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it so they won t be injured but if she s being neglected as she certainly is in this case and i m not satisfied the best thing to do is to separate i can provide for her amply i wouldn t be at all surprised if she would be willing to let me go she certainly wouldn t want any he was counting practically and man fashion on her love for her children looked at him with clear questioning eyes she was not wholly without sympathy but in a way tliis situation did not appeal to her as much mrs was not friendly in her mood toward her it was not based on anything save a difference in their point of mrs could never understand how a girl could carry her head so high and put on such airs and could not understand how any one could be so h and as her hostess that was no way to live life was made for riding driving dancing going it was made for airs and and and to see this woman the wife of a yoimg man acting even though she were five years older and the mother of two children as though life on its romantic and enthusiastic side were all over was too much for her of se was to frank of course he needed a yoimg woman like herself and fate would surely give him to her then what a delicious life they would lead oh frank she exclaimed to him over and over if we could only manage it do you think we can do i think we can certainly i do it s only a matter of time i think if i were to put the matter to the her dearly she wouldn t expect me to stay you look out how you conduct your affairs if your father or your brother should ever suspect me there d be an explosion in this town if nothing worse they d fight me in all my money if they didn t kill me are you thinking carefully of what you are doing all the time if anything happens i ll deny everything they can t prove it if i deny it i ll come to you in the long run just the same she his cheeks with the loving fingers of the wildly woman i ll do an for you sweetheart she declared i d die for you if i had to i love you so well pet no danger you wouldn t have to do anything like that but be careful then after several years of this secret relationship in which the ties of sympathy and grew stronger instead of weaker came the storm it burst unexpectedly and out of a dear sky and bore no relation to the intention or of any individual it was nothing more than a fire a distant one the great fire october th which burned that its vast section to the ground and instantly and produced a financial panic of short duration the fire began on saturday october th and continued apparently until the following wednesday it destroyed the banks the commercial houses the shipping and vast stretches of property millions upon millions of the western the heaviest loss fell naturally upon the companies which instantly in many cases the majority their doors this threw the loss back on the new york and new england who had sold goods to the western on credit and who now could not expect to be paid for even a very small of their again very grievous losses were borne by the host of eastern who the had for years past partly owned or who held heavy on the magnificent buildings for business purposes and in which was already every city on the continent was bed and the keen scent of wall street and third street in philadelphia and state street in boston instantly perceived in the early reports the gravity of the situation nothing could be done on saturday or sunday after the exchange closed for the opening reports came too late on monday though the facts were pouring in thick and fast and the owners of railroad government street car and indeed all other forms of stocks and bonds began to throw them on the market in order to raise cash the banks naturally were calling their and the result was a stock which the black friday of wall street of two years before and his father were out of town at the time the fire began they had gone with several friends to look at a proposed route of extension of a local steam railroad on which a loan was desired in they had driven over a good portion of the route and were returning to philadelphia late sunday evening when the cries of an reached their ears ho extra extra all about the big fire ho extra extra burning down extra extra the cries were long drawn out ominous pathetic in the dusk of a dreary sunday afternoon when the had apparently retired to sabbath meditation and prayer with that tinge of the dying year in the foliage and in the air one caught a sense of something grim and hey boy called listening seeing a clothed of a boy with a bundle of papers under his arm turning a comer what s that burning q n the he looked at his father and the other men in a significant way as he reached for the paper and then glancing at the realized the worst all burning fire in commercial section since yesterday evening banks commercial houses public buildings in ruins direct communication suspended since three o clock to day no end to progress of disaster in sight that looks rather serious said calmly to his companions a cold commanding force coming into his eyes and voice to his father	43
short all along the line but he did not dare to do that he would be breaking his own back quickly and what he needed was time if he could only get time three days a week ten days this storm would surely blow over the thing that was troubling him most was the matter of the half million invested with him by a fall election was drawing near although he had served two terms was for re election a scandal in connection with the city treasury be a very bad thing it would end s career as an official would very likely send him to the and would seriously damage his own reputation as a banker it might wreck the republican party s chances to win it would certainly involve him as having much to do with the it if that happened he would have the to reckon w th for if he were hard pressed as he v ould be and failed the fact that he liad been trying to the city street railway preserves which they held sacred to es with borrowed money and that this was liable to cost them the election would all come out they not view all that with a kindly eye it would be to say as he could that he had borrowed the money at two per cent most of it to save himself had been covered by a of that kind or that he had merely acted as an agent for that might go down with the of the ou world but it would never be swallowed by the they knew better than that his at this would be peculiarly disastrous what was he to do there was another phase to this situation however that encouraged him and that was his knowledge f i politics were going in general it was tor any however lofty to take a high and tone in a crisis like this all of them great and were in one way and another through butler and he knew i money out of legal enough though they be looked upon as rank and also out of of money collected in the shape of taxes land ta water taxes etc which were deposited in the various banks that these men and the others had had as legal for money the banks carried the s money in their as a favor without paying interest of any kind and then it for whom had no complaint to make for he was being well treated but these men could scarcely expect to all the s benefits he did not know either or pe ally he often he had been introduced to he knew they as well as butler had made money of his own of loan also butler the he did know was most friendly to him it was not unreasonable for him to think in a crisis like this that if worst came to worst he make a clean breast of it to butler and receive aid in case he could not get through secretly with s help made up his mind that he would do this his first move however would be to go at once to s house and demand the loan of an additional three ot four hundred thousand dollars had always been and in this instance would see how important it was that his of half a million should not made public this additional loan would go far toward him through but he must get as more as possible where to get it of and trust companies large stock and the ike would have to be seen then there was a loan of ne thousand dollars he was carrying for butler old might be induced to leave that he to his own house secured his and drove rapidly to s as it out however much to his distress and confusion was out of town down on the with several friends of s and s shooting ducks and fishing and was not expected back for several days mrs all unconscious of calamity impending informed that she was not certain whether her husband could be reached quickly by telegraph or not tie was in the back of some small town od sent an urgent wire to the nearest point and then x make assurance doubly sure to several other points n the same neighborhood asking him to return he was not at all sure however that return in time and was greatly and un for the moment as to what his next step would be must be from somewhere and at once i a thought occurred to him butler l and were long on local street the they must combine to support the situation and protect their interests they could see the big co and co and others and urge them to sustain the market they could strengthen things generally by a buying ring and under cover of their support if they would he might sell enough to let him out and even permit him to go short and make something a whole lot it was a brilliant thought worthy of a greater situation and its only weakness was that it was not absolutely certain of fulfilment he decided to go to butler at once the only disturbing thought being that he would now be compelled to reveal his own and s affairs but delay might be fatal he might not be able to connect with before he would be compelled to close his doors as a banker unless the ignorant of his true were able and willing to do much more for him than he could safely count upon their doing in which case the facts in connection with the treasury would become quite plain anyhow and he and be hopelessly twenty hours could make a out of a out of himself he had	43
been through before the first was always the worst after he had closed his doors no aid from any one would be and the have against him the additional grievance that he had concealed the fact of the they might claim that if he had told them they would have aided him gladly in order to avoid exposure it now seemed to the part of wisdom to go to butler who was really his friend and urge upon him the of doing as much as possible to support the market and prevent his s failure in order to avoid a political scandal to just what extent the would feel the force of this necessity could not be sure still in s absence it was the only he the had to rely upon he re entered his and drove swiftly to old butler s home when he arrived there the famous was at dinner he had not heard the calling of the and of course did not as yet the significance of the fire the servant s announcement of brought him smiling to the door won t you come in and join us we re just a light supper have a cup of coffee or tea now do i can t replied good the stout with a and half humorous eye he never quite resist the impulse to see the old gentleman as something different from the thing he really was a successful man of affairs he seemed just the least bit of a of the normal like and used to be on change to night however he was in no mood for light reflection not to night he thanked mr butler i m in too much of a hurry i want to see you for just a few moments and then i ll be off again i won t keep you very long why if that s the case i ll come right out and butler returned to the dining room to put down his who was also dining had heard s voice and was on the qui to see him she wondered what it was that could have brought him at this time of night to see her father she could not leave the table at once but hoped to before he went was thinking of her even in the face of this impending storm as he was of his wife and many other things if his affairs came down in a heap it would go hard with those attached to him in this first of disaster he could not tell how things would he meditated on this desperately but he was not his ally even face was set in fine classic lines his eye was as hard as chilled steel well now exclaimed butler returning his countenance a decidedly comfortable relation the ship with the world as at present constituted what s up with you to night wrong i hope it s been too fine a day nothing very serious i hope replied but i want to talk with you for a few minutes anyhow don t you think we had better go up to your room i was just going to say that replied butler the cigars are up there they started from the reception room to the stairs butler preceding and as the mounted came out from the dining room she was dressed in a silk evening gown of rich and as she came her skirts her splendid hair was drawn up from the base of the neck and the line of the forehead into some quaint which constituted a crown her complexion was glowing and she had all the gay force of white arms and bare shoulders which so attracted he thought her neck and shoulders were exquisite and he told her so often tonight he was not so conscious of her charms as he was of his own troubles she was not conscious of the trouble which was him but the moment she saw his she realized that there was something wrong her nature was so akin to his so much in accord with it at present that she felt instantly that he was laboring under some den h mr how do you do she exclaimed coming forward and holding out her hand as her father went on up stairs she was de in order to have a word with him and this bold acting was for the benefit of others it struck them both as silly at times however necessary it might be tonight the thought of the of their position was nothing he was troubled and she was immediately anxious what s the trouble honey she whispered when her father was out of hearing you look worried the nothing much i hope sweet he said is burning up and there s going to be trouble to morrow i have to talk to your father she had time only for a sympathetic distressed h my honey before he withdrew his hand and strolled onward she squeezed his arm and went through the reception room to the parlor where the piano was she sat down thinking for never before had she seen s face wearing such an expression of stem disturbed calculation it was placid like fine white wax but quite as cold and those deep vague inscrutable eyes so was burning what would happen to him was he very much involved he had never told her ia detail of his affairs he could not if he had tried they were too complicated she would not have understood fully any more than would have mrs but she was worried nevertheless because it was her frank and because she was bound to him by what to her seemed ties shall we pause to for a moment on this pathetic of temperament e outside of the masters has given us but one idea of the mistress the subtle calculating who delights to	43
prey on the souls of men the and the moral of the time seem to foster it with almost zeal you would imagine that a of life had been established by divinity and the care of its execution given into the hands of the utterly yet there is that other form of which has nothing to do with conscious calculation in the vast majority of cases it is without design or the average woman controlled by her affections and deeply in love is no more capable of anything save thought than a child the desire to give and so long as this state she can only do this she may change hell hath no fury etc but the yielding attitude is the chief characteristic of the mis the and it is this very attitude in to the grasping of established matrimony that has caused so many wounds in the of the latter the temperament of man either male or female cannot help falling down before and this non seeking note it approaches vast distinction in ufe it appears to be related to that last word in art that of spirit which is the first characteristic rf the great picture the great building the great the great namely a giving freely and without of itself of beauty hence the significance of this particular mood in went up stairs thinking of her for the moment and then of his wife all the of the present combination troubled him sit down sit down you won t take a little you never do i remember now weu have a cigar anyhow now what s this that s you to night extra extra all about the big fire burning down you could hear the voices calling faintly in the distance far off toward the thicker sections just that replied have you heard the news no what s that they re calling it s a big fire out in oh replied butler still not gaining the of it it s burning down the business section there and i fancy it s going to b financial conditions here tomorrow that is what i have come to see you about how are your pretty well drawn in butler suddenly gained the idea from s expression which was stem though normal enough to all appearances and from the distant calling voices that there was something serious in the wind he put up his the hand as he leaned back in his big leather chair and covered his mouth and chin with it over those big and bigger nose thick and his large eyes gleamed his gray hair stood up in a short even growth all over his head so that s it he said you re trouble tomorrow how are your own affairs i m in pretty good shape i think all told if the money element of this town doesn t lose its head and go wild there has to be a lot of common sense exercised you know we are facing a real panic it may not last long but while it does it will be bad stocks are going to drop to morrow ten or fifteen points on the opening the banks are going to call their some arrangement can be made to prevent them no one man can do that it will have to be a combination of men you and mr and mr might that is you could if you would persuade the big people to combine to back the market there is going to be a on local street unless they are sustained the bottom is going to drop out i have always known that you were long on those i thought you and mr and some of the others might want to act if you don t i might as well confess that it is going to go rather hard with me i not strong enough to face this thing alone looked at butler meditating on how he should tell the whole truth in regard to well now that s pretty bad said butler calmly and he was thinking of how his own affairs stood exactly a panic was not good for him either meant considerable trouble for him but he was not in a desperate state he could not fail he might lose some money but not a vast amount before he could things still he did not care to lose any money how is it you re so bad off he asked curiously he was wondering how the fact that the bottom was the going to drop out of local street would affect so seriously you re not any of them things are you he added it was now a question of lying or telling the truth and was literally afraid to risk lying in this if he did not gain butler s support he might fail and if he failed the truth would come out anyhow i might as well make a dean breast of this mr butler he said throwing himself on the old man s sympathies and looking at him with that brisk assurance which butler so greatly admired in him he felt as proud of at times as he did of his own sons he that he had helped to put him where he was the fact is that i have been street railway stocks but not for myself exactly i am going to do something now which i think i ought not to do but i cannot help myself if i don t do it it will be to injure you and a lot of people whom i do not wish to injure i know you are naturally interested in the of the fall election the truth is i have been a lot of stocks for mr and some of his friends i do not know that all the money has come from the city treasury but i think	43
could keep this matter of ind the city treasury quiet for a day or two until i see how come out suggested i can t promise that replied butler i ll have to io the best i can i won t lave it go any than i an help you can depend on that he was thinking low the effect of s crime could be ome if failed he stepped to the door and opening it called down ver the yes father have dan up the light and bring it the to the door and you get your hat and coat i want you to go along with me yes father he came back sure that s a nice little storm in a now isn t it begins to bum and i have to worry here in philadelphia well well was up now and moving to the door and where are you going back to the house i have several people coming there to see me well good night i ll see you later then i suppose i ll tell you what i find out he went back in his room for something and descended the stair alone from the of the reception room him silently to draw near i hope it s nothing serious honey she questioned looking into his solemn eyes it was not time for love and he felt it no he said almost coldly i think not frank don t let this thing make you forget me for long please i love you so i won t i can t don t you know i won t he had started to kiss her but a noise disturbed him sh he walked to the door and she followed him with eager s eyes what if anything should happen to her what if anything could what would she do that was what was troubling her what would what could she do to help him chapter the condition of the republican party at this time in philadelphia its relationship to george w edward butler henry a mark and others will have to be briefly indicated here in order to s actual situation butler as we have seen was interested in and friendly to george w was s tool henry a and were strong rivals of butler in the control of city affairs mr represented the republican control of the state which could dictate to the city if necessary making new election laws the city starting political and the like he had many influential newspapers banks and the like at his and call mr represented the some americans and some large stable a very solid and respectable man all three were strong able and dangerous the two latter on butler s influence particularly with the irish and a certain of ward leaders and catholic and who were as loyal to him as though he were a part of the church itself butler s return to these followers was protection influence aid and good will generally the city s return to him and was fat ones street bridges and in order for him to get these the affairs of the republican party of which he was a as well as a leader must be kept reasonably straight at the same time it was no more the a part of his need to keep the affairs of the party straight than it was of either s or s and was not his the latter was more directly responsible to than to any one else as butler stepped into the vehicle with he was thinking about this and it was him greatly s just been here he said to his son who had been rapidly coming into a sound understanding of late and was already a man and than his father though he had not the latter s political and social he s been me that he s in a rather tight place confided solemnly you hear that he indicated as some voice in the distance was calling extra extra that s and there s goin to be trouble on the stock exchange to morrow we have a lot of our street railway stocks at the different banks h we don t look sharp they ll be our we have to tend to that the first thing in the has a hundred thousand of mine with ht ny that he wants me to let stay there and he has some money that belongs to he tells me butler did not care to tell at once what he knew about the condition of the he was wondering whether he should tell him asked oi en curiously has he been in stocks had heard some concerning and others only very recently whidi he had not nor yet communicated to his father he wondered whether there was any truth in them or trouble in that direction how much money of his has he asked he thought of warning his father in case he did not know butler meditated was his son and a very one he could be trusted why shouldn t he him it would be best to talk the whole thing over with quite a bit fm afraid he finally said as a matter of the fact it s a great deal about five hundred thousand dollars if that should become known it would be a good deal of noise i m exclaimed in astonishment five hundred thousand dollars good lord father do you mean to say has got away with five hundred thousand dollars he s been the place why i t say he was clever enough to do that five thousand dollars it will make a nice row if that comes out now now replied butler doing his best to keep all phases of the situation in mind we can z tell exactly what the were yet he t have meant to take so much it	43
may all come out all right yet the money s invested hasn t failed yet it may be put back the thing to be settled on now is whether anything can be done to save him if he s me the truth and i never knew him to lie he can get out of this if street railway stocks don t break too heavy in the i m going over to see henry and mark they re in on this wanted to see if i couldn t get them to get the together and to help stand by the market he thought we might protect our by on and and up the price was running swiftly in his mind over s as much as he knew of them he felt keenly that the banker ought to be shaken out this was his fault not s he felt it was strange to him that his father did not see it and resent it you see what it is father he said after a time he had been thinking of what he had heard recently of s growing street railway s been using this money of s bo pick up stocks and he s in a hole if it hadn t been or this fire he d have got away with it but now he wants ou and and and the others to pull u the him out he s a nice fellow and i like fairly but you re a fool if you do he has more than belongs to him already i heard the other day that he has the front street line and almost all of green and and that he and own the and nineteenth but i didn t believe it i ve been intending to ask yon about it i think has a majority for away somewhere in instance is a he moves him where he pleases i know it it must be so s eyes gleamed opposing y why should his father help to become when he might just as well let him sink now and buy tip as much of his street railway as he was a he had led on this condition of the treasury might hurt the party some bat certainly not enough to warrant his father s allowing himself to be used as a ought to be punished sold out driven out of the street railway business in which was anxious to rise now you know observed butler thickly and i always thought that young was clever but i hardly thought he was as as all that so that s his game you re pretty shrewd yourself aren t you well we can fix that if we think well of it the thing that s me is this matter of and the treasury if isn t done about that it may go hard with the party this fall and with some of our you don t want to forget that an election is along in november if should m and that money couldn t be put he broke off i m if i ought to call in that one hundred thousand dollars it s goin to take considerable money to meet my in the it is a curious matter of but it was only now that the real difficulties of the situation were b to dawn on butler in the presence of c ow p od m the was so influenced by that young man s personality and of his need and his own liking him that he had not stopped to consider all the phases his own relationship to the situation out here in the ol night air talking to who was ambitious on his wn account and anything but considerate f he was beginning to sober down and see things in their true light he had to admit that had seriously the city treasury and the republican party and incidentally butler s own private interests nevertheless he he was in no way prepared to desert him he was now going to see and as much to save the party and his own affairs and a scandal as anything but also with the kindly feeling that he ought to do something to help the yoimg man if an could help him he might even leave his hundred thousand dollar loan him the last hour as had if the others were friendly well father said after a time i don t see you need to worry any more than or if you three want to help him out you can but for the life of me i don t see why you should i this thing will have a bad effect on the election if it comes out before then but i can t see that it needs to exactly it could be hushed up then anyhow your are more important than this election and if you can see your way clear to getting the lines in your hands you won t need to worry about any my advice to you is to call that thousand dollar loan of yours in the morning and meet the drop in your street railway stocks that way it may make fail but that won t you any you can go into the market and buy his stocks i wouldn t be surprised if he would run to you lad ask you to take them you ought to get a d to scare so that he won t loan the any more money if you don t will run there and get more s in too far now if won t sell out well and good the chances are he will bust anyhow and then you can pick up as much on the market as any one else i think hell sell you can t afford to worry about s five hundred thousand dollars no one told him to loan it	43
let him look out for himself it may hurt the party but you ti look after that later you and can fix the newspapers so they won t talk about it till after election butler s son paused and stared out into the dark he was thinking how long had been a favorite of his father and that it was high time that the latter s sons took his place was ambitious to become a in the street railway world himself and this was an easy way to do it butler was whether he wanted to be so hard on his former lieutenant or not was all the would say he was thinking hard the residence of mr henry a was at that time in a section of the city which was not quite though almost as new as that in which mr butler was living it was in south broad street near a handsome library building which had been recently erected it was a spacious house of the type ordinarily affected by of new wealth in those days a structure four stories height of yellow brick and white stone built after no school which one could readily identify but not in its composition a broad flight of steps leading to a wide gave into a door which was set on either side by narrow windows and ornamented to the right and left with of considerable charm of the interior divided into twenty rooms was and in the most expensive manner for homes of the time there was a great reception hall a large parlor or drawing room a dining room at least thirty square in oak and on the second floor a music room devoted to the talents of s three ambitious daughters a library and private for himself a and distinguished bath for his wife and a mr was and felt himself to be a very important man his financial and political judgment was exceedingly keen although he was a german or rather an american by german he was a man of rather notable american presence he was tall and heavy and shrewd and cold his large chest and wide shoulders supported a head of distinguished proportions both and long when seen from different angles bone descended in a curve over the nose and projected solemnly over the eyes the burned with a shrewd inquiring gaze and the lose and mouth and chin below as well as his smooth hard cheeks confirmed the impression that he knew ery well what he wished in this world and was ery able without regard to let or to get it t was a big face impressive well he was an excellent friend of edward butler s as such go and his regard for mark was as sincere as that of one tiger for another he respected ability he was willing to play fair when fair was the game when it was not the reach of his cunning was not easily measured when edward butler and his son arrived on this evening this distinguished representative of one third of the city s interests was not expecting them he was in his library reading and listening to one of his daughters his wife and the other two girls which his complete manage had gone to church he of a domestic turn of mind still sunday evening ng an excellent one for conference purposes generally the in the world of politics he was not without the thought that some one or other of his distinguished might call his was not the sort of mind that of any kind and when they did occur he was not disposed to be very much disturbed by them a few minutes before butler was announced he was thinking that he would like to look in on him some day soon as the local political slate for the coming election which had been agreed on between them and chosen some time before needed further discussion had been to his office a few days before on this same business and had said then that he might call round this sunday evening in au ways mr was in a pleasant and frame ct this evening and when the combination footman and butler who answered the bell regularly announced presence of edward butter and h son he was pleased so there you are he remarked to butler when the later was shown up and extending his hand i m certainly glad to see you and what will you have to drink and what will you smoke i know you u have something john to the see if you can find something for these gentlemen i have just been listening to my daughter play but i think you ve frightened her for the time being he moved a chair which was near by into position for butler and indicated to on the other side of the table in a moment his servant had returned with a silver tray of elaborate design carrying and of various dates and cigars in profusion was the new type of young er who neither smoked nor drank his father in a mild way did both it s a comfortable place you have here said butler without any indication of the important mission that had the brought him i don t wonder you stay at home evenings what s new in the city nothing much so far as i can see replied things seem to be running smooth enough you don t know anything that we ought to worry about do you well yes said butler the remainder of a brandy and that had been prepared for him one thing you haven t seen an paper have you not at all said up is there one out what s the trouble anyhow nothing except s burning and it looks as though we d have a little money storm here in the mom ft	43
will be able to sustain it we have not replied butler solemnly thought he could see s doom quite plainly at that moment the door rang again a maid in the absence of the footman brought in the name of just the man said show him up you can see what he thinks perhaps i had better leave you alone now suggested to his father perhaps i can find miss and she will sing for me i ll wait for you father he added cast him an smile and as he stepped out walked in a more interesting type of his kind than never flourished in the state of which has been productive of interesting types contrasted with either of the two men who now greeted him warmly and shook his hand he was not so impressive physically speaking his body was not so large as s nor so as butler s he did not possess the the chest of either nor did he convey the sense of ruddy blood which was obvious in the others by comparison he was rather a small man five feet nine inches to s six feet and butler s five feet eleven inches and a half his face was smooth with a receding jaw which was not as impressive as this feature in the other two his eyes were not as frank as those of mr butler nor as defiant as those of mr but for they were by either deep strange receding eyes which contemplated you as might those of a cat looking out of a dark hole and suggestive of all the that ever distinguished the family he had a strange of black hair sweeping down over a fine low white forehead and a skin as pale and as poor health might make it but there was nevertheless resident here a strange capable force that ruled men by the force of political ideas the with which he knew how to feed with hope and gain and the with which he repaid those who said him nay he was a still man as such a man might well have been feeble and fish like in his hand shake wan and slightly in his smile but speaking always with eyes that answered for every defect mr had the respect for him and he was a strong man from whom only strong men could win acknowledgment butler scarcely him but realized that he was powerful and in a close political game could be thoroughly relied upon butler knew that his own sincerity was appreciated by and believed that butler was well worth while in a city which was honored by the presence of mr mark i m glad to see you was butler s greeting how are you edward came the quiet reply well you re not looking any the worse for wear can i you something the nothing to night henry replied i haven t long stay i stopped by on my way home my wife s over here at the s and i have to stop by to fetch her he was referring to the family of a steam railway of great distinction well it s a good thing you dropped in just when you did began himself after his guest butler here has been telling me of a little political problem that has arisen since i last saw you i suppose you ve heard that is burning yes was just me it looks to be quite serious i think ihe market will drop heavily in the morning i wouldn t be surprised m put in mc here s the paper now said butler as j the servant came in from the street bearing the paper in his hand took it and spread it out before them it was among the earliest of the that were ever issued in this country and contained a rather impressive spread of type that the in the lake city was growing worse since its the day before well that is certainly dreadful said tin very sorry for i have many friends there i shall hope to hear that it is not so bad as it seems the man had a rather manner which he never in his later years abandoned imder any the matter that butler was telling about continued after had ceased to the head lines and had read the rather beneath them has something to do with this in a way you know the habit our city have of out their money at two per cent yes said well mr it seems has been out a the good deal of the city s money to this young in third street who has been handling city loan you don t say said putting on an air of surprise not much i hope the like butler and was greatly by cheap from the various city well it seems that has him as much as five thousand dollars and this fire to cause a panic in the morning k by any chance shouldn t be able to weather this storm is apt to be short that and that wouldn t look so good as a proposition to the people in november mr owes mr butler here one thousand dollars and because of that he came to see him to night he wanted butler to see if something couldn t be done through us to tide him over li not he waved one hand well he might fail mr his strange wide mouth with his delicate hand what have they been doing with the five hundred thousand dollars he asked oh the boys must make a little on the side said butler cheerfully i think they ve been up street for one thing he stuck his in the of his both and smiled wan smiles quite so said mr merely looked the deep things that he thought he too was thinking how useless	43
it was for any one to approach a group of with a proposition like this particularly in a crisis such as bid fair to occur he reflected that if he and butler and could get together and promise protection in return for the surrender of his street railway it would be a very different matter it would be very easy in this case to carry the city treasury loan along in silence and even issue more money to support it but it was not the sure in the first place that could be made to his stocks and in the second place that either butler or would enter into any such deal him essentially butler was a fair man he had come here to say a good word for and himself were silent rivals although they worked together it was toward essentially different financial ends they were in no one particular financial proposition any more than and butler were and besides in all probability was no fool he was not guilty with the latter had him money the reflected on whether he should some such subtle solution of the situation as had occurred to him to his but he decided not really was too treacherous a man to work with on a thing of this kind it was a splendid chance but dangerous he had better go it alone for the present they should demand of that he get to return the five hundred thousand dollars if he could if not should be made a sacrifice of for the benefit of the party if need be s stocks with this tip as to his condition would reflected offer a good opportunity for a uttle stock exchange work on the part of his own they could spread as to s condition and then offer to take his shares off his hands for a song of course it was an moment that led to butler weu now said the after a prolonged silence i might s with mr in his situation and i certainly don t blame him for buying up street if he can but i don t see what can be done for him very weu in this crisis i don t know about you gentlemen but i am rather certain that i am not in a position to pick other people s out of the fire if i wanted to just now it all depends on whether we feel that the danger to the party is the to warrant our going down into our pockets and assisting him at the mention of real money to be mr pulled a long face i can t see that i will be able to do very much for mr he sighed said mr butler with a keen sense of humor it looks to me as if better be in my one thousand dollars that s the first business of the neither mr nor mr condescended on this occasion to smile even the wan smile they lad smiled before they merely looked wise and solemn but this matter of the city treasury now said after the atmosphere had been allowed jo settle a little is something to which we shall have to a little thought if mr should fail ind the treasury lose that much money it would us no little what lines are they he added as an that this man has been particularly interested in i really don t know replied butler who did not care to say what had told him on the drive over the could find out for himself did not ven condescend to reply i don t see said we can make get the money back before this man fails how we can save ourselves from considerable later but if we did anything which would ck k as though we were going to compel he probably shut up shop anyhow so there s no in that direction and it wouldn t be very kind o our friend edward here to do it until we hear how he out on his affair he was referring to butler s loan certainly not said with true sagacity and feeling i ll have that one hundred thousand dollars in the the li fear he saw as i r r i r ie wished to be b bis in tbe mom b it even at this ms not he tr e b sad done the young di r comes of this tt bi tj i to it up tbe can just as well re tb is there s one i would i i br r y oc the street s i r r ood had so col r ei ii oe s c c r z y in a at this r f he b into advancing z i r se il would ye i z j i solemnly my en tr be said in a rather t g c s mistake in to these of the that o e do s ran be ended frank s of what and his political t do for him in hi hour of his distress chapter the energies of after leaving butler after having made the one arrangement which held he thought any considerable hope for the morrow devoted to the task of seeing others who might be of assistance to him he had left word with mrs that if any message came from her husband he was o be at once he up walter of co stone of co president of the national bank and others in order o consult about his he wanted to see what they thought of the situation what they had heard if any if he offered them such and such sets of in the morning what could he get on them he wanted bo a loan with	43
president covering all his real and personal property i can t tell you frank walter insisted when after many had called at his house i don t know how things will be running by to morrow noon i m glad to know how you stand i m glad you re doing what you re doing getting all your affairs in shape it will help a lot i ll favor you all i possibly can but if the chief on a certain group f to be called they ll have to be called that s all i ll do my best to make things look better if the whole if is wiped out the companies some them anyhow are sure to go and then look out i you ll call in all your not any more than i have to well that s just the way it is here or will be the two men shook hands they liked each other the was of the city s fashionable a society man to the manner bom but with a wealth of sense and a great deal of worldly experience was fitted by brains and tact to adorn any station but he was of a lower not of the ite by birth stiu him very much til tell you he observed at parting always thought you were carrying too much street railway it s great stuff if you can get away with it but it s just in a pinch like this that re apt to get hurt you ve been making money pretty fast out of that and city loan he looked directly into his long time friend s eyes and they smiled liked and liked but business is business it was the same with stone president and others they had all already heard ot disaster when he arrived they were not sure what the morrow would bring forth it looked very president was doubtful about co w o od s house and real estate he would do what he could if anybody could do it for him he would returned to his own home late not so much depressed as nervous and questioning but before d so he stopped in to see edward butler whose with and was now over butler who had been meditating what he should say to was not in his manner so you re back he said when appeared yes mr butler replied well i m not sure that i ve been able to do for you i m afraid not butler said cautiously it s a hard job you set me mr seems to t that he ll support the market on his own i think he will mr has interests which he protect i m goin to buy for myself of course he paused to reflect ti the i couldn t get them to call a conference with any of the big men as yet he added they d rather wait and see what happens in the still i wouldn t be down hearted if i were you if things turn out very bad they may change their minds i had to tell them about mr it s pretty bad but they re you ll come through and that out i hope so about my own loan well i ll see how things are in the if i can i ll lave it with you you d better see me again about it i wouldn t try to get any more money out of if i were you it s pretty bad as it is butler was friendly but non and could see that he was not to get much aid from the the one thing that disturbed him was this reference to had they already with him warned him if so his own coming to butler had been a bad move and yet from the point of view of his possible failure on the morrow it had been advisable at least now the knew where he stood if he got in a very tight comer he would come to butler again the could assist him or not as they chose if they did not help him and he failed and the were lost it was their own fault anyhow if he could see first the latter would not be such a fool as to stand in his own light in a crisis like this things look rather dark to night mr butler said but i still think i ll come through i hope so anyhow i m sorry to have put you to so much trouble i wish of course that you gentlemen could see your way dear to assist me but if you can t you can t i have a number of things that i can do j hope that you will leave your loan as long as you can he went briskly out and butler meditated a clever chap that he said it s too bad he may come out all right at that he was thinking of that peculiar thing about his personal the which did not permit him butler to get although had put the interests of the republican party in such that it might eventually affect him a clever he said as he went off to his room but he s goin a little too fast i m he d be better if he took his time hurried to his own home only to find his father awake and brooding to him he talked with that strong vein of sympathy and which is usually characteristic of those drawn by ties of flesh and blood he liked his father he with his effort to get up in the world covering years and years of effort he could not forget that as a boy he had had the loving sympathy and interest of his father the loan which he had from	43
the third national on somewhat weak union street railway shares he could probably replace if stocks did not drop too he must replace this at all costs but his father s in street which had risen with his own and which now involved an additional two hundred thousand how could he protect these these shares were and the money was used for other things additional would have to be furnished the several banks carrying them it was nothing except and the need of protecting them if he could only get an additional deposit of two or three thousand dollars from but that in the face of possible financial was rank all depended on the morrow all depended on how much the market broke if and butler did anything at all and the several big concerns could be induced to stand together it might help a little but how in the last was that going to save him were the banks going to be generous to him how could they be they would have to ask him for additional up to the of the various and he would have to meet the them would they loan him money on what more city loan which he might get from the latter get back in time he would have to pretend to to have sold the additional city loan in order to get it but also if he got it he have to account for it later and that might not be so easy that was the arrangement he had always had to call for as much city loan as he had sold on change he could his house his real estate but it all depended on how much this would be he would have to go on change himself along with arthur rivers who was now out of co and acting for himself and see at what rate he could protect or close out his butler and the big houses because of his shrewd suggestion of the night before were probably going to support the market to a certain extent anyhow in order to protect their own interests under cover of this if he could sell enough even at ten points off to realize five hundred thousand dollars he would come out all right he he went to bed finally very late but he did not stay there long monday the th opened gray and cheerless he was up early with the dawn shaved and dressed and went over under the gray green to his father s the latter was up also and stirring about tor not been able to sleep his gray eyebrows id gray hair looked rather shaggy and to and his side whiskers rather and anything but the old gentleman s eyes were tired and his face was gray see that he was worrying he looked up from a small of which had found somewhere and which was full of his private papers and smiled he was quietly a list of his resources and and he hated his father worried but he could not help it he bad hoped sincerely when they built their houses tor the that the days of worry for his father had gone forever up he asked familiarly with a smile he wanted to the old gentleman as much as possible i was just running over my a again to see where i stood in case he looked at his son and frank smiled again i wouldn t worry father i told you how i fixed it so that butler and that crowd will support the market i have rivers and and harry on change helping me sell out and they are the best men there they ll handle the situation carefully i couldn t trust ed or joe in the case for the moment they b an to sell everybody would know what was going on with me this way my men will seem like bears the market but not too hard i ought to be able to enough at ten points off to raise five hundred thousand the market may not go lower than that you can t tell it isn t going to sink if i just knew what the big companies were going to do the morning paper hasn t come yet has it he was going to pull a bell but remembered that the servants would scarcely be up as yet he went to t front door himself there were the press and lying damp from the presses he picked them up and glanced at the front pages his countenance fell on one the press was spread a great black of a most looking thing the black portion indicating the burned section he had never seen a map of before in just this dear definite way he had seen maps but because of a lack of interest in the matter he had never paid any attention to them now the city stood out dear to his eye he could not have explained to why it impressed him so there was the lake wide be the fore it as a white portion and there was the river dividing the city into three almost equal portions the north side the west side the south side he saw at once that the city was curiously arranged somewhat like philadelphia and that the business section was probably an area of two or three miles square set at the juncture of the three sides and lying south of the main stem of the river where it flowed into the lake after the and branches had to form it this was a significant central area but according to this map it was all burned out in ashes ran a great side heading set in heavily black type the business section already a mass of ruins and the fire still raging in portions banks and houses buildings and the magnificent trading section entirely	43
