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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 16, 1916)
THE BEST MAN b r Grace Livingston Hill Lutz Author of "Marcia Schuyler," "Dawn of the Morning,’* "Lo, Michael!" etc. Philadelphia & London. J. B. Lippincott Company. 1914. CHAPTER VI—(Continued). Now. the janitor's wife, who occupied an apartment somewhat overcrowded, hud surreptitiously borrowed the use of this closet tho week before, In order to hang therein her Sunday gowns, whose front breadth was covered with grease spots, thickly overlaid with French chalk. Tho French chalk had done its work and removed the grease spots, and now lay thickly on the floor of the closet, but the Imprisoned bride groom did not know that, and ho sat down quite naturally to rest from his unusual exertions, and to reflect on what,could be done next. The immedi ate present passed rapidly in review. He could not afford more than ill min utes to get out of this hole. He ought to be on the way to the church at once. There was no knowing what nonsense Celia might get into her head if he de layed. He had known her since her childhood, and she had always scorned him. The hold he had upon her now was like a rope of sand, but only be knew that, If he could Hut knock that old door down! If he only hadn’t hung up his coat In the closet! If the man who built the house only hadn't put euch a fool efttch on the door! When he got out he would take time to chop it off! If only he had a little more room, and a little more ulr! It was stifling! Great beads of perspiration went rolling down Ids hot forehead, and his wet collar made a cool band about Ills neck. He wondered If he had an other clean collar of that particular utyle with him. If he only could get out of this accursed place! Where were all the people? Why was everything so still? Would they never come and let him out? He reflected that he had told the Jan itor ho would occupy the room with his baggage for two or three weeks per haps, hut he expected to go away on a trip this very evening. The janitor would not think it strange If lie did not appear. How would it be to stay here and die? Horrible thought! He Jumped up from the floor and began his bowlings and gyrations once more, but soon desisted, and sat down to be entertained by a panorama of his past life, which Is always unpleasantly in evidence at such times. Fine and clear in the darkness of the closet stood out the nicely laid scheme of deviltry by which he had contrived to be at lust Within reach of a coveted fortune. .Occasionally would come the frantic thought that just through this little mishap of a foolish clothespress catch he might even yet lose It. The fraud and trickery by which ho had an heir ess In his power did not trouble him •o much as the thought of losing her— at least of losing the fortune. He must have tbat fortune, for ho was deep In dept, and—but then ho would refuse to , think, and get up to butter at hla pris on door again. --- ~ ■'•'V** "“‘Iff CHblUOCU him, with inky blackness all around •ave for a faint glimmer of light, which marked the well fitted base of the door as the night outside drew on. lie had lighted the gas when tie begun dressing, for the room had already been filled ■with shadows, and now, it begun to eeem as If that streak of flickering gas light wus the only thing that saved him from losing his mind. Somewhere from out of the dim shad ows a face evolved Itself und gazed at him. a haggard face with piercing hol low eyes and despair written upon it. It reproached him with a sin ho thought long forgotten. He shrank back in hor ror and tlie cold perspiration stood out upon ills forehead, for the eyes were the eyes of the man whose name he had forged upon a note involving trust money 15 years before; and the man, a quiet, kindly, unsuspecting creature had suffered the penalty in a prison cell un til his death some five years ago. Sometimes at night in the llrst years after his crime, that face had haunted him. appearing at odd Intervals when he was plotting some particularly shady means of adding to his Income, until he had resolved to turn over a new leaf, and actually gave up one or two schemes as being too unscrupulous to bo Indulged in. thu* acquiring a com forting feeling of being virtuous. But It was long since the face had come He had settled it in his mind that the forgery was merely a patch of wild oats which he had sown in his youth, something to be regretted, but not too severely blamed for, and thus forgiving himself he had grown to feel that it wus more the world's fault for not giv ing what he wanted than his own for putting a harmless old man in prison. Of tho Bhame that had killed the old man he knew nothing, nor could have understood. Tho actual punishment itself was all that appealed to him He was ever one that had to bo taught with the lnsh, and then only kept straight while It was In sight. But the face was very near and vivid here in the thick darkness. It was like a cell, this closet, bare, cold, black. The eyes in the gloom seemed to pierce