In protesting that she wanted to re tain him as n friend, had meant that and nothing more, or that and a great deal more. Rut no matter what she had Intended to convey, he dared not go to her ngaln, he dared not see her nnd speak to her, for If helled to her . . . but ho couldn't He to her now, nnd every word of truth would prove n boomerang. Ho was trapped; and nlthough his henrt wns breaking for tho love he hnd nlmost won n second time, ho remnlned stendfast to tho Ideals he had created. If Carol were to lose him ns n suitor, she should nev er know that her first and foremost suitor hnd gone to tho devil. Ho told himself fiercely there was ono definite and permanent way out of It. . . . Nobody would then have cause to gossip about Dicky Morgan; no one after the first natural Hood of excitement nnd denunciation would remember very much about Henry Illlllnrd. It would save such a deal of needless trouble; It would save such a wcarlsomo amount of slinme. Rut against the pitiless background of tho war, self-destruction ns a means of avoiding personal dllllcultles, self caused, seemed curiously repellent curiously cheap. No ... It was n part of his own grlevanco thnt Carol and the others must grieve, too; ho had a dual re sponsibility to society. Ho had no right to leave these mntters clouded by any uncertainty of motive. Syracuse hnd a right to know tho facts; and If the facts brought pain to those ho loved, why, that was something he should hnvo thought about In June, nnd not In November. As ho clung comfortless to tho last slipping hours of tho reputation ho had so carefully bullded, ho knew that It wasn't the punishment of tho law that ho dreaded, It was tho ostrnclsm which would accompany It. It wasn't his own shnnio which gripped hlin, It was tho consciousness of tho shamo which would attach to his friends. And bo, for a day or two, all his fac ulties wcro strung upon the attitude of the public toward him; ho was watching frantically for tho first signs of adverse demeanor, and bracing him self for the shock which was unavoid ably to come. For secrets will out, and although ho had no reason to ex pect Wnrlng to break his pledge, ho knew that when rumor smolders among ns many as four people, thoro comes there always comes a mo ment In which It bursts fortli In spon taneous combustion. ftTWirMOTHBP Presently he sensed a subtle super charging of the atmosphere whenever he met n male acquaintance; ha couldn't deny that the greeting of his bunkers was suddenly less Informal, more Impersonnl ; he perceived, with a sinking spasm of foreboding, that fewer people stopped to chnt with him on the street nnd that those who still were willing to halt and pass tho time of day were uncommonly restlvo about It Syracuse hadn't yet arrayed itself officially against him, and n part of Syracuse was outwardly as pleasnnt ns ever, but I here wnsn't tho slightest question that the story had leaked out, and that It hnd got Itself adherents. The end was plainly In sight ; Arm strong's report wns duo. Only the Cul lens and the Durants and one or two other of the James street families wero quite ns cordially attentive ns former ly; nnd to llllllnrd's vast chagrin, they rather overdid It . . . hu seemed to feel In tho steady warmth of their friendship n sort of blindly unseason able resolution to support him, whether or no. This. Infinitely more than tho cooling manner of the majority, gulled him Incessantly. It wns as though they rallied to his defense before tho need of It ... It was as though they conceded In advance tho necessity of such a defense. So Hilllard waited, waited . . . 'smiling upon the world his hollow smile, carrying through the city tho body of a knave and the face of a martyr and the soul of n gentleman . . . nnd In the wntches of tho night, ho was perplexed to find that his vycs wero sometimes wet, but never when ho wns thinking of himself nlways when ho was thinking of Angela, or Carol, or unexplalnably of a common-enough representative of tho French bourgeolslu named Pierre Du- tout. On tho eighth dny, ho chnnced to meet Dr. Durant by accident In front of the Physicians' building nt high noon. "Hello, there! You're Just In time," said tho Doctor, cheerfully. "I'm go ing over to tho University club for lunch. Won't you join mo? I want your advice. I'm tho worst business man In the world you probably know that by this time. And I trust my friends for friendship; but when I want advice, I go to an expert So you qualify on both counts. Como along over." Hilllard was flattered, but not de ceived. "I'm not suro that my ndvlco Is worth anything half as expensive as n luncheon, Doctor." Tho older man took him by the arm, and Impelled him ncross tho street "That depends on your appetite," ho lnughed. "Como along, nnd help mo out on a decision l'vo got to mnko. About nn Investment." Illlllnrd hung bnck for n moment, while suspicion dawned on him. "Whnt sort of Investment, Doctor?" ho queried. "You como anil sit down," urgeu tho Doctor, seductively. "And we'll tnlk It over Inter. Rut first of nil-" Ho patted his waistcoat. "Let's cat" Hilllard was almost too grateful to speak ; tho Doctor's strntegem was pat ent, but In nil chlvnlry tho invitation couldn't bo declined. Once Inside the doors of tho club, however, ho became panicky; for his first sweeping reeon nolssanco Included half a dozen men whose lato behavior hud Indicated thai they knew. Tho Doctor drew Illlllnrd under the innntlo of his own unassailable posi tlon, and plowed ahead with the utmost" serenity. Ho nodded hero nnd there, ho spoke to members right nnd loft; ho , bowed across tho room; nlwnyrf his personality, rather than his person, seemed to be escorting and gunrdlnfl Illlllnrd; nnd Syracuse couldn't decllno to acknowledge a man who wns