eye of rivers who at his station near the local railway post was buying small lots to maintain a semblance of the strength the change sounded and trading stopped all the and faced about to the little balcony where the secretary of the change made his and there he stood the door open behind him a small dark man of thirty eight or forty whose spare figure and pale face the mind that knows no thought in his right hand he held a slip of white paper the american fire company of boston its to meet its obligations the again immediately the storm broke anew more than before because if after one hour of investigation on this monday morning one company had gone down what would four or five hours or a day or two bring forth it meant that men who had been burned out in not be able to resume business it meant that all connected with this concern had been or would be called now and the cries of frightened offering thousand and five thousand lot in northern pacific central reading lake shore in all the local street car and in s at constantly falling prices was sufficient to take the heart out of all concerned by dint of buying for the had maintained loan at par but this morning it was such few as were made at eighty eight and was constantly falling the he would have to supply the banks to continue their interest in this security if they did not call his instantly was large he had to arthur rivers s side in the lull but there was little he could say to him it looks as though the and crowds aren t doing much for the market he observed gravely they ve had from new york it can t be supported very well there are three companies over there on the verge of going i under the stand i ve expected to see them posted every moment they stepped aside as began again to discuss ways and means under his agreement with could buy up to one thousand dollars of city loan above the customary wash or market by which they were making money this was in case the market had to be supported he decided to buy sixty thousand worth now and use this to sustain his elsewhere would pay him for this instantly giving him more ready cash it might help him in one way and another and anyhow it might tend to strengthen the other long enough at least to allow him to realize a little something now at better than if only he had the means to go short on this market if only doing so did not really mean ruin to his present position it was characteristic of the man that even in this storm and stress of a crisis he should be seeing how the very thing that of necessity because of his present might ruin him might also imder different conditions yield him a great harvest he could not take advantage of it however he could not be on both sides of this market it was either bear or bull and of necessity he was it was strange but true his could not avail him here he was about to turn and hurry to see a certain banker who might loan him something on his house when the struck again once more trading ceased arthur rivers from his position at the state post where city loan was sold and where he had started to buy for looked significantly at him hurried to s side you re up against it he exclaimed i wouldn t try to sell against this market it s no use they re cutting the ground from under you the bottom s out things are bound to turn in a few days can t you hold out here s more trouble the he raised his eyes to the s balcony the eastern and western fire company of new y that it cannot meet its obligations a low something like broke forth the s struck for order the fire company of that it cannot meet its obligations again that h a a a w once more the the american trust company of new york has suspended payment h a a a w the storm was on what do you think asked you can t brave this storm can t you quit selling and hold out for a few days why not sell they ought to close this thing up said shortly thinking of what years later was actually done in a crisis in new york it would be a splendid way out then nothing could be done he hurried to consult with those who finding themselves in a similar with himself might use their influence to bring it about it was a mean trick to play on those who now finding the market favorable to their designs in its falling condition were a fortune but that was nothing to him business was business there was w use selling at figures and he gave his orders to stop unless the favored him heavily or the stock exchange was closed or could be induced to deposit an additional three thousand with him at once he was ruined he knew his and his as he knew his ten fingers he hurried down the street to various and suggesting that they do this dose the exchange at a few minutes before twelve o clock he drove rapidly to the station to meet but to his great disappointment the latter the as not there it looked as though he had missed his tain something some trick and n driving back to his office to see if any message had decided also to go to the city hall and to s perhaps he had arrived and was trying to avoid bim after what butler had said and	43
the evidence of non support on the market was inclined to think that was being reached and influenced against him frightened into getting out of the market entirely it gave him a feeling of cold treachery on the strength of this feeling drove swiftly to s office and not finding him there direct to his house here he was not surprised to meet just coming out looking very pale and at the sight of he actually why frank he exclaimed where do you come from what s up george asked something in s action but seeking not to him i thought you were coming into broad street so i was returned foolishly but i thought i would get off and change my clothes i ve a lot of to tend to yet this afternoon i was coming in to see you after s urgent this was but the young banker let it pass jump in george he said i have something very important to talk to you about i told you in my ram about the of a panic it s on there isn t a moment to lose stocks are way down and most di my are being called i want to know if you won t let me have three and fifty thousand dollars for el few days at four or five per cent i ll pay it all back to you i need it very badly if i don t get it i m likely to you know what that means george it will tie up every dollar i have those street car of the yours will be tied up with me i won t be able to let you realize on them and that will put those of mine from the treasury in bad shape you won t be able to put the money back and you know what that means in this thing together i want to you through safely but i can t do it without your help i had to go to butler last night to see about a loan of his and fm doing my best to get money from other sources but i can t see my way through on this i m afraid unless youve to help me paused he did not know what had heard he wanted to put the whole case clearly and to him before he had a chance to refuse to make him realize it as his own as a matter of fact what had keenly suspected was literally true had been reached the moment butler and had left him the night before mr had sent for his very able secretary mr and despatched him to learn the truth about s whereabouts mr still following instructions had then sent a long wire to mr who was with urging him to caution the latter against the state of the treasury was known and were to be met by whenever they arrived at this to against the possibility of s reaching first and the whole state of was to be made perfectly plain no more money was to be issued under penalty of if mr wanted to see any one he must see mr having received a ram from informing him of their proposed arrival at noon the day had proceeded to to meet them result was that did not come direct into business heart of the city but instead got at west philadelphia proposing to go first to his house to change his clothes and then to see mr before seeing the he was very badly frightened and wanted to think now at the mention of three hundred and fifty thousand he stirred nervously and at the mention of butler le moved had told him that had practically confessed to butler and the others that he was i can t do it frank pleaded i m in pretty bad in this matter it looks to me just now mr s secretary met the train out at just now to warn me against this situation and s against it they know how much money got you or somebody has told them i can t o against i owe everything ive got to in a way he got me this place s eyes clouded he pretended x be properly astonished at this development as he might have been and yet he was not astonished either was such a tool he was more surprised at what told him of that explained in a way why and had refused to act the night before either and butler had combined against him instead of assisting him as he had expected or and had refused butler s proposition or was driving at him alone he could not tell which it looked to his shrewd mind for the time being as if all three had suddenly combined to strike him and were using and the panic in combination to him he was ind but he did not see just what was to be done it at the moment perhaps a few clear words from to would bring the latter to his senses george he said there s no use being angry with ne for going to butler i had to do it to save the day f i hadn t been able to reach you before a day or two and he hadn t helped me as it turns out they t would have failed and you and the party would the have been in a bad hole and we t even have got the credit of telling the truth about it i did it as much for your sake as my own butler couldn t or didn t do what i wanted him to do get and to support the market instead of that they are it got a game of their own it is up to you and me george to save ourselves and that	43
act for him and now when he should have seen more clearly than ever the significance of what was proposing he was frightened and his reason obscured by such things as s probable opposition and rage s possible failure his own inability to face a real crisis and things of that sort s real innate financial ability did not so the sure in this hour the banker was too young too new was older richer so was so was butler these men with their wealth represented the big forces the big standards in his world as yet s word as long as he had been dealing with and as much as he had was still a law to him and besides confessed that he was in great danger that he was in a comer that was the worst possible confession to make to although the circumstances it was the only one that could be made for he had no courage to face danger so he sat beside meditating pale unable to see the main line of his interests quickly unable to follow them definitely vigorously while they drove to his ofl ce entered it with him for the sake of continuing his plea well george he said earnestly i wish you d tell me time s short we haven t a moment to lose give me the money won t you and i ll get out of this quick we haven t a moment i tell you don t let those people frighten you off they re playing their own little game you play yours i can t frank said finally very weakly his sense of his own financial future successful and wonderful overcome for the time being by the thought of s hard face the latter was his political god he was but one among many i ll have to think i can t do it right now was just in here and good god george exclaimed scornfully don t talk about what s he got to do with it think of yourself think of where you will be it s your future not s that you have to think of i know frank persisted weakly but really i don t see how i can honestly i don t you the say yourself you re not sure whether you can come out of things all right and three thousand more is three hundred thousand more i can t frank i really can t it wouldn t be right besides i want to talk to first anyhow good god how you talk exploded angrily looking at him with ill concealed contempt see that s the thing to do let him tell you how to cut your own throat for his benefit it wouldn t be right to loan me three thousand dollars more but it would be right to let the five hundred thousand dollars you have stand and lose it that s right isn t it that s just what you propose to do lose it and everything else besides i want to tell you what it is george you ve lost your mind you ve let a single message from frighten you to death and because of that you re going to risk your your reputation your standing everything do you really realize what this means if i fail you wiu be a i tell you george you will go to prison this fellow who is so quick to tell you what not to do now will be the last man to turn a hand for you once you re down why look at me i ve helped you haven t i haven t i handled your affairs satisfactorily for you up to now what in heaven s name has got into you what have you to be afraid of was just about to make another weak when the door from the outer office opened and mr mr s chief entered was too to really pay any attention to for the moment but being so well known to the latter took matters in his own hands what is it he asked familiarly mr from mr to see mr at the sound of this dreaded name like a leaf saw it he realized that his last the hope of getting the three hundred thousand dollars was now probably gone still he did not propose to give up as yet well george he said after had gone out leaving word that mr would see mr in a moment i see how it is this man has got you you can t act for yourself now you re too frightened i ll let it rest for the i ll come back but for heaven s sake pull yourself together think what it means i m telling you exactly what s going to happen if you don t you ll be rich if you do you ll be a if you don t there s the long and the short of it and there s no third way out n chapter after leaving in his office decided make one more effort in the street before seeing butler again and after him for a final appeal he jumped into his light spring which he so often used in fair weather a handsome little yellow glazed vehicle with a yellow leather cushion seat drawn by a yoimg high stepping bay mare and sent her from door to door throwing down the lines indifferently and up the steps of banks and into office doors the while she looked around curiously as though wondering what it was all about it never occurred to him that she would run away no horse of his ever had in these offices after seeing he was literally pleading for his life and curiously it never occurred him that he was pleading it was all business if	43
he could induce these people to dose the exchange to give him more on his house and property than under the they would ordinarily give if they could be induced to give him twenty four or thirty six or hours of grace why so much the better it wasn t their charity it was his that was doing it he didn t think they would do it unless he made them he had no more regard for them actually than he had for any other being no less so they were all he and they they were all facing each other in a financial if they were it they were happy if the mood were on them any one or many of them they might let him go otherwise not and if they did thanks but what of it and if they didn t no thanks but what of that they were none the the less the same as they always were wolves at one moment smiling friendly beings at another such was life he had no illusions so to day he said to walter now one of the big men in co walter they haven t supported the market as i thought they would you know the bottom s out what about my are you people going to call them had previously explained that he couldn t get any support for the closing the exchange idea too many bears or were anxious for their i tell you frank he said at one point i think and are trying to shake you out i thought so myself replied when i saw how things were going on change this morning somebody is my lines but what about my well you know frank how it is replied directly they are already twenty points imder what we took them at he was referring to s on which the had been advanced and we have one rule i don t see what i can do i m expecting to raise about three thousand by to morrow noon replied with a great air of calm and courage as though he were not in reality already too pressed for means i can t throw my on the market it s no use i d rather take them to private individuals and put them up i can get more but i can t do it in an hour i have to have a uttle time can t you give me until to morrow noon or say wednesday noon liked very much he really rejoiced in his dear minded determination and ability to fight in extremes there was something dramatic about the man as he stood here his naturally smooth hard face a little pale but so handsome ss the his eyes usually glazed with a subtle haze were now dear and brilliant there was nothing of the nervous coward in him he was almost in his appearance a gray wool suit covering his body neatly and a new fall brown hat setting above his eyes his formerly short had become longer and silk it was turned up in quite a distinguished manner about his cheeks i d like to frank i u see what i can do it depends on how the old man feels he s in a fighting mood to day he smells blood and he looked at grimly quite as one fighting brave looks at another for all his friendship was helping to hammer s stock for from what he had said the night before and early this morning he knew that his fellow was hard pressed he would probably go down or be of most of his why should he refuse to help in this noble and profitable labor business was business still in the face of this if he could help him get a few days grace on his it would be all right he did not object to doing rather wanted to for old sake s sake i can t get at the old man right now he s in there talking to when he s through i ll talk to him i ll send you word before two went out not but brisk and determined you would have thought by his shoulders that he had somebody money at good interest rather than that he had been begging for an extension of time but he hadn t been begging it he had been attempting to compel it wonderful fellow that said they ll never down him out somehow he waited thoughtfully for to out and then stated s case to francis the head of the firm the latter was a built man of s the about fifty years of age grave reserved and of a financial cast of countenance he was a big man a big i ll give him until to morrow noon only replied the white indifferently he s in a bad hole he s been spreading himself out too thin he s a bright yoimg fellow but he s too ambitious he to his papers went out here boy he called waiting a note take that to and company it contained francis s it was the same with co co the first national bank the national bank all were interested considerate but things were very the national bank refused an hour s grace and he had to send a large bundle of his most valuable to cover his stock there word came from his father at two that as president of the third national he would have to call for his one and fifty thousand dollars due there the were suspicious of his stocks he at once wrote a check against fifty thousand dollars of his in that bank took thousand of his available office funds called a loan of fifty thousand against co and sold sixty thousand green a line he had been in for one third	43
their and the general results sent them all to the third national his father was immensely relieved from one point of view but sadly depressed from another he knew what it meant to frank he hurried out at the noon hour to see what his own would bring he was himself in a way by doing it but his parental heart as well as his own financial interests were involved by his house furniture carriages lots and stocks he r raise one thousand in cash and deposited it in his own bank to frank s credit but it was a very anchor to wind the ward in this storm at that had been counting on getting all of his extended three or four days at least when he saw his situation at two o clock of this monday afternoon he said thoughtfully but grimly well has to loan me three hundred thousand that s all there is to it and i ll have to see butler now or he ll be calling his loan before three he hurried out jumped into his and was off again to butler s house driving like mad things had changed greatly since last mr co pe wood talked with mr butler although friendly at the time when the proposition was made that he should combine with others to sustain the market and which had resulted as we have seen yet on this monday morning at nine o clock as butler was leaving his house for s office an additional had been added to this already tangled situation which had changed his attitude completely as he was coming down his house steps to enter the had preceded him by of an hour the coming up handed him four letters for himself all of which he paused for a moment to glance at one was from a sub by the name of o complaining of his inability to complete a certain piece of work because of delay in the delivery of material due him from a stone crushing company the second was from father michael his of st s thanking him for a contribution to the parish poor fund a third was co relating to a deposit and the fourth was an communication written on cheap trade from some one who was apparently not very a woman most likely in a hand which read dear sir this is to warn you that your daughter is running around with a man that she shouldn t frank a the banker if you don t believe it watch the house at north tenth street then you can see for yourself the there was neither signature nor mark of any kind to indicate from whence it might have come butler got the impression strongly that it might have been written by some one living in the vicinity of the indicated so keen are our as a matter of fact it was written by a girl a member of st s church who did live in the of the house indicated and who knew by sight and was jealous of her airs and her position as well as the wealth of her family she was a thin dissatisfied creature who had the type of brain hich can reconcile the gratification of personal spite with a comforting sense of having fulfilled a moral duty there are many such her home was some five doors north of the on the opposite side of the street and by degrees in the course of time she made out or imagined that she had the significance of this institution fact to fancy and all with that keen which is so closely related to fact she really never did know exactly but she believed with a worthy of a better cause the result was eventually this letter which now spread clear and grim before mr butler s eyes the irish are a practical and philosophic race their first and strongest instinct is to make the best of a bad situation to put a better face on evil than it will wear on first reading these lines the intelligence they conveyed sent a peculiar chill and thrill over mr butler s sturdy frame his jaw instinctively closed and his gray hair shaded eyes a sense of the of the character of frank than he had ever had before came to him could this be true if it were not would the author of the letter say so practically if you don t it watch the house at north tenth street wasn t that in itself proof positive the hard matter of fact of it and this was the man who had come to him the night before seeking aid whom the he had done so much to assist there forced itself into his naturally slow moving but rather accurate mind a sense of the distinction and charm of his daughter a considerably picture than he had ever had before and at the same time a understanding of the of frank how was it he had to detect any of the real of this man how was it he had never seen any sign of it if there had been anything between and parents are frequently inclined because of a time flattered sense of security to take their children for granted nothing ever has happened so nothing ever will happen they see their every day and through the eyes d affection and despite their natural charm and their own strong parental love the children are apt to become not only but secure against evil mary is naturally a good girl a little wild but what harm can befall her john is a straightforward boy how could he get into trouble they are home almost every evening the astonishment of most parents at the sudden accidental revelation of evil in connection with any of their children is almost invariably	43
pathetic my john my mary impossible but it is possible very possible decidedly likely some through lack of experience or understanding or both grow hard and bitter on the instant they feel themselves in the face of notable tenderness and sacrifice others and go to pieces before the grave of the and uncertainty of life and mortal others taught roughly by life or furnished by understanding or or both see in this the latest of that incomprehensible which we call life and personality and knowing that it is quite vain to hope to it save by greater put the best face they can upon the matter and call a until they can think we all know that life is we think the the remainder a vain thing and are full of sound and fury nothing so edward butler being a man of much wit and hai grim experience stood there on his holding in his rough hand this thin slip of cheap paper which contained this terrific of his daughter there came to him now a picture of her as she was when she was a very little girl she was his first baby girl and how keenly he had felt about her all these years she was a beautiful child her red gold hair had been on bis breast many a time and his hard rough hand and fingers had her soft cheeks lo these thousands of times his lovely dashing daughter of what a girl she how how sensible how practical i he had been drawn to her this long time much more so than he was to his wife or his daughter by the practical character of the mind concealed in her pretty head she was and self sufficient and at times but she had good sense too and a will of her own that was what rs pleased him most these late years this will of her own it defied him sometimes him and his wife and and to say no that she wouldn t or yes that she would in spite of anything they might say i don t care she would declare firmly what i want i won t do it well why won t you well because i won t that s why there was no moving her once her mind was set and she was coming to be very much the master in this household frequently asked her what she thought c the clothing he was about to order or purchase pleaded with her to with her mother or father for her for things that she wanted and feared she could not obtain mrs butler the mother constantly leaned on her for advice in social matters as a matter of fact provided all the social information this household the obtained or considered ch en ideas with her for he did not quite understand her never had butler loved her as a big strong man always loves a strong self thoroughly human woman he was drawn to her to her exhibition of a natural understanding of things and yet he attempted to deceive himself with the thought that she could have large and be a veritable of a girl into the bargain this tragic him and yet he was not sure that the letter was not an ugly malicious lie his daughter could it really be it couldn t be and yet that note if you don t believe iti watch the house at north tenth street he turned back and entered his door again to go to his room and call but he red himself on the threshold why should he do this it might not be true his daughter might expect that he would have more faith in her supposing it wasn t couldn t be proved what would she think they were more like dear old friends than father and daughter she seemed to him his mare of late than ever before was this due to sorrow for her concealed evil the injustice being done him and wife her mother why hadn t she married he had urged suggested so often wasn t that a point against her it was surely he stood there in his door these things his broad coarse face a study in strongly grim sad lines and then he went out again never in his life had he been thrown into so deep a pit of doubt so quickly he was lost in dark strange unhappy speculations and he was without any ability to think or say or do the right thing he not know what the right thing was at present he fi confessed to himself his her mother knew this it would break her hearts mustn t she mustn t and yet mustn t she the the heart of a father the world into many strange by paths of affection the love of a mother for her children is dominant selfish and unselfish it is the love of a husband for his wife or of a lover for sweetheart is a sweet bond of agreement and exchange fair trade in a lovely contest the of a father for his son or daughter where it is love at all is a broad generous sad giving without thought of return a hail and farewell to a troubled whom he would do much to guard a balanced judgment of weakness and strength with pity for failure and pride in achievement it is a lovely generous philosophic blossom which rarely asks too much and seeks to give wisely and that my boy may succeed that my daughter may be happy who has heard and dwelt upon these twin of wisdom and tenderness as butler drove down town his huge slow moving in some respects mind turned over as rapidly as he could all of the in connection with this unexpected sad and disturbing revelation why had not	43
been satisfied with his wife why should he or the reputation of his children in this way why should he enter into his butler s home of all places to establish a relationship of this character was in any way to blame she was an able sufficient attractive self willed girl and was not without mental resources of her own she must have known what she was doing she was a good catholic or at least had been raised so all the years she had been going regularly to confession and communion true of late butler had noticed that she did not care so much about going to church would sometimes make excuses and stay at home on but she had gone as a rule and now now his thoughts come to the end of a blind alley and then he start back as it were mentally to the of things and begin all over again the there was another puzzle why had no signs of affection ever been shown between and had never been out evenings much except with her mother or the family and they always knew where she was she drove some yes there was one chance for and she rode there was another she took music lessons and she went to the library a private occasionally yes here were the through which she might have escaped but there had never been a sign not a single glance so far as he knew had rarely asked after her he had never looked at her significantly she had never spoken of him in a curious or enthusiastic way he would have said that was probably the one man she was not interested in she went to the home occasionally not so much of late and she went down town now and then had she stopped in his office to see him it was a queer another blind alley and so he strolled back to the central fact again the letter could it be true was guilty should he ask her should he accuse what good would that do it would merely give them warning they would deny everything and he would have no chance of finding out should he watch her what good would that do if discovered she might be enraged and defy mm the strange force of the girl s character was oddly in his mind he could not try as he would think of dealing with her as he would with an ordinary girl he must get his evidence or talk to her and persuade her to confess if she broke down and confessed he might attempt to punish but wasn t he going to be enough as it was he was probably going to il he would be punished that much anyhow and right away very likely was he anxious to kill him or punish him physically he was too old a man too a too wise in the ways of the world to think of a the any such thing he knew too much about life but he was angry and disappointed his how could she he went up the stairs to his own slowly he went in and sat down and thought and thought ten o clock came and eleven his son him with an occasional matter of interest but finding him moody finally abandoned him to his own speculations it was twelve and then one and he was still sitting there thinking when the presence of frank a was announced after his labors of the morning had as has been said driven rapidly to butler s house but finding him out and not he had driven back to fourth street and had hurried up to the office of the edward butler company which was also the of some of butler s street railway interests the floor space controlled by the company was divided into the usual official with sections for the the road the and so on butler and his father had small but furnished offices in the rear where they all the important business of the company during this drive curiously by reason of one of those strange which so often a human difficulty of one sort or another had been thinking of he was thinking of the peculiarity of his relationship to her and of the fact that now in spite of what butler would consider a great evil done him in respect to his daughter he was running to him for assistance he was going to ask of the man whose daughter the world would say he had that this loan of one hundred thousand dollars should not be called and in addition that butler loan him one thousand dollars more if possible butler had of late been less generous in his through the wood but he had not entirely ceased the relationship by any means and this additional loan if he were not too frightened by current would not disturb him greatly the old gentleman was rich enough to loan him several thousand dollars if he were so minded in regard to was satisfied that no suspicion of his relationship to her had ever even into light and because of her practical wisdom and his own there was small danger of it he thought still he was thinking of her this afternoon for some reason and of how her family would be if they knew he had often wondered what the results would be if that should happen though the thought hadn t troubled him any death scarcely they would not risk a public scandal could be removed from his influence and restrained he questioned it she was too individual too much of a herself more than once they had discussed what she would do in case based on or something less than actual evidence were made against her and himself i d deny it declared heartily i d deny everything i knew	43
what they knew but supposing they said that i had said for instance he a case trying to the extent of her tact and caution i d deny it she repeated i d deny until i had positive proof that they knew i d never admit anything more than a foolish under any circumstances even then never her clear eyes glowed with self defiance and he knew from that time on that they would have it in of the truth from i version of the have been it is better to he much than to suffer at all tliis afternoon therefore whenever he thought of her at odd moments it was with the feeling that all was well the in that quarter but he could not help wondering why it was that he should be thinking at all of her so much he did not believe so thoroughly in although there were times when he thought he had them as he mounted the stairs to butler s office he had a peculiar sense of the but he could not in his view of life give it he sent in his name and was received in a few moments by mr butler in person but one glance showed him that something had gone amiss butler was not so friendly his glance was dark and there was a certain to his countenance which had never previously been manifested there in s memory he perceived at once that it was something different from a mere intention to refuse him aid and call his loan that could not be a very bad thing to butler personally he might pull a long face but it would not be a hard grim sad one set in such lines as his features now showed and butler was not in the habit of doing this sort of thing anyhow what was it the thought occurred to him and he stuck to it it must be that somebody had suggested something they had been seen together well even so nothing could be proved butler would obtain no sign from him but his loan that was to be called surely and as for an additional loan he could see now before a word had been said that that thought was useless he would get no money nor any consideration something had happened was butler going to tell him i came to see you about that loan of yours mr butler he observed briskly with an old time air you could not have told from his presence or his face that he had heard seen or observed out of the ordinary anywhere butler was to him apparently his old time recourse and he expected all the consideration and aid which one might look for in a friend under such butler who was alone in the room having the gone into an adjoining room merely stared at him from under his shaggy brows i have to have that money he said an old time irish rage suddenly up in his bosom as he contemplated this of his daughter s virtue he fairly glared at him as he thought of him and her i judged from the way things were going this morning that you might want it replied quietly without sign of tremor the bottom s out i see the bottom s out and it u not be put back soon fm i ll have to have what s to me today i haven t any time to spare very well replied who saw clearly how treacherous the situation was the old man was in a mood his s presence was an irritation to him for some reason a deadly provocation felt clearly that it must be that butler must know or suspect something he had best close this conversation at once and get out not argue why exchange words or make foolish inquiries the least phrase might set the fires blazing he must pretend business hurry and end this i m sorry i t i might get an extension but that s all right i can get the money though i ll send it right over he turned and walked quickly to the door butler got up he had thought to manage this differently he had thought to or even assault this man he was about to make some remark which would compel an answer some direct but was out and away as as ever the old man was enraged disappointed he opened the small office door which led into the room and called yes father send over to s office and get that money the you decided to call it eh i have was puzzled by the old man s angry mood he what it all meant but thought he and ood might have had a few words he went out to his desk to write a note and call a butler went to the and stared out he was angry bitter brutal in his vein the dirty dog he suddenly exclaimed to himself in a low voice i ll take every dollar he s got before i m with him i ll send him to jail i will til break him i will wait he his big fists and his teeth i ll fix him i ll show him the dog the damned scoundrel never in his life before had he been so bitter so cruel so in his mood he walked his office thinking what he could do but there was nothing that he really could do apparently he wanted to go back to and see what she had to say if her face or her lips told him that his suspicion was true he would deal with later this city treasury business now it was not a crime in so far as was but it might be made bo be he would see anyhow he was not through with no not	43
by these many many days chapter butler finally decided that before his sons returned for the evening he would go out to the house and see if he could find so was he that he took his hat in a very way and slipped away telling the clerk to say to that he had gone down the street for a few moments he took a car and rode out to his house where he found his elder daughter just getting ready to leave on an errand of some sort she wore a street dress edged with narrow flat gilt a striking gold and purple she had on dainty new boots of bronze kid and long gloves of in her ears were one of her latest a pair of long jet on this occasion when he saw her perhaps as clearly as he ever had in his life that he had grown a bird of rare and that it would be difficult to compel her to accept the simple details of a commonplace existence such as his home offered and had offered for some years she was too high strung in her fancies in her tastes to day her color was high and she had an air of great force as though she were to the utmost her exceptional health and vigor where are you going daughter he asked with a rather attempt to conceal his fear distress and anger to the library she said easily and yet with a sudden that all was not right with her father his face was too heavy and gray he looked tired and gloomy come up to my office he said a minute i want to see you before you go the heard this with a strange feeling of curiosity and wonder it was not customary for butler to want to see his daughter in his office just when she was going out and his manner indicated in this instance that the exceptional a strange revelation of some kind like every other person who against a rigid of the time was conscious of and sensitive to the possible disastrous which would follow exposure she had often thought what her family would think if they knew what she was doing she had never been able to satisfy herself in her mind as to what they would do her father was a very vigorous man she had never him to be cruel or cold in his attitude toward her or any other member of the family but especially not toward her always he seemed too fond of her to be completely by anything that might happen yet she could not be sure this thing that she was doing was completely beyond any experience which had ever confronted him in his life and she really could not imagine what he would think or do once he knew as in s case his attitude to day caused her to feel that by some fling of chance he might have become aware of what she was doing the wicked flee when no man butler led the way planting his big feet solemnly on the steps as he went up followed with a single glance si herself in the tall pier mirror which stood in the hall at once how charming she looked and how uncertain she was feeling about what was to follow what could her father want it made the color leave her cheeks for the moment as she thought what he might want butler strolled into his room and sat down in the big leather chair to everything else in the chamber but which nevertheless accompanied his desk before him against the light was the visitor s chair in which he to have those sit whose faces he the was anxious to study when entered he her to it which was also ominous to her and said sit down there she took the seat not knowing what to make of his on the instant her promise to to deny everything whatever happened came back to her if her father was about to attack her on that score he would get no satisfaction she thought he would not get any she owed it to her pretty face strengthened and hardened on the instant her fine white teeth set in two even rows and her father saw quite plainly that she was herself for an attack of some kind he fear by this that she was guilty and he was all the more distressed ashamed outraged made wholly unhappy he in the pocket of his coat which never fitted him very well and drew forth from among the various papers the fatal communication so cheap in its physical texture his big fingers almost as he the letter sheet out of the small envelope and unfolded it without a word watched his face and his hands wondering what it could be that he had here uncertain whether to expect the worst or some foolish friendly communication she was herself to meet his glance while he was fixing himself to put into practice his usual of watching her face as she read what he was going to show her he handed the paper over small in his big fist and said read that took it and for a second was relieved to be able to lower her eyes to the paper her relief vanished in a second when she realized how in a moment she would have to raise them again and look him in the face dear sir this is to warn you that your daughter is running around with a man that she shouldn t a the banker if you don t believe it watch the house at north tenth street then you can see for the in spite of herself s hands shook for the least of a second as she herself to withstand this blow the color fled from her cheeks instantly only to come	43
back in a hot defiant wave why what a lie she said lifting her eyes to her father s to think that any one should write such a thing of me how dare they i think it s a shame old butler looked at her narrowly solemnly he was not deceived to any extent by her if she were really innocent he knew she would have to her feet in her defiant way protest would have been written all over her as it was she only stared he read through her eager defiance to the guilty truth how do ye know daughter that i haven t had the house watched he said how do ye know that ye haven t been seen goin in there only s solemn promise to her lover could have saved her from this subtle thrust as it was she nervously but she saw frank solemn and distinguished asking her what she would say if she were caught it s a lie she said catching her breath i wasn t at any house at that number and no one saw me going in there how can you ask me that father in spite of his mixed feelings of and yet that his daughter was guilty he could not help admiring her courage she was so defiant as she sat there so set in her determination to lie and thus defend herself her beauty helped her in his mood raised her in his esteem after all what you do with a woman of this kind she was not a ten year old girl any more as in a way he sometimes continued to fancy her ye t to say that if it isn t true he said ye t to ue it s against your faith why would anybody write a letter like that if it wasn t so the but it s not so insisted pretending anger and outraged feeling and i don t think you have any right to sit there and say that to me i haven t been there and i m not running with mr why i hardly know the man except in a social way butler shook his head solemnly it s a great blow to me daughter it s a great blow to me he said i m willing to take your word if ye say so but i can t help what a sad thing it would be if ye were to me i haven t had the house watched because i love ye too much for that and what s written here may not be so but we ll not say any more about that now if there is in it and ye haven t gone too far yet to save i want ye to think of your mother and sister and brothers and be a good girl think of the church ye was raised in and the name we ve got to stand up for in the world why if ye were wrong and the people of got a hold of it the big as it is wouldn t be big enough to hold us your brothers have got a reputation to make their work to do here ye and sister want to get married sometime how could ye expect to look the world in the face and do at all if ye are what this letter ye are and it was told about ye the old man s voice was thick with a strange sad alien emotion he did not want to believe that his daughter was guilty even though he knew she was he did not want to face what he considered in his vigorous religious way to be his duty that of her sternly there were some fathers who would have turned her out he fancied there were others who might possibly kill after a subtle investigation this course was not for him if vengeance he was to have it must be through politics and he must drive out but as for doing anything desperate in connection with he could not think of it the oh father returned with considerable in her assumption of how can you talk like this when you know i m not guilty when i tell you so the old saw through her make believe with sadness the feeling that one of his dearest hopes had been shattered he had believed so in her social virtue as he that quality to see her and pretending here was too terrible he had expected so much of and why any one of a dozen remarkable yoimg men might have married her and she have had lovely children to comfort him in his old age was that gone as many another important thing had gone in this world as they go for all of us leaving his hope well we ll not talk any more about it now daughter he said wearily been so much to me during all these years that i can scarcely wrong of ye i don t want to god knows ye re a grown woman though now and if ye are wrong i don t suppose i do so much to stop ye i might turn ye out of se as many a father would but i wouldn t like to do like that but if ye are wrong and he put up his hand to stop a proposed protest on the part of remember i m certain to find it out in the long run and won t be big enough to hold me and the man that s done this thing to me i ll get him he said getting up i ll get him and when i do he turned a livid face to the wall and saw clearly that in addition to any other troubles which might beset him had her father to deal with was this why	43