him with the thought: "This is what you made tne suffer. It Is your turn now. It Is your turn now!” Nearer and nearer they came looking Into Ills own until they saw down into his very soul, his little sinful soul, und drew back up pnljed at the littleness and meanness of What they saw. Then for the first time In his whole selfish life George Huyne knew shame, for the eyes read forth to 1dm all that they had seen, and how it looked to them; and beside the tale they told the eyes were clean of sin and almost glad in splto of suffering wrongfully. Closer und thicker grew the air of the small closet; fiercer grew the rage and shame and horror of the man in carcerated. Now, from out the shadows there looked other eyes, eyes that had never haunted him lief ore; eyes of victims to whom he had never cast a half a thought. Kyes of men and women he hs.(l robbed by his artful, gen tlemanly craft: eves of Innocent girls whose wrecked lives had con tributed to his selfish scheme of living; even the great reproucliful eyes of little children who had looked to him for pity and found none. Loot, above them all wore the (pH lovely girl be was to havw star Hot. He had always loved Celia HathawwT more than he could have loved anyone or anything else besides himself, and it had eaten into his very being that he never could make her bow to him; not even by torture could he bring her to her knees. Stung by the years of her •corn he had stooped lowed and lower in his methods of dealing with her un til he had come at last to employ ths * e he might bring low her pride and put her fortune and her scornful self with in ids power. The strength with which she had withheld him until the time of her surrender had turned his selfish lov.e into a halo with contemplations of revenge. But now her eyes glowed scornfully, wreathed round with bridal white, and seemed to taunt him with his foolish defeat at this the last minute before the final triumph. Undoubtedly the brandy ho had ta ken had gone to his head. Was lie going mad that he could not get away from all these terrible eyes? lie felt Hure he was dying when at last the Janitor came up to the fourth floor on Ills round of inspection, noticed Hie light flaring from the transom over the door occupied by the stranger, who had said he was going to leave on a trip almost immediately, and went in to investigate. The eyes vanished at his step. The man In the closet lost no I line in making Ilia presence known, and the Janitor, cautiously, and with great deliberation, made careful inves tigation of the cause and reason for tile disturbance, anti finally let him out, after having received promiso of re ward, whicli never materialized. The stranger flew to the telephone in frantic haste, called up the house of his affianced bride, shouting wildly at the operator for all undue delays, and, when finally he succeeded in getting some one to the 'phone, it was only to he told tiiat neither Mrs. Hathuway nor her son were there. Were they at the church? “Oh,, no," tho servant an swered, "they came back from the church long ago. There is a wedding in the house, and a great many people. They are making so much noise 1 cun't hear. Speak louder, please!" Ho shouted and raved at the servant, asking futile questions and demanding information, but the louder he raved tiio less tho servant understood and filially he hung up tlie receiver and dashed about the room like an Insane creature, tearing off his wilted collar, grabbing at another, jerking on his line coat, searching vainly for his cuffs, snatching his hat and overcoat, and making off down the stairs; breathless ly, regardless of the demand of the Jan itor for the fee of freedom he had been promised. Out in the street he rushed hither and thither blindly in search of some conveyance, found a taxicab at last, and, plunging in, ordered it to go at once to the Hathaway address. Arrived there, he presented an en livening spectacle to the guests, who were still making merry. His trousers were covered with French chalk, his collar had slipped from its confining button in front and curved gracefully about one fat cheek, his high hat was a crush, Indeed, having been rammed down to his head In his excitement. He talked so fast and so loud that they thought he was crazy and tried to put him out, but ho shook his fist angrily in the face of the footman and de manded to know where Miss Hathaway was? When they told him she was married and gone, he turned livid with wrath and told them that that was im possible, as he was tlie bridegroom. By tills time tho guests had gathered in curious groups in the hall and on the stairs, listening, and when he claimed to be tho bridegroom they shouted with laughter, thinking this must be some practical Joke or else that the man was insane. But one older gentleman, a friend of the family, stepped up to the excited visitor and said in a quieting voice: My friend, you liave made a mis take! Miss Hathaway has this evening be.en married to Mr. George Hayne, Just arrived from abroad, and they are at this moment on their way to