under the Doctor's udequnte protection. Thosa who spoke to tho Doctor ulso spoke to Hilllard; there was no way out of It, and they spoke as casually as they could. They also nodded to him, and bowed, but when his back was turned, they beenmo low-voiced and communis catlve, and he knew It. (TO UK CONTINUED.) Divers In Ancient History. Tho earliest mention of diving la made by Homer, nbout 850 R. C, In the "Iliad," when Patroclus compare! tho fall of Hector's charioteer to a diver diving for oysters; und Thucy dldes tells of divers being used to re move submiirlno barriers placed with the object of Impeding or Injuring tho Greclnn fleet at tho slego of Byrn cuse. These divers had no apparatus suvo a stono to carry them quickly to tho bottom nnd to cling to for the brief period, nbout two minutes, they could stny below, This Is enlled nat ural diving and Is still In use for col lecting sponges and pearls ut Ceylo nnd In tho Mediterranean. Short Answer. Tenderfoot Scout (to second-clan scout who has Just had his hair cut) How Is it that your hair Is so short did you have It cut? Second-cluss Scout No, I wuslud my heud last night nnd my hall shrunk. Roys' LMa, "MAKING OVER" OLD HOUSES Architects Have Shown That They Can Do Wonders With Present Unsightly Structures. There never wns a time when the services, taste and special knowlodga of the trained architect wero mora needed or more In deninnd. The car penter nnd builder have for years been the consulting experts In the building of thousands of suburban homes nnd farmhouses, and lot us glvo them credit, at least, before tho Jigsaw era, for many beautiful uud charming old houses. Following the building shortage In these Intter years has conic an appre ciation of the fact that any old house, or new, be It as hopelessly ugly na It nuiy be, has possibilities. Archi tecture has shown many Instances of "before nnd nfter" of old ramshackle barnllko structures, altered Into most delightful homes. Old barns hnvo been made over Into charming studios and living quarters, woodsheds Incor porated Into the redesigning of nn old farmhouse. Everywhere In shown n wider appreciation that nothing Is Im possible to the architect of taste and nill. The old and hopelessly ugly city brown-stone house and tho little two or three-story brick house or stnblo on ii side street hnvo been ninth' Into artistic and attractive apartments or studio buildings. It In to the nrchltcct thnt we owo this roniiKsunco und wo hnvo only mndu a beginning toward the devel opment of the city beautiful from old nnd unsightly and out-of-date struc tures. Lest some should say that wo nre dealing with merely Idealistic mat ters, with our own desire for better things artistically, we remark that In every Instance these "artistic" Im provements have proved the very best of business In Increased rents and more desirable tenants. If tho cost of new buildings. has de terred ninny from carrying out tbolr long-cherished dream of owning their own home, there Is abundant oppor tunity nlmost everywhere for tho al teration of old places nt very moder ate cost. And old houses nearly nl" ways offer the nucleus of a more sub Htnntlal structure than ninny hurriedly) built modern houses put up In quan tities for speculative purposes. From Architecture. CITY'S BILLBOARDS MUST GO Cincinnati Commissioner Prepares for the Removal of Signs, Under a Court Order. Orders for tho removnl of all bill boards from tho residential sections of Cincinnati aro being prepared by George B. Hauser, city building com missioner, according to tho Chrlstlnn Science Monitor. Commissioner Huus er's action Is based on a recent de cision by a Judgo of tho Common Pleas court, that the municipal ordinance re stricting billboards Is retroactive. This ordlnnnco requires a petition contain ing tho consent of 51 per cent of tho property owners In any residential, block beforo a permit for tho erection of a billboard may bo granted. Tho Judgo held that this regulation applied to billboards erected beforo tho pass ago of the ordinance. Commissioner Hnuser points out that under this In terpretation tho residents of each block hnvo It In their power to rid, themselves of objectionable billboards by refusing to sign tho consent peti tions which tho billboard Interests nro hurriedly circulating. Importance of Trees. When wo hnvo oncu had our Interest In trei'H nwakened and hnvo consid ered their various uses and helpful ness to man, wo are glad to learn something of their ways and how their troubles may be remedied. Trees help to keep tho soli In place on hillsides. They hold to Its course tho wayward brook. They furnish shelter, Hhudo and cozy nesting-places for tho birds; we should liavo few llttlo feathered friends If It wero not for trees. They aro companionable, and llko to grow whero they can yub brunches wl(h their fellows; they give a refreshing Hhudo In the summer and protection In the winter, and they hnvo character and Individuality. It Is well worth our while to save them from destruction, ns well as to help restore the forests which liavo been ruthlessly cut down. Good Advice. An nged Scot told his minister that he was about to make a pllgrlmngo to tho Holy land. "And when I'm there," Bald tho pilgrim complacently, "I'll rend tho Ten Commandments aloud frao tho top o' Mt. Slnul." Tho minister looked at him with an oyo of pity, and wild: "Sandy, tak' my advice: Rldo at hanio and keep thum." Traced Source of 8eaweed. Wheti the Sargasso sea was first dis covered It was thought thnt the sea. weed grew on the bottom of tho ocenn right on the spot Wo know better fiow. Tho algae, whoso scientific name by the way Is fucus nutans, has Its origin on the rocks of South Amer Ica nnd Ralinma Islands. Vast forests of tho algao grow on these tropic counts.