frank had looked so sternly at her the night before was this why his face was so set he had not told her why your mother would die of a broken heart if she thought there was anybody could say the least word the against ye pursued butler in a shaken voice this man has a family a wife and ye t to want to do to hurt them they ll have trouble enough if i m not mistaken what s to them in the future and butler s jaw hardened just a little ye re a beautiful girl ye re young ye have money there re of men d be t proud to make ye their wife whatever ye may be or don t throw away your life don t destroy your immortal soul don t break my heart entirely not fool of mingled affection and passion could now have cried she pitied her father from her heart but her was to her loyalty she wanted to say something to protest much more but she knew that it was useless her father knew that she was lying well there s no use of my saying anything father she said getting up the light of day was fading in the windows the down stairs door closed with a light showing that one of the boys had come in her proposed trip to the library was now without interest to her you won t believe me anyhow i tell you though that i m innocent just the same butler lifted his big brown hand to command silence to indicate that he did not care to hear any more she saw that this shameful relationship so far as her either was concerned had been made quite dear and that this trying conference was now at an end she turned and walked out he waited until he heard her steps fading into faint down the hall toward her room then he arose once more he his big fists the scoundrel he said the scoundrel ih drive him out of if it takes the last dollar i have in the w his parental love was bade of his anger chapter that five minutes that had spent in butler s presence was one of the most that had occurred to him recently for the first time in his life he was in the presence of that interesting social phenomenon the outraged sentiment of a parent he himself was a father the possessor of two rather interesting children the boy frank was to him not so remarkable but second with her dainty little slip of a body and bright hair head had always appealed to him she was going to be a charming woman some day he thought and he was going to do much to establish her safely he used to tell her that she had eyes like blue buttons feet like a cat and hands that were just five cents worth they were so little the child admired her father and would often stand by his chair in the library or the sitting room or his desk in his private when he worked at peculiar columns of figures at times or by his seat at the table asking him questions papa do they now in do they now the together first yes now little now they do now he used to mock her her the chin or her waist now papa now i don t think that s any way to talk now is it you d better not bother your father any longer mrs would reply come round here and sit down soup is getting cold now i don t either now was s reply the rather gaily if not attentively put answering her original this attitude toward his own daughter made him see clearly how butler might feel toward the old had probably had just such sympathetic experiences with his children as was having with his he wondered how he would feel if it were his own little and still he did not believe he would make much fuss over the matter either with himself or with her if she were as old as children and their lives were more or less above the willing of parents anyhow and it would be a difficult thing for any parent to control any child unless the child were naturally and willing to be controlled as he drove away from butler s office he had no absolute knowledge as to why the latter had been so enraged but he felt certain that was the reason at any rate he must take considerable thought of this add stead of a friend in butler he now had an enemy to fight and butler was very powerful it almost made him smile in a grim way to see how fate was difficulties on him he was distressed too about what she would say and do if she were confronted by her father if he could only get to see her but if he met butler s call for his loan and the others which would come yet today or on the morrow there was not a moment to lose if he did not pay he must at once many had occurred to him even as he stood before butler to whom he might or must appeal you would suppose that all of his thoughts would have been with butler s rage his own danger not so he was thinking of these things quickly incidentally but his mind never wavered from the main point which was to save himself with wealth one can do almost anything to protect without that is another story wealth the position and force which means give was to him as his right arm he the have it or be crippled until to vary the he could like the grow another he hurried to visit george david his	43
wife s brother who was now fairly well to do joseph the wealthy dry goods dealer who had dealt with him in the past judge kitchen a private of considerable wealth van the state who was interested in local street railway stocks and others he was determined that he would not dispose of his street railway at any price he would first though it was a disastrous thing to do and the chances were that they would be sold out at a sacrifice but before that he would go to again to see if he could not frighten him into coming to his rescue he went by to all the people he had in mind laying the situation in which he found himself rapidly before them of all those to whom he appealed one was actually not in a position to do anything for him another was afraid a third was calculating eagerly to drive a hard bargain a fourth was too deliberate anxious to have much time all scented the true value of his all wanted time to consider and he had no time to consider judge kitchen did agree to lend him thirty thousand dollars a paltry joseph would only risk twenty five thousand dollars when he should have him two hundred thousand dollars it was quite the same in the other cases he could see where all told he might raise seventy five thousand dollars by double the amount in shares but this was insufficient he had figured again to a dollar and he must have at least two and fifty thousand dollars above all his present or he must close his doors to morrow at two o clock he know k he didn t he would be written down as failed on a score of in philadelphia what a pretty pass for one to come to whose hopes had so recently run so high the there was a loan of one hundred thousand dollars the national bank which he was particularly anxious to dear off this bank was the most distinguished in the city and if he retained its friendship by meeting this loan promptly he might hope for very many valuable in the e whatever happened mr the president of the bank had been most agreeable to him in the past he had suggested ways and means of raising money when had not always been able to think of them at the moment he had recommended him to other banks had called at his house and in other ways by his friendship had tended to make his various possible and secure the loss of the friendship of mr would be most serious supposing he did fail mr by his good will might help him to get on his feet again it was most necessary to meet this loan because it meant much to him in future patronage and yet at the moment did not see how he could do it he decided however after some reflection that he would deliver the stocks which judge kitchen and others had agreed to take and get their or cash yet this night then he would persuade to let him have a check for the sixty thousand dollars worth of city loan he had purchased this morning on change out of it he could take thousand dollars to make up the balance due president and so retain the friendship of the latter at least and still have thirty five thousand for himself free and clear which he needed badly the one thing about such an arrangement was that by it he was building up a rather complicated situation in regard to these same their chase in the morning he had not deposited them in the sinking fund where they belonged they had been delivered to his office by half past one in the afternoon but on the contrary had them to cover another loan it was a thing to have the done considering that he was in danger of failing and that he was not absolutely sure of being able to take them up in time he not tell how this storm would but he reasoned he had a working agreement with the city of course which make such a transaction rather plausible and almost all right even if he failed and that was that none of his accounts were supposed necessarily to be put straight the end of the month if he did it by then all was all right in this case if he failed and the were not in the sinking he could say as was the truth that he was in the habit of taking his time and had forgotten this collecting of a check therefore for these as yet be if not and morally plausible the city would only be out an additional sixty thousand dollars making five hundred and sixty thousand dollars all told which in view of its probable loss of five hundred thousand did not make so much difference but his caution with his need on this occasion and he decided that he not call for the check unless finally refused to aid him with three hundred thousand more in which case he would claim it as his right in all would not think to ask whether the were in the sinking fund or not if he did he have to lie that was all he drove rapidly back to his office and finding butler s note as he expected wrote a check on his father s bank for the one hundred thousand dollars which had been placed there to his credit by his loving parent and sent it around to butler s there was another note from mr s secretary mr him not ta buy or sell any more city loan that until further notice transactions would not be honored immediately the source of this warning had been in conference with butler or and i	43
the had been warned and frightened nevertheless he proposed to go to him again it was his last recourse he got in his again and drove directly to the city s office since s visit in the morning had talked still more with mr mr and others all sent to see that a proper fear of things financial had been put in his heart the result was decidedly one which opposition to was considerably disturbed himself he and t and had also been using money out of the treasury much smaller of course for they had not s financial imagination and they were disturbed as to how they return what they owed before the storm broke if fail i and was short in his accounts the whole might be and then their would be brought ta the thing to do was to return what they owed and then at least no charge of would lie against them they were very much concerned and did raise considerable of what they owed by noon the day which was on the s books but at this date these transactions were not entirely closed the matter of was still exceedingly significant to and he thought hard go to he said to shortly after had left the latter s office and teu the whole story he put you here he was strong for your tell him just where you stand and ask him what to do he ll probably be able to tell you offer him to help you out you have to you can t help yourself don t loan another damned dollar whatever you do he s got you in so deep now you can hardly hope to get out ask if he won t help you to get to put that money back he may be able to influence him this last was advice had advised to give the there was more in this conversation to the same effect and then hurried as fast as his legs carry him to the of henry a in market street he was so frightened that he scarcely breathe and he was quite ready to throw himself on his knees before the big german american and leader oh if mr would only help him he thought if he could just get out of this without going to jail his house his real estate his in s and s and s affairs could have them all if only he were not sent to jail the thought of the grim gray walls of the eastern which he frequently passed coming from his home hard and cold against their commonplace background frightened him he had read in the papers of the nature of the solitary confinement endured there by who had been for in no way worse than his he was not guilty actually other had done as he had done but the fire and s impending failure made it look so bad the money was not in the treasury that was one thing sure he had it out without legal authority from the city or the state it was gone brought it back and he was a criminal great heavens think of that it was a warm october day the sun shining brightly but the perspiration on his brow and hands and neck was ice cold oh lord oh lord oh lord he repeated over and over to himself as he walked what shall i do the attitude of henry a grim political that he was trained in a hard school was precisely the attitude of every such man in all such trying but somewhat self in a way was his had carried out s political orders at the time the big political leader wanted to on his large of city the time he had sent to but the he had not imagined that s to create and sell city loan in order to take up his of city at a good price would result in any such relationship as existed at present between and what butler and later had told him concerning the condition of in the city s office had surprised him greatly he did not give credit for so much and daring and could see at once that it must be when was shown in on this very afternoon was cool meditative in s presence he was wondering in of what butler had told him in just how much he could advantage himself in this situation by acquiring additional street stock if he could he wanted to get control of what now had through s skill without in any w ay himself s shares could easily be transferred on change through his s to a who would eventually transfer them to himself must be squeezed thoroughly though this afternoon and as for his five hundred thousand dollars to the treasury mr did not see what could be done about that if could not pay it the city would have to lose it but the scandal must be hushed up until after election unless the various party leaders had more generosity than imagined would have to suffer exposure arrest trial of his property and possibly sentence to the though this might easily be by the governor once public excitement died down he did not trouble to think whether was involved or not a to one he was not trust a shrewd man like that to take care of himself but if there were any way to shoulder the blame and so clear the and the skirts of the party he would not object to that he wanted to hear the fuu the rt of s relations with the first he did lot it be done but he see more were eventually coming between himself butler ind meanwhile the thing to do was to seize p hat had to yield the troubled city on being shown into mr s presence	43
at once sank feebly in a chair and he was entirely done for mentally his was gone his exhausted like a breath well mr mr pretending even though he had sent not to what brought him i came about this matter of my to mr mr had kept mr waiting a full hour in order to melt him and he was properly well what about them well he owes me or the city treasury rather five thousand dollars and i that he is to fail and that he can t pay it back who told you that mr and since then mr has been to see me he tells me that i will have to loan him some more money to help him out he wants to borrow three hundred thousand dollars more he says he must have it so said mr and with an air of astonishment which he did not feel you would not think of doing that of course youve badly involved as it is if he wants to know why refer him to me don t advance him another dollar if you do and this to trial no court would have any mercy on you it s going to be difficult enough to do anything for you as it is at this suggestion of mercy possible aid george infant that he was from liis the chair which was facing s and to which the latter had waved him on entering to his knees and folded his hands in the uplifted attitude of a before a sacred image oh mr he choked beginning to cry i didn t mean to do anything wrong and told me it was all right you sent me to mr in the first place i only did what i thought the others had been doing mr did it just like i have been doing he dealt with and company i have a wife and children mr my youngest is only seven years old think of them mr think of what my arrest will mean to them i i don t want to go to jail i didn t think i was doing thing honestly i didn t i ll give up all i ve got you can have my stocks and houses and lots an i if ou ll only get me out of this you won t let em send me to jail will ou his fat white were trembling nervously and big hot tears were down his previously pale but now from exciting prayer flushed cheeks he presented one of those almost pictures which are yet so intensely human and so true if only the great financial and giants would for once accurately reveal the details of their looked at him calmly how often had he seen no more than himself but without his courage and pleading to liim in this fashion not on their knees exactly but life to him as to every other man of large practical knowledge and insight was an were you going to do about the morals and of the world this man fancied that he was and that he was honest he was here self convicted of sin pleading to him as he would to a righteous saint as a matter of fact knew s the hat he was simply more far seeing more not less was lacking in force id brains not morals this lack was his principal there were people who in some of right some ideal of conduct absolutely and ery far removed from practical life but he had never een them practise it save to their own financial not he would not say that destruction they significant practical men who clung to these they were always poor he could not have made all this if he had wanted to and he certainly lid not want to like thousands and millions of was one of those men who are bom to be ruled y men like himself for instance the shrewd thinking man other things being equal nearly rules these significant thoughts passed vaguely s mind as he saw kneeling him but in spite of them he felt a uttle sorry for man just a little it was too bad about mrs id the little no doubt she had worked hard had to get up in the world and be something a uttle more than miserably poor and now this had to arise to undo them this fire what a curious thing that was if any me thing more than another made him doubt the exist of a kindly providence it was the storms out of clear skies which so often brought and disaster to so many get up mr he said calmly after a few you mustn t give way to your feelings like his you must not cry these troubles are never un by tears you must do a little thinking for your perhaps situation isn t so bad as he was saying this was putting himself back n his chair getting out his handkerchief and sobbing in it the there mr there i ll do what i can i won t promise i can t tell you what the result will be there are many peculiar political forces in this city i may not be able to save you but i am perfect willing to try you must put yourself absolutely under my direction you must not say or do anything without first consulting with me i will send my secretary mr to you from time to time he will tell what to do you must not come to me i send for you do you that thoroughly yes mr well now dry your eyes i don t want you to go out of this office crying go back to your office and i will send mr to see you he will tell you what	43
to do follow him exactly and whenever i send for you come at once he got up large self confident reserved by the subtle of his remarks recovered to a degree his mr the great mr was going to help him out of his scrape he might not have to go to jail after all he left after a few moments his face a little red from weeping but otherwise recovered from marks and returned to his office in three quarters of an hour mr called for the second time this day mr small dark faced club footed a great sole of leather three inches thick imder his short withered right leg his slightly highly intelligent burning with a pair of keen piercing inscrutable black eyes mr was a fit secretary for mr you could see at one glance that he would make mr do exactly what mr suggested his business was to induce mr to part with his at once through co butler s b to the political who would eventually transfer them to what little received the for them might well go into the treasury co would manage the change of this without giving any one else a chance to bid while at the same time making it appear an open market transaction at the same time went carefully into the state of the s office for his master s benefit finding out what it was that and had been doing with their another they were ordered to at once or face they were a part of mr s political machine then having mr not to set over the remainder of his property to any one and not to listen to any one most of all to the counsel of mr mr left needless to say mr was greatly gratified by this turn of affairs was now most likely in a position where he would have to and see him or if not a good share of the properties he controlled mr s end of them were already in his s possession if by some hook or he secure the remainder mr and mr butler might well talk to him about this street railway business his were now as large as any if not quite the largest chapter it was in the face of this very altered situation that arrived late this monday it was almost five o clock to see mr was quite alone worried and he was anxious to see and at the same time afraid to meet him his running to this afternoon at s suggestion and telling him of s request was in its way a form of treachery he not have done it seeing that he had hitherto so thoroughly shared in all the schemes and profits of but he had not dared do otherwise the man was frightened and senseless george said frank briskly on seeing him i haven t much time to spare now but i ve come finally to tell you that you ll have to let me have three hundred thousand more if you don t want me to fail things are looking very bad to day they ve caught me in a comer on my but this storm isn t going to last you can see by the very character of it that it can t he was looking at s face and seeing fear and a painful necessity for opposition written there is burning but it will be built up again business will be all the better for it later on now i want you to be reasonable and help me don t get frightened stirred uneasily don t let these scare you it will all blow over in a few days and then we ll be better than ever did you see yes well what did he have to say he said just what i thought he d say he won t let the me do this i can t frank i tell you exclaimed jumping up he was so nervous that he had had a hard time keeping his seat during this short direct conversation s searching glance was troubling him as might a needle points his i can t they ve got me in a comer they re after me they all know what we ve been doing oh say frank he threw up his arms wildly you ve got to get me out of this you ve got to let me have that five thousand back and get me out of this if you don t and you should fail they ll send me to the i ve got a wife and four children frank i can t go on in this it s too big for me i never should have gone in on it in the first place i never would have if you hadn t persuaded me in a way i never thought when i began that i would ever get in as bad as all this i can t go on frank i can t i m willing you should have all my stock only give me back that five thousand and we ll call it even his voice rose nervously as he talked and he wiped his wet forehead with his hand and stared at foolishly stared at him in return for a few moments with a cold eye he knew a great deal about human nature and he was ready for and expectant of any queer shift in an individual s attitude particularly in time of panic but this shift of s was quite too much if it had not been for his own dire he would not have thought anything of it would have walked out and let the man go but now in to hear him a sinking wail like this when he expected at least understanding and appreciation of his own situation was too much it did not	43
disturb his own clear thinking machinery however he merely stared at for a few minutes in order to convey to him something of his own surprise and to him with a sense of the contempt he had for any such weakness if long persisted in and then he asked who the else have you been talking to george since i saw you who haye you seen what did have to say he says just what does that i mustn t loan any more money under any circumstances and he says i ought to get that five thousand back as quickly as possible and you think wants to help you do you inquired finding it hard to the contempt which kept forcing itself into his voice still he said to himself if you wish to fools you must bear with their their he had to this man i think he does yes i don t know who else frank if he don t he s one of the big political forces in this town listen to me began him then he paused what did he say you should do about your them through and company and put the money back in the treasury if you won t take them sell them to whom asked thinking of s last words to any one on change who ll take them i suppose i don t know i thought so said i might have known as much they re working you george they re simply trying to get your stocks away from you you must know it if you know at all is leading you on and company are his agents he knows i can t do what you want give you back the five hundred thousand dollars he wants you to throw your stocks on the market so that he can pick them up depend on it that s all arranged for already when you do he s got me in his or he thinks he has he and butler and they want to get together on this local street railway situation the and i know it i feel it ive felt it coming all along they want to shake us out shake me out and they are using you right now to hit me hasn t any more intention of helping you than he has of flying once youve sold your stocks he s through with you mark my word do you think he ll turn a hand to keep you out of the once you re out of this street railway situation he will not and if you think so you re a bigger fool than i take you to be george don t go crazy don t lose your head you ve gone wild somebody s frightened the life out of you be sensible look the situation in the face let me explain it to you you can see for yourself just how things are if you will only stop for a moment and try to see what it is you are going to do if you don t help me now if you don t let me have three hundred thousand dollars by to morrow noon at the very latest i m through and so are you there is not a thing the matter with our situation those stocks of ours are as good to day as they ever were why great heavens man the are there behind them they re paying the and nineteenth street line is earning one thousand dollars a day right now what better evidence do you want than that green and is earning five hundred dollars you re frightened george these damned have scared you why you ve as good a right to loan that money as and had before you they did it you ve been doing it for and the others only so long as you do it for them it s all right what s a city but a loan was referring to the system imder which certain portions of city money like the sinking were permitted to be kept in certain banks at a low rate of interest or no rate banks in which and butler and were interested this was their safe don t throw your chances away george don t quit now you re a rich man if you the ik iv millions in a few years and you li i to a hand all vou will have to do will it v ki you have if you don t help me mark i v you over the moment fm out i is a u y y lot yo i o to the there s i r v c v f follows will turn a hand the mo u r v ch s going to put up five hundred v s r george where is v k ci or butler or anybody in these i they t intend to i m v v c r d you ll be exposed quicker n i v v hurt me george i m v to me you came yo ir own accord if you c i you and you re going y is sure as are n n s g m y don t you v v v r and children to ui tr nor v v iv i la w ci n p c i i i r v ll e i y u ar c i	43
least morally at the of the city s money was the one thing that would hurt him most and how his rivals would this fact he might get on his feet again if he failed but it would be work and his father his father would be pulled down with him the old gentleman could not stand this and he might weather it if no attached to his financial relationship with his son but if this were discussed it was probable that he would be forced out of the of his bank it would be so easy saw to make it appear that his father was identified with all that he did it would not be so bad if it were not for the city s but that that would throw a cloud of shame over the whole thing the fool the the coward to risk a sentence rather than fight his way to success and victory such was the stuff of which some men were made with these thoughts sat there waiting for counsel with his father and was most important as he did so butler was announced by his office boy and at the same time show in miss butler he said getting up tell mr to wait and he turned to look into the little court where the grass was still green and the sky blue overhead between the red brick walls came the briskly vigorously in her beautiful body clothed as as ever the street suit that she wore was of a light golden brown with small dark red buttons her head was decorated with a red of a type she had learned was becoming to her and with a trailing and on which had her more than once and her throat was by a three strand of gold beads her hands were smoothly as usual and her little feet dainty to behold there was a look of girlish distress in her eyes which however she was doing her best to conceal honey she exclaimed on seeing him her arms extended the room was in giving no for observation from what is the trouble i wanted so much to ask you the other night you re not going to fail are you i heard father and talking about you last night did they say he inquired putting his ann about her and looking quietly into her nervous eyes h you know i think papa is very angry with you he some one sent him an letter he tried to get it out of me last night but he didn t i denied ever thing i was in here twice this morning to see you but you were out i was so afraid that he see vou first and that you might say something me well no not i didn t think that i don t know what i thought oh honey i ve been so worried you know i didn t sleep at all i thought i was stronger than that but i was so worried about you you know he put me in a strong light by his desk where he could see face and then he showed me the letter i was so astonished for a moment i hardly know what i said or how i looked did you say i said ai a shame it isn t so but i the didn t say it right away my heart was going like a i m afraid he must have been able to tell something from my face i could hardly get my breath he s a shrewd man father he commented he knows something about life now you see how these situations are it s a blessing he decided to show you the letter instead of watching the house i suppose he felt too bad to do that he can t prove anything now but he knows you can t deceive him how do you know he knows i him yesterday did he talk to you about it no i saw his face he simply looked at me honey i m so sorry for him i know you are so am i but it can t be helped low we should have thought of that in the first but i love you so oh honey he will never forgive ne he loves me so he mustn t know i won t admit but oh dear she put her hands tightly together on his bosom and be looked into her eyes this was a grim occasion for him a sad hour there were so many things to make a dramatic never mind he replied it can t be helped now where is my strong determined i thought you were going to be so brave aren t you going to be i need to have you that way now do you yes are you in trouble i think i am going to fail dear oh no yes honey i think i m at the end of my rope i ion t see any way out just at present i ve sent for my rather and my lawyer you mustn t stay here sweet your father may come in here at any time we must the meet somewhere to morrow say to afternoon you remember indian rock out on the es could vou be there at four ca out for who s following k i m not there by four v don t wait you know it will be because i think some one is watching there won t be though i v e work it ri ht and now you must run sweet we can t use nine thirty one any more ill have to rent another place somewhere else oh i m so aren t you going to be strong and brave you see i need you to oe he was almost for the first time a httle	43
sad in his yes honey yes she declared slipping her under his and pulling him tight oh yes you can depend on me oh sweet i love so i m so sorry oh i do hope you don t fail but it doesn t make any difference dear between you and me whatever happens does it we will love each other just the same you will love me and i will love oh honey do anything for you i i ll do anything say you can trust me they shan t know anything from me she looked at his chill face and a fearful determination to fight for him up in her heart her love was unjust but it was love just the same and had much of the fiery daring of the outcast from justice i love you i love you i love you she declared he her hands run sweet to morrow at four don t fail and don t talk and don t admit anything whatever you do i won t and don t worry about me i ll be all right and then mr was admitted the barely had time to his tie to a attitude by his window when in mr s chief clerk pale disturbed out of key with himself mr you know that check i gave you last night mr says it s that i shouldn t have given it to you that he will hold me responsible he says i can be arrested for a and that he will discharge me and have me sent to prison if i ion t get it back oh mr i am only a man i m just really starting out in life my wife and little boy to look after you won t let do that to me you ll give me that check back t you i can t go back to the office without it says you re going to fail and that you knew it and hat you haven t any right to it his face was a study in distress he was one f your typical yoimg in the larger tricks of the world and of his future this matter of the check these possible charges were as life and death to him he knew that the practical machinery of politics would only make short work of him his future his wife and child his salary this threat of jail and of his had frightened the soul out of him looked at him curiously he was surprised at the variety and character of these of disaster surely when troubles chose to they had great skill in presenting themselves in rapid order had no right to make any such statement the transaction was not the man had gone wild true he had received an order after these were bought not to buy or sell any more city loan but that did not previous purchases was and this poor a better man than himself in order to get back this sixty thousand dollar check what a petty creature he the was how true it was as somebody had remarked that you could not possibly measure the petty to which a fool could stoop you go back to mr mr and tell him that it can t be done the of loan were purchased before his order arrived and the records of the exchange will prove it there is no here i am entitled to that check and could have collected it in any qualified court of law the man has gone out of his head i haven t failed yet you are not in any danger of any legal proceedings and if you are help defend you i can t give you the check back because i haven t it to give and if i did i wouldn t that would be allowing a fool to make a fool of me i m sorry very but i can t do anything for you h mr tears were in mr s eyes he ll discharge me he ll my i ll be turned out into the street i have only a little property of my own outside of my salary he wrung his hands and a wood shook his head sadly this isn t as bad as you think he won t do what he says he can t it s unfair and you can bring suit and recover your salary i ll help you in that as much as i m able but i can t give this dollar check because i haven t it to give i couldn t if i wanted to it isn t here any more i ve paid for the i bought with it the are not here they re in the sinking fund or will be he paused wishing he had not mentioned that fact it was a slip of the tongue one of the few he ever made due to the peculiar pressure of the situation pleaded longer it was no use told him finally he went away broken there were tears of suffering in his eyes was very sorry and then his father was chapter the elder brought a haggard face he and frank had had a long conversation the evening before lasting until early this tuesday morning but it had not been productive of much save uncertainty the father had reported that his enemies in the bank particularly adam the vice president were secretly gratified at the turn affairs had taken and that they were watching his closely if by any chance frank failed and the city were of so large a sum as five hundred thousand dollars there would surely be an uproar the public which knows so little of what is going on and appears as a rule not to care though it really does being merely helpless would begin to make inquiries where had the money gone who	43
got it what part did frank play in this transaction how much did henry his father get if that question were raised there would be in his own bank adam would find his excuse for speaking the secondary element that is present everywhere and is always seeking a change hoping to profit thereby would find in this its strong legitimate excuse henry would have to resign and after that where would he go who would have him what bank bank are not lying around loose for the asking men with in their record are not necessary to their control the e to achieve these distinguished positions is so great that only the speaking from a public point of view are eligible a man must be im the his honor not open to suspicion as far as the general public is concerned certainly not open to besides he was old a little over sixty years had been thinking of this all along had been worrying about it almost this last night he had spent in his garden of and he prayed that this cup might pass from him he thought of his wife a little quiet helpless woman who believed in him so thoroughly she believed in frank his two boys edward and joseph they were not yet placed in the world except as to frank now they never would be because of her looks and temperament had not been able to make a worth while marriage joseph was just now thinking of getting married and this would affect that he the father would lose his house its fine furniture his connections his friends frank and he would be practically without a dollar in the world he thought once of some money concealing some but his conscience would not let him his was part of his mental machinery he could not lie he had never been able to frank had always been so able plain spoken practical that he had been h into believing that everything he did was right when had explained s desire to have him bring loan to par in the first place it was nothing but a fortunate desirable delightful bit of luck since then all other had followed one by one as a spider a web and they were apparently so harmless other city how that phrase carrying its and yet hopeless thought in his brain other city yes by wrong conduct their wretched precedent they had the pit into which his son frank had now fallen by their custom of using the city s funds without interest they had set and the trap by which frank was now caught fast and then this what a the strange thing it was stocks tumble frank s are his called the city cannot get his money and exposure follows it was unfair on the part of fate and yet so it was would go to the but how about frank and himself frank his son his boy the man whom so many men respected feared looked up to why these last few years he had heard scarcely anything save wonderful things about his son until it was a distinguished thing to be his father his strength half of it at least with the third national was due to the success and of his boy and now now when he was alone he rose from his chair in his room or from his desk at the bank and walked the floor he pressed his bony hands together he laid his pale hand over his mouth and stared at the floor his eyes rather deep set and hollow at all times were now sad filled with a pale woe he could not eat he could not sleep he could only think and calculate and hurry here and there in an way he was losing flesh and he was as weak as though he were ill philadelphia the eyes of the public the minds of his friends were as so many burning rays concentrated by a sun glass and cast upon one spot his brain his sense of pride and position his frank his personal honor his bank his sons and daughter his wife and he was old now let no one the need of pity we live in a stony whose hard brilliant forces rage fiercely from the of the tiger to the grip of and there is this same disregard of the individual and the minor thing life moves in an ordered of forces of which the lesser is as nothing to the greater ho slave and in the midst of the of desperate things in odd and chance between forces there the spring and bloom these small flowers of sentiment tenderness mercy affection sorrow the worship an image of pain and well they may it is a classic amid the the indifferent blessed are the for they shall receive mercy no no blessed are the merciful for they create mercy of such is the kingdom of the ideal father exclaimed cheerfully noting the former s gloom as he walked in he was satisfied that there was scarcely a coal of thought to be out of these ashes of despair but there was no use admitting the possibility of it discussion was worth something seeing that everything they had was at stake there was this final transaction in regard to the national bank and the sixty thousand dollars worth of city loan for instance he owed the sinking fund that much and the were not in his possession they could be traced how would he explain that he could not that his luck had des i ed that there was not some way out well said his father lifting his sad eyes in a peculiar way he had a habit of raising his eyelids and eyebrows in a expression of surprise which was purely mechanical a	43
habit acquired years and years of what seemed to him essential commercial practice as some people look up over and along their noses and now in this hour of distress he did it with a peculiar touch of to the action it was mechanical and pathetic frank was so used to he scarcely noticed it well it looks uke stormy weather doesn t it decided to call a meeting of my father and ask for time there isn t anything else to do i can t realize enough on anything to make it worth while talking about i thought might change his mind but he s worse rather than better his head just went out of here the er what did he want asked henry he wanted me to give him back a check for sixty thousand that he paid me for some city loan i bought yesterday morning frank did not explain to his father however that he had the this check had paid for and used the check itself to raise money enough to pay the national bank and to give himself thirty five thousand in cash besides well i declare the old man you d think he d have better sense than that that s a perfectly legitimate transaction when did you ay he you not to buy city loan yesterday noon he s out of his mind commented it s and and butler i know they want my street railway well they won t get them they ll get them through a and after the panic s all over our will have first chance at these if they buy they ll buy from them if it weren t for that five hundred thousand dollar loan i wouldn t think a thing of this my would sustain me nicely but the moment that gets around and this election he foresaw what the would think he foresaw what his father s would think for the time being anyhow nothing is so senseless so so as popular while that was on anything foolish and evil might be done and this sixty thousand what would or rather his now do about that i those city loan because i didn t want to get on the wrong side of i expected to take in enough by now to take them up they ought to be in the sinking really finally added the old gentleman saw the point at once and the they might cause you trouble there it s a question replied his son i might have been intending to take them up as a matter of fact i will if i can before three i ve been taking eight and ten days to deposit them in the past in a storm like this i m entitled to move my as best i can the father put his hand over his mouth again he felt very disturbed about this he saw no way out however he was at the end of his own resources he felt the side whiskers on his left cheek he looked out of the window into the little green court it was a question precedent probably governed still it was dangerous not straight if could get them out and deposit them it would be so much better i d take them up if i were you and i could i will if lean how much money have you h twenty thousand all told if i though m have to have a little ready cash i have eight or ten thousand or will have by night i hope he was thinking of some one who would give him a second on his house looked quietly at him there was nothing more to be said to his father i m going to make one more appeal to after you leave here he said i m going over there with when he comes if he won t change i ll send out notice to my and the secretary of the exchange i want you to keep a stiff upper up whatever happens i know you will though i m going into the thing head down if had any sense he paused but what s the talking about a damn fool he turned to the window thinking of how easy it would have been if and he had not been exposed by t note to have arranged all with butler than injure the party butler in would have d the assisted him so he thought gone into possibly now he turned back for his father had got up the latter was as stiff with despair as though he were suffering from cold once more he put his hand to his mouth well he said wearily suffered intensely for him what a shame his father he felt a great of feeling and sorrow sweep to his brain and then he settled down to his defiant thinking his father went out was brought in they shook hands and at once started for s office he saw but mr with his small body and club foot was there in the of an outer room and this visit was useless had sunk in on himself like an empty gas bag and no efforts were sufficient to him they went out finally defeated i tell you frank said i wouldn t worry we can tie this thing up election and after and that will give all this row a chance to die down then you can get your people together and talk sense to them they re not going to give up good properties like this even if does go to jail did not know of the sixty thousand dollars worth of as yet neither did he know of butler and her father s rage chapter we turn a moment from the of mr frank to those of his wife during the years that had elapsed since the time when frank	43
and his wife were married many and notable changes had taken place had filled out from the daring frame of youth to the broader more of manhood he knew so much more of life now of the actual practical workings of life than he had thirteen years before when he suspected everything experience had given him a larger a understanding of weakness without in the least ing that practical control of affairs that to say no and do no when it served his interests so to do w hich was his chief est and most imposing characteristic those who have come to men of large understanding and great judgment have always at the seeming cruelty which stops short of nothing to achieve a given desired point failure is their weakness the real crime in an individual they take into account only the significant things of life and those only in their finest flower health strength wisdom courage and above all that of all qualities luck to succeed which they put above every virtue i am no nor wrote one not long since but this gift or occasional of providence or whatever else people may choose to call it to which i am subject at intervals has saved me from being shattered at least two or three times every year i do not indulge in any or dark as did the elder the but this strange peculiar and influence ha always clung to me in times of more than at any other it has enabled me to take points on the market in at one ear and dispose of them through the other without suffering any evil consequences i have known others who have had these mysterious but who them and this h is been the rock on which they split in had this sixth sense or gift or control or whatever else you may choose to call it he expected it in others in those he worked with closely e insisted on dealing with them solely in so far as vas practicable in his own home he introduced an of this demand for perfection more and more as he older but his wife it was just a little over thirteen years since he married her and she was well within her thirty ninth year which was ive years older than he was now that original five years of quiet married life had not removed it the time he first saw her was practically gone she not so plump for her size as she originally had been more if you could have looked her chin you would have noticed now that a little of wrinkles had come which is to the life loving such a of approaching her eyes at the edges her at the comers her lose at its clear juncture with her face had those faint which women dread so much he was graceful yet and charming practical too in i narrow way not over life and death but hat perhaps was just what he missed most of all if one have believed it that keen sense of the pathos f things that makes the exceptional woman lad something of it a hearty understanding of the vast between success and failure she seemed quite that she was at the of her beauty she was the quite capable in a slightly crude way of telling what it meant to him and to her there s one thing she said to him one day i m ten years younger than you are i ll still be all right when you re fifty he smiled at this keen understanding of life it was these touches this occasional brilliant flash of raw almost brutal that fascinated him he knew how she w is on a physical basis purely he felt that edward butler and his their brute strength were not entirely in her and what she said was probably true he was not sure of that but he loved her beauty just the same and her mind her yes sweet i think you will i hope so anyhow you deserve to be she felt sure that she was to have him all to herself some day how she could not say but she would do you think you ll ever get a divorce she occasionally asked you ll have to wait honey i ll do the best i can when i do we get married at once her eyes sparkled oh to be mrs frank explain me this riddle if you can and now he was worried at times as to how he would ever rid himself of his wife easily and without and he thought and thought there was no way there was no reasonable excuse for being brutal he did not know that he wanted to be that would be quite too unfair but his life was so much larger and broader now if he only had now how much more arranged he would be then came this storm and the same day that brought edward butler the communication in regard to his daughter brought almost a of it in the same hand to mrs the only in this case the name of butler had curiously been omitted perhaps you don t know that your husband is running with another woman if you don t believe it watch the house at north tenth street mrs was in the of her own home watering some plants when this letter was brought by her maid on this fatal monday morning she was most placid in her thoughts for she did not know what all the of the night before meant frank was occasionally troubled by financial storms but they did not seem to harm him lay it on the table in the library get it she thought it was some social note in a little while such was her	43