take the train. You have come to late to see her, or else you have the wrong ad dress and are speaking of some other Miss Hathaway. That Is very likely the explanation." George looked around on the com pany with helpless ntge, then rushed to his taxicab and gave tho order for the station. Arriving at tho station, lie saw It was within half a minute of the departure of fhe Chicago train, and none knew better than ho what time that train had been going to depart. Had he not given minute directions regarding the arrangements to Ills future brotherin law? What did it all mean anyway? Had Celia managed somehow to carry out the wedding without him to hide her mortification at his nonappearance■> Or had she run away? He was too excited to use his reason. He could merely urge his heavy hulk onward to ward the fast fleeing train; and dashed up the platform, overcoat streaming from . his arm, cout tails flying, ha* crushed down upon his head] his fat, bechalked legs rumbling heav ily after him. He passed JefTerson and his mother; watching tearfully, linger ingly, the retreating train. Jefferson laughed at the funny spectacle, but the mother did not notice and only said absently: "I think he'll be good to her. don't you, Jeff? Ho has nice eyes. 1 don't remember that his eyes used to seem so pleasant, and so—deferential.” Then they turned to go back to their car. and the train moved faster and faster out of tho station. It would presently rush away out into the night, leaving the two pursuers to face each other, baffled. Both realized this at the same Instant and the short, thick set man with sud den decision turned again and plung ing along with tho train caught at tho rail and swung himself with dangerous precipitation to the last platform of the last car with a half frightened triumph. Looking back he saw the other man with a frantic effort sprint forward, trying to do the some thing, and failing in the attempt, sprawl flat on the plat form, to the intense amusement of a couple of trainmen standing near. George lfuyne, having thus come to a full stop in his headlong career, lay prostrate for a moment, stunned and shaken; then gathered himself up slowly and stood gazing after the de parting train. After all. If he had caught it what could he have done’’ It vao toerajlkle that Celia could have XWMff ■tarried and gone on her OTMUUw without him. If she had eloped with some one else and they were on that train what would he have done? Kill the bridegroom and force the bride to return with him and be married over again? Yes, but that might have been a trifle awkward after all, and he had enough awkward situa tions to his account already. Besides, it wasn’t In the least likely that Celia waa married yet. Those people at the house had been fooled somehow, and she hid run away. Perhaps her mother and brother were gone with her. The same threats that ha/1 made her bend to him once should follow her wherever she had gone. 8he would marry him yet and pay for this folly a hundred fold. He lifted a shaking hand of exe cration toward tho train which by this time was vanishing into the dark open ing at the end of the station, where signal lights like red berries festooned themselves in an arch against the blackness, and the lights of t’ne last car paled and vaHlshed like a foregotten dream. Then ho turned and hobbled slowly back to the gates regardless of the merriment he was arousing in the genial trainmen; for he was spent and bruised, and his appearance was any thing but dignified. No member of the wedding company had they seen him at this juncture would have recognized in him any resemblance to the hand some gentleman who had played his part In the wedding ceremony. No one would have thought it possible that he could be Celia Hathaway’s bridegroom. Slowly back to the gate he crept, haggard, dishevelled, crestfallen; his hair In its several isolated locks down fallen over his forehead, his collar wilted, his clothes smeared with chalk and dust, his overcoat dragging for lornly behind him. He was trying to decide what to do next, and realizing the torment of a perpetual thirst, when a hand was laid suddenly upon him and a voice that showhow had a fa familiar twang, said; "You will come with me, sir." He looked up and there before him in the flesh were tho eyes of the man who had haunted him for years, the very eyes grown younger, and filled with more than reproach. They were pierc ing him with more thnn reproach. They were piercing him with the keenness of retribution. They said, as plainly as those eyes in the closet had spoken but a brief hour before: “Your time is over. My time has come. You have sinned. You shall suffer. Come now and meet your reward." He started back In horror. His hands trembled and his brain reeled. He wished for another cocktail to help him to meet this most extraordinary emergency. Surely, something had hap pened to his nerves that he was seeing these eyes in reality, and hearing the voice, that old man’s voice made young, bidding him come with him. It could course. He was unnerved with all