deliberate way she put down her pot and went into the library there it was lying on the green leather which constituted a part of the of the large table she picked it up glanced at it curiously because it was on cheap paper and then opened it her face always placid slightly as she read it and then her hand trembled not much hers was not a soul that ever loved passionately hence she could not suffer passionately she was hurt disgusted enraged some for the moment and frightened but she was not broken in spirit entirely thirteen years of life with frank ood had taught her a number of things he was selfish she knew now self and not as much charmed by her now as he had been the fear she had originally felt as to the effect of her of years had been to some extent justified by the lapse of time frank did not love her as he had he had not for some time she had felt it what was it she had asked herself at times almost who was it business was so to him was such a master did this mean the end of her she would he cast her off the where she go what would she do she was not helpless of course for she had money of her own which he was for her who was this other woman curiously the other woman did not seem so vastly important that is who she was was she young beautiful of any social position was it suddenly she stopped was it could it be by any chance her mouth opened butler she stood still staring at this letter for she could scarcely countenance her own thought she had ed often in spite of all their caution how nice had been to him and he to her he liked her he never lost a chance to defend her had thought of them at times as being curiously suited to each other he liked young people but of course he was married and was infinitely beneath him and he had two children and herself and his social and financial position was so fixed and stable that he did not dare trifle with it still she paused for forty years and two children and some slight wrinkles and the suspicion that we may be no longer loved as we once were is apt to make any one pause even in the face of the most significant financial position where would she go if she left him what would people think what about the children could she prove this could she him in a situation did she want to greater knowledge of frank had given her a form of awe of him which was not with sincere admiration she was in the least way a little afraid of him those keen searching eyes of his so often ran her over and she felt that he was her materially even when she could not teu what he was thinking she felt that she knew him and yet she didn t he was never given to he did not burst out into revealing fits of rage if he were disappointed in anything he was apt to say so shortly but not the there was always present a sense of latent force great strength and judgment that need not be used at all too he was not inclined to talk about his affairs any more once in the beginning he had talked quite how fully she could not have said she had never had the feeling that he was telling her everything now however of late say the last three or four years he had scarcely talked at all their conversation had become more and more he had talked to be sure easily pleasantly of all the little household concerns and cares but not about the things in which he was vastly interested occasionally he would say something that he expected to make a good thing out of a certain line of stocks she heard more if anything through chance of conversation which came borne by sound waves when he and his father were talking the two men occasionally sat in one or the other of the two family or sitting rooms or private offices and talked sometimes so softly you could not hear at other times so clearly that you got some faint of what it was all about rarely anything more than that frank and his father were doing very well she knew that they were in street her own money was invested in some way in them the city and the state and the city a few of them and butler and mr of s and others were somehow all involved how she did not know it seemed to her that frank had a vast of connections that he knew a very large of people he must be a very remarkable man indeed and yet it was all up in one strange word business frank was a great business man a he was scarcely enough to be a good lover any more and yet he was so fascinating when he wanted to be this letter though how it tormented her she saw now by the very state of mind she was in that she did the not love him as some women loved their husbands she was not wild about him in a way she had been taking him for granted all these years had thought that he loved her enough not to be to her at least fancied that he was so engrossed with the more serious things of life that no petty such as this letter indicated would trouble him or interrupt his great career now though this was evidently not true this apparently very solid and	43
distinguished home was after all built on shifting sands what should she do what say how act she dropped the letter after a time and stood there then picked it up and went into her private she hid it in her bosom and wondered how she go about it to watch this house if she did at all could she what about the children her friends her social station she wrung her hands after a time for it was only after an hour of thinking that she began as she fancied to catch the significance of it all frank was lost to her could she regain him could die hold him there had been in times past some little silly feeling between them over in regard to the question of entertaining her liking her but this was so different so much more important her none too brilliant mind was not of much service in this crisis she did not know ver well how either to plan or to fight the conventional mind is at best a petty piece of machinery it is uke in its or perhaps better like it has its uttle of forced up or down into the mighty ocean of fact and circumstance but it uses so little so faintly that the immediate of the vast is not disturbed nothing of the of ufe is perceived no least of its storms or terrors is ever discovered except through accident when some crude suggestive fact such as this latter proved to be suddenly itself in the placid flow of events there is great agony or the and of the so called normal processes the does not work right it in fear and distress there is great grinding of adjusted parts not unlike sand in a machine and life as is so often the case ceases or goes ever after mrs was possessed of a conventional mind she was charming but she really knew nothing about life and life could not teach her reaction in her from thought processes was not possible she was not alive in the sense that butler was and yet she thought that she was very much alive all illusion she wasn t she was charming if you loved if you did not she was not she was not engaging brilliant or frank might well have asked himself in the beginning why he married her he did not do so now because he did not it was wise to question the past as to our failures and errors it was according to him most to regret he kept his face and thoughts to the future but mrs was truly distressed in her way and she went about the house thinking feeling she decided since the letter asked her to see for herself to wait she must think how she would watch this house if at all frank must not know if it were butler by any chance but surely not she thought she would expose her to her parents still that meant exposing herself she determined to conceal her mood as best she could at dinner time but was not able to be there he was so rushed so with individuals so closely in conference with his father and others that she scarcely saw him this monday night nor the next day tuesday nor for many days for on tuesday afternoon at two thirty frank had issued a call for a meeting of his and at five thirty he decided to go into the hands of a old was beside himself with grief he foresaw the end of all his comforts honors the in i n r if cr the r in his te room r f i l bis struck them r r ni i pi i he got out his private a ii r it ii z ver his only to shake ii fully he k s frank s connection r y re s ce would be exposed he vl e s ei his he and iv ir i ns ar i daughter and frank s wife and i i have to move there was an air lu his and frank s now he thought as r had died in them you could feel a e and yet frank as he s l his principal a group of thirty en in his office did not feel that his life was ruined he as temporarily embarrassed certainly things l ver black the city deal would make a fuss those h city loan to the extent of thousand would make another if chose still he did not feel that he was utterly destroyed gentlemen he said in closing his address of explanation at the meeting quite as erect secure defiant convincing as he had ever been you see how things are these are worth just as much as they ever were there is nothing the matter with the properties behind them if you will give me fifteen days or twenty i am satisfied that i can the whole matter out i am almost the one who can for i knew all about it the market is bound to recover business is going to be better than ever it s time i want time is the only significant in this situation i want to know if you won t give me fifteen or twenty days o month if you can that is all i want he stepped aside and out of the general room where l blinds were drawn into his private office in order to give his an opportunity to confer privately in regard to his situation he had friends in the meet the ing who were for him he waited one two nearly three hours while they talked finally walter judge kitchen stone of co and several others came in they were a committee appointed to gather further	43
information nothing more can be done to day frank walter informed him quietly the majority want the privilege of examining the books there is some about this with the city which you say exists they feel that you d better announce a temporary anyhow and if they want to let you resume later they can do so i m sorry for that gentlemen replied the least bit depressed i would rather do anything than for one hour if i could help it for i know just what it means you will find here far exceeding the if you will take the stocks at their normal market value but that won t help any if i close my doors the public won t believe in me i ought to keep open it s not fair to charge this fire up to me although i know that s legitimate enough under the circumstances sorry frank old boy observed pressing his hand affectionately if it were left to me personally you could have all the time you want there s a crowd of old out there that won t listen to reason they re panic struck i guess they re pretty hard hit themselves you can scarcely blame them you ll come out all right though i wish you didn t have to shut up shop we can t do anything with them however why damn it man i don t see how you can fail really in ten days these stocks will be all right judge kitchen with him also but what good did that do he was being compelled to an expert would have to come in and go over his books butler might spread the news of this connection might complain of this last the city loan transaction it was a serious matter if he could not open his doors in th morning and he t he was never left alone by a half dozen of his friends from then on until morning but he had to just the same and when he did that he knew he was practically defeated in this first brilliant race for wealth and fame once and once only when he was really and finally quite alone in his private bedroom at four in the morning he and his wife had always occupied separate rooms in the new house he stared at himself in the his face was pale and tired he thought but strong and effective he said to himself i m not whipped i ll get out of this certainly i will fu find some way and he began to heavily wearily finally he sank upon his bed and in a uttle while strange as it may seem with all the of trouble around him slept he could do that sleep and most peacefully the while his old father paced the floor in his room refusing to be comforted all was dark before the older man the e hopeless he turned wearily to and fro in his short space and sighed frank only turned once in his slumber and he did not dream he was intensely wear mrs frank in her room turned and tossed in the face of a new calamity it had suddenly appeared from news from her father and frank and and her mother in law that frank was about to fail or would or had it was almost impossible to say just how it was frank was too busy to explain the fire was to blame there was no mention as yet of the city frank was caught in a trap and was fighting for his life in this crisis for the moment she forgot about the note as to his or rather ignored it she was astonished frightened confused her little placid beautiful world was going around in a dizzy ring the as though the tables and chairs of her own home begun to move of their own and without any aid it was somewhat like an earthquake in ch things tumble and fall about or like a storm at the charming ship of their f was being most here and there she felt it a sort to stay in bed and try to sleep but her eyes were e wide and her brain hurt her hours before frank insisted that she should not bother about him but that she could do nothing and she had gone more than ever what and where was the line of her y to stick by her husband told her so she decided yes religion dictated that also om there were the children they must not be red frank must be if possible he id get over this but what a blow she also turned side to side wearily and by dawn had not had a le wink of sleep chapter the ti sion of the of frank a co co created a great stir on change ir in philadelphia i it was so and ri r r i nt involved was comparatively so large act i f for one million two and fifty cl and his under the depressed ion of seven hundred and f y and dollar there had been considerable work l f on the matter of his balance sheet by him and also hi father and his lawyer before it va finally given to the public but when it was stocks jt an additional three points generally and the ap r the next day devoted notable head lines to it had no idea of failing permanently he y wished to temporarily and later if f to x his to allow him to resume only two things which stood in the way of this matter of the five hundred thousand d from the city treasury at a low rate of which showed than words what had u n on and the other the matter of the check had the fear of v ii	43
ct from these causes if any such ill him be called fear and he had done his veiy tip to the hour to make his chances of h those two difficulties as secure as possible his il wit told him there were ways to his s in favor of his largest who would him to and he was swift to do this the his lawyer drew up documents which named co edward co co and others as preferred he knew that even though dissatisfied of smaller shares in his company brought suit and compelled or later the intention shown to prefer some of his most influential was important they would like it and might help him later when all this was over besides suits in plenty are an excellent way of over a crisis of this kind stocks and common sense are restored and he was or many suits smiled once rather even in the whirl of the financial chaos where smiles ere few as they were it out frank he said you re a wonder you ll have a of suits spread here shortly which no one can break through they ll all be each other smiled i only want a little time that s all he replied nevertheless for the first time in his life he was a little depressed for now this business to which he had devoted years of active work and thought was ended he a was his house and interesting private were in danger of being immediately swept away his father because of him was a also and might immediately be something were done to restore the credit his son the worst thing of course was the matter of the treasury loan and what it represented this notable of worried he the cunning and of bigger men behind it butler now for he knew the latter s attitude to be a certainty and he did not see clearly how the matter was to be arranged without some talk and possibly action which would be injurious he did think of going to whom he knew of indirectly and laying the whole matter before him but he was so busy with other matters for the first day or two that he had no the time to attend to it he was more than satisfied that he would before long the thing that was troubling most in all of this was not the five hundred thousand dollars which was owing the city treasury and which he knew would stir political and social life to the once it was generally known that was a legal or semi legal transaction at least but rather the minor though to him in reality so far as legal was concerned the major matter of the sixty thousand dollars worth of city loan which he had not been able to replace in the sinking fund actually it was a crime not to have done that imder the circumstances though heretofore in fair weather he had taken his time about it he would say that he had always been in the habit of taking his time his with the was never made until the first of the month but could he say honestly that he had intended at the time that he asked for the sixty thousand to replace the absent city loan in the he had already owed the city five hundred thousand dollars in borrowed money at that time he liad been told by that he could not have any he had not asked s permission to call for this and the latter would probably tell his that thi additional sum had literally been stolen without his edge or consent and after he had broken wit him pondered over the situation a deal the thing to do he thought if he went to or or both he had never met either c them but in view of butler s desertion they were his od recourse was to say that although he could not a present return the five hundred thousand dollars if injurious action were taken against him now such a prevent his his business on a no scale a little later he would pledge his word that eve dollar of the involved five hundred thousand dollars wo the eventually be returned to the treasury if they refused and injury was done him he proposed to let them wait until he was good and ready to use an american phrase which in all probability would be never before he a dollar but really it was not quite clear how action against him was to be prevented even by them the money was down on his books as owing the city treasury and it was down on the city treasury s books as owing from him besides there was a local organization known as the citizens reform association which occasionally conducted in connection with public affairs his would be sure to come to the ears of this body a public investigation which must surely follow would reveal it various private individuals knew of it already his for instance who were now examining his books to ask for time to ask the for the sake of avoiding a scandal to hush up was all very good if they could hush up but could they the situation had become already so dangerous this matter of seeing or or both was important anyhow he thought but before doing so he decided to talk all this over with his lawyer and get the legal end of it so far as the sixty thousand dollar check was concerned straight in his mind so several days after he had closed his doors he sent for and told him all about the transaction except that he did not make it clear that he had not intended to put the in the sinking fund unless he survived quite comfortably was a little	43
though he thought that seeing how loosely city funds had always been handled how close the relations of and were nothing would come of it before a let them proceed against you he said his brilliant legal mind taking in all the phases of the situation at once i don t see that there is anything more here than the a charge if it ever came to anything like that which i don t will the charge be or perhaps as in this instance you i the and the only way oi that would be j i ar received the check with s v ri e and consent then it would only be a oi on your part as i see it and i relieve any jury would you on the oo of ho v this relationship was conducted still it n i ht you never can tell what a jury is going to do what tv ould that mean if i were on a of as as j ou put it and con ho v many years in the at the out er thought a minute rubbing his ch n with his elegant hand let me see he said that is a serious question isn t it the law sa s one to five years at the outside out the sentences usually average from one to e in cases of course in this case would i have to go to jail at any time during the proceedings before a final of the case by the higher courts interrupted he was thinking the long legal fights that usually surround trials of this kind where is concerned and where it is available for most he thought usually managed to avoid jail sentence if they had the price st g r began a careful explanation of just what the and were in a case like this while mc solemnly his mind quickly and ly forward through all the of his case what would he do if he were he thought was wondering if really thought he was to be tried by any chance of fate or ill luck in this way and whether he considered himself guilty so far had indicated that he had bought the the well enough but that he had not been able to deposit them and had been compelled to use the check and the for another purpose true enough he had not thought he was going to fail though he had not seen any way out at the time it was more a matter of hope than anything else would a jury take any stock in that asked himself the yoimg banker sat there staring out of the window and observed it is a bit complicated isn t it well i should say so returned frank and he added to himself jail five days in prison that would be a terrific slap all things considered five days in jail the obtaining of a of reasonable doubt if one could be obtained he must avoid this he got up and went out to a meeting with but the thought was with him all the time jail the his commercial reputation would never survive that v chapter frank was not a given to wild ideas of financial prosperity lie was not of the kind who in prosperity cut throats and in disaster sit down and weep over their own woes whatever he was he was neither a nor a fool he did not himself concerning himself or others he did not the future he thought thought thought all the time in prosperity and in times when he was not so prosperous he based everything on thought after he made due allowance for chance and opportunity which he could not control he would have agreed with that other things being equal fortune is always with him who plans he was no or if he was he would not give fate the opportunity to say that he had not put up a good fight had not taken advantage of every single opportunity he was no coward and above all he was no suffering from an time conscience he saw no morals anywhere nothing but moods needs people talked and talked but they acted according to their necessities and desires just as he did only as a rule they were not quick and as he was for this sometimes he was sorry for them at other times he was not he knew he had a splendid mind he knew he had a he knew he had a and will people in extremes face him out by his steady eye his set jaw and his urgent will to achieve a victory he could almost in the face of defeat snatch success from the hands of fate he had done it time and again he had seen the himself ten years before as a boy on change leap in when hope seemed hopeless and something from an apparently situation ever since then he had been doing this to a greater or lesser degree he had done things one week before which no other had dreamed of doing he had organized or attempted to do so at least opposition to impending overwhelming disaster if these and had only taken his advice and closed the exchange he have been safe but they hadn t the trick had been all in his favor once he had dreamed of laying by a reserve of government bonds for just such a crisis as this but he had never done it he had been too busy making money seizing his growing now he was facing the first severe crisis of his life and it was an astonishing one the wonder of it was its suddenness its nature and the fact that he had not the least thing to do with it neither previous warning nor present his every dollar was entangled involved	43
and he was fighting for his financial life was he really going to lose entirely he meditated this gravely wondering what he do the while he worked with after but he saw no light the question as to whether edward butler could do anything to injure the financial and social prosperity of once he had become so against him was one which occupied the thoughts of both butler and after their final interview and after butler had talked so directly to his daughter the latter had met as he had planned the day after he closed his doors at four o clock in the afternoon at indian rock on the stealing an expensive hour from him to do it but eager to know as to his affairs it cost him a severe struggle to arrange it at that time he was thirty four and was twenty four years of age and the beauty which she had always counted on to hold him when he should be fifty the and she forty was still in perfect bloom it was the thing which interested and fascinated him most though her mind meant much we say beauty loosely in this way when in reality we mean so often charm of soul or temperament in addition to exquisite and physical outlines and it was so in this case charm of temperament as much as physical beauty was holding in s case although long since he had her of every physical delight she was still dear to him he had found that it was not that alone she was like him in many respects courageous he thought of her as some one of much more force than his wife far better able to bear a social struggle for place she had never lost for one moment the sense of her own charm which had been heightened by his continuous affection for her and his affection had never been sufficiently fed by her continued presence to his interest she had been able to be with him so little guarded as she was by her family and this sudden possibility of losing her among so other important things owing to the wrath of her father was to make him see her in a more form the form that beauty wears when it is most besides in this storm she of all people was now bringing him the most and fondness the love that asks affectionate recognition in return if we may call that at least she was asking no material reward and forcing no claim her large eyes were filled with a warm sympathetic appreciation of his woes and in this hour he it it was bright weather fortunately when he drove swiftly out he did not trouble to go on horseback this day and his mind relaxed a little of its intense working when he saw her standing beside a gray stone up the road awaiting his coming her eyes were so she looked so youthful blooming and efficient as a woman which is what affection requires her riding habit was the of the character her high silk riding hat such as was worn in those days sat above her red gold hair she carried a bright yellow whip in her hand and looked very much as she had that day several years before when he had persuaded her to consider how complete finally their must be he a httle at himself taking the time on this day of all days to come and see her but he said to himself that one need never regret the bright moments of love and yearning affection as lost they were not enough looked to see if there were any one else in sight in either direction but there was not when he jumped down from his light little letting the reins fall between the whip and the dash board she threw her arms his neck and held him close her lips crushed to his his young bay mare and vigorously throwing her ears forward and back and her neatly trimmed tail oh honey honey honey was all could h my darling boy e was so distressed by recent that she could scarcely speak she his hair and neck and he pulled her tight to him feeling her cheek over her shoulder with his free hand curiously enough he noted the of her which had led her to cut and below her left eye a small speck of black in order to and make more beautiful the color of her cheeks and hair sorrow for him somehow did not affect or her interest in herself she figured that she must always be very beautiful and attractive to make him happy for she had learned that he loved beauty repeated hours with him in north tenth street had taught this and she wanted to keep it for him as long as she could i have only a few minutes to stay sweet were his first words after he had shared their long embrace i the am terribly rushed you don t know has anything new developed with your father no i only saw him for a few minutes this morning he s very busy i know he is thinking of me though i saw it by his looks oh poor but never mind that what about you you haven t really failed have you i heard them say you had heard who say and not failed no assigned temporarily for the benefit of my my lawyer is drawing up the papers but don t let that worry you pet he added as he saw a look of distress in her eyes i ll come out all right stocks are going to recover shortly i m going to all my in favor of my you don t understand that but you needn t worry about it i ll be quite all right again	43
in a few months things are going to be better than ever i ll go right on there are a lot of things in connection with it all that i ought to be attending to right now so there is nothing new at your house he seemed a little to as he might well but she did not quite see why he should neglect her in his thoughts still his troubles were now obviously so great that she could forgive him temporarily they had little at times as all lovers do but she did not one now h sweet i m disturbed about you she replied earnestly isn t there a single thing i can do to help you he smiled but at this i know oh women are so helpless she threw back her head and looked away wearily baby it s sweet of you to think of this but it can t be done you don t i have to go it alone there isn t a thing you can do but love me and that is all i want from you it is a good deal the he his arms around her and she took his head in her hands h i do that but frank honey it is so little if i could only be with you if i could only share in some way i know you are in trouble i can feel it he shut her mouth with his there there pet don t worry i ll come out all right i really will he said for almost the first time in his life moved by her keen s and tenderness it was a new sensation it s a little rough just now but i will be all right later he not talk to her she was too incapable of understanding for the present it is all over w th nine thirty one i suppose he said referring to the north tenth street and thinking of the resources which its contents offered his day of any such liberal provision for profane love was temporarily over besides the house was no doubt watched i ll have to close that up and get a new address shortly meanwhile we d better say here again on saturday unless it rains and if it does make it monday you can t come over to the house very well either just at present he was thinking of her father realized the danger of it all no she replied i can t that s so i hadn t thought of that and just when you need me most what shall we do he did feel a special craving for affection just now when everything was going so badly but he did not let it master him you mustn t fret things are coming out just be patient now i ll find some place where we can meet they looked at the long stream skirted road where was no one and listened to the ripple of the water over the stones there were birds singing in the foliage overhead and a general air of and peace here in great beauty the thought the came to him how little his of seemed to matter in the general scheme of things but he shut it out he was too practical too efficient to think of anything save of a and making much of the material of which life is woven he squeezed her hands but he was restless and she could see it we might as well go then she observed and he agreed with alacrity you d better let me go first he said and giving her a farewell kiss he jumped into his run about for the first time it came home sharply to how much his affairs meant to him they were really first and love was a thing apart diversion it hurt her still he wouldn t be what he is if it weren t so she thought and if he weren t what he is i might not love him she watched him down the road wistfully and then jumped to her own saddle and was off in all the world there was no one to her uke frank she went to her room and wrote him pouring out her heart in a long comforting letter but that did not avail either she wanted to be with him in spite of his attitude toward his daughter butler felt an increasing tide of anger toward the old man was of that human turn which loves to assist when its and interests are involved but which also loves to when its sympathies have been or its betrayed butler considered that he had been exceedingly generous to during the eight or nine years in which he had known him as will be remembered he had assisted to get a section of one of the ci war which had him twenty thousand dollars in his early days and since then he had been kind to him in other from time to time in stocks through the young the and buying of street railway stock in struggling or slowly developing lines which he id to acquire the hundred thousand dollar loan ih he had with had been carried at six when as a matter of fact it would have brought higher rate of interest in other places butler having called his loan and seeing fail next day was puzzled as to what else he could do to re his one time friend and g ordinarily he was but he considered that had ly repaid him very badly for all he had done and that further continuance in political and financial affairs was a menace whether he butler could to prevent or delay him in his future progress ther he could hinder his of business or his possibly profitable political was her matter the one thing that occurred to butler liis	43
at moment although he suspected that the plan he had in mind was already beforehand he nevertheless preferred being the cautious man that he was to find out just what chance he had of putting his idea into force and might not have told any one else before he could reach them and seal their lips also he did not know that both these gentlemen had talked to who was their very good friend and who had been helping them in the matter of their trouble with and that even at this hour was telling butler so mr s secretary was now sent for and told to go first to the and bank and if the were really in the sinking fund as had said the fact that the latter had by now closed his doors would give great significance to their absence and then such being the case with all possible speed to find and caution and he returned to say that the sixty thousand dollars worth of was not in the fund and that although he had given and the desired warning he feared that some damage had already been done as they admitted having informed mr mr decided to confer with that official also and sent for him only to find that it was too late he had talked with mr butler and the latter knew thereupon decided that if need be he would a virtue the of this necessity and share with butler the pleasure of the goose it was essentially a delicate political situation butler was not long in arriving and for the delay it s a lively life i m what with every bank in the city to know how their are goin to be taken care of he said taking up a cigar and striking a match it does look a little threatening said smiling sit down i have just been talking with stone of and company and he me that the talk in third street about mr s connection with this failure is growing very strong and that the newspapers are bound to take up the matter shortly something is done about it he says that the financial of the press and the have been to him asking him for information and i am sure that the news is certain to reach mr wheat of the citizens reform association very shortly we ought to decide now gentlemen what we propose to do one thing i am sure is to mr from the ticket as quietly as possible this really looks to me as if it might become a very serious issue and we ought to be doing what we can now to its effect later there is one thing sure continued a time seeing that no one else spoke and that is if we do not begin a on our own account within a reasonable time some one else is apt to and that would put rather a bad face on the matter my own opinion would be that we wait until it is very plain that is going to be undertaken by some one else possibly the reform association but that we be ready to step in and act in such a way as to make it look as though we had been planning to do it all the time the thing to do is to gain time and so i would suggest that it be made as difficult as possible to get at the the s books an investigation there if it begins at all as i think is very likely should be very slow in producing the facts the was not at all for words with his important when it came to vital issues he preferred in his way to call a a now that like very good sense to me said butler sinking a little lower in his chair for comfort s sake the boys could easily make that investigation last three weeks i should think they re slow enough to do everything else if me memory doesn t fail me yes that isn t a bad idea said solemnly ing a ring of smoke we ought to have our programme worked out very carefully continued so that if we are compelled to act we can do so very quickly i myself that this thing is certain to come to an issue within a week if not sooner and we have no time to lose if my advice were followed now i should have the mayor write the a letter asking for information and the er write the mayor his answer and also have the mayor with the authority of the common council the for the time being i think we have the authority to do that or at least take over his principal duties we ought to have these letters ready to show to the newspapers at once in case this action is forced upon us i have those letters prepared if you gentlemen have no objection and have my secretary show them to you put in quietly but quickly well that strikes me as said butler easily it s about the only thing we can do under the i i ic s unless we could find some one to blame it on and i have a ti il to in that direction m we re not as as v e n be all things considered j the there was a slight gleam of triumph in his eye as he said this the idea of a had not occurred to up to this time knowing nothing as he did of the sixty thousand dollar check transaction he had not followed the local treasury dealings very closely nor had he talked to either of his since the original conference between them nor had he imagined up to now that was acting as anything more than a for	43
carrying money on deposit at two per cent or more which left him quite free and beyond just what do you mean asked the looking at butler there haven t been any outside parties mixed up with this have there no o i wouldn t call him an outside party exactly it s himself i m of there s that has come up since i saw you gentlemen last that makes me think that perhaps that young man isn t as innocent as he might be it to me as though he was the in this business as though he had been on against his will i ve been into the matter on me own and as far as i can make out this man isn t as much to blame as i thought from all i can learn s been with one thing and another if he didn t give him more money and only the other day he got a big sum on false which might make him guilty with there s sixty thousand dollars of city loan that has been paid for that aren t in the fund i don t see that we need to have any particular consideration for him the old man had shot his first arrow and he felt considerably relieved he looked before him with a steady gleam in liis eye and both the and were surprised at his change of front at their last meeting he had appeared rather friendly to the young banker the and this recent discovery was no occasion for any vicious attitude on his part in particular was surprised for he had been counting on butler s friendship for as a means of interesting the to take over s by some which would save the banker from leave the city nothing and themselves everything um m you don t tell me observed thoughtfully his mouth with his pale hand yes i can confirm that said quietly seeing his own little private plan of out of his street railway shares going glimmering i had a talk with mr the other day about this very matter and he told me that mr had been trying to force him to give him three hundred thousand dollars more and that when he refused managed to get sixty thousand dollars further without his knowledge or consent how could he do that asked explained the transaction oh said the when had finished that a rather sharp person doesn t it and the are not in the sinking fund eh they re not in butler with considerable enthusiasm well i must say said rather relieved in his manner this looks like a rather good thing to me we need something like this i see no n under the circumstances for to protect mr we might as well try to make a point of that if we have to the newspapers might just as well talk loud about that as anything else they are to talk and if we give them the right angle i think that the election might well come and go before the matter could be reasonably cleared up even though mr wheat does interfere i will be glad to undertake to see what can be done with the papers the fi well that bein the case said butler i don t see that there s so much more we can do now but i do think it will be a mistake if isn t with the other one he s guilty with if not more so and i for one want to see him get what he deserves he belongs in the and that s where he ll go if i have my say both and turned a reserved and inquiring eye on their usually genial associate what could be the reason for his sudden determination to have punished as and saw it and as butler would ordinarily have seen it was well within his human if not his strictly legal rights they did not blame him half as much for trying to do what he had done as they blamed for letting him do it but since butler felt as he did and there was an actual crime here they were perfectly willing that the party should have the advantage of it even if went to the it was not such a nice thing for powerful political gentlemen to be doing jumping on a man who was already down and in no position to help himself but party and personal self interest were much stronger here than the and social privileges of any individual was a self made to their hand and it would be folly to him in case they needed him in that capacity you may be right said cautiously you might have those letters prepared henry and if we have to bring any action at all against anybody before election it would perhaps be advisable to bring it against mr include mr if you have to i leave it to you two as i am compelled to start for next friday but i know you will not overlook any point the arose his time was always valuable having been obliged to abandon his private designs upon s had been intending the to bring up the matter of the joint control of all the local street railway properties but decided to let it rest the continued state of the market was bringing out various which he was doing his best to acquire and the more he had in his possession at some time when they should talk over any plan of the better would be his personal position the matter could rest butler was highly gratified by what he had accomplished he had succeeded in putting the on record against ood as the first in case of any public disturbance or demonstration against the party all that was now necessary was for that disturbance to manifest	43
itself and from what he could see of local conditions it was not far there was now the matter of s to look into and if by buying in these he should succeed in preventing the from business he would have him in a very precarious condition indeed it was a sad day for butler thought the day he had first tried to lead astray and the time was not far off when he could prove it to him chapter n the meanwhile the affairs of frank had not been improving since the day when he lad first talked over the matter of his city loan vith his lawyer several things had which made him reasonably certain that the would try to make a of him and that for one thing had called only a few lays after had closed his doors and imparted significant piece of information was still with the city treasury as was and engaged with and another personal of s in going over the s books and their financial significance had come to get additional advice in to the sixty thousand dollar check and his personal with it for after had failed bring back the check from had as had already reported to n the day of the latter s failure to have his chief clerk saying that he was responsible for the loss f the money and that his could be held if s were held that would imply mean that they in turn would attach his to satisfy their loss and probably have him in the bargain on this second call from had merely laughed good at their and assured that there was nothing in it he had said i tell you positively s nothing in it you re not responsible for deliver g that check to me and they wouldn t think of attach the ing your property or making any move whatsoever if you openly defied them i ll tell you what you do now go and consult my lawyer mr it won t cost you a cent and he ll tell you exactly what to do if anybody makes a move he will simply write them a letter of some kind and that will be the end of it now go on back and don t worry any more about it i am sorry this move of mine has caused you so much trouble but it s a hundred to one you couldn t have kept your place a new city anyhow seeing how things are and if i see any place where you can possibly fit in i ll let you know had been properly grateful and as a he had told of a little scene which had not in his presence but in the presence of a robert a of s which scene repeated by was a mere shadow of something else much more important it appears had been in the mayor s office the day before when there had been a conference between and the mayor in regard to and these three were on what the big three as butler and were known were likely to do according to had said to and that had said to butler in some conference which had been reported to the party s got to have somebody else besides to and butler had replied what s the matter with this man can t we fix this on him in some way he s as guilty as the fellow and said to said they ve got that sixty thousand dollar check on him and they re going to send him up this alleged conversation between butler and had no relation to the actual one which had occurred at s house it was a product of the imagination of those who instinctively felt the r hat ought to or at least might happen did lot know that butler and and had conferred about anything he had merely seen butler out of district attorney s office and s that was enough the rest might be upon as a tribute to his nevertheless it was important enough to i thought you d like to know about this mr cow had said who in spite of the former s treatment of him bore him no ill will outside of that incident had always been courteous to him and considerate if they re to do anything it s better you should know about it beforehand i thought you might want to do something yourself you ve been very to me all along mr and i appreciate it h don t mention it had replied cheerfully the real impression this intelligence made on him i certainly am much obliged x you and it will be useful to me i thought they might e doing something of that sort but you go and see mr now and don t worry about me i ll be all departed and then s brow clouded o this was the first evidence of butler s or s r s ill will very likely butler s another thing brought to s attention shortly after the call from by a letter from a conversation which had taken place at the butler table one evening when butler the elder was not at home it was one of those commonplace little talks so constantly take place in connection with public events in every family based in this instance on the event of s failure the picturesque did not relate had come in fresh rom third street in the neighborhood of which his the father s offices were and where he continually labored gathering the news of the day from one person and another on this day he had been talking with some one who knew something of the treasury and also of s final mistake in the dollar check which since the recent conference of the great was being well said of a	43
guarded hint in the morning press concerning the need of a public morality to which referred there s no doubt that fellow s one person all right he s got this business going like a bob over in the county clerk s office was telling me that he got a last check out of for sixty thousand dollars by some trick or other and that they re going to send him up for it i didn t think he d do that you didn t hear anything about that did you at the mention of s name and opening attack by had pricked up her ears and up seeing that her father was not present but when added the about the sixty thousand dollar check she down again and a little she was terribly afraid they would do something to it was on her tongue to ask since when had become so in s eyes seeing that he had gone to s house gaily enough in times past yes i heard a little something about it replied he knew all about it for his father had confided the matter to him as quickly as he heard it but since butler had asked him to say j of it for the time being he had not done so since it i obviously getting around now though he did not butler had told him nothing of of course i m sorry that fellow s turned out so badly he s a take if he s done that they ll get him yet sure what do you mean by get him yet j the who was quite a young lady now with a very leaning toward a certain eligible young and who was certain to be married within the next you don t mean they ll send him to the do you something like that i m afraid he replied he s got himself in a very bad hole through this s heart involuntarily and hurt her he not of her frank having got himself in a desperate situation the good her appetite deserted her and she shortly and left the table giving as an excuse the he that she had had too much lunch her dear lover she thought once she was in her room her beloved frank could anything hke this really happen to him she ran cold she wrote him a letter at once and told him all she had heard which made him set his even teeth in two gleaming rows he would have to do something about this he thought see or or both and make me offer to the city he could not promise them money r the present only notes but they might take that they could not be intending to make a out of him over such a trivial and uncertain matter as this check transaction it was too uncertain too vague bom a legal point of view it was too complicated with the history of his transactions with still they ht he must s a public storm might tt loose at hour now even though all the included might wish to have the matter shed up until after election as he knew they did this matter of seeing and once had the idea was gone about with his c energy but it resulted in nothing was it of the city for a period of ten days and ing in mind the suggestion made by butler and by in regard to s the for the benefit of the party and knowing what wide circulation had been given in the last few days to the report of s criminal with had very little hope to offer since the conference between butler and the smaller taking their cue from the had been spreading the story of the sixty check and that the burden of guilt for the treasury lay on the banker the moment laid eyes on he realized however that he had a yoimg but powerful personality to d with and that he could not use the terrors of his political power on him any more than he could on any other man as powerful as himself gave no evidence of fright he merely stated in his bland way that he had been in the habit of money from the treasury at a low rate of interest and that this panic had involved him so that he could not possibly return it at present i have heard mr he said to the effect that some charge was to be brought against me as a partner with mr in this matter but i am hoping that the city ill not do that and i thought i might your influence to prevent it my affairs are not in a bad way at all if i had a little time to am matters i making all of my an offer ct fifty cents on the dollar now and giving notes at one fr and three years but in this matter of the city ly if i could come to terms i would be glad to it a cents only i would want a little more time stocks are bound to recover as you know and ting my losses at this time i will be all right i realize i the matter has gone far already the news ere are apt to start talking at any time but if i kept out of the general proceedings as much as p my standing would not be and i have a better chance of getting on my feet it the better for the city for then i could certainly pay i owe it looked at this young financial david with in interested eye if he could have seen a way to accept proposition of s so that the money would have been eventually to him and f had had any reasonable prospect of getting on his feet soon	43