he had been through. The man had mistaken him for some one —or perhaps it was not a man after all He glanced quickly around to see if others saw him, and at once became aware that a crowd was collecting about them. *le n?an w,th the strange eyes and the familiar voice was dressed in plain clothes, but he seemed to have full assurance that he was a real live man and had a right to dictate. George Hayne could not shako away his grasp, there was a determination about it that struck terror to'his soul, and he had a weak desire to scream and hide his eyes. Could he be coming down with delirium tremens? That brandy must have been unusually strong to have lasted so long in its effects. Then he made a Weak effort to speak, but his voice sounded small and frightened. r“®®yes took his assurance from him. . 2£?vy?u ?” he and meant to add, What right have you to dic tate to me? but the words died away In his throat, for the plainclothes man had opened his coat and disclosed a sh°no wlth a sinister light straight into his eyes. ““ Norman Brand,” answered tho voice, and I want you for what you did to my father. It is time vou of hlsy°hnmmbV, Y°U were tho caas« of his humiliation and death. I have been watching for you for years. I saw tho notice of your wedding in the paper rented packing you. It was for this 1 wm d the 8®rylce- Come with me.” With a cry of horror George Haynes wrenched away from his captor'and turned to flee, but Instantly three ro hn nIeve'Ied at him. and he found that two policemen in brass but tons were stationed behind him, and the crowd closed in about him. Wherever he turned it was to look into the barrel of a gun, and there was no escape in any direction. They led him away to the patrol wagon, tho erstwhile bridegroom and In place of the immaculate linen he had searched so frantically for in his apart inent they put upon his wrists cuffs of ron. They put him In a cell and left him with eyes of the old man for com pany and the haunting likeness of his son’s voice filling him with frenzv. The unquenchable thirst came upon him anil he begged for brandy and soda, but nono came to slake his thirst for he had crossed the great gulf and Justice at last had him in her grip CHAPTER VII. Meanwhile the man on the steps of the last car of the Chicago Limited was having his doubts about whether he ought to have boarded that train. He realized that the fat traveller who was hurling himself after the train had stirred in him a sudden impulse which had been only half formed before and he had obeyed it. Perhaps he was fol lowing a wrong scent and would lose the reward which he knew wae his if he brought the thief a€ the code-writing, dead or alive, to his employer. He was half inclined to Jump off again now be fore it was too late; but looking down ho saw they were already speeding over a network of tracks, and trains were flying by in every direction. By the time they were out of this the speed would be too great for him to attompt a Jump. It was even now risky, and he was heavy for athfetics. He must do it at once if he did it at all. He looked ahead tentatively to see if the track on which he must jump was clear, and the great eye of an engine stabbed him In the face, as it bore down upon him. The next instant it swept by, its hot breath fanning his cheek, and he drew back shuddering in voluntarily. It was of no use. He could not Jump here. Perhaps they would slow up or stop, and anyway, should he jump or stay on board? He sat down on the upper step the better to get the situation in hand. Per haps in a minute more the way wrould be clearer to jump off if he decided not to go on. Thus he vacillated. It was rather unlike him not to know his own mind. It seemed as if there must be some thing here to follow, and yet. perhaps he was mistaken. He had been the first man of the company at the front door after Mr. Holman turned the paper over, and they all had noticed the ab sence of the red mark. It has been simultaneous with the clicking of the door-latch and he had covered the ground from his seat to the door sooner than anyone else. He could swear he had seen the man get into the cab that stood almost in front of the house. He had lost no time in getting into hie own car which was detailed for such an emergency, and in signalling the officer on a motor cycle who was also ready for a quick call. The carriage had bare ly turned the corner when they fol lowed. there was no other of the kind in sight either way but that, and ho had followed it closely. I must have been the right carriage. And yet, when the man got out at the church he was changed, much changed in appearance, so that he had looked twice into the empty carriage to make sure that the man for whom he searched was not still in there hiding. Then ho had followed him into the church and seen hint mar ried; stood close at band when he put bis bride into a big car. and he had ! followed the car to the house where the reception was held; even mingling with the guests and watching until the bridal couple left for the train. He had stood in the ally in the shadow, the only one of the guests who had found how the bride was really going away, and again he had followed to the station. He had walked close enough to the bridegroom in the station to be almost sure that mustache and those heavy eyebrows were false; and yet he could r.ot make it out. How could it be pos sible that a man who was going to be married in a great church full of fash ionable people would so dare to flirt with chance as to accept an invitation to a dinner where he might not be able to get away for hours'.' What would have happened if he had not got there fil time? Was it in the least possible that these two men could be identical? Everything but the likeness and the fact that he had followed the man so closely pointed out the impossibility. The thick-set man was accustomed to trust his inner impressions thoroughly, and in this case his inner impression was that he must watch this peculiar bridegroom and be sure he was not the right man before he forever got away from him—and' yet—and yet, he might be missing the right man by doing it. However, he had come so far, had risked a good deal already in following and in throw ing himself on that fast moving train. He would stay a little longer and find out for sure. He would try and get a seat where he could watch him and in an hour he ought to be able to tell if he were really the man who had stolen the code writing. If he could avoid the conductor for a time he would simply profess to have taken the wrong train by mistake and maybe could get put off somewhere near home, in ease he discovered that he was barking up the wrong tree. He would stick to the train for a little yet, inasmuch as there seemed no safe way of getting off at present. Having decided so much, he gave one last glance toward the twinkling lights the city hurrying past, and getting up sauntered into the train, keeping a weather eye out for the conductor. He meant to burn no bridges behind him. Ho was well provided with money for any kind of a trip and mileage books and passes. He knew where to send a telegram that would bring him in stant assistance In case of need, and even now he knew the officer on the motorcycle had reported to his em ployer that he had boarded this train. There was really no immediate need for him to worry. It was big game he was after and one must take some risks in a case of that sort. Thus he entered the sleeper to make good the impression of his inner senses. Gordon had never held anything so precious, so sweet and beautiful and frail looking, in his arms. He had a feeling that he ought to lay her down, yet there was a longing to draw her closer to himself and shield her from everything that could trouble her. But she was not his—only a precious trust to bo guarded and cared for as vigilantly as the message he carried hidden about his neck; she belonged to another, somewhere, and was a sacred trust until circumstances made it pos sible for him to return her to her rightful husband. Just what all this might mean to himself, to the woman in his arms, and to the man whom she was to have married, Gordon had not as yet had time to think. It was as if he had been watching a moving pic ture and suddenly a lot of circum stances had fallen in a heap and be come all Jumbled up together, the re sult of his own rash but unsuspecting aicpo, mo vv m.jr y* uuhj laiunica uava ill moving pictures of falling through a skyscraper from floor to floor, carrying furniture and inhabitants with them as they descend. He had not as yet been able to dis entangle himself from the debris and find out what had been his fault and what he ought to do about It. He laid her gently on the couch of the drawing room and opened the little door of the private dressing room. There would be cold water in there. He knew very little about caring for sick people—he had always been well and strong himself—but cold water was what they used for people who had fainted, he was sure. He would not call in any one to help, unless it was absolutely necessary. He pulled the door of the stateroom shut and went after the water. As he passed the mirror, he started at the curious vision of himself. One false eyebrow had come loose and was hanging over his eye, and his goatee was crooked. Had it been so all the time? He snatched the eyebrow off, and then the other; but the mustache and goatee were more tightly affixed and it was very painful to remove them. He glanced back, and the white, limp look of the girl on the couch frightened him. Whut was he about, to stop over his appear ance when she might be dying, and as for pain—he tore the false hair roughly from him, and, stuffing it into his pocket, filled ti glass with water and went back to the couch. His chin and upper lip smarted, but he did not no tice it, nor know that the mark of the plaster was all about his face. He only knew that she lay there apparently lifeless before him, and he must bring the soul back into those dear eyes. It was strange, wonderful, how his feel ing Bad grown for the girl whom he had never seen till three hours