he would have considered carefully he had to say for then could have his recovered property to him as it was there vas small of this situation ever being straightened out the citizens reform association it came to their ears as it was certain to do would follow it closely to the end particularly the disposition of this five thousand the trouble with this situation mr he said very is that it has gone so far that it is practically out of my hands i really have very little to do with it i don t suppose though really it is this of the five hundred thousand dollar loan that is worrying you so much as it is this other matter of the thousand dollar check you received the other day mr that you secured that and he s very much wrought up about it the mayor and the ther city officials know of it now and they may force k me action of some kind i don t know was obviously not frank in his attitude i little bit in his sly reference to his official tool he mayor and saw it it irritated him it subtle opposition but he was enough to be quite and respectful i did get a check for sixty thousand dollars that s true he replied with apparent frankness the day before i assigned it was for i had purchased however on mr s order and was due me i the money and asked for it i don t see that is anything in that o the not if the transaction was completed in all its details replied mr as i understand it the were bought for the and they are not there how do you explain that an merely replied innocently and quite as as they would have been there if i had not been compelled to so unexpectedly it was not possible for me to attend to everything in person it has not been our custom to deposit them at once mr will tell you that if you ask him you don t say replied ke did not give me that impression however they are not there and i believe that that makes some difference but fm merely on it i have no interest in the matter one way or the other more than that of any other good i fancy i don t see exactly what i can do for you what did you think i could do i don t believe you can do for me mr a uttle you arc to deal quite frankly with me i am not a in politics in i know something about the powers in command i thought if yoa want to hear me that you could stop any plan to pre me in this matter and give me time to get on my feet again i am not any more responsible for that sixty thousand than i am for the five hundred thousand dollars that i had as loan before it not as much so i did not create this panic i did not set on fire mr and his friends have been some profit out of dealing with me i certainly was entitled to make some effort to save myself after all these years of service and i can t understand why i should not receive some courtesy at the hands of the administration after i have been so useful to it i certainly have kept city loan at par and as for mr s the money he has never wanted for his interest on that and more than his interest quite so replied looking in the eye steadily and the force and accuracy of the man at their real value i exactly how it has all come about mr no doubt mr owes you a debt of gratitude as does the remainder of the city administration i m not saying what the city administration ought or ought not do all i know is that you have put yourself in a dangerous situation and that public sentiment in some quarters is al ready very strong against you the republican party is in a very bad position so far as this election is concerned in a way however innocently you have helped to put it there mr i with you greatly but i do not know exactly what i can do i am only one of those who have a slight say in the affairs of philadelphia not all you had better see some of the others mr butler and mr for instance expected that would make some offer of his own but he did not instead at the mention of the name butler and that too in connection with this very aloof and attitude on the part of saw how futile his appeal was he realized that with butler opposing would do nothing even if he could would not try it i m very much obliged to you mr h said in the end for the courtesy of this interview i you would help me if you could i shall just have to fight it out the best way i can good day bowed himself out he saw clearly how hopeless his quest was butler and the party interests and the were or shortly would be against him what could he do fighting suits was about au that was left for him to do and that gave lo evidence of a fortunate in the long run chapter in the meanwhile public had been growing and the matter of had finally reached the ear of that very citizen mr c wheat the president of the citizens reform association who had long been wondering whether just such a situation as this would not come about in connection with the city treasury his mind thereupon offered that singular so frequently characteristic of the human thought organ namely the	43
open question whether he was more disgusted with this evidence of public in office than he was pleased at finding that it was ready to his hand to the occasion was such an excellent one too the eve of an important and state election nevertheless it was a serious charge to make against any one the sum in question was so large and the involved who was a private citizen of record mr wheat was not so anxious to proceed but what he wished also to due caution and so he delayed for a few day before doing anything collecting on the evening of october ten days after the failure of finding that the were growing in volume and that no one appeared to be willing to take steps to the matter out mr wheat called together the committee of ten of which he was it was decided to a to in l to quote the statement eventually given to tho peculiar now affecting one rf the the most important and officers of our government and to report at the next meeting which was set for the following evening at nine o clock the meeting and the following night at nine four individuals of very shrewd financial judgment having meantime been about the task assigned them they drew up a very elaborate statement not wholly in accordance with the facts but as nearly so as could be ascertained in so short a space of time it appears read the report after a which explained why the committee had been appointed that it has been the custom of city for years when have been by to place them in the hands of some favorite for sale the to the for the received by such at short periods generally the first of each month in the present case frank a has been acting as such for the city but even this vicious and like system appears not to have been to in the case of mr the accident of the fire the consequent depression of stock and the subsequent failure of mr frank a have so involved matters temporarily that the committee has not been able to ascertain with accuracy that regular accounts have been rendered but from the manner in which mr has had possession of bonds city for etc it appears that the for bonds thus pledged have been it would appear that he has been held to no responsibility in these matters and that there have always been under his control several hundred thousand dollars of cash or belonging to the city which he has for various purposes but the details of the results of these transactions are not easily available some of the operations consisted of of large amount s of these before the were issued the seeing that the order for the was duly made to him on the books of the such methods appear to have been for a long time and it being incredible that the city could be unaware of the nature of the business there is indication of a between him and mr to benefit by the use of the city credit in of the law at the very time these were being made and the city paying interest upon such the money representing them the was in the hands of the s and bearing no interest to the city the payment of was postponed and they were being purchased at a in large by mr with the very money that should have been in the city treasury the of the orders for of are now unable to obtain them and thus the city s credit is injured to a greater extent than the present to over five thousand dollars an is now engaged at the s books and a few days will make clear the whole it is hoped that the thus obtained will break up such vicious there was along with this report a quotation from the law governing the abuse of a public trust and the committee went on to say that unless some chose to proceedings for the of those concerned the committee itself would be called upon to do so although such action hardly came within the object for which it was formed this report was immediately given to the papers such a announcement had been anticipated in one form or other by and the but this was nevertheless a severe blow a real to the at large and it created the storm of ill feeling and social opposition that might have been expected was not surprised it was merely one additional ill among many but who was now being used wholly as a tool in this situation was beside himself with fear these days he lay in his bed at his new home in spring garden street and all the daily papers the while his wife looked after the ordering of the breakfast he broke into a cold sweat when he saw the announcement which was headed by all of the papers meeting of the reform association all of the papers were so do y identified with the political and powers of the city that they did not dare to come out openly and say what they thought the chief facts had already been in the hands of the various and for a the week and more but the word had also gone around from and butler to press down on the soft for the present no great fuss must be made it was not good for philadelphia for local commerce etc to make a row the fair name of the city would be injured it was the old story that desperate scheme to cast the blame on temporarily which had been by butler and to get the of the crime outside the party lines for the time being was now forth and put in operation it was interesting and strange to note how quickly	43
the newspapers and even the citizens reform association got the notion that was largely if not solely to blame had him the money it is true put bond issues in his hands for sale but somehow every one seemed to gain the impression that had desperately the the fact that he had taken a sixty thousand dollar check for which were not in the sinking fund was hinted at though they could actually confirm this for themselves both the newspapers and the committee were too fearful of the state laws to say so nevertheless the general impression that was the all the little like district attorney and others were their heads solemnly and saying only those things which they were told to say in due time were brought forth those noble letters to be a stem call on the part of the mayor mr jacob on mr george w for an immediate explanation of his conduct and the latter s reply which were at once given to the newspapers and the citizens reform association these letters were enough to show so the figured that the republican party was anxious to itself of any within its ranks and they also helped to pass the time until after election the thing to the do was to get past the election safely when and might well be dealt with as occasion mr mr butler and mr watched with interest to see what these letters would have though butler was not anxious to have anything interfere with the ultimate punishment which he felt was due had not told him as yet of s call here are the letters office of the mayor of the of george w esq october i dear sir information has been given me that of city loan to a large amount issued by you for sale on account of the city and i presume after the usual from the ma of the city have passed cut of your and that the proceeds of the sale of said have not been paid into the i have also been informed that a lai ge amount of the city s money has been permitted to pass into the hands of some one or more or doing business on third street and that said or have since met with financial difficulties whereby and by reason of the above generally the interests oi the are to be affected i have therefore to request that you wiu promptly advise me of the truth or of these statements so that such duties as upon me as the chief magistrate of the city in view of facts if they exist may be discharged yours respectfully jacob office of the of the of hon jacob october p dear sir i have to acknowledge the receipt of of the st instant and to express my r that i cannot at this time give you the information you ask there is undoubtedly an embarrassment in the city treasury owing to the of the who for several years past has the and i have been since the discovery of this fact and still am occupied in to or lessen the loss with which the city is threatened i am very respectfully w the office of the mayor of the city of philadelphia october george w esq city dear sir under the existing circumstances you will consider this as a notice of and of any or authority by me for the sale of loan so far as the same has not been fulfilled for and not issued may for the present be made at this office very respectfully jacob mayor of aiid do you think dear reader that mr jacob wrote the letters to which his name was attached he did not mr wrote them in mr s office and mr s comment when he saw them was that he thought they would do that they were very good in fact and do you think mr w of philadelphia wrote liis very reply you know he did not mr in a state of complete even crying at one at home in his bath tub mr wrote that and had mr sign it and mr s on that before it was sent was that he thought it was all right it was a time when all the little rats and were to cover because of the presence of a great fiery eyed public cat somewhere in the dark and only the older and wiser rats were able to act mr mr butler and mr who had now returned were frequently they were sending orders to mr the mayor of the mr president of council and mr mi city as you would send orders to i hall boy they were considering with mr the district just what could be done about f and just what if any could be made the for mr butler was strong for s of course the latter was very much in the public eye just now butler argued the public seemed to want to blame him he was rich a fine opportunity mr did not see that any be made for but let me see he said they ore that first of all whatever the justice of the facts it would be good policy to arrest and if necessary tr him s story of how secured sixty thousand dollars and a i claim seemed to constitute a good basis for action his disposal of the sixty thousand dollar check making any return to the city up to now constituted or as or or on a check he could be readily arrested on any one or two or all four of these charges for that matter and locked up and tried it was mr who offered these various suggestions s mere arrest butler and the others reasoned would seem like a great evidence of indignation on the part of the other officers of the	43
administration and in a way this would divert attention from the evil nature of the dear darling party until after election which was what was wanted so finally on october d two days after mr c wheat had issued the first blast when there was not a moment longer to lose the several letters so carefully and prepared were properly sent and received and finally given to the papers which were for information and then mr and mr and ir butler conferred some more finally on the afternoon of october mr edward president of the common council of philadelphia and acting in that capacity solely for the appeared before the mayor as finally ordered by mr after a conference and charged by that mr frank a as employed by the the to sell the bonds of the city had and as it did not matter that he charged mr george w with at the same time was the they were after in that minor world of the small those below and butler which concerned mr mr mr mr mr and others things were equally subtle treacherous uncertain and anything but pleasant to contemplate these gentlemen aside from their connection with mr which was dark safe and never to be spoken of had all been making a little money out of the and financial of mr to say nothing of the cleverness of mr as has been said mr mr and mr were on mr s bond as which was against the law in the first place they had no business to be but it was profitable then they had all shared mr s earlier now however mr s bond was in danger of being his affairs were being did friendship last it did not they all of them were now watching each other like a lot of cats and rats each how he could protect himself as to his bond and his by getting to make over his property to him instead of to all three of them and before it could or owing perhaps to public be seized by some one for the city there was much running to and fro here there was much with mr and whispering with each other it was of course against the law for mr to his property such little of it as there was left after his transactions with mr to any on that he was indebted to the city to the extent her l i r r ihe ad ice z r t r r chapter charging of by the with as and on a check as mr had framed lis matter for them was a severe and dangerous blow him he was in so bad a state asking for and here and there and doing his best have his agree to let him go on that to have lis high sounding and complicated charge laid at his was very destructive his wife saw it the following after it was made in the head lines of le papers and she and his mother and father were all impelled to witness it with what feelings one can old read his own personal doom i it so far as the of the third national bank as concerned and mrs frank s wife saw er own and his fortune as she thought going to nothing how could he recover from a slap like liis who believe him in the future seeing that addition he had failed for so large a sum butler r was concerned though he was about success at the for now he had this villain in lie toils he see that the matter was properly up would have a fine time getting lit of this the district attorney to succeed in case the republican party was again at the was an of butler s a who had done considerable legal work r him one was a smart good looking yoimg all of five feet a inches in height sandy haired pink blue the c i r r ri i r ar d a fine legal t r i z r r ji ii won quite a few damage r i v was ver proud ir i r v r have l een put on the ticket h r il i i i c hi bidding to the best j r i i ij ii r l y besides even if it was r j f r i r ihe treasury was now f r v h it was in the public v r v l i c v and his wretched v h i v h i i rs r ie it look that way for h i reform association i ii j v rt i c d had gone personally l l r j v r i tried to explain his side of the i l ci th t t h he had done was no different r r y h r hi d done before him and were v r v t v v as he did not see how a a sixty th us r d dollars worth of r r t the s ti td co s s explanation hi t t h nevertheless mr wheat saw th i h rs t ht s h i quite as much as c r v i h but he could not do anything a v t that r he ac ist d co to turn state s e l they i ould let i which the latter promptly re to d he v as no s and indicated as to mr wheat smiled butler on his himself busy indicating to all v	43
ith v e in contact how e il ood really was he did not v ant the to escape by any chance v as beside herself with distress but she could do noticing she scarcely realized what was going on butler argued ith himself that she was still young and must have another chance if he did something radical now to break oil this she could still be established a merit and decency so far as the world knew he not tell how far the gossip which had produced the had gone but he h it had not gone far she was and with her position and her the money she could still make a fine match it take a move like this though to open her eyes she have to see charged with a crime in this manner convicted and sent to the if necessary before she let go and before he let go would do it they would cure her and properly smoke out and butler had no whit of sympathy for the young he realized how thoroughly he himself had been put upon the man s no good he said one day to district attorney in talking over the case with him and indicating what he thought ought to be done he a you can see that look how he worked that check business only a could do that we needn t be about him i m he ll look after himself he said the same thing to young and of course that young ambitious immediately took sides against he became his subtle enemy waiting only until he should get into office in order to him properly there was only one fly in this so far as some of the were concerned and that was due to the fact that if were convicted must needs be also there was no escape for the city if was guilty of securing by sixty thousand dollars worth of the city money was guilty of securing five hundred thousand dollars the prison term for this was five years there was no escape he might plead not guilty and by as evidence that what he did was due to custom save himself from the odious condition of pleading guilty but he would be convicted nevertheless no jury could get by the fact in regard to him in spite of public opinion it came to a trial there might be considerable doubt n s case there was none in s the practical manner in which the situation was after and were formally the er r be o was in mr d nd iq ni li he at oo ta have bis r may be so and so iv sum aa h he r the na c e in with f dan b a ore in j with bis and gave in twenty w c d of the was for his at station on the ay for a bearing old a lawyer had been l by as cf the council to n t in for the the of did appear at the time the mayor when came in looked at him curiously for he being new to the political of was not so familiar him as others were and c od returned the look pleasantly this is a great mr he once quietly and the latter replied with smile and a kindly e c that in as far as he was it was a form of which was at this time you know how it is mr o he observed the latter smiled i do indeed he said he and went out quickly after a few conversation with but the newspapers t soon out with all the details and the anxious souls in avenue were compelled to witness this latest development in his affairs later there followed several more or less the appearances in a local police court known as the central court where when pleaded not guilty and finally his appearance before the november grand jury where owing to the complicated nature of the charge drawn up against him by david he thought it wise to appear he was properly by the latter body mr the newly elected district attorney making a demonstration in force and his trial ordered for december th before a certain judge in part i of quarter which was the local branch of the state courts dealing with crimes of this character s did not occur however before the coming and going of the fall election this election thanks to the fine political suggestions and of mr and mr box and personal violence at the not barred resulted in spite of the black record of the dominant party in another victory by however a greatly reduced majority this the personality of mr into the treasury case as district attorney to succeed mr retired who immediately took hold in a brisk and effective way doing all he could to further the interests of his superior butler who seemed set on s conviction the citizens reform association in spite of a defeat at the which could not have happened except for fraud continued to fire away at those whom it considered to be the chief the pictures presented by george w and frank at this time is well worth a moment s consideration despite his solemn thoughts concerning a possible period of which this hue and cry now suggested was as calm and collected as one might suppose his great mental resources would permit liim to be he was in the no way apparently disturbed during all this whirl of disaster he had never once lost his head or his courage that thing conscience which and rides some people to destruction did not trouble him at all n o consciousness of is sin he never gave a thought to the vast concerning evil which is constantly going on there were	43
it rains on the just and the unjust we suffer for our which we did not make and for our weaknesses and which are no part of our willing or doing who by taking thought can add one to his stature who can make his brain better his thoughts his courage greater who is it that can do anything it was not given him to do all good things are gifts there are no of the mind alone achievements distinguished results always sink back into so many other things they have their roots in inherited ability in in fortune in a lucky star there is no possible contradiction of this it is so so was it ever so will it be from everlasting to everlasting the uttle woman watching her husband this morning experienced a sinking of heart at the evidence of liis weakness is there something in the paper she asked coming over suspecting really knowing full well that there was no he said yes there is too a little mention she picked it up and read the long solemn concerning the state of her husband s office which had been issued by the citizens reform association an expert was going over his books there was as much as five thousand dollars missing she had not known that the is it as much as five hundred thousand dollars s paused to ask i think so he admitted weakly i m not q i sure yet it may be less and can t you get any of it back from him i must have money she was referring to i don t think so replied weakly know he led me into this there followed weighing of resources by her which w omen in these d almost always undertake she made a earnest suggestions in regard to and but alas it was had tried all these there was a for him he was not considered because his temperament his inability to reason he had ben marked for a victim and no one proposed to assist to that r c he was the one who was going to ft punished unless the powers above him willed that not necessary it all depended on that his wife wc out of the room after a time but it was only to go another bedroom and stare out of a window ta faded grass of the fall what was to become of her as her husband she always thought of him and and children as a there were four h all told fortunately well grown now they be very poor again and worst of all disgraced was what hurt her she stared and twisted her bar little hands her eyes did not but an sadness filled them sometimes the and th attain to a classic stature when dignified ir pain he peculiarity and wonder of this situation which has been indicated rather swiftly on its and legal sides was its related human or rather and social in the two in the butler household in the city through in the financial and lai sections anywhere and in in short where the personality or the fame or the ness relations of frank a personally frank a co had had time to all this time butler was following the i d of his outward as by the news ers and the local gossip with as much interest and bias c enthusiasm for him and all that related to him as er powerful physical and nature would she was no great where affection entered but shrewd enough without it and although she saw im often and he told her much as much as his natural would permit she yet gathered from the news ers and private conversation at her own family s le and elsewhere that as bad as they said he was he not as bad as he might be one item only rom the philadelphia public of about this time little while after had been publicly of comforted and consoled her she at it out and carried it in her bosom for somehow seemed to show that her adored frank was far more lined against than it was a part of one of lose very or reports issued the is it as much as five hundred thousand dollars she paused to ask i think so he admitted weakly not quite sure yet it may be less and can t you get any of it back from him he must have money she was referring to i don t think so replied weakly i don t know he led me into this there followed then that weighing of resources by her which women in these almost always she made a dozen earnest suggestions in regard to ood and but alas it was merely conversation had tried all these there was no for him he was not considered because of his temperament his inability to reason he had been marked for a and no one proposed to assist him to that r c he was the one who was going to be punished unless the powers above him willed that it was not it all depended on that his wife went out of the room after a time but it was only to go into another bedroom and stare out of a window the faded grass of the fall what was to become of her and her husband she always thought of him and herself and children as a there were four children all told well grown now they would be very poor again and worst of all disgraced that was what hint her she stared and t her bony little hands her eyes did not but an sadness filled them sometimes the and the attain to a classic stature when dignified by the carefully not to talk he did not deny his long and profitable relations with he told her exactly	43
how it was she understood or thought she did anyhow her frank was telling her and that was enough in the household the two ood things had been to a deadly cold the life was going out of them frank was that life he was the courage and force of his father the spirit and opportunity of his brothers the hope of his children the estate of his wife the dignity and significance of the name all that meant opportunity force dignity and happiness to those connected with him he was and his sun was apparently to a black to begin with there was the problem of s wife and his two children since the fatal when she had received that utterly destructive note like a cannon ball through her domestic affairs had been walking like one in a trance each day now for weeks she had been going about her duties placidly enough to all outward seeming but inwardly she was running with a troubled tide of thought she was so utterly her year had come for her and here she was just passing into the time when a w ceases to be interesting to men devoted to her children feeling that life ought naturally to remain on a fixed and solid base and yet torn bodily from the domestic soil in which she was growing and blooming and thrown out indifferently in the sim of circumstance to you have seen fish caught in a net and cast indifferently on a sandy shore to die they have no value save to those sea feeding which sit on the shores of some and wait for such food it is a pitiable a one but it is life that is exactly the the way life works she saw in this turmoil of and work and conference and talk that her s affairs were in a deadly state of the newspapers were full of the news of the panic and the fire after a few days they were full of the failure or of frank and of his connection with the city treasury yet a few more and the reports of the citizens reform association began to in the papers these openly and indicated frank and the city as to the city though later this very committee raised the question whether was not more against than she had seen the same item that was carrying about with her it was a many sided problem few people saw but more than an angle or a of it all s lawyer was actually convinced that had a if not a moral right to attempt to save himself as he had and he proposed if and the others attempted to shoulder the blame and make a legal of him to bum then up before a jury he could do it too for he had a bitter capacity but to s wife the situation was like a ghastly in which she wandered as one walking in her sleep senior s situation at his bank and el where was rapidly a climax as has been said he had tremendous faith in his son and loyalty to him but he could not help seeing that an error had been committed as he thought and that frank was suffering greatly for it now he considered of se that had been entitled to try to save himself as he had but he so regretted that his son should have put his foot into the trap of any situation which could stir up discussion of the sort that was now being aroused frank was wonderfully brilliant he need never have taken up with the city or the to have succeeded local street the and were his nevertheless it was all over now the possibility of it the milk was the old man walked the floor all of the days that his sun was setting that with frank s failure he failed and that this disgrace these public charges meant his own his hair was very gray his step slow his face pallid his eyes sunken his rather side whiskers looked out of place now they seemed like flags or ornaments of a better day that was gone his only consolation in it all was that frank had actually got out of his relationship with the third national bank without owing it a single dollar still the of that institution realized that frank had merely cleared up everything here in order to save his father he would not have done so if his father had not been there anyhow the bank could not possibly the presence of a man whose son had helped the city treasury and whose name was now in the public prints in this connection besides was too old he ought to retire the crisis came for him when frank was arrested on the charge the wanted to have sense enough and courtesy enough to take the and resign at once there was absolutely no hope of his remaining adam the first vice president realized it there was a light of triumph in his eyes on the day the arrest happened realized that his hour had struck he saw it all suggested in their faces he hardly had the courage to go to the bank it was like struggling the weight of a heavy stone to do it still he went but he wrote his resignation the next morning after a sleepless night to the of the board of nothing had been i to him he wrote mr to come in if it were f o i e on this and then he told him in a vague the ous way that he realized that this failure of his son had done the bank owing to his connection with i know he said with his thin white bony fingers on his handsome mahogany desk which would soon be his no longer	43
that my connection with the bank now is a serious to it a short well built attractive man of fifty breathed an inward sigh of relief it was so urgent that should do this i have been with it now nearly thirty eight years continued but at the thought of the long long years which had really been his life spent with this one institution his voice failed him and he got up and went to the widow a suspicious of the shoulders told mr that he was a great inward struggle and the latter felt sorry for him he came back after a time however and sat down it s hard it s hard he said suddenly rubbing his hands weakly and he got up again unable to speak mr choked slightly i know it is mr he said i wish you wouldn t try to talk now i know exactly what you would wish to say we and i can speak for the other members of the board for although we haven t talked about it as yet i know how they feel we keenly the nature of your position we know exactly how it is that son has become involved in this matter he is not the only banker who has been involved in the city s affairs it is an old system we appreciate all of us keenly the services you have rendered this institution they have been notable and unbroken if there were any possible way in which we could help to tide you over your difficulties at this time we would be glad to do so but as a banker yourself you realize just how difficult this is just now everything is the in a turmoil if things were settled if we knew how soon this would blow over he paused for he felt that he could not go on and say that he or the bank was sorry to be forced to lose mr in this way at present mr himself would have to speak had been doing his best to pull himself together he had gotten out a large white linen handkerchief and blown his nose and he had straightened himself in his chair and laid his hands rather peacefully on his desk still he was intensely wrought up he didn t attempt to speak any more instead he in his right coat pocket for his very hardly letter of resignation which was nicely enveloped and addressed and handed it over to mr i can t stand this he suddenly exclaimed i wish you would leave me alone now mr very carefully dressed and e and walked out of the room for a few moments ihe moment the door was closed put his head in his hands and shook and shook i never thought i d come to this he said i never thought it then he wiped away his hot tears and to the window once more to recover it was a terrible day and a terrible siege for him chapter it was with this general atmosphere prevailing that the time was drifting toward that uncertain december the day set apart on the court for s trial had been bringing him news concerning the attitude of her father which made it perfectly dear that butler was not through with him and would not be in all unless he chose to leave philadelphia permanently or butler should die the election being over and and property and butler s young g y elected to the office of district in which direction it was plain to that great injury might be done him the old man was determined to find some additional thing which would further his campaign against the banker and result in him from the and the life of entirely one thing that occurred to him was the fact that the particular judge to whose court s case had been assigned was one of those who owed his position to the influence of the should be given an to learn that ood was deserving of punishment beyond lay the state supreme court and the governor where butler s word or the fact that he had been injured by would be of great weight he need not speak directly but there were plenty who would talk for him the plan of bu ng out some of s particularly those who held street railway remained in butler s mind and finally been acted the upon had been offering only fifty cents on the dollar in notes at one two and three years and that by the of some of his financial friends who proposed to assist him to take them up at maturity but the would not accept it butler was ready to offer them cash and more than fifty cents when necessary which would give him a voice in the matter of s for as every business man knows no business can be without the full consent of all in order that might not know at the time that these were transferred butler had them taken over by a small bank in which he was secretly interested and carried on its books as belonging to it butler then had the feeling that if wished to resume he would have to pay dollar for dollar for the stock which was considerable or remain a in addition butler was planning some move in his own home which without causing him to tell his wife what the trouble was would bring about the of from the situation speaking as time went on he grew more and more puzzled and as to his duty in regard to her he was sure by her manner her lack of frankness and apparent desire to avoid him that she was still in touch with in some way and that this would bring about a social disaster of some kind he thought once	43
of going to mrs and having her bring pressure to bear on her husband but he decided that would not do he was not really positive as yet that was secretly having to do with and besides mrs might not know of her husband s he thought also of going to personally and threatening him but that would be a severe measure and again as in the other case he lacked proof he hesitated to appeal to a public agency on account of and he did not care to take the other members of the the into his confidence he did go out and the neighborhood of north tenth street once looking at the house but that helped him little had already abandoned his connection with that and the place was for rent butler finally hit upon the plan having invited to go somewhere some distance off boston or new where a sister of his wife lived it was a delicate matter to engineer and in such he was not exactly the soul of tact but he undertook it he wrote once personally to his wife s sister at new and asked her if she would not without indicating in any way that she had heard from him write his wife and ask if she would not permit to came and visit her writing an invitation at the same time but he tore the letter up a little later he learned that mrs and her three daughters and were going to europe in december to visit paris the and rome and he decided to ask if he would persuade his wife to invite and or only to go along giving as an excuse that his own wife would not leave him and that the girls ought to go it would be a way of of for the present the party was to be gone six months was glad to do so of course the two families were fairly mrs was willing delighted from point of view and the invitation was extended was she wanted to see of and had always been hoping for some such op she was not particularly interested in any one place abroad but everything over sea must be fine was pleased from one point of view that mis should invite her years before she have accepted in a flash but now she felt that it only came as a interruption one of the mi difficulties that were tending to interrupt her with she immediately threw odd the on the proposition which was made one evening at dinner by mrs butler who did not know of her husband s share in the matter but had received a call that afternoon from mrs when the invitation had been extended she s very anxious to have you two come along if your father don t mind the mother and i should think ye d have a fine time they re going to paris and the this was mrs butler s of the oh fine exclaimed i ve always wanted to go to paris haven t you ai oh wouldn t that fine i don t know that i want to go replied who saw in this merely another slap of ate a trick she did not care to compromise herself y showing any interest at the start it s coming on and i haven t any clothes i d rather wait and l o some other time oh butler exclaimed how you i ve heard you say a dozen times you d like to go some winter now when the chance comes besides you can get your clothes made over there couldn t you get over there inquired mrs butler besides you ve got two or three weeks here yet they wouldn t want a man around as a sort of a guide and would they mother put in to pick a chicken wing with his knife and fork was interested in he smiled a smile i might offer my services in that capacity myself served tm sure i don t know returned mrs butler a you ll have to m my sons still persisted she did not want to go it the was too sudden it was this it was that just then old butler came in and took his seat at the h id of the table knowing all about it he was to appear not to you wouldn t object edward would you his wife explaining the proposition in object i he echoed with a well but rough attempt at gaiety a fine thing i d be doing be glad if i could get shut of the whole pack of ye for the time talk ye have said his wife a fine mess vou d make of it i d not be alone me replied butler there s many a place i d be welcome in this thanks to e and there s many a place ye wouldn t have been if it hadn t been for me i m ye that retorted mis butler and that s not the much he answered was not interested in this by play she wanted to escape any discussion of a european trip now and subsequent observations and arguments on this matter both on the part of and her mother had no c ct whatever she was butler witnessed failure of his plan with considerable he was not through he wanted to go and he y determined to make her go somewhere anyhow w thought once of speaking to her about the strong words but he realized that he had no sufficient evidence to go on the mere receipt of letter with which he had confronted her was not en she had denied that the possibility of i house at north tenth street was gone l u the moment he had shown her the letter he should v that first he	43
thought and confirmed the he decided after a while to employ a but q the was not until all hope of persuading to accept the proposition had been abandoned when that was gone and was still going to and fro in philadelphia as careless and as before he became determined she pretended to be visiting her friends many of whom she did visit social personages whom she had met through and girls who had gone to school with her but butler was suspicious she rode drove and visited the and the shops alone or with her mother but he was with the idea that she might be with neither he nor his sons if he had been inclined to take them into the secret which he was not could watch her very well he thought her movements were too it had to be some outside agency and he wondered which or what it would be at that time owing to his career in connection with the civil war and the reputation of william a of fame and of his agency was great the man had come up from poverty through a series of to a high standing in his and to many distasteful profession but to any one in need of such in themselves services his very famous and decidedly patriotic connection with the civil war and was a recommendation he or rather his service had guarded the latter all during his stormy at the mansion there were offices for the management of the company s business in philadelphia washington and new york to say nothing of other places butler was familiar with the philadelphia sign but did not care to go to the ce there it was too local too conspicuous he decided once his mind was made up on this score that he would go over to new york where he was told the principal offices were he made the simple excuse one day of business which was common enough in his case and to new the york nearly five hours away as the trains ran ng at two o clock with much caution of manner and clearness of mind he found the principal offices which were in lower and asked to see the manager the latter he found to be a large gross man of fifty gray eyed gray haired as to countenance but keen and shrewd and with short fat hands which idly on his desk as he talked he was dressed in a suit of wool cloth which struck butler as peculiarly and wore a large diamond pin the old man himself invariably wore gray how do you do said butler when a boy ushered him into the presence of this worthy whose name was of american and irish the latter nodded and looked at butler him at once as a man of force and probably of position he therefore rose and offered him a chair sit down he said to butler studying the old from under thick eyebrows what can i do for you you re the manager are you asked butler solemnly the man with a shrewd inquiring eye yes sir replied simply that s my position here this mr that runs this agency he wouldn t be about this place now would he asked butler carefully i d like to talk to him personally if i might meaning no to you mr is in at present replied mr i don t expect him back for a week or ten days you can talk to me though with the same confidence that you could to him i m the responsible head here however you re the best judge of that butler with himself in silence for a few moments the man before him are you a family man yourself he finally asked oddly the yes sir i m married replied mr i have a wife and two children butler his eyes and from long experience conceived by this that it must be some matter of family a son daughter wife which had brought butler here such cases as that were not i thought i would like to talk to mr himself but if you re the responsible head butler paused and looked at mr n again i am replied the latter you can talk to me with the same freedom that you could to mr won t you come into my private office we can talk more at ease in there he led the way into an adjoining room which had two windows looking down into an table heavy brown smoothly polished four chairs and some pictures of the civil war battles in which the north had been victorious butler followed doubtfully he hated very much to take any one into his confidence in regard to he was not sure that he would even at present he wanted to look these over as he said in his mind he would decide then what he wanted to do he went to one of the windows and looked down into the street where there was a perfect of and of all sorts mr quietly closed the door now then if there s anything i can do for you mr paused he thought by this little trick to butler s real name it often worked but in this instance the name was not butler was too shrewd i m not so e that i want to go into this said the old man solemnly certainly not if there s any risk of the thing not being handled in the right way there s i want to find out about that i ought to know but it s a very private matter with me the and he paused to think and conjecture looking at mr the while the latter understood his peculiar state of mind he had seen many such cases let me say right	43
here to begin with mr butler easily that s as good a name as any if you want to use one i m me own to for the present continued easily i really don t care whether this is your right name or not i was just going to say that it might not be necessary to have your right name under any circumstance it all depends upon what you want to but so far as our private affairs are concerned they are as safe v ith us this agency as if you had never told them to one our business is built upon confidence and we never betray it we wouldn t dare we have men and women who have been in employ for over thirty ears and we never retire any one except for cause and we don t pick people who are to need to be retired for cause mr is a good judge of men there are here who consider that they are we handle over ten separate cases in all parts of the united states every y ar we work on a case only so long as we are wanted wo seek to find out only such things as our customers want we do not into anybody s affairs when we think we have found out what you want or decide that we cannot find out for you we are the first to say so many cases are rejected right here in this office before we ever begin yours might be such a one we don t want cases merely for the sake of them and we are frank to say so some matters that involve public policy or some form of small per we don t touch at all we won t be a party to them you can sec how that is you look to me to be a man of the world i hope i am one does it strike you that an organization that has attained to the it we have would be in the business of betraying the any one s confidence he paused and looked at butler for confirmation of what he had just said it wouldn t seem likely said the latter that s the truth it s not to bring your private affairs into the light of day though added the old man sadly they both rested well said butler finally you look to me to be all right and i d like some advice mind ye i m willing to pay for it well enough and it isn t anything that u be very hard to find out i want to know whether a certain man where i live is goin with a certain woman and where you could find that out enough i couldn t you nothing easier replied mr we are doing it all the time we simply some man or woman or some men or women whom we trust to watch the houses stores offices and places of amusement of those whom we wish to find out about it doesn t take long as a rule you might do it yourself if you had people whom you could trust that s just the point said butler it s the matter of trusting them i have the people plenty of them and they d be glad enough to do my word but i don t trust them in this case i d rather trust if i could i ve heard of your people before mr nodded his head let me see if i can help you just a moment mr in order to make it easier for you it is very plain to me that you don t care to tell any more than you can help and we don t care to have you tell any more than we absolutely need to assist us to do what you want we will have to have the name of the city of course and the name of either the man or the woman but not necessarily both of them unless you want to help us in that way sometimes if you give us the name of one party say the man for illustration and the description of the woman an accurate one or a photograph we can tell you after the a l e exactly what you want to know of course i s better if we have full information you suit y l about that tell me as much or as little as you r and i ll that we will do our best tj e ou and that vou will be satisfied afterward you tell e now or not just as you choose it s all the same to us he butler felt all things considered that he was in the hands of a rather fair man like most men of o d included he was of people in general on them as forces rather than as bodies though he was nevertheless nothing save the will of god could save anybody in the long butler thought but you were in bound to help god by helping such was his philosophy the de il represented all forces v and without ourselves which made elements do the strange things they did he could not ha e explained life any better than that but in a rough way he felt that he was serving god when he his best to punish and save well that bein the case said butler finally taking the leap with many mental however til be plain with my name s not it s butler i live in there s a man there a banker by the name of frank a wait a moment said drawing an ample r ut of his pocket and producing a lead pencil i want to get that how do you spell it butler	43