before. He held the glass to her lips and tried to make her drink, then poured water on his handkerchief and awk wardly bathed her forehead. Some hair pins slipped loose and a great wealth of golden brown hair fell across his knees as he half knelt beside her. One little hand drooped over the side of the couch and touched his. He started! It seemed so cold and lifeless. He blamed himself that he had no remedies in his suit case. Why had he never thought to carry something—a simple restorative? Other people might need it though he did not. No man ought to travel without something for the saving of life in an emergency. | He might have needed it himself even, in case of a railroad accident or some thing. I He slipped his arm tenderly under her head and tried to raise it so that she could drink, but the white lips did not move nor attempt to swallow. Then a panic seized him. Sup pose she was dying? Not un til later, when he had quiet and opportunity for thought, did it occur to him what a terrible responsibility he had dared to take upon himself in let ting her people leave her with him; what a fearful position he would have been in If she had really died. At the moment his whole thought was one of anguish at the idea of losing her; anx iety to save her precious life; and not for himself. Forgetting his own need of quiet and obscurity, he laid fier gently back upon the couch again, and rushed from the stateroom out Into the aisle of the sleeper. The conductor was Just mak ing his rounds and he hurried to him with a white face. (Continued next week.) Busy. From the New York World. “Come on out and play a game of pool, old man." "Can't do It tonight. 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Canadian Government Agents TOO KEEN ON THEIR SPORT Anglers Would Have Done Better to Have Read the Other Side of the Notice Board. The disciples of Izaak Waltob had found a perfect stream for the exercise of their art, and they settled them I selves for a day’s fishing, underterred by a notice board. The board, which had been painted by an amateur, read “Notiss—These grounds is privet, and yer carn’t fish ’ere. These fish ain’t the .kind to be tempted by wurms, and there—'” Here space ran out, and the injunc tion was left uncompleted. For two hours the anglers sat by the stream, tempting the trout, not with worms, but with the very latest and most ex pensive bait.” But nothing happened. Then sud denly appeared the owner of the grounds and the author of the notice board. "Hi, you two! ’Ave yer read that board?” “Well, yes, we did. But — er — we thought you wouldn't mind, and we couldn’t find your house, or we would have—” “Oh, it don’t matter! I on’y thought, seein’ yer afishin’ there, that you ’adn’t read both sides of the board. If you ’ave, of course, go on amusing yourselves!” A hasty glance at the other side of the board showed that it continued the exhortation begun on the front, as follows: “—ain't no fish.”—London Answers. Like Attracting Like. “Your wife is looking at us with a great deal of fire in her eye.” “I guess she saw us smoking.” A woman never fails to boast of her Intuition every time she makes a good guess. WHERE DEATH LURKS ALWAYS Bullets Sing Without Ceasing, and Birds Sometimes, jn “No Man’s Land” on Battle Front. But It is a wonderful thing, that strip we call No Man’s Land, running from the North sea to Switzerland— 500 miles. All the way along the line, day and night, without a moment’s cessation, through all these long months, men’s eyes have been glaring across that forsaken strip, and lead lias been flying to and fro over it. To show yourself means death. But I have heard a lark trilling over it in tlie early morning as sweetly as any bird ever sung over an English meadow. A lane of death 500 miles long, strewn from end to end with the remains of soldiers. And to either side of it all through those 500 miles, a warren of trenches, dugouts, sups, tunnels, underground passages, inhab ited, not by rabbits, but by millions of rats, it is true, and millions of hiv ing, busy men, with countless billions of rounds of death-dealing ammuni tion, and a complex organization as closely ordered and complete as the organization of any city in England.— From a British Officer’s Letter in the Forum. Too Great a Change. “How did you enjoy those two weeks on your farm in the country?” “Not as well as I expected. I suf fered from a lack of my accustomed exercise.” “Your nccustomed exercise?” “Certainly; dodging delivery wagons, street cars and automobiles, and jump ing over holes in the street.” Would Seem So. Madeline — Was Jack’s sickness fatal? Kathleen—I guess so, lie died.— Orange Peel. Think ol It— People cut out tea or coffee before retiring when these beverages interfere with sleep. In the morning they drink freely of them, strangely overlooking the fact that at whatever time of day the cup is drunk the drug, caffeine, in tea and coffee is irritating to the nerves. More and more people are turning to Instant Fostum , the drug-free, nourishing, comforting cereal drink. » "There’s a Reason”