told him s now go on he a lace in third street frank a any one can show you where it is he s just failed there recently oh that s the man i ve it the of him he s mixed up in some city over there i suppose the reason you didn t go to philadelphia office is because you didn t want our local men over there to know anything about it isn t it that s the man and that s the reason said butler answering both questions at once i don t care to have anything of this known in that s why i m this man has a house on avenue seven you can find that out too when you get there yes agreed mr well it s him that i want to know about him and i certain woman or girl rather the old man paused at this necessity of introducing into case he could scarcely think of it he was so fond f her he had been so proud of a dark rage burned in his heart against to think he should have given him so much trouble and k much shame a relative of yours possibly i suppose remarked you needn t tell me any more just give me a description if you wish we may be able x work from that he saw quite clearly what a fine ld citizen in his way he was dealing with here and also hat the man was greatly troubled butler s heavy face showed it you can be quite frank with ne mr butler he added i think i understand we want such information as we must have to help you more yes said the old man she is a relative s my daughter in fact you look to me like a man i m her father and i wouldn t do anything or the world to harm her it s to save her i am t s him i want he suddenly closed one big fist mr who had two daughters of his own t he old butler s i t f cold air he ii r bu i l bad y l i ir ti if ii should um i r l e ji r g daughter it i i il z i i oi s he was rather i l i l mr butler he ed r j t z all we can for vou r r l i of her or let r r a y ur house or ofl ce ur i car ell you in no time at all r v r i r that s all you j v i i iii s x u r r o take any time at all mr butler r r or f ir l if we have any a v r lay v o v it depends on how long you v ar u to r him in case there is no evidence the r v ar to however long it takes replied butler ir y i v to know if it takes a month or two or to find out i want to know the old iii ui ot up as he said this very positive very rugged vi f m was quite astonished at the force and vi r of liim and don t send me men that haven t iii lots of it i want men that are fathers if y u v r k t c in and that have enough to hold n a b he fairly glared at im the latter feel the significance of all this to him nodded i understand mr butler he replied depend on ii vou ll have the best we have and you can trust them ll he t can depend on that the way i di will he to n one man to the case at first ii you uke mm teu mm ana ne u ao tne rest i u he needs any more help he can get it what is your address butler gave it to him and there ll be no talk about this none whatever i assure you and when u he be along to morrow if you wish i have a whom i could send to night he isn t here now or i d have him talk with you i ll talk to him though and make everything dear you needn t worry about your daughter s reputation will be in his hands thank you kindly commented butler softening the least bit in a way i m much obliged to you i ll take it as a great favor and pay you well about that mr butler replied you re welcome to anything this concern can do for you at its ordinary he showed butler to the door and the old man went out he was feeling very depressed over this very shabby to think he should have to put on the track of his his daughter still he thought he would know positively if what she said were or not and that would help him to matters with her finally he could not think of her really unless he knew and now he would know he to philadelphia at once chapter the business of establishing s relationship to was undertaken and completed the very next day there called at butler s from new york a long lean solemn man of noticeable height and dark haired sallow with a face that was long and and particularly hawk like who talked with butler for over an hour and then departed that evening he came to the butler house dinner time and being shown into butler s room was given a look at by a	43
butler sent for her while he was in there came quickly as it was planned between the and butler the latter stood in the door just far enough to one side to prevent from coming in but nevertheless to yield a good view of her the stood behind one of the heavy curtains which had already been put up for the winter pretending to look out into the street as a matter of fact he was watching the door between the folds which almost concealed him did any one drive this asked butler of inquiring after a favorite family horse butler s plan in case the was seen was to give the impression that he was a who had either to buy or to sell his name was and he looked sufficiently like a horse to be one i don t think so father replied i didn t ni find out never mind what i want to know is did you intend using her to morrow the no not if you want her me just as well she was referring to another horse very well then leave her in the stable butler quietly closed the door concluded at once that it was a horse conference she knew he would not dispose of any horse in which she was interested without first consulting her and so she thought no more about it after she was gone stepped out and declared that he was satisfied that s all i need to know he said m let you know in a few days if i find out anything he departed and within thirty six hours the house and office of the house of butler the office of s lawyer and and separately and personally were under complete it took six men to do it at first and eventually a seventh when the second meeting place which was in south sixth street was discovered all the were from new york the of and were pointed out to each as introduced him to the case and then the watch was taken up in a week all was known to it had been agreed between him and butler that if and were discovered to have any particular butler was to be some time when she was there so that he could go immediately and her in person if he wished he did not intend to kill and would have seen to it that this should not be allowed but he would give him a good tongue fell him to the floor in all and march away there would be no more lying on her part as to whether she was or was not going with she would not be able to say after that what she would or would not do her father would lay down the law to lier she would reform or he would send her to a think of her effect on her sister or on any the ii l good knowing knew or doing what was she ed to after this or any be to ber in oat of tbe in made his to s it was one of tbe of the agency that do violence most be p ed in case of this kind with woe mr rt yes but no we c allow to strike any or do any told when they first talked about it it s against the yoa can go in there a warrant if we have to e one i can get that for yoa anybody s knowing anything about your with the case we can say it s for a from bat il b to go in in tbe presence of my they won t permit any trouble you can get daughter all n t well bring her away and him too if oa say so have to make charge against him if we da then there s the danger of the seeing yoa can t always you won t a crowd that way butler had many about the matter it was with danger of he wanted to know he wanted to if he could to her within a week learned that and were visiting an ate which was but that the in south s ti street was one of purely but in its il was superior to the average institution of this kind li was of a high order of if the latter word nay be permitted in this connection of red brick white four stories high and all the rooms a int in number furnished in a but wa an institution of general but rather of a ly i patronage only those bang admitted who were the to the mistress having been introduced by others that privacy which the affairs of his so greatly require the mere phrase i have m appointment was where either of the parties was known to cause them to be shown to an of rooms where they await the completion of their at leisure had of the place from previous experiences and when t became necessary to close the place on north tenth he had directed to meet him here the matter of entering a place of this kind and trying o find any one was as informed butler on of its character a treacherous matter it the right of search which was difficult to get to inter by sheer force was easy enough in most instances the business conducted was in x the moral sentiment of the community but some one violent opposition from the themselves it might be so in this case the only sure way of avoiding such opposition would be to take the woman who ran the place into one s confidence and by paying her sufficiently silence but i do not advise that in this instance had told butler for i believe this woman is particularly friendly to your it might be better in spite of the risk	43
to take t by surprise to do that he explained it would be to have at least three men in addition to the perhaps four who once one man had been able x make his entrance into the on the door being in response to a ring would appear quickly and with and sustain him quickness of search was next thing the prompt opening of all doors the would have to be overpowered and silenced in some way money sometimes did this force accomplished at other times then one of the servant could tap gently at the different doors and the others standing by and in case a face s the identify it or not as tlie case might be if the door was not opened and the room was not empty it would eventually be forced the house was one cf a solid block so that there was no chance of escape save by the front and rear doors which were to be it was a conceived scheme in spite of all this secrecy in the matter of removing was to be attained butler heard of this he was nervous about the whole terrible he thought once that without going to the house he would merely talk to his declaring that he knew and that she could not possibly deny it he would then give her her choice between going to europe or going to a a of the raw of s disposition and essentially coarse in himself made adopt the other method eventually he told mr to perfect his plan and once he found or en the house to inform him quickly he would then there and with the assistance of these men her it was a foolish scheme a thing to do both from the point of view of affection and any theory he might have had no good ever springs from none but butler did not see that he wanted to frighten to bring her by shock to a of the of the thing she was he waited fully a week after his word had been given and then one afternoon when his nerves were won almost thin from the climax came he a deadly contest with his daughter in case he tried tc carry through this to its ultimate and all but still he did not really wanted to know definitely for himself it was one afternoon about november th w was most busy with the many other things that were troubling him that butler f took the contemplated action had ah the been and was now awaiting trial had been bringing him news from time to time of just how she thought her father was feeling toward him she did not get this evidence direct from butler of course he was too in so far as she was concerned to let her know how he was s final but from odd bits confided to who had confided them to who in turn innocently enough confided them to she could see that her father was doing something just what or how much she could not make out it was her greatly for one thing she had learned in this way of the new district attorney elect his probable attitude for he was a constant at the butler house or and had told that he thought was going to do his best to send up that the old man thought he deserved it was already bitter against her father for this she felt it was because of her relation with and nothing more in the next place she learned that her father did not want to in business did not feel he deserved to be allowed to it would be a god s if the community were shut of him he had said to one morning of some notice in the papers of s legal struggles and had asked why he thought the old man was so bitter the two sons not understand it had passed the on to she saw the point of course heard all this from her and more bits about judge the judge who was to try him who was a friend of butler s also about the fact that might be sent up for the full term of his crime but that he would be out could not learn that anything was to be done for wliich enraged her for she saw from what told her there was a conspiracy on to railroad him as a term had it or to make it just as hard for him as v the apparently was not very much frightened for he told her that he had powerful friends who would appeal to the governor to pardon him in case he was convicted and anyhow that he did not think that he could be convicted the evidence was not strong enough he was merely a political oat through public and her father s since the latter s receipt of the letter about them he had been the victim of butler s enmity and nothing more if it weren t for your father honey he declared i could have this in no time neither nor has anything against me personally i am sure they want me to get out of the street railway business here in philadelphia and of course they wanted to make things look better for at first but depend upon it if your father hadn t been against me they wouldn t have gone to any such length in me the victim your father has this fellow and these minor just where he wants them too that s where the trouble lies they have to go on oh i know replied it s me just me that s all if it weren t for me and what he he d help you in a minute he wouldn	43
t now any more but he would have sometimes you know i i ve been very bad for you i don t know what i ought to da if i thought it would help you any i d not see you any more for a while though i don t see what good that would do now oh i love you love you frank i would do anything for you i don t care what people think or say i love you h you just think you do petty he replied you ll get over it there are others there s no use crying over milk i don t see w s to be done about this right now others echoed and she was foolish about this financial genius the you there aren t any others they re all they won t do i just want one man my frank if you ever desert me i ll go to hell you ll see you ll be the cause don t talk hke that he replied almost irritated i don t uke to hear you you wouldn t do anything of the sort i love you you know i m not going to desert you it would pay you to desert me just now h how you talk she exclaimed desert you it s likely isn t it but if ever you desert me i u do just what i say i swear it don t talk like that don t talk nonsense i swear it i swear by my love i swear by your success my own happiness i ll do just what i say go to hell got up he was a little afraid now of this deep seated passion he had aroused it was dangerous he could not tell where it would lead following this conversation came the discovery of in the south sixth street house which the employment of the agency butler was in his on the afternoon named when who had been informed of the presence of and by the on guard drove rapidly up and butler to come with him the latter hurried down in a most state of mind in spite of the letter and s guilty eyes and her peculiarly attitude toward the european trip he could not believe he was actually to find her what would he say to if he did how reproach her what would he do to they drove rapidly to within a few doors of he place and a second on guard across the street butler and descended from he vehicle and together they approached the door t was now almost four thirty in the afternoon in a within the house was listening to s of her troubles certainly the situation was a pressing one and it must be met the you know i get desperately frightened sometimes said at one place in the conversation that was going on referring to her father he might be watching us you know i ve often wondered what i d do if he did i couldn t lie out of this could i you certainly couldn t said who never failed to respond to the of her she had such lovely smooth arms a throat and neck her golden red hair floated like an about her head and her large eyes sparkled the wondrous of a full womanhood was ill balanced romantic but exquisite you might as well not cross that bridge until you come to it continued i myself have been thinking that we had better not go on with this for the present that letter ought to have been enough to stop us for the time he came over to where she stood by the her hair you re a pretty he said don t there isn t anything going to happen here he slipped his arm about her and kissed her pretty mouth nothing sweeter than you this side of paradise he whispered in her ear while this was butler and the extra had stepped out of sight to one side of the front door of the house while taking the lead rang a negro servant appeared is mrs in he asked using the name of the woman in control i d like to see her just come in said the maid and indicated a reception room on the right took off his soft wide hat and entered it when the maid went up stairs he immediately returned to the door and let in butler and the second who was now accompanied by a third the four stepped into the reception room in a few moments the madam the as the current word this type of woman appeared those who are at all familiar with the may at once anticipate a type which will not be far wrong of good height usually over forty more often from choice than from nature and with a wisdom concerning life gathered by a form of contact which cannot by any stretch of the imagination be considered pleasant this particular woman mrs was tall fair rugged and not at all unpleasant to look upon she had light blue eyes and a genial smile long contact with the police and the of sex in her early life had made her wary a little afraid of how the world would use her this particular method of making a being and she having no other practical knowledge at her command she was as anxious to get along peacefully with the and the public generally as any struggling in any walk of life might have been she had on a loose blue or dressing gown open at the front tied with blue ribbons and showing a uttle of her expensive beneath a large ring her left middle finger and of vivid blue were from her ears she wore yellow leather slippers with bronze and altogether her appearance was not out of keeping	43
with the character of the reception room itself which was a of gold wall paper blue and cream colored carpet heavily gold framed of and a gilt framed pier mirror which rose from the floor to the ceiling needless to say that butler was shocked to the soul of him by this suggestive atmosphere which was supposed to include his daughter in its destructive reaches mr one of his to get behind the woman between her and the door which he did sorry to trouble you mrs he said using her the current name but we are looking for a couple who are in your house here we re after a girl we don t want to make any disturbance merely to get her and take her away mrs da ds and opened her mouth don t make any noise or try to scream or we ll have to stop you my men are all around the l ous nobody can get out do you anybody by the name of mrs fortunately from one point of was n t of a particularly ner ous nor yet type she was more or less philosophic she was not in touch with the police here in philadelphia hence subject to exposure good would it do to cry out she thought the place was surrounded there was no one in the house at the time save and she did not know by his name nor by hers they were a mr and mrs to her i don t know anybody by that name she replied nervously fearing that she was to be made to pay severely for her part in a private tragedy isn t there a girl here red hair asked one of s who had been on guard and who now pushed ard and a man with a gray suit and a light brown they came in here half an hour ago you remember them don t you there s just one couple in the house but i m not sure whether they re the ones ou want i ll ask them to come if you wish oh i wish you wouldn t make any disturbance this is terrible we ll not make any disturbance replied if you don t just you be quiet we merely want to see the girl and take her away now you stay where you are what room are they in in the second one in the rear up stairs won t you let me go though it will be so much better i ll just tap and ask them to come out no we ll tend to that you stay where you are the you re not going to get into any trouble you just stay where you are insisted he to butler who however now that he had embarked on his grim task was thinking that he had made a mistake was a grown woman with a will of her own what he do what good would it do him to tap personally on the door or force his way in and make her come out he intended to kill if she were made to come here that would be enough she would then know that he knew all he did not care to quarrel with tie now decided in any way he was afraid to he was afraid of himself let her go he said grimly you watch tier tell the girl to come down stairs to me mrs on the moment that this was some family tragedy and hoping in an way that she could slip out of it peacefully started at once with and his at his heels they ascended the stairs and reaching the door of the room occupied by and she tapped lightly at the first knock and leaped to her feet she was usually not so nervous but to day for some reason she anticipated trouble s eyes instantly losing that color of mirth which had filled them before don t be nervous he said it s nothing i fancy the servant wants to give you something i ll go he started but interfered wait she said the tap came again then she went to the and opened it the least bit mrs exclaimed mrs in an nervous forced voice there s a gentleman who wishes to see you a gentleman to see me exclaimed astonished are you sure yes he says he wants to see you there are several the other men w th him i think it s some one who belongs to vou realized on the instant as did what had in all happened butler or mrs had them in all probability her father he wondered what he should do to protect her it was not at all improbable that butler might want to kill him but that did not disturb him he really did not pay any attention to that thought and he was not ril go down he said when he saw her pale face you stay here i ll get you out of this now don t you won tliis is my affair let me go first s mind was working like a rapidly ing machine she was wondering whether this really could be her father perhaps it was not might there be some other mrs a real one supposing it was her father he had been so nice to her in not telling the family in keeping her secret thus far he loved her she knew that it makes all the difference in the world in a child s attitude on an occasion like this whether she has been loved and and spoiled or the reverse had been loved and and spoiled she could not think of her father doing an i terrible physically to her or to any one else but it was so hard to to look into his eyes she had	43
attained a proper memory of him her fluttering wits told her what to do no frank she whispered excitedly if it s father you d better let me go i know how to talk to him he won t say anything to me if it is he and you go down it might make him very angry you stay here i m not afraid really i m not if i want you call you he had come over and taken her pretty chin in his hands and was looking solemnly into her eyes you mustn t be afraid he said i ll go down if it s your father you can go away with him i don t think he ll do anything either to you or to me k it is the he write me something at the office be there li i can help you in any way i will we can fix up something there s no use trying to explain this say nothing at all he had on his coat and overcoat and was standing with his hat in his hand when she was ready hat gloves and all he said now let me go first i want to see no please frank she begged let tne i know it s father who else would it be you can if i call nothing s going to happen i he won t do anything to me if you go it will only him angry let me go you stand in the door here f i don t call it s all right will you she put her two pretty hands on his and he the matter very carefully very well he said only ril go to the foot of the stairs with you they went to the door and he opened it outside were mr mr a mr a and mrs standing perhaps five feet away well said looking at mr there s a gentleman down stairs wishes to see the said it s her father i think he added quietly made way for who swept by at the presence of men and this exposure her had entirely returned she was angry to think her would make a public spectacle of her started to follow i d advise you not to go down there right away that s her father butler s name isn t it he don t want you so much as he her you may save trouble nevertheless walked slowly toward the lead of the stairs the made you come here father he heard ask or s reply he could not hear the room confronted by butler was now r r r c to stare to look h oo gray eyes beneath their brows v a of weariness and despair which she v lt oc before to think he should find v s to she should put him to this v ho s head solemnly and the worst of a i ob did not realize her s o va too yoimg too foolish too v a y ra nevertheless she was his o xv c i to find you in a place like this v v i s i i i she appeared i should have v c v v i have thought better of yourself i v v ai a made you come here v v heard she carried herself m v r v c o her up courage and i v v s v felt she had to have to see her z v spite of all her airs could not v c v co a he was too sad x a as a he said shaking his head s v c v i ct hi i yet ive had men c ir c oh the shame of this day s v y you ll be home with me v cr can you ve had c o should have thought she w v his hand in a strange ag n o he said under v n r s i c r t stand it don t this he s not k x the understood it was he was referring to that frightened her she hushed at once i m ready she nervously the old man led the way broken he felt lie would never to forget the agony of this hour chapter in spite of butler s rage and his determination to do many things to the if he could he was nevertheless so wrought up and shocked by the attitude of that he could scarcely believe he was the same man he had been twenty four hours before was so so defiant he had expected to see her wilt completely when confronted with her guilt instead he foimd to his despair after they were once safely out of the house that he had aroused a fighting quality in the girl which was not to his own she had some of his own and s she sat beside him in the little not his own in which he was driving her home her face and by turns as different waves of thought swept over her determined to stand her ground now that her father had so plainly her to declare for and her love and her position in general what did she care she asked herself what her father thought now what good what he thought do her she was in this thing she loved she was permanently disgraced in her father s eyes he had fallen so low in his parental f as to spy on her and expose her before other men strangers what real affection she have for him after this he had made a mistake according to her	43
think of any one who would be likely to take her in for any period without question there were a of young women of her own age and who were very friendly to her but there were few with whom she was really intimate the only person who stood out in her mind as having any real possibility of refuge for a period was a certain mary better as among her friends who had attended school with in former years and was now a teacher in one of the local schools the the family was consisting of mrs the mother a by profession and a widow her husband a house by trade having been killed by a falling wall some ten years before and her twenty three year old daughter who lived in a small two story brick house in cherry street near mrs was not a very good not good enough at least for the butler family to in their present exalted state went there occasionally for house dresses pretty dressing gowns and alterations on some of her more important clothing which was made by a very superior in chestnut street visited the house largely because she had gone to school with at st s when the outlook of the family was much more promising since then owing to the father s death and the superior change in s social position she had not seen so much of her and the mother and daughter had not done so well was earning forty dollars a month as the teacher of a sixth grade room in one of the near by public schools and mrs on the whole about two dollars a day sometimes not so much the house they occupied was their own free and clear and the furniture which it contained suggested the size of their joint income which was somewhere near eighty dollars a month had a piano which she could play only fairly well and mrs had a comfortable work room fitted with the implements of her trade in this crisis it was to the home of the turned in thought if her father really was not nice to her and she had to leave home for a time she i could go to the they would receive her and say nothing they would not ask her too many questions they were not y known to the other members of the butler family to have the latter suspect that she had gone there she might readily d the appear into the privacy of cherry street and not be seen or heard of for weeks the be delighted to have her until she make up her mind what to do it is an interesting fact to contemplate that the like the various members of the butler family never suspected of the least tendency toward a existence hence her flight from her own family if it ever came would be laid more to the door of a lovely than anything else r t is z i e ner cure i t i r e c t c the of l r j j h o have her as t hi i s ll over and up his i v r jt forget that had t ar d in all probability be r r r l r so but even that did not u r r hit cease her relations with the ir br t v as not absolutely certain that v r it be and in that case he i t v v li r the spectacle of his daughter ci ir ir r s ith a man whom respectable people h tv r not care to know must be got out cf h r tr j sphere got out soon whatever happened ar i s e mrs s proposition had been so y rejected something else would have to be arranged for butler was ready to consider any proposition which would save her but it must be a sound not open to her moods or the or of romance again he thought of his wife s sister in new and again of getting her to europe in some way if he could just think of something that would interest her to do something that would not seem in spite of the fact that it was like idle or new would scarcely be lively enough it would be difficult to keep her there except under and he did not care to attempt that unless it was absolutely necessary something must be done he the must take her in hand and save her she was a menace to the family as things stood heaven only knew how much harm she had done already he must act he his weary brain thinking of a known as the good shepherd near philadelphia which was in charge of an order of sisters where might be and restrained but that must be a last resort he thought of sisters who could be employed as one to accompany and on a trip or alone that was a fine idea he thought why had not that occurred to him before suddenly he recalled the sister who had taught music at st s sister who still came occasionally to see them a woman of fifty and charming from his point of view why not her had liked her did yet sister certainly then suggested by her another thought came to him that was music why not go abroad to wherever they went for that purpose with sister as a and study music a capital idea it was not too late was not too old she must accept this she must go at once he got up the third day from where he was sitting in his private office meditating this dread situation having meanwhile not had	43
one word with and decided to act she must go he must compel her he must talk to her at once tell her what he thought reproach her with her sins and her state of mind and then by sheer force of will power compel her to go it was a for him a deadly one he came home from his office very early in the afternoon hoping to find there in order that he might have a private interview with her and by good luck foimd her in she was sitting in her room reading she had had no taste to go out into the world these last few days she was too expectant of trouble to come she had been reading anything that came to her hand or pretending to do so and thinking she had written the how things stood and had asked for a out on the in spite of the she must see him her father she said had done nothing but she was sure he would attempt to do something he was merely recovering from thk shock of surprise k he attempted to her in any way she was thinking of running away she wanted to talk to about that she was merely waiting patiently the next afternoon when she would go out to meet him old butler spoke to her gently when he came in come into my room a while he said arose and followed when they were together safe from the hearing of the other members of the family he began without any of any kind ive been about ye and what ought to be done in this case you re on the road to ruin if ever there was one i tremble when i think of your immortal soul i want to do for ye my child before it s too late i ve been myself for the last month and more perhaps it was i had done or maybe had failed to do me or your mother that has brought ye to the place where ye are to day needless to say it s on my conscience me child it s a man you re at this day i d never be able to hold me head up again oh the shame the shame that i should have to see it but father protested who was a little at the thought of having to to a long which would relate to her duty to god and the church and her family and her mother and him she realized that all these were important in their way but and his point of view had given her another outlook on life they had discussed this matter of families parents children husbands wives brothers sisters from almost every point of view c o w p ei w ood s attitude had and colored her u the completely she saw things through his cold dire he was sorry for all the little ol personality that sprang up between people causing quarrels opposition and separation but they could not be helped people each other their points of view altered at varying hence changes religion he smiled it was for the weak the morals those who had them had them those who didn t didn t there was no explaining as for him he saw nothing wrong in the sex between those who were it was innocent and delicious in his arms unmarried but loved by him and he by her was as good and pure as any living woman a great deal purer than most without of blood mood mind sentiment such a relationship was impossible it would not occur with these things marriage or no a marriage it was perfect delightful one foimd in a given social order theory or scheme of things for purposes of social success in order not to offend to smooth one s path make things easy avoid useless criticism and the like it was necessary to create an outward seeming beyond that it was not necessary to do anything never fail never get caught if you did fight your way out silently and say nothing that was what he was doing in connection with his present financial troubles that was what he had been ready to do the other day when they were caught it was something of all this that was s mood as she listened at present but father she protested i love mr it s almost the same as if i were married to him he will marry me some day when he gets a divorce from mrs you don t understand how it is he s very fond of me and i love him he needs me butler looked at her with strange non understanding eyes he scarcely comprehended what she was talking the about so remote was all this from his understanding and theory of life needs you does he he asked you re in love with him and him a married man what about his wife and children i don t suppose they need him do they what talk have ye flung her head back she thought she saw how useless was with her father he did not understand her point of view could not of course it s true nevertheless she you just don t understand butler could scarcely believe his ears he had never heard such talk before in his life from any one let alone his own daughter it amazed and shocked liim he was quite aware of all the of politics and business but these of romance were too much for him he knew nothing about them to think a daughter of his should be talking like this and he and she or she ought to be he could not understand where she got such notions unless it was from the brain of how long have	43
ye had these notions my child he suddenly asked calmly and where did you get them ye certainly never heard anything like that in this house i warrant ye talk as though ye had gone out of er mind oh don t talk nonsense father angrily i m not a child any more i m twenty four years of age you just don t mr doesn t hke his wife he s going to get a divorce when he can and will marry me i love him and he loves ine and that s all there is to it is it though asked butler grimly determined by hook or by to bring this girl to her senses he could see that had had an easy victim here whatever he butler might have originally thought she was a strange determined girl ye ll be the no thought of his wife and children then the fact that he s goin to jail besides is ye d love him just as much in i suppose more maybe the old man was at his best speaking when he was a little sarcastic ye ll have him that way likely if at all blazed at once to a furious heat yes i know she sneered that s what you would uke i know what youve been doing frank does too you won t hurt him you can t you want to punish him on my account but he doesn t care i ll marry him anyhow i love him and i ll wait for him and marry him and you can do what you please so there ye u marry him will you asked butler and further astounded so ye wait for him and marry him ye ll take him away from his wife and children where if he were half a man he d be this minute instead of around with you and marry him ye d disgrace your father and yer mother and yer family ye u stand here and say this to me i that have raised ye cared for ye and made of you where would you be if it weren t for me and your poor hard mother and for you year in and year out ye re than i am i suppose ye know more about the world than i do or any one else that might want to say to ye i ve raised ye to be a fine lady and this is what i get talk about me not bein able to and ye a to be a robber an a a father exclaimed til not to you talking that way he s not any of the that you say i ll not stay here she moved toward the door but butler stepped in between her and it his face for the moment was flushed and swollen with anger but i m not through with him yet he went on ig the her i get him as sure as i have a name there s law in this land and i ll have it on him i ll show him whether he ll come into homes and parents of their children he paused after a time for s face was hard and tense by now resigned but indifferent it s too bad daughter he said quietly after a moment my anger get the best of me it wasn t that i intended to ye about when i ye to come in it s else i have on me mind i was perhaps ye d like to go to europe for the time bein to study music butler was really a person in a situation of this kind he really knew very little about women and romance he scarcely knew how to introduce his proposition he had made one mistake by allowing his anger to get the better of him and now he was making another following up this attack with a plea for a trip to europe ye re not quite yourself just at present ye re a rest it would be good for ye to go away for a while ye could have a nice time over there could go along with ye if you would and sister that taught you ye wouldn t object to her i suppose at the mention of this idea of a trip to europe again with sister and music thrown in to give it a slightly new form she was not such a fool but what she could see that her father was trying to be nice to her that he was taking the situation in which he had discovered her in the best possible way from his own point of view but she did not want to be made to be grateful it meant taking her away from she did not propose to leave philadelphia never never never so long as frank was in so much trouble and she was opposed to conversation on this score how could she her sole idea of happiness was to be near him i wish you wouldn t talk about that father she the b an having softened his explanation i don t want to go to europe now i don t want to leave philadelphia i know you want me to go but i don t want to think of going now i can t butler s brow darkened again but it be so fine for ye ye surely can t expect to stay here after he paused for he was going to say what has happened he knew she was very sensitive on that point his own conduct in hunting her down had been such a breach of courtesy that he knew she felt and in a way properly so still what could be greater than her own crime after he concluded ye have made such a mistake ye surely wouldn t want to stay	43
here ye won t be to keep up that a mortal sin it s against the laws of god and man he did so hope the thought of sin would come to the of her crime from a spiritual point of view but did not see it at all you don t understand me father she exclaimed hopelessly toward the end you can t i have one idea and you have another i don t believe in any religion any more the moment had said this she wished she had it was a slip of the tongue butler s face took on sad despairing look you don t believe he asked no not exactly not like you do he shook his head the harm that has come to yer soul he replied it s plain to me daughter that terrible has happened to ye this man has ruined ye body and soul must be done i don t want to be hard on ye but ye must leave ye can t stay here i can t permit ye ye can go to europe or ye can go to yer aunt s in new but ye must go somewhere i can t have ye here it s too dangerous it s sure to be out the papers be it next ye re i u v aa yet yer life is before you i tremble for soul but so long as ye re young and alive ye may come to yer senses it s me duty to be hard it s me tion to you and the church ye must quit this ye must lave man ye must ne er see him any i can t permit ye he s no good he has no i of marrying ye and it would be a crime against god man if he did no no never that the man s i a scoundrel a if ye had him ye d soon be the woman in the world he wouldn t be faithful to ye no he paused ye must go away i say it once and for all i mane it kindly i have yer best interests at heart i love ye but ye must i m sorry to see ye go i d rather have ye here no one be but ye must ye must make it all seem and or to yer mother but ye must go d ye hear ye must he paused looking sadly but firmly at his shaggy gray eyebrows she knew he meant this it was his most solemn his most religious expression now get all the clothes ye want he said fi yourself up in any way you say where ye want t go but get ready but i won t father replied equally solemn equally i won t go i won t leave ye don t mane to say ye will deliberately me when i m asking ye to do that s for yer own good will ye daughter yes i will replied i go i m sorry but i won t ye really mane that do ye asked butler but grimly yes i do replied grimly in return then i ll have to see what i can do plied the old man ye re still my daughter t fe are and i ll not see ye come to wreck and r o the ant cf what i know to be my solemn duty i ll iv ye a few more days to think this over not e in money or the likes of that ye can go to europe r anywhere ye in charge of sister ye an study or ye choose but go ye must here s an end of that there are laws in this land ill there are things that can be done to those who on t obey the law i foimd ye this time much as it me to do it i ll find ye again if ye try to le ye must change yer ways i can t have ye goin n as ye are ye understand now it s the last word this man up and ye can have anything ye choose e re my girl i ll do everything i can in this world to ye happy why why shouldn t i what else lave i to for but me children it s ye and the rest f them that i ve been and for all these years come now be a good girl ye love your old father don t ye why i rocked ye in my arms as a baby i ve watched over ye when ye were not bigger than what would rest in me two fists here i ve been a good father to ye ye can t deny that look at the other girls you ve seen have any of them had more what ye have had ye won t go against me in this f ni sure ye won t ye can t ye love me too much ye do don t ye he paused and put a big brown hand on s to she had listened to his plea not unmoved really lore or less softened because of the of it he could not give up her father just did ot understand he did not know what love was he had never loved as she had her frank to think of him she stood quite silent while butler appealed to her i d like to father she said really i would i love you i want to please you but i can t in this can t i love mr ood you don t really you don t the at the repetition of s name butler s v hardened he could see that she was th his carefully plea had failed it	43
t want anybody to know particularly no one of my family you re not going to run away for good are you asked curiously and gravely oh i don t know i don t know what i ll do i know hat i want to come away for a while anyhow the well of all things replied her friend wonders never cease do they but it will be so lovely to have you here will be so pleased of course we won t tell anybody if you don t want us to hardly any one ever comes here and if they do you needn t see them you can have this big room next to me oh that will be so nice i m perfectly delighted the school teacher s spirits rose to a decided height the old saw that it s an ill wind that blows nobody any good come on we ll tell right now they went down the stairs together lingering behind a little as they the bottom in upon her mother with oh isn t it lovely s coming to stay with us for a while she doesn t want any one to know and she s coming right away entered the room just as this was being said mrs who was holding a sugar bowl in her hand turned to survey her with a surprised but smiling face she was immediately curious as to why should want to come why leave home to her however butler s daughter was a woman grown capable of her own affairs and welcome of course as the honored member of so important a family it was very flattering to the to think that she want to come under any whatever they think i don t see how your parents can let you go but you re certainly welcome here as long as you want to stay the hearty n in which she said this and s normal enthusiasm caused to breathe a sigh of relief the matter of the expense of her presence to the came into her mind i want to pay you of course she said to mrs if i come the very idea butler the i ll do nothing of the sort you ll come here and vith me as my guest lo i won t if i can t pay i won t come replied n you ll have to let me do that she knew the could not afford to keep her veil we ll not talk about that now anyhow re mrs you can come when you like and as long as you like reach me some clean lie remained for and afterward went r satisfied that her problem had been solved her way was clear she could come here if she ed to it was all a matter of collecting a few or coming without bringing anything away must now go to meet in the hope that id been able to keep his appointment and would have to suggest chapter l beginning with that dramatic moment when h saw going down the stairs to meet her father had realized that he had in a mortal enemy it had astonished him greatly that thing had ended so peacefully even for the h had expected to encounter butler or or c all three and possibly be shot his reason told him tha butler had no particular claim on s sh was old enough to know what to do but he also realize that the old man was fond of her and what she had told him from time to time that her did not realize quite that she was grown up he va really astonished to think that butler was so foolish as t come there and get her for in his judgment if could finally snap the tie of affection which so bound to her family this would do it she count herself from now on more or less of an whether her father wanted her to or not practical speaking considered it quite all right th she should have left with her father promising to and also that he himself should not have appeared c butler that could only have been with and would not have served any good had not wanted him to defend her against her under the and he knew from his connection with the family that it was not to do so aside from being sorry for was d irritated that three or four should ha employed by butler to spy out his movements a the that now these people knew that he was guilty of this while it was not such a fatal thing for a man of his position to be caught in a resort of this kind it might readily be used in future situations against him it might x me out one never could tell these whom he did not know might spread it though he fancied that butler for s sake had taken good care that they should not he was surprised that the had allowed him to walk off so as he did after butler and went away saying no further word whatever he was wondering what butler would do next if the old had been angry before what would he be now and if he had done so much before what would he act now do returned to his office curious to hear the final of the argument between and her father and of course as to what his various court proceedings held in store for him he made no effort to communicate with but awaited her letter which came promptly it was as usual long affectionate and defiant her father had not been able to do anything with her she said up to that time when she wrote this letter the final con with butler had not been held she did not intend that he	43
you know i do i m crazy about you protested that she did not need so much that she did not really need any she had some at home but he put that aside he knew that she must have money don t talk honey he said i know what you need she had been so used to receiving money from her father and mother in comfortable from time to time that she thought nothing of it frank loved her so much that it made everything right between them she softened in her mood and they discussed the matter of letters reaching the conclusion that a private messenger would be safest for him to be sent to cherry street when finally they parted from being sunk in the depths by his uncertain attitude was now once more on the heights she decided that he did love her and went away smiling she had her frank to fall back on she would teach her father shook his head following her with his eyes she represented an additional burden in his way and butler be furious but what can i do he asked himself give her up p certainly not tear the veil from this illusion of the and make her feel so when he cared for her so much no there was really nothing for him to do but what he had done he did not want to lose her no least must come over this perfect scene of affection it would be a shame to spoil it his artistic nature at the thought better chance whatever might happen after all he reflected it might not work out so badly it might be made pretty clear that she had not run to him and any work that butler might choose to do would prove that if at any moment it became necessary to bring common sense into play to save the situation from a deadly climax he could have the secretly informed as to s whereabouts that show he had httle to do with it and they could try to persuade to come home again good might result one could not tell he would deal with the evils as they arose he drove quickly back to his office and returned to her home determined to put her plan into action her father had given her some little time in which to decide possibly he would give her longer but she would not wait having always had her wish granted in everything she could not why she was not to have her way this time it was about five o clock now she would wait all the members of the family were comfortably seated at the dinner table which would be seven o clock and then slip out chapter li on arriving home however was greeted by an unexpected reason for action this was the presence of a certain mr and mrs the former a well known engineer who drew the plans for many of the works which butler undertook it was the day before and they were eager to have and accompany them for a fortnight s stay at their new home in west a structure concerning the charm of which had heard much mr and mrs were exceedingly agreeable people comparatively young and surrounded by a of interesting friends in view of the protest had originally made and the fact that her father and mother her father for some reason seemed most friendly to the project decided to delay her flight and go she could not very well escape the presence of the who were for dinner and besides she from her father s attitude that he had not u his mind to anything radical as yet he was most cordial she did not realize that he had not solved for himself yet how he would compel her to go anywhere wit the rest of the family becoming fully aware of the situation and that the presence and invitation of the was as much of a relief to him as it was to him i lo had hoped that his solemn threat would be to x to acquiescence but if it were not ho was glad of a little further time in which to arrange a plan of action west being forty miles from il was that would attempt to the co while there her actions be too remarked by her friends so on hearing the pro of the he had shown approval at once wrote of the changed condition and and the latter breathed a sigh of relief at the time that this storm had probably permanently over in the meanwhile the day of s trial had een drawing near owing to the various facts which lad been to him by and others himself was under the impression that an was going to be made to him whether he facts it or not he did not see any way ut of his however it was to abandon and leave philadelphia for good which was the only way to guard his future and his financial friends was to stand trial as quickly possible and trust them to assist him to his feet in he future in case he failed he discussed the possibilities f an trial with who did not seem to think that there was so much to that in the first place a jury could not easily be by any one in the next place most judges were honest in spite of their political and would go no further than party bias would lead them in their and opinions which was in the main not so far the court of quarter part i where this trial as to take place was held in the famous independence at sixth and chestnut streets which was at this time as it had been for all of a century before the of	43
local and life it was a low building of red brick with a white wooden central tower of old dutch and english of the square the circle and the the total of a central portion and two t shaped brings lying to the right and left whose small oval old fashioned windows and doors were set with those the many so much admired by those who what is now known as here and in an addition known as state house row since torn down which expended from the rear of the building toward street were the offices of the the chief of the the chambers of council all the other important and offices of the city together v ith the four branches of quarter which sat to hear the growing of criminal ca es the city hall which was subsequently c at broad and market streets was then an attempt had been made to make the reasonably l ir e court rooms by putting in them raised i of dark surmounted by large behind which the judges sat but the attempt was not ver successful the boxes and generally were made too large and so the ms looked a cream colored wall was considered the thing to go ith black furniture so that was added but time and dust had made the combination dreary there were no pictures or ornaments of any kind save the over gas which stood on his honor s desk and the single swinging suspended from the of the ceiling fat and court officers concerned only in holding their did not add anything to the spirit of the scene two of them in the particular court in which this trial was held s part as to which should hand his in in r a glass of water one preceded his honor a fat to and from his honor s his business was to call loudly when the latter l honor the court hats off body i rise while a second standing at the left of honor when he was seated and between the and the witness chair in an un the way that and dignified old court u which begins hear ye hear ye hear ye and ends ul those of you having just cause for complaint draw ar and ye shall be heard you would have thought was of no importance in the world this beautiful and ble statement based on the majesty of the law in so r as it is based on the will of the people but it was only custom and indifference had allowed to fall so badly from grace a third guarded the r of the jury room and in addition to these there was resent a court clerk small pale candle with milk and water eyes and thin pork fat colored air and beard who looked for all the world like an and decidedly chinese and a court part one or room one where this to ery significant trial was to take place was presided over it this time by judge a lean of i man who had sat in this case originally as the examining when had been by the grand and who had bound him over for trial at this term was a interesting type of judge as go he was so and thin blooded that it as interesting to contemplate him he as learned in the law actually so far as life was con absolutely unconscious of that subtle f things that all written law and makes for he spirit and beyond that for the absolute of law as all wise judges know you could have looked t this lean body his gray hair his gray eyes without any depth of speculation in them his nicely but unimportant face and told im that he was without imagination but he would not ive believed you would have you for contempt court by the of all his uttle the up of every advantage listening to the voice of party and following the as nearly as he could the of property he was where he was it was not very far along at that his salary was only six thousand dollars a year his lit tie fame did not extend beyond the realm o local lawyers and judges but the sight of his quoted daily as being about his duties or rendering and such a decision was a great satisfaction to him he thought it made him a significant figure in the world behold i am not as other men he often thought and this comforted him he was very much flattered when a prominent case came to his and as he sat before the various and lawyers he felt as a rule very significant indeed now and then some of life would his really limited intellect but in all such cases there was the letter of the law he could hunt in the reports to find out what really thinking men had decided could scarcely be pointed to as an unjust judge but he was a party judge in principle or rather belief to the dominant party for his personal continuance in office and as such willing and anxious to do whatever he considered that he reasonably could do to further the party welfare and the private interests of his masters most people never trouble to look into the of the thing they call their conscience too closely they have no great at getting the matter of and morals straight for themselves whatever the opinion of the time is whatever the weight of great interests that they believe some one has since invented the phrase a minded judge there are many such was one he fairly property and power to him butler and and were great men sure to be right always because they were so powerful how did they come to be so powerful if they were not fair this d	43
s the s and s he had long heard he knew by with one light and what the situation was the party as the saw it had been put in a very bad position by s he had led astray more an ordinary city should have been led stray and although was guilty as the in the was more for having led him on so besides the needed a that was enough for in the first place later when the election was won nd it appeared that the party had not suffered so much le did not quite why it was that vas still so carefully included in the proceedings but he lad faith to believe that the leaders had some just grounds or not letting him off from one source and another he that butler had some private grudge against what it was no one seemed to know the general impression was that bad led butler into some financial transactions anyhow it was generally understood that for the good of the party and in order to teach a wholesome to dangerous men like t had been decided to allow these several to take their course i was to be quite as severely as for the moral effect on the lie was to be sent up if possible for being unfair io the was to be the for his crime in order that the party and the should appear properly righteous beyond that le was to be left to the mercy of the governor who could things up for him if he chose and if the leaders wished a the silly mind of the general public the various judges e quarter like girls in were supposed in their serene from life t to know what was going on in the realm politics but they knew well enough and knowing the particularly well from whence came their position and authority they were duly grateful the leaders wanted within reason and what the i could give without too great self sacrifice they h judge included chapter court room on the morning the trial began was no different from that of any other where cases of this ind are tried though because of the of the fact the importance of the personages involved the room as crowded judge was not in the room hen and his lawyer and his father and resident arrived the latter separately but t the same hour seeing that he had been summoned as witness but the scene was hardly less vivid than if had arrived for there was an expectant hush the place and an air of intense curiosity the of the amount involved in s cow s share in it the lurid of fire and the subsequent newspaper comment all had com to that native human curiosity which has so lit e to feed itself on in the ordinary drift of affairs the moment you introduce the elements of chance or fate into any human situation such as this immediately arouse human curiosity to the fullest te chance accident in the guise of the fire w made and alleged the had already freely commented on how strange was and yet how true to life that a fire in a thousand miles away should have made a of a man here in philadelphia now the wanted see the man who had made a fortune out of the of and who had thus lost it when entered with and j father quite fresh and looking the part of the the the man the its ill ii was really too much to r z h m h that a man like this would r r ei he w s no guilty but also no v ear s o the law his tr s l shrewd and lo n z v ry i nd both n en wore long dark i r y r in the latest mode co per all ro i v t in fair weather his tie however was of t v r f fi k l hue set with a large clear i r c i r was cut narrow and long and set r o his waistcoat buttons he wore only chains and no other ornaments of y kin he always ed impressive v n i an t yet sufficient and he n v r l n ro sc than he did to day f e n can e in after a time accompanied y his attendant who looked ir ore ike a y u er ti v han a human being and as h y can e st on the judge s ti z which he had been and rise tr audience arose as is the rule wh n he finally cleared away the various minor n i ns he ordered clerk mr able o oi the city o philadelphia frank a c v r v i which was i ne in a clear voice both mr d the district attorney and mr co v v x d s counsel were on their feet at once and d together with and r i ik had now in and was standing as the rt ire of the state of the ant had seated themselves at the long table inside railing which the space before the judge s proposed to judge for effect s sake more than anything else that this be but was a to try the case was the ow twelve men out of the usual list to serve for the month and was then ready to be by the opposing the business of im a jury was a rather simple thing so far as this was concerned it consisted in the like taking the names of all the called to serve in his court for the month some fifty in all	43
and putting hem each written on a separate slip of paper in a whirling spinning it a few times and then lifting out he first slip which his hand thus and settling on who should be no i his hand in times drew out the names of the twelve who were as their names were called ordered x take their places in the jury box in the order called observed this proceeding with a great of interest what could be more important than the men who were going to try him the process was loo swift for accurate judgment but he received a faint impression of middle men one man in particular however an old of sixty five with iron gray hair and heard shaggy eyebrows sallow complexion and stooped shoulders struck him as having that kindness of temperament and breadth of experience which he could for his own benefit in this case another a small sharp commercial man of some kind he took an immediate dislike to i hope i don t have to have that man on my jury he said to quietly you don t i ll challenge him we the right to fifteen on a case ike this and so has the settled back in his chair with a sense of he proposed to for himself whether some if these men were fit or not when the jury box was full the two lawyers waited for the clerk to bring them small board upon which slips of paper bearing the of the were fastened in rows in order the of their selection one two and three being in the first row four five and six in the second and so on it being the of the attorney for the to examine and challenge the first mr arose and taking the board began to question them as to trades or professions their knowledge of the case before the court and their possible prejudice for or against the prisoner the collection of men which now faced and his la er as well as the district attorney who hoped for a con was fairly representative of that social which the drag of the courts cast into the ocean of the city bring to the surface for purposes of this sort it was made up in the main of agents authors and every other kind of working citizen whose experience had fitted him for ice in proceedings of this character rarely would you have found a man of great distinction but very frequently a group of men who were possessed of no small of that interesting quality known as common sense each lawyer asked each whether he knew the present whether he was known to or had lost money in the panic or was a hide republican etc both lawyers looked them over now rather curiously those twelve plain men they had never seen before and decided quite at once that when his turn came he would prefer to dispose of a certain serene eyed mechanical with an undue of jaw and an air of self conviction whom he saw before him i will ask you to step out of the box mr he said and without any further explanation and mr who was a good judge of men smiled also he knew why the old man with kindly eyes shoulders a fuu gray beard and not to nicely trimmed hair decided to keep because looked wise and as though he had suffered much the a man would not be too eager to enforce the letter or the spirit of the law unfortunately mr had decided in his own mind that he did not want him on his own behalf was quietly examining the men and he was an accurate judge of their qualities a young who was possessed of a pale skin a wide forehead and hands struck him as being sufficiently to his personal charm to be worth while he whispered as much to who was standing beside him there was a shrewd jew a who was because he had read all the news of the panic and had lost two thousand dollars in street railway stocks there was a stout butcher with red cheeks blue eyes and hair whom said he thought was easily prejudiced and stubborn he was there was a thin manager of a small clothing store very anxious to be excused who declared that he did not believe in swearing at all by the bible judge him severely let him go there were some ten more in all men who knew of men who admitted they were prejudiced men who v hide bound and of this crime men who knew who were pleasantly one man was dropped because he was a and most likely friendly to the administration though he said not he was an another because he was a with a peculiar streak of prejudice and showing in his eyes so it went oh for a modem or to paint a jury by twelve o clock however a jury reasonably to both sides had been chosen looked them over finally he thought they seemed like fairly sensible considerate men young and old and so he said that as far as he was concerned they might be sworn accepted them also without further criticism chapter at two o clock sharp as district l attorney charged to present the case to the jury began his opening address in all such cases it is the district attorney who states to the the nature of the case that the people through the agency of the court are to present to it he stated in a very simple kindly way f or he had a most engaging manner that the as here presented charged mr frank a who was sitting at the table inside the jury rail first with second with third with as and fourth with of a certain	43
sum of money a specific sum to wit sixty thousand dollars on a check given him drawn to his order october which was intended to him for a certain of of loan which he as agent or of the check was supposed to have purchased for the city sinking fund on the order of the under some form of a which had been in existence between them and which had been in force for some time said fund being intended to take up such as they might mature in the hands d and be presented for payment for which purpose however the check in question had never been used now gentlemen said mr very quietly and innocently before we go into this very simple question of whether mr did or did not on the date in question get from the sixty thousand dollars for which he made no honest return let me explain to you just what the people mean when they him first ith second with third s the with as and fourth with on a check that is the check for sixty thousand dollars which he secured on the date in question without making any adequate return or indeed any return whatsoever now as you see there are four here as we lawyers term them and the reason there are four counts is as follows a man may be guilty of and at the same time or of or separately and without being guilty of the other and the district attorney representing the people might be uncertain not that he was not guilty of both but that it might not be possible to present the evidence one count so as to his adequate punishment for a crime which in a way involved both in such cases gentlemen it it customary to a man separate counts as has been done in this case now the four counts in this case in a way and confirm each other and it will be your duty after we have explained their nature and character and presented the evidence in regard to the fact to say whether the is guilty on one count or the other ot on two or three of the counts or on all four just as you see fit and proper or to put it in a better way as the evidence as you may or may not know is the act of taking away the goods or of another without his knowledge or consent and is the to one s own use of what is to one s care and management especially money as on the other hand is amply a more definite form of wherein one the act of carrying away the goods of another without his knowledge or consent on the person to whom the goods were delivered in trust that is the agent or on a check which the fourth charge is simply a more definite form of fixing charge number two in an exact way and the money on a check given for a certain definite purpose all of these charges as you can see gentlemen are in a way the they and each other the people through their representative the district attorney contend that mr the here is guilty of all four charges so now gentlemen we will proceed to the history of this crime which proves to me as an that this has one of the most subtle and dangerous minds of the criminal financial type and we hope by witnesses to prove that to you also mr because the rules of evidence and court x admit of no interruption of the in presenting a case went on to describe from his own point of view how had first met how he had himself into his confidence how httle financial knowledge had and so forth coming down finally to the day the check for sixty thousand was given how as claimed that te knew nothing of its delivery which constituted the base of the charge of how having it the supposed to have been purchased for the sinking if they were al all all of which said constituted the crimes with which the was charged and of which he was unquestionably guilty we have direct and positive evidence of all that we have thus far gentlemen mr concluded violently this is not a matter of or theory but of fact you will be shown by direct testimony which cannot be shaken just how it was done if after you have heard all this you still think this man is that he did not commit the crimes with which he is charged it is your business to him on the other hand if ou think the witnesses whom we shall put on the stand are telling the truth then it is business to him to find a verdict for the people as against the i thank you for your attention the stirred comfortably and took positions of ease in which they thought they were to rest for the time but the heir idle comfort was of short duration for mr low called out the name of mr george w who lame hurrying forward very pale very very his eyes as he took his seat in the witness chair his hand on the bible and swearing to tell the truth in a restless nervous manner ood studied him a moment carefully as he sat down and heir eyes met had no courage apparently any no he could not endure ood s steady examining eye though he knew now for he first time that was bent on lis truthful testimony with a hard he he nervously in his chair his hands kept opening ind closing and moving forward and backward on the side arms he certainly has got into a bad state physically to calmly and the latter agreed quite pleasantly they watched him	43
as mr began and all through his testimony but he never again looked at he could not for some reason though he really had the more truthful end of the argument was he george w yes where did he live at at spring garden street what was his business or occupation on october th last he was of the city of philadelphia and did he know the frank a who was sitting at this table here behind the speaker he did would he tell the gentlemen of the jury where how and under what circumstances he had first met the and would he please try to speak very loud and clear so that all the members of the jury might hear the member over here even mr cleared his voice which was a little weak he had first met mr in the early months of he could not remember the exact day it was during his first term as city he had been elected v i the to the office in the fall of he had been troubled about the condition of city loan which was below par and which not be sold by the city at anything but par mr had been recommended to him by some one mr he believed though he couldn t be sure it was the custom of city to employ or a in a crisis of this kind and he was merely following what had been the custom he went on to describe under steady and questions from the mind of mr just what the nature of this first conversation was he remembered it fairly well how mr had said he thought he could do what was wanted how gone away and up a plan or thought one out and how he had returned and laid it before under mr s skilful guidance just what this scheme was which wasn t exactly so flattering to the honesty of men in general as it was a to their and skill after much discussion of s and s relations the story finally got down to the preceding october when by dint of companionship long business understanding prosperous relationship etc the place had been reached where it was explained was not only handling several millions of city loan buying and selling for the city and trading in it generally but in the bargain had secured some five hundred thousand dollars worth of city money at an exceedingly low rate of interest which was being invested for himself and in profitable street car of one kind and another was not anxious to be altogether clear on this point but seeing that he was later to himself for this very crime of and that would soon follow in cross examination was not willing to let him be wanted to fix in the minds of the jury as a clever financial person and he certainly managed to indicate a very subtle the minded man the occasionally as one sharp point of his skill after another was brought out and made clear turned to look at he merely gazed with a steady air of intelligence and comprehension the examination now came down to the matter of the particular check for sixty thousand dollars which had handed on the afternoon late of october mr showed mr the check itself had he ever seen it yes where in the office of district attorney on october th or last was that the first time he had seen it yes before then yes when on october loth last would he kindly tell the jury in his own way just how and under what circumstances he first heard of it then mr twisted in his chair it was a hard thing to do it was not a pleasant on his own character and degree of moral to say the least however he cleared his throat again and began a description of that small but bitter section of his ufe s drama in which finding himself in a tight place and about to fail had come to him at his office and demanded that he loan him three hundred thousand dollars more in one lump sum there was considerable just at this point between mr and mr for the former was very anxious to make it appear that mr was out of the whole doth about this that his had never said that he was about to fail and that the had not been as much as three hundred thousand dollars got in his objection at this point and created a considerable diversion from the main theme because kept saying he thought or he believed object shouted repeatedly i move that that be stricken from the record as and the witness is not allowed to say the what he thinks and the knows it very your honor insisted i am doing the best i can to have the witness tell a plain straightforward story and i think that it is obvious that he is doing so object i your honor i insist that the district attorney has no right to prejudice the minds of the jury by flattering of the sincerity of the he thinks of the witness and his sincerity is of no importance in this case i must ask that your honor caution him plainly in this matter objection declared judge and went on with his case during this testimony stared at in a curious way you have thought he was tr to influence him mentally in some fashion he was pleased to see that had no intention or to shift or lie on any particular points the preceding district attorney had framed this case so as to try it solely on the merits of the question whether or not knowing that he was a at the time had appropriated to his own use sixty thousand dollars worth of the city s money	43
all the evidence admitted to the records of the case must tend either to or deny this fact s testimony in one respect was most important for it made plain what mr did not want brought out namely that and had had a dispute before this that had distinctly told that he would not loan him any more money that had told on the day before he this check and again on that very day that he was in a very desperate situation and that if he were not assisted to the extent of three hundred thousand dollars he would fail and that then both he and would be ruined the n the morning of this day according to he had ent a letter ordering him to cease city loan for the sinking fund it after their conversation on the same afternoon that secured the check for sixty thousand dollars from his s knowledge and it was subsequent to this latter again that sending to demand the return of the check was refused though the next day at five o clock in the afternoon made an this was dark testimony for ood if any one that all this was done without many vehement objections and exceptions made and taken by mr and subsequently when he was cross examining mr by mr they will greatly the chamber was at times with these two gentlemen s bitter and his honor was compelled to hammer his desk with his and to threaten both with contempt of court in order to bring them to a sense of order mr was most bitter in his of mr s motives and finally they nearly came to blows over the question as to whether mr was a as charged by mr the jury was amused and interested judge was highly you gentlemen will have to stop this or i tell you now that you will both be heavily this is a court of law not a bar room mr i expect you to to me and your at once mr i must ask that you use less methods your manner is offensive to me it is not becoming to a court of law i will not caution either of you again both lawyers as lawyers do on such occasions it really made but little difference their individual attitudes and moods continued about as before what did he say to you asked mr of mr after one of these troublesome on the that occasion october th last when he came to and demanded the loan of an additional three k thousand dollars give his words as near as remember exactly if possible object interposed mr vigorously exact words are not recorded except in s memory and his memory of them admitted in this case the witness has t general facts judge smiled grimly objection ruled he returned his pencil point to pas time exception shouted mr he said as near as i can remember on the arms of the witness chair in a ner way that if i didn t give him three hundred tho dollars he was going to fail and i would be poor an to the object shouted mr leaping to his your honor i object to the whole manner in which i examination is being conducted by the t evidence which the district attorney is here trying extract from the memory of the witness is defiance of all law and precedent and has no definite ing on the facts of the case and could not whether mr thought or not think that he was going to fail mr m give one version of this conversation or any that took place at this time and mr other as a matter of fact their are i see no point in mr s line of inquiry unless to prejudice the jury s minds toward accepting ca which the is pleased to make which it cannot possibly i think you to caution the witness to testify only in regard to tl that he exactly not to what he thinks he and for my part i think that all that has been s the to in the last five minutes might be well stricken out objection replied judge rather and who had been talking merely to overcome the weight of s testimony in the minds of the jury sat down mr once more approached mr now as near as you can remember mi i wish you would tell the jury what else it was that mr said on that occasion he certainly didn t stop with the remark that you would be ruined and go to the wasn t there other language that was employed on that occasion he said as far as i can remember replied that there were a lot of political who were trying to frighten me that if i didn t give him three hundred thousand dollars we would both be ruined and that i might as well be tried for stealing a sheep as a lamb ha he said that did he yes sir he did said how did he say it exactly what were his exact words demanded emphatically pointing a forefinger at in order to key him up to a dear memory of what had well as near as i can remember he said just that replied vaguely you might as well be tried for a sheep as a lamb exactly exclaimed mr whirling past the jury to look at i thought so pure your honor said rising to his feet on the instant all intended to prejudice the minds of the jury acting i wish you caution the counsel for the to confine himself to the evidence in hand and not act for the benefit of his c spectators smiled and judge noting the it frowned severely do you make that as an objection mr he asked i certainly do your honor insisted objection neither counsel for	43
the nor for the is limited to a peculiar routine of sion cr himself was ready to smile but he did not dare to when mr was through bringing out this unsatisfactory mr took mr in hand l could not make as much out of him as he hoped ill so far as this particular situation was concerned was the exact truth and it is hard to the of the exact truth by any of interpretation li it can sometimes be done with cure j cr wont over all the ground of s long relationship with and tried to make it appear that cow was invariably the disinterested not the in a subtle really criminal adventure li was hard lo do but he made a fine impression still the jury with minds it might not be fair lo c for seizing with upon a to got rich quick they thought but it i i was not worth while to throw a veil of innocence o or h human finally both law h wi h for the time being anyhow mr was called to the stand c was the s u o thin pleasant alert rather agreeable il that ho had in the of his y a p now but not otherwise changed u n v p y had saved for him by id ad lo inform the k iv v v s s were v v i o i for their o n benefit when actually it v v co o o v y i th v ore any real claim against v v i wh v o v w r o that watchful organization the lad issued one of its reports covering this and had had the pleasure of seeing md the others withdraw in haste naturally he was to even though once he had been x to cry in vain in his presence he was anxious now to do anything he could to help the banker but his truthful disposition prevented him from telling anything except the plain facts which were partly and partly not that he recalled s saying that he had purchased the that he was entitled to the money that was frightened and that no harm would come to him he certain in the city s books were produced as being accurate and others in s books which were also produced as being his testimony as to s astonishment on discovering that his chief clerk had given a check was against the latter but hoped to overcome the effect of this by his own testimony later during all the examination and cross examination by his lawyer and sat solemnly gazing at the witness for once he was fairly interested in this dizzy process of law he could not control this straightforward flow of evidence by he did not know that he wanted to in the main it was not altogether it was a very complicated case and the jury showed it in their faces up to now both and felt that they were doing fairly well however and that they need not be surprised if they won their case the of law chapter the trial moved on the witnesses for the followed one another until the state had built up an that satisfied mr when he announced that he rested at once arose and began a long argument for the dismissal of the case but judge would have none of it he knew how important the matter was in the local political world i don t think you had better go into all that now mr he said wearily after allowing him to proceed a reasonable distance i am familiar with the custom of the city and the as here made does not concern the custom of the i would like to hear your argument but i don t believe it do any good as i this case it is a question of fact one fact namely whether mr your did or did not on a certain date obtain a certain sum of money under false did or did not fail to perform certain duties under a given which in this case as i understand the charge of as now i can t enter into a discussion of that before a jury has had a chance to pass on the facts alleged your argument fc with the jury not with me i couldn t enter into that now you may renew your motion at the dose of the case motion denied district attorney who had been listening a sat down seeing there was no to soften the judge s mind by any of ai returned to who smiled at the result the we ll just have to take our chances with the jury said i was sure of it replied his employer then approached them and having the briefly from his angle of observation continued by them what he was sure the evidence would show his point of view as a matter of fact gentlemen there is no essential in the evidence which the can present and that which we the can present the is not so much in testimony as you will soon see for we are not going to dispute that mr a check from mr for sixty thousand or that he failed to put the of city loan that sum of money represented and to which he vas entitled in payment as agent in the sinking fund the now claims he should have done ve are going to claim that he had a right as the agent of he city doing and having done business with the city its treasury department for four years to under an agreement which he had with the city all of money and all of in the sinking until the first day of each succeeding month the first month following any given transaction the is going to ask you to believe that mr	43
knew at the time he received this check that he was going to fail that he did not buy the as he claimed with the view of placing them in fund and that knowing he was going to fail and that he could not subsequently deposit them he deliberately went to mr mr s secretary told him that he had purchased such and on the strength of a falsehood implied if not actually spoken secured the check and walked away now gentlemen i am not going to enter into a long discussion of these points at this time since the testimony is going to show very rapidly what the facts the are we have a number of witnesses here and we are all anxious to h ve them heard what i am going to ask you to remember is that there is not one of testimony outside of that which may possibly be given by mr george w which will show either that mr knew at the time he called on the city that he was going to fail or that he had not purchased the in question or that he had not the right to withhold them from the sinking fund as long as he pleased up to the first of the month the time he invariably struck a balance with the city mr the ex city may possibly testify one way mr on his behalf will testify another it will then be for you gentlemen to decide between them to decide which one you prefer to believe mr george w the ex city the former commercial associate of air who after years and years of profit solely because of conditions of financial stress fire and panic preferred to turn on his one time associate from whose labors he had so much profit or mr frank a the well known banker and who did his best to weather the storm alone who fulfilled to the letter every agreement he ever had with the who has even until this hour been busy in his efforts to remedy in so far as within him lies the financial forced upon him by fire and panic and who only yesterday made an to the that if he were allowed to continue in control of his affairs and so bring order out of chaos he would gladly repay as quickly as possible every dollar of his which is really not all his including the five hundred thousand dollars under discussion between him and mr and the city and so prove by his works not talk that there was no basis in fact for this unfair suspicion of his motives as you perhaps the city has not chosen to accept his offer and i shall try and tell you why later gentlemen for the present the we will proceed with the testimony and for the all i ask is that you give very dose attention to all that is to here to day listen very carefully to mr w c when he is put on the stand study him listen equally carefully to mr frank a when we call him to testify follow the other testimony closely and then you will be able to judge for es see if you can distinguish a just motive for this i can t i am very much obliged to you for listening to me gentlemen so carefully he then on behalf of put on arthur rivers who had acted for on change as special agent during the panic to testify to the large quantities of city loan he had purchased to stay the market and then after him s brothers edward and joseph who had come to later in the day and who to instructions received from rivers as to buying and selling city loan on that occasion principally buying the next witness after these was president w c of the national bank he was a large man physically not so of body as full and broad his shoulders and chest were ample he had a big head with an ample breadth of forehead which was high and sane looking he had a thick nose which however was and thin firm even lips there was the faintest touch of c in his hard blue eyes at times but mostly he was friendly alert without seeming in the least sentimental or even kindly his business as one could see plainly was to insist on hard financial facts and one could see also how he would naturally be drawn to frank without being mentally or upset by him had the type of financial mind which he admired as he took the chair very quietly and yet one might say significantly it was obvious that he felt that this sort of legal financial was above the the average man and beneath the dignity of a true in other words a bother the drowsy holding up a bible beside him for him to swear by might as well have been a block of wood his oath was a personal matter with him it was good business to tell the truth at times he looked over to where sat but did not attempt to take his eye he knew that knew that he liked him and would do anything within the lines of financial safety and his personal comfort to assist him his testimony was very direct and very simple he had known mr frank for nearly ten years he had done business with or through him nearly all of that time he knew nothing of his personal relations with mr and did not know mr personally as for the particular check of sixty thousand dollars es he had seen it before it had come into the bank on october loth along with other to an on the part of co i was placed to the credit of co on the books of the bank and the bank	43
secured the cash through the clearing house no was drawn out of the bank by co after that to create an the bank s with was nevertheless mr might have drawn heavily and nothing would have been thought of it mr did not know that mr was going to fail did not suppose that he could so quickly he had frequently his account with the bank as a matter of fact it was the regular course of his business to it it kept his in use which was the height of good business his were protected by however and it was his custom to send bundles of or or both which were distributed to keep things straight mr s was the largest and the active in the bank mr kindly volunteered en mr had failed there had been over thousand dollars worth of of city loan in the bank s possession which mr had sent there as mr on cross examination tried to find out for the sake of the effect on the jury mr was not for some motive favorable to mr it was not possible for him to do that mr followed and did his best to render the favorable points made by mr in mr s behalf perfectly clear to the jury by having him repeat them mr objected of course but it was of no use mr managed to get in his point now decided to have take the stand and at the mention of the latter s name in this connection the whole court room up came forward briskly and quickly and one could scarcely expect a witness to present a more effective more reasonable appearance on the he was so calm so so defiant of life and yet so courteous to it these lawyers this jury this straw and water judge these of fate did not disturb or or him he saw through the mental of the jury at once he estimated mr and mr at their true d respective he wanted to assist mr to disturb and mr but his reason told him that only an fabric of fact or seeming would do it he believed in the financial of the thing he had done he was entitled to do it life was war particularly financial life and was its its duty its necessity why should he bother about petty minds which could not understand this he did not propose to bother his was to deceive or to them to feed their non with a fat seeming of some the kind let them be fed with sentimental or straw if possible and be persuaded to believe that it was solid food as for him he would go his way get strong and powerful because he could not so be fed he went over his history for mr and the jury and put the most comfortable light on it that he could he had not gone to mr in the first place he said he had been called he had not urged mr to anything he had merely shown him and his friends financial possibilities which they were only too eager to seize upon and they had seized upon them it was not possible for mr to discover at this period how he had organized his street car companies so that he could have shaken out mr and his friends without their being able to voice a single protest so he talked of these things as opportunities which he had made for and others mr was not a neither was mr they had to believe in a way though they doubted it partly particularly was not responsible for the custom prevailing in the office of the city he said he was a banker and the jury looked at him and believed all except this matter of the sixty thousand dollar check when it came to that he explained it all enough when he had gone to see those several last days he had not fancied that he was really going to fail he had asked for some money it is true not so very much all things considered one hundred and fifty thousand dollars but as should have he was not disturbed in his manner had merely been one resource of his he was satisfied at that time that he had many others he had not used the language or made the urgent appeal said he had although he had pointed out t that it was a mistake to become panic in any way or to withhold further credit the his easiest his resource but not his only one he thought as a matter of fact that his credit would be greatly extended by his principal money friends if necessary and that he would have ample time to patch up his affairs and keep things going the storm should blow over he had told of his extended purchase of city loan to stay the market on the first day of the panic and of the fact that sixty thousand dollars was due him had made no objection it was just possible that he was too mentally disturbed at the time to pay close attention after that to his s surprise unexpected pressure on great financial houses from directions had caused them to be not willingly but severe with him this pressure coming the next day had compelled him to close his doors though he had not really expected to up to the last moment his call for the sixty check at the time he had called for it was purely he needed the money of course but it was due him and his clerks were all very busy he merely asked for and took it personally to save time knew if it had been refused him he would have brought suit the matter of city loan in the sinking when purchased for the city was something to which	43
he never gave any personal attention whatsoever his mr attended to ll that he did not know as a matter of fact that they d not been deposited this was a lie he d know as for the check being turned over to the national bank that was it might just s well have been turned over to some other bank if the conditions had been different he was through finally and the effect on the jury of his testimony and his personality was peculiar the young mr richard marsh w th his face and weak eyes that all that he said was quite true he had not intended to rob the city of sixty thou the sand dollars on the other hand a by the name of the owner and manager of a chicken and egg business philip no i studied s face with a great deal of interest and decided that he was lying he could not see how it was possible that could not know the day before that he was going to fail he must have n he thought anyhow the whole series of transactions between him and seemed deserving of some punishment and all during this testimony he was thinking how when he got in the jury room he would vote guilty he even thought of some of the arguments he would use to convince the others that was guilty no on the contrary a thought he understood how it all came about and decided to vote for he did not think was innocent but he did not think he ed to be punished no an thought was but at the same time that he was too to be sent to prison no charles an a and a somewhat religious minded person thought was guilty and ought to be punished no philip a coal merchant thought he was guilty and at present he thought little more about it no a expert thought he was probably guilty but he could not be sure uncertain what he would do no j j bridges a in third street small practical narrow thought was shrewd and guilty and deserved to be punished he would vote for his punishment no e general manager of a small company was might or might not be guilty he did not know no joseph a retired thought was probably guilty as charged but to it was no crime was entitled to do the as he had done the circumstances would vote for his no lo richard marsh the young was as we have seen for in a sentimental way he had as a matter of fact no real convictions no ii richard a small but physically was for s conviction he thought him guilty he is guilty he said to himself stoutly no washington b thomas a flour merchant thought was guilty but in a recommendation to mercy after him so men ought to be was his so they stood and so left them wondering whether anything he had said had had a favorable effect or not i chapter the legal arguments for the and for the state had drawn to their weary close both and had done their best with the evidence at their command and the case was ready to go to the it had grown dark and by the of the street lamps outside one could see that it was the judge stirred among his papers turned solemnly to the and began the customary explanation of the law known as his instructions this formality occupied some twenty minutes during which time looked at the jury curiously wondering what they had actually thought were thinking what would they decide he sat and meditated on this while judge finished his instructions and asked the jury to retire which they did passing down a side aisle toward which was facing judge left the bench for the time being then turned to his father who now came over across the fast court and said well well know now in a httle while all about this ye replied a little wearily i hope it comes out right i saw butler back there a little while ago did you to whom this had a peculiar interest yes replied his father he s just gone so thought butler was curious enough as to his fate to want to come here and watch him tried he had slipped in not expecting to be seen possibly was his tool judge was his the in a way he might defeat him in the matter of his daughter but it was not so easy to defeat him here unless the jury should happen to take a sympathetic attitude they might him and then butler s judge would have the privilege of him giving him the of sentence that would not be so nice five years he cooled a little as he thought of it but there was no use worrying about what had not yet happened came forward and told him that his was now ended had been the moment the jury left the room and that he was at this moment actually in the care of the whom he knew unless he were by the jury added he would have to remain in the s care an application for a of reasonable doubt be made and acted upon he and and the latter s father now stalked ch with the s subordinate a small man by the of who had approached to take charge they entered a small room called the pen at the back of the court where all those on trial whose liberty had been by the jury s leaving the room had to wait its return it was a dreary high four square place with a window looking out into street and a second door leading off into somewhere ne had no idea where it was dingy with a	43
worn wooden floor some heavy plain wooden benches the four sides no pictures or ornaments of any kind a single two arm gas pipe descended from the of the ceiling it was by a peculiarly stale and obviously of all the d of life criminal and innocent that had stood or sat in here from time to time waiting patiently to learn what a fate held in store was of course disgusted but he was too self and capable to show it all his life he had been almost fastidious in his care of himself the here he was coming in contact with a form of j to which he objected very much and it upon him greatly they were of like this horrible and this was only a brief of what in the providence of chance might become in a few moments a more enduring reality five days in a little while longer years ghastly his jaw and he pulled himself together in order not to make some remark which would show that he was thinking of this who was beside him very cheerful and made some comforting remarks not as nice as it might be he said but you won t mind waiting a little while the won t be long i fancy that may not help me he replied walking to the window afterward he added what must be must be his father suppose frank was on the verge of a long prison term which meant an atmosphere this good heavens for a moment he trembled then for the first time in years he made a silent an appeal which prayer is meanwhile the great had been begun in the jury room and all the points that had been upon in the jury box were now being openly discussed here the man who is supposed to take ge of the jury in the jury room and in a way to it a purely labor is no i in this instance philip the chicken and egg dealer but because he was a little backward mr who had served on many spoke up and said he thought that the best way to begin would be to a dot s de way we usually work on he volunteered with a slightly german accent and offered around some cigars all but the and the washington thomas had cigars of their own and produced them but these two accepted richard marsh the young who had been persuaded in a way by s looks at first had been shaken a little in his faith by s attack marsh was not much of a personality all told not much of an individuality mr having had his duty or rather the custom of his position indicated to him by mr took his seat in the central chair and said he would ask all those in favor of to hold up their hands the first stood guilty not guilty a curious result of the general of the jury up to this time which needs to be explained although the law that it must never be known who how on any jury whatever the result it is to explain in this instance philip charles the irish american philip the coal merchant the young expert j j bridges the little richard the and washington b thomas the flour all guilty for various and sundry reasons some positively some some on the other hand the jew the e the joseph the rather old retired and richard marsh the yoimg all not guilty young marsh s vote was veiy s was rather positive the other side was not at all certain d washington b thomas was thinking hard tlie others were fairly well fixed e was not certain he was to think that deserved a show but he really did not believe it his conscience was troubling him on argument he would change his vote and he felt it it is interesting to see how a jury will and in a case like this how curious and the tain is the process by which it makes up its so called mind so called truth is such a thing at best facts are capable of such curious and interpretation honest and otherwise this jury had a strongly complicated problem before it and it went over it and over it one after another venturing a thought one after another asking a question isn t it a fact asked j j bridges in one place his little red eyes taking in his fellow quite like an impertinent crow that we have to decide this question solely on the evidence as to whether did or did not take that sixty thousand dollar check after he knew he was going to fail and whether he had or had not put the he said he had purchased in the sinking fund there isn t any other question is there his early dealings with haven t anything to do with this trial as i understand it wasn t that what judge pointed out it was echoed charles the with a faint irish tinge in his voice you could have read conviction in that voice if you had heard it s fate it s quite true observed generously dot speaking we can only consider dose facts what you mention but we look at de t ing as a whole dose two fellows were doing business weren t observing de law ever but didn t start dis business in de first place city and done dot before did i d see but what under de circumstances had a right to expect dot de would stand by him if he had i guess he wouldn t be in no position like he is to day anyhow dot s de way i feel about it he may be guilty all right i t ink he is	43
but do we want to punish him dot s de question it ain d de same as if he broke into a house and took t hundred dollars or knocked a man down on de the street and robbed him you look at de way de whole t ing come about he wouldn t a took de sixty t dollars if he hadn t been business with de city treasury in dot way dot s one t ing sure mr went on to more in this vein but he was interrupted by mr washington b thomas the flour merchant whose ordinary commercial manner had long since been over by a rather philosophic air he was inclined to look very wisely and over his spectacles gentlemen he said pleasantly i think we will have to look at this question from many points of view before we can reach a decision there is no doubt in my mind that there is much to be said for the first gentleman s argument i don t know your name he paused catching mr bridges s eye bridges is my name j j bridges there is much to be said for mr bridges s point and equally as much i think for he turned to who supplied his own name promptly for mr s there is something in both these points of view no doubt we must strictly to the evidence concerning the actual transfer of this check i no doubt morally we ought to think of what mr suggests in addition i believe we ought to consider mr himself his moral and the justice we owe to the city of philadelphia as i look on it now it strikes me that mr and mr are men without any moral conscience whatsoever they don t seem to or to have known what respect for law is there is no question in anybody s mind i presume that these two men and all the other men that were associated with them knew what they were doing that is they knew they were breaking the law but you see so far as the evidence shows it didn t make any difference to either of them i don t suppose mr or mr ever the thought of the people of philadelphia or the ct the money they were didn t belong to them they did not suggested mr the emphatically mr s manner amused mr who smiled to himself none of the others seemed to notice it and i don t suppose continued mr thomas that they would have cared if they had thought the rights of the people who make up the of philadelphia would not have meant anything to either of them it was their own advancement they were seeking at the expense of everybody and they thought that was just right now the question is to my mind what are you going to do with a man when you catch him red handed in a thing of that sort i know there are plenty of people nowadays who believe that he is justified in such after himself regardless of everybody else but where is the limit what laws if any do you or don t you have to obey isn t there a duty that comes in here somewhere to other people to the city of philadelphia for instance and if a man hasn t that sense of duty to his fellow men how are you going to give it to him when you catch somebody like or what are you going to do with him him loose again will he do any better if you don t punish him will he have any sense of duty any conscience in the future he paused and looked around and found that he had interested the whole company of men they were looking at him as a or at least that a man with convictions mr thomas was a rather well man of fifty five with a full but not over heavy body of perhaps five feet nine inches tall and a nicely like head he wore a full beard and cut rather close though and a pair of black steel spectacles his hair and beard were gray and his whole make up breathed a certain well preserved vitality of body and d q the thought he was quite a personage even if he was a flour merchant gentlemen i suggest dot we take vote mr and at this mr seeing bow the previous vote had gone asked all those in favor of conviction to raise their hands all but mr and mr did so the heaved a kind of sigh they were glad the majority that the general of opinion was up well that makes ten to two for conviction gentlemen observed mr in a rather though sufficiently business like manner it is amazing how a manner sometimes under the most circumstances can t we get together on this gentlemen and agree to make it unanimous none of us wants to stay here any longer than we can help got up strolled to the window and announced that it was hard he extracted a from his case and lit it charles and philip who sat beside him joined in a private conversation agreeing that there was no question as to s guilt and wondering how any of the could stand out and j j bridges joined in an issue as to facts and e sought out washington b thomas for further confirmation of his wavering mind mr sat alone smoking solemnly and when tried to strike up a conversation with him it was without much success he wasn t very bright and his ideas about life in general were few and fixed mr richard marsh the went over to listen to the discussion between j j bridges and it is curious what it is that causes to	43
reach not much definite conclusions as very often a will have concluded little so far as its individual are concerned when yet it will have reached the a verdict the matter of time as all lawyers know plays a part in this speaking of the members and frequently object to the amount of time it sometimes takes to decide a case they do not enjoy sitting and over a problem unless it is fascinating the of the mystery or the become a weariness and a bore the jury room itself becomes a dull agony they become sick of every detail on the other hand no jury a v of satisfaction there is something so e in the human mind that to leave a problem is plain misery it the average individual like any other important task left unfinished men in a jury room like those of a crystal which and philosophers love to upon love finally to arrange themselves into an orderly and artistic whole to present a compact intellectual front to be whatever they have set out to be properly and right a compact sensible jury one sees this same instinct displayed in every other phase of nature in the drifting of sea wood to the sea in the of air on the ace of still water in the architecture of so many insects and forms which make up the substance and the texture of this world it would seem as though the physical substance of life this apparition of form which the eye and calls real were shot through with some vast that loves order that is order the of our so called being in spite of our so called reason the dreams of a mood know where to go and what to do they represent an order a wisdom a willing that is not of us they build orderly in spite of us so the spirit of a jury at the same time one does not forget the strange effect of one personality on another the varying effects of varying the types on each other a solution to use the work in its purely sense is reached in a jury room the thought or determination of one or two or three men if it be definite enough is likely to the whole room and conquer the reason or the opposition of the majority one man standing out for the definite thought that is in him is apt to become either the leader of a mass or the battered of a flaming concentrated intellectual fire men despise dull opposition that is without reason in a of all places a man is expected to give a reason for the faith that is in him if one is demanded it will not do to say i cannot agree have been known to fight the bitterest have been in these close quarters which have lasted for years have been in their local for their or conclusions men in jury rooms want thought explanation agreement and if they cannot have it they become sullen bitter like water chapter this general discussion ended in nothing special all the phases of the trial were gone over in detail by one group and another richard marsh by listening to and j j bridges arguing was left mentally about where he was before he had both guilty and not guilty and still he was not quite certain e the spare general manager of the company after his extended conversation with washington b thomas was considerably comforted these men were somewhat alike in their mental attitude only thomas was more of the clear speaking from an for all his vulgarity of address had more of the s clearness of vision the trouble with was that if he foimd in a hopeless for long he was apt to compromise to give the game to the majority merely because it was the majority and because he did not care to dog up the processes of life whatever they might be good bad or indifferent joseph who had not guilty philip and had joined in an interesting argument finally as to whether the court had insisted as mr bridges had explained at the opening of these that only the proof as to whether had or had not received the check as and whether he had or had not deposited the city loan as required by law was to rule in reaching a verdict were none of his previous relations with to weigh in the matter insisted they must the philip declared no and j j bridges came up finally and the second very interesting question was raised as to whether this should not be referred to judge for further instructions charles and philip who had agreed absolutely as to s guilt were not certain now as to whether one could reasonably find him guilty on au four although they had heard quite clearly what the court had said they decided that the judge might have meant something else there was a solemn out in the lonely poorly lighted court room then after a time the rather and return of judge who went over the situation again at length trying to clear up their minds and finally sent them back was not in the room at the time and he was a little disturbed when he learned that the jury had been in it looked ominous but assured him that frequently came back for further instructions and then it was not a bad sign at all so they continued to wait in the bare dreary pen lighted by a thin two jet gas arm while the jury went on with its the argument in the jury room again strong and solemnly that in spite of the instructions of the court the jury should think of how had assisted and vote not guilty give him another chance joseph said he	43
thought it was a shame to punish a man for doing exactly what any other man would do imder the circumstances during the drag of moments and those who had made up their minds came to feel sick of the waste of time why sit here and when ten men all equally good in brain and of life were agreed that the was guilty why keep ten good men tried and true waiting p p was anxious to get home to his wife and his comfortable bed had originally the planned an evening at his club and was now restless and irritated felt this and beg j to if ten men felt so strongly about this wh shouldn t he give in why argue was not innocent by any means a recommendation to the court for mercy would do as well or nearly so still joseph s determination to stick strengthened him for a time after a third a fourth a fifth and a sixth in which the vote stood ten to two and much argument was indulged in even some hard finally shifted saying veil i want to stand out if all you feel dis way i t ink we ought to ask de court to be joseph was all alone now and an interesting but sorry fight he made of it he was not a strong man physically he was no longer yoimg and he did not that was innocent he merely felt that he was able and deserving it seemed such a shame to him though to a man for doing exactly what any other man would do under the same circumstances he saw s position as a whole still he did not know the man from any other man he had never seen him before he had merely read about him it was now ten thirty faced the united gaze of philip philip charles richard and j j bridges and these men were determined the others were not so significant for some reason and yet the attitudes of washington b thomas and e appealed to him more they talked about the mercy of the court and the duty of the jury to philadelphia etc about midnight he yielded and then only because he wondered why he was fighting so hard for who was nothing to him and why he should thus inconvenience himself when he was so very tired perhaps after all deserved some punishment there was more now as to whether the verdict should be guilty on all four counts as charged in the le since the jury did not understand how jo between the various charges very well decided it should be on all four and a ion to mercy added afterward this last was either he was guilty or he was not the judge see as well as they could all the perhaps better why tie his hands as a rule attention was paid to such anyhow and it only made the jury look so finally at ten minutes after twelve they were ready to return a verdict and judge who because of his interest in the case and the fact that he lived not so far away had decided to wait up this long was recalled and were sent for the court room was fully lighted the the clerk and the were there the jury filed in and with at his right took his position at the gate which gave into the space where prisoners always stand to hear the verdict and listen to any of the judge he was accompanied by his father who was very nervous he stood here now looking at this jury the members of which did not look at him waiting for judge and wondering what they had really decided for the time in his life he felt as though he were walking in his sleep was this the real frank of two months before so wealthy so so sure was this only december th or th now it was after and on october th last he was unconscious that the fire was about to break out why was it the jury had so long what did it mean here it was midnight and they had just agreed this mid jury here they were now standing and gazing before them and here now was judge mounting the steps of his his hair out in a strange attractive way his familiar for order he did not look at the wood it would not be courteous but at the jury who gazed at him in return at the words of the clerk gentlemen of the jury have you agreed upon a verdict mr spoke up we have do you find the guilty or not guilty we find the guilty as charged in the felt an odd unusual thrill pass over him what a strange position for him to be in he frank all these years he had been plunging so briskly so ahead toward wealth and he would have added fame but he could not be sure that he cared so much for fame anyhow fame went with great wealth greatly achieved and now suddenly he was stopped it was truly as though all of a sudden a strong wall had come between him and his future and unpleasant thought it was a prison wall here it was right here before him now and there were the twelve men who were making it possible for it to be there who were putting it there as a matter of fact how had they come to do this because he had taken a check for sixty thousand dollars which did not belong to him but in reality it did good lord what was sixty thousand dollars in the sum total of all the money that had passed back forth between him and george w nothing nothing a	43
mere in its way and yet here it had risen up this miserable insignificant check and become a mountain of opposition a stone wall a prison wall his further progress it was astonishing he looked around him at the court room how large and bare and cold it was still he was frank a why should he let such queer thoughts disturb him his fight for freedom and privilege and was not over yet good heavens it had only begun in five days he would be out again on would take an appeal he would be out and he would have two long months in which to make an the fight he was not down yet he would win lis liberty this jury was all wrong a higher court say so it would reverse their verdict and he it he to where the latter was the clerk the jury in the hope that some one had been over persuaded made to vote against lis will is that your verdict he heard the clerk ask of philip no i it is replied that worthy solemnly is that your verdict the clerk was pointing to yes sir is that your verdict he pointed to yes so it went through the whole jury all the men answered firmly and clearly though thought it might barely be possible that one would have changed his mind the judge thanked them and told them that in view of their long services this night they were dismissed for the term the only thing remaining to be done now was for to persuade judge to grant a stay of sentence the hearing of a motion by the state supreme court for a new trial judge looked at very curiously as asked that the sentence be stayed until a motion for a new trial could be entertained by the supreme court and owing to the importance of the case and the feeling he had that the supreme court might very readily grant a of reasonable doubt in this case he agreed there was nothing left therefore but for to return at this late hour with the to the county jail where he must now remain for five days at the least possibly longer the jail in question which was known as the prison was at tenth and re streets and from an and artistic point o view was not so to the eye it consisted of a central portion prison residence for the or you will three stories high with a and a round tower about one third as high as the central portion itself and two wings each two stories high with at either end giving it a highly and consequently from the american point of view a very prison like appearance the of the prison which was not more than thirty five feet high for the central portion nor more than twenty five feet for the wings was set back at least a hundred feet from the street and was continued at either end from the wings to the end of the street block by a stone wall all of twenty feet high the structure was not severely prison like for the central portion was pierced by rather large hung on the two upper stories with curtains and giving the whole front a rather pleasant and air the wing to the right as one stood looking in from the street was the section known as the county jail proper and was devoted to the care of prisoners serving out sentences on some order the wing to the left was devoted exclusively to the care and control of prisoners the whole building was built of a smooth light colored stone which on a snowy night like this with the few lamps that were used in it glowing feebly in the dark gave it an fantastic almost supernatural appearance it was not in the least it was a rough and night when started for this institution imder ess the wind had sprung up driving the snow before it in curious interesting the s on guard at the court of quarter who accompanied and his father and to the jail was a the little man dark with a short and a shrewd though not highly intelligent eye who was anxious to his dignity as a which was a important position in his estimation and next to turn an honest penny if he could he knew little save the details of his small world which consisted of accompanying prisoners to and from the courts and the md seeing that they did not get away he was not to a particular type of prisoner the well to do r prosperous for he had long since learned that it paid to be so to night he offered a few suggestions that it was rather rough that the jail was not so far but that they could walk and that would in all be or could be aroused scarcely heard he was thinking of his mother and his wife and of when the jail was reached was led to the door of the central portion as it was here that the had his private office had recently been elected to office and was inclined to to all the outer appearances in so far as the proper conduct of his was concerned without in reality inwardly thus it was generally known among the that one way he had of his rather lean salary was to rent private rooms and grant special privileges to prisoners who had the money to pay for the same other had done it before him in fact when was into office several prisoners were enjoying these privileges and it was not a part of his scheme of things to disturb them the rooms that he let to the right parties as he invariably put it were in the central portion of the jail where	43
his clothes himself in his bed and going fast asleep chapter say one will about prison life in general it never so much by special chambers a general tendency to make one as comfortable as possible a jail is a jail and there is no getting away from that in his new private room which was not in any way inferior to that of the ordinary boarding house was nevertheless conscious of the character of that section of this real prison which he was not in he knew that there were there probably greasy and and from contact with a long of human victims who had either sat or lain in them and that they were by heavy iron bars which would have as readily on him as on those who were now therein if it had not been that he had the price to pay for something better as a matter of fact when he had come in down stairs the first night he had caught a of that peculiarly stale which most combination of pots soap and lime so much for the alleged equality of man he thought which gives to one man even within the grim of the machinery of justice such personal liberty as he himself was now enjoying and to another because he wit or presence or friends or wealth these more comfortable things which money will buy j could any one blame him thought for putting the emphasis in this world on money did the lack of cash bring any one anything save and a lack of consideration no money was important as this present situation had proved and oi the it was his business to get it and keep it only he must never be so foolish another time as to permit himself to be caught w the toils of the law this present difficulty was due merely to a lack of if he had kept his lines drawn had held a reserve n government bonds in case of a possible panic he would not be in his present doubtful state however here he was and it was necessary to make the best of it the morning after the trial on waking he stirred curiously and then it suddenly came to him that he was no longer in the and comfortable atmosphere of his own bedroom but in a jail cell or rather its very comfortable substitute a s bedroom he got up and looked out the window the ground outside and avenue were white with snow some were by silently a few were visible here and there going to and fro on errands he began to think at once what he must do how he must act to on his his efforts to himself and as he did so he dressed and pulled the bell cord which had been indicated to him and which would bring him an attendant who would build him a fire and later bring him something to eat his problems were large and significant and he meditated on them while a shabby prison attendant in a blue uniform conscious of s superiority because of the room he occupied laid wood and coal in the grate and started a fire and later brought him his breakfast which was anything but prison fare though poor enough at that he had to take what the sen ed him ham and eggs coffee bread and butter and a little which ate s by himself on how readily it mi have been worse he was compelled to wait in patience several hours in spite of the s assumption of interest before his brother edward was admitted with his an attendant for a consideration brought him the mom the g papers and these he read wearily late in the arrived saying he had been busy having proceedings postponed but that he had arranged th the for to be permitted to see eh of those as had important business with him between the visits of his father brothers several of his and his the five days passed at which time s appeal for a of reasonable doubt was granted and is permitted to leave the jail he returned to his home a rather grim and the thought of how to overcome a possible the effects of which would be to destroy commercial interests entirely was with him night and it was while was in his room in meditating on the of fortune and how he would overcome the effect of this the crisis in s relations with her father had been in his room four and was destined to come out on the morrow for though he did not then know it his appeal for a of reasonable doubt was to be granted when concluded that it was best for her to leave had written her under no circumstances to y to see him as he would be out by the tenth and if t then there would be plenty of time after that he not want to compromise her any more than he had r done and he was afraid on this account to have r appear at the jail she wanted greatly to see him it sha fancied because of her at this n that she was under by the by her father this was no better in than in the fact that one morning when she was out of the post office where had ken a lock box she thought she saw one of the men id had assisted in discovering her in south sixth street the tliis was not true but it on her fancy and i with some remarks dropped by ow and at the dinner table proved almost too for her fiery nervous disposition the imaginary sight of the brought back all the shame of the method butler had employed to track her down and the observation of who was entirely unconscious of her relationship to	43
that so far as he could see the was getting about what he deserved made her feel that her father had secretly confided in her brother and that what the latter said was intended as a back handed slap at her this at once and her but she made no move she read on the morning of the tenth that s plea for a of reasonable doubt had been granted and that he would once more for the time being at least be a free man this gave her courage to do what she had long wanted to do and that was to teach her father that she could get along without him and that he could not make her do anything that she did not want to do she still had the two hundred dollars had given her at the time she thought she would leave before and some additional cash of her own perhaps three hundred and fifty dollars all told this she thought would be sufficient to see her to the end of her adventure or at least until such time as she could make some other arrangement for her personal well being from what she knew of the feeling of her family for her she felt that the agony would all be on their side not hers perhaps when her father saw how determined she was he would decide to let her alone and make peace with her she was determined to try it anyhow and on the night when she that was free she stopped in at the i to say that she would be coming in a day or two and to caution them to tell no one to mrs she confided that because of the opposition of her parents to something she wanted to do she was very the mrs looked upon it as a bit of family temper which soon blow over and welcomed because she liked her and because a favor extended to her now might tend to benefit herself in the future also stopped to send word to where she was going to make an appointment and to welcome him to freedom in a way he was rather gratified by the message for he felt that his present plight bitter as it was was largely due to butler s opposition and he had no now in striking him through his daughter his former as to the wisdom of not butler further had proved rather futile he thought and since the om man could not be it might be just as well to have to him that she was not without resources of her own and could live without him she might force him to change his attitude toward her and possibly even to some of his political against him any port in a storm and besides he had now really nothing to lose or if he had butler s attitude was more likely to be affected than not particularly if it was by s flight that her affection and attitude were largely of her own free will and it was a question but instinct told him that her move was likely to prove more favorable than otherwise so he did nothing to prevent it chapter the night following her letter to decided to act she took her some a couple of dresses which she thought would be serviceable and a few other things packed them in the most she had and prepared to leave shoes and stockings came into consideration and despite her efforts she foimd that she could not get in all that she wished her hat which she was determined to take had to be carried outside she made a separate bundle of it which was not pleasant to contemplate still she decided to take it it was dark she in a uttle drawer where she kept her money and jewels and foimd the three hundred and fifty dollars all told which was hers and put it in her purse it wasn t much as could herself see but would help her if he did not arrange to take care of her and her father would not she would have to get something to do little she knew of the face the world presents to those who have not been practically trained and are not efficient she did not understand the bitter reaches of life at all she waited humming for effect until she heard her father go down stairs to dinner then leaned over the er to make sure that and her mother were at the table and that he was not anywhere in sight then she into her father s den and taking a note from r bosom laid it on his desk and went out it was to father and read the dear father i just cannot do what you want me to i have up my mind that i love mr too much so i im going away don t look for me with him you won t find me you think i am not going to him i will not be there i im going to try to get along by myself for a while he wants me and can marry me i m terribly sorry but i just can t do what you want i can t ever forgive you for the way you acted to me tell and and the boys good by for me she laid it the light of the green table lamp which was turned low and to its discovery picked up butler s heavy spectacles which he employed always when reading and laid them on it during the last two hours for the first time in all this situation separate waves of feeling had swept over her as she was gathering up her clothing as she wrote the note and later when she was leaning over the to detect the several voices	43
of the family she felt very strange somewhat like a thief a new sensation for her and as she laid the letter on her father s desk she felt a momentary sense of ingratitude coupled with pain perhaps she was doing wrong her father had been very good to her her mother would feel so very bad would be sorry and and still they did not understand her any more she had their world s was so much bigger her loyalty was due to him in his present troubles she was of her father s attitude toward and toward her love for him he might have seen what the point was but no he was too old too hide in religion and conventional ideas he never would he might never let her come back very well she would stay she would get along somehow she would teach him she might get a place as a school teacher and live with the a long while if necessary or teach music she stole down stairs and out into the the outer door and looking out into the street the lamps were already in the dark and a cool the wind was blowing her was quite k but she was very strong she walked briskly to the ner which was some fifty feet away and turned walking rather nervously and for this very new experience for her it was all so so anything but what she was used to doing not s vastly distressed about her family now was out she was thinking about finding a boy ai l to s as quickly as possible bag down on a street comer finally to rest waited a boy whistling in the distance attracted he as the lad drew nearer an idle ur coming home from work of some form or other to him boy boy oh boy he came over looking at her curiously do vou want to earn some yes ma m he replied politely a fo cap over one ear carry this bag for me said and he picked up and marched off finally getting it up on one of shoulders for comfort s sake in due time at the and amid much astonishment and was in the bosom of her new he she took her situation with much once was properly her toilet articles those of personal wear a quiet care the fact she was not any longer to have the services of the maid who had served her her mother and n j was odd though not trying she scarcely that she had parted from these and so made herself she talked to m and her mother who were delighted with her looks her artistic clothing her self conscious ma and natural they were t and so she was not entirely out of the atmosphere y she and to which she was used meanwhile in the butler home a peculiar scent the being butler meditating constantly on how soon he should speak to again if at all and wondering just what particular move he could make in case her attitude should not have been changed by the result of s trial in the way that he had hoped had been going about in a mute of his own never in his life had he been confronted by such a problem as this if s of reasonable doubt were ultimately denied by the supreme court and he were sent to the which might easily happen within two months would be permanently cured she must see then that she could not stay in love with a but supposing in the mean time she and should run away together he did not really believe that would do this but still the thought once it occurred was a horror to him scarcely any action on his part to prevent such a thing could be too it was in this mood that he had come to the table to he was actually feeling badly physically to say nothing of how he felt mentally his appetite was gone his eyes had sunken rings under them he had suffered and at times when had ome upon him but what had they been to this he noticed that was not at table he thought clothing of it she did not always him mrs butler was sitting in complacency at the foot of the table her gray hair straight back from her round shiny forehead she had on a medium dark gray silk dress finished with white and gray striped which also had a touch of red and green in them it suited her temperament admirably had dictated her mother s choice and had seen that it had been made properly was youthful in a pale green house dress with red velvet and collar she looked young slender gay her eyes complexion and fresh and healthy she was trifling with a string of coral beads which her mother had just given her the butler walked heavily in and took his seat it s colder vm said butler by way of conversation and s empty chair she would come soon now his heavy problem he had been ver these last two months avoiding any reference in so far as he could help to in s presence but he had not always been successful was called and the maid said she answered it s colder remarked much colder we ll soon see real winter now old john began to offer the various dishes in order but when all had been served had not come see where is john observed mrs butler the meal will be cold old john sent the maid again this time was not in her room she s not in room he said returning after a time says she can t find her sure she must be somewhere commented mrs butler only slightly perplexed she ll be though never	43
mind if she wants to she knows it s meal time old butler decided that s mind was telling against her appetite it was not strange the conversation drifted from a new water works that was being planned to the new city hall then completion s financial and social troubles and the state of the stock market generally a new gold mine in the departure of mrs the following tuesday for europe appropriate comments by and and a christmas ball that was going to be n for charity be to go to that commented mrs butler going you bet put in who s going to take you asked that s my affair she replied io the the meal was over and mrs butler strolled up to s room to see what had become of her butler entered his den wishing so much that he could take his into his confidence concerning all that was worrying on his desk as he sat down and turned up the light he saw the note he recognized s handwriting at once what could she mean by writing him a sense of the came to him and he tore it open slowly and putting on his glasses contemplated it solemnly the old man stared at each word as if it had been written in fire so was gone she said she had not gone with it was possible just the same that he had run away from philadelphia and taken with him this was the last straw this ended it away from home to where to what butler could scarcely believe though that had tempted her to do this he had too much at stake it would involve his own and butler s families the papers would be certain to get it quickly but as to the girl was crazy she was out of her mind still she was gone he got up the paper in his hand and turned about at a noise his wife was coming in he pulled himself together and the letter in his pocket s not in her room she said she didn t say anything to you about going out did she no he wondering how soon he should have to tell his wife that s odd observed mrs butler doubtfully she must have gone out after it s a wonder she t tell somebody butler gave no sign he dared not she ll be back le said more in order to gain time than anything rise she s thought of some one she wanted to see and gone ie was sorry to have to pretend mrs butler went out nd he closed the door then he took out the letter and it again the girl was crazy she was doing an ii a the fi absolutely wild senseless thing when she go except to she was on tb of a public scandal and this produce it was just one thing to do as far as he could see g wood if he were still in philadelphia would had her in complete control he would go to threaten actually destroy him if r must come back she need not go to i but she must come back and behave hei least until could that was all he could expect now she would wait and some day perhaps he could bring hi accept her wretched proposition horrible would kill her mother disgrace her sister he took down his hat put on his overcoat and hen ba as ha a i chapter at nine o clock butler having decided that wood must know and must be made if he were still in philadelphia to help out this terrific in regard to rang at his door and was shown into the reception room at the time was in his private den looking over some papers during the time that he had been in jail the two had been in a state of utter with henry the father out of his position and the two brothers in a way publicly by s fall there was nothing to do for any of them save to wait and see what happened in connection with him his wife had not the courage to think of anything save the possibility of his restoration to his former financial state his attitude toward was now a secondary consideration the real of butler had never been revealed to any of them and they still thought that his seeming indifference to in this crisis was due to his political in order to save the good name cf the party he had had to join with the other leaders in him so s relatives thought when the name of butler was to him arose and went down stairs it was of the man that the of butler s created no stir in him whatever he knew hat it was all about so butler had come that meant f course that had gone now for a battle not f words but of of good evening mr butler said cheer the fully when he saw him extending his hand he deemed it best to assume an air of friendly civility even though butler would not want it to prevail what can i do for you ye can take that away from in front of me for one thing said butler grimly referring to his hand i have no need of it it s my daughter i ve come to talk to ye about and i want plain answers where is she you mean said looking at him with steady eyes and merely this to obtain a moment for reflection what can i tell you about her ye can tell me where she is that i know and ye can make her come back to her home where she belongs it was bad fortune that ever brought ye across my but i ll not words with ye here	43
ye ll tell me where my daughter is and ye ll leave her alone from now or i ll the old man s fists closed like a and his chest heaved with suppressed rage ye ll not be me too far man if ye re wise he added after a time recovering his in part i want no with ye i want my daughter listen mr butler said quite calmly the situation for the sheer sense of superiority it gave him butler was strong old he had done much to injure him but if he had in every other matter he had not done so in connection with this one thing the most important to him his daughter reflected by contrast that he was young and calm really the victor in this much to his astonishment there was more in s move than he had realized and he might use it to improve his own position somewhat obviously butler was determined not to expose him or her if he could help it it was a great advantage i want to be perfectly frank with you if you will let me i may know the your daughter is and i may not i may wish to ell you and i may not she may not wish me to but you wish to talk with me in a civil way there is no need of our going on any further you are privileged to do what you like won t you come up stairs to my room we can talk more comfortably there butler looked at his former g in utter he had never before in all his experience come ip against a more type bland this man had certainly come to him as a sheep and had turned out to be a wolf his had not put him in the least awe i ll not come up to your room butler said and ye u not get out of philadelphia with her if that s what ye re i can see to that ye think ye have the upper hand of me i see and ye re anxious to take it well ye ve not it wasn t enough that ye come to me as a beggar the help of me and that i took ye in and ye all i could ye had to steal my daughter from me in the bargain if it wasn t for the girl s mother and her sister and her brothers men than ever ye u know how to be i d brain ye where ye stand a young innocent girl and an evil woman out of her and ye a married man it s a god s for ye that it s me and not one of me sons that s here to ye or ye wouldn t be alive to say what ye d do the old man was grim but impotent in his rage i m sorry mr butler replied quietly willing to explain but you won t let me i m not planning to run away with your daughter nor to leave philadelphia you ought to know me well enough to know that i m not contemplating anything of that kind interests are too large you and i are practical men i e ought to be able to talk this matter over together and an understanding i thought once of coming to ou and explaining this but i was quite you wouldn t to me now that you are here i would like to talk is the to you if you will come up to my room i will be glad to otherwise not won t you come up butler saw that had the upper hand of him in spite of his rage slowly but surely this man s were themselves upon him he might as well go up otherwise it was plain he would get no information he hated but he had to do it very well he said led the way quite and having entered his private office closed the door behind him he saw as plainly as anything that butler was a c f his feeling for he prepared to talk to i im cry sensibly and explain the whole situation perhaps he could soothe butler so that he would cease his political attacks on him we ought to be able to talk this matter over and reach an he said again when they were in the room and he had closed the door i am not as bad as you think though i know i appear very bad butler stared at him in contempt i love daughter and she loves me i know you are asking yourself how i can do this while i am still married but i assure you i can and that i do i am not happily married i had expected if this panic hadn t come along to arrange with my wife for a divorce and marry my intentions are perfectly good the situation which you can complain of of course is the one you encountered a few weeks ago it was but it was entirely human your daughter does not complain she at the mention of his daughter in this connection butler flushed with rage but he controlled himself and ye think because she doesn t complain that it s all right do ye he asked from my point of view yes from yours no you have one view of life mr butler and i have another ye re right there put in butler for once anyhow i the i want to marry repeated for sake she wants to marry me under the however you may feel you can have no al objection to my doing that i am sure yet you go fighting me making it hard for me to do what you ally know ought to be done smiled	43
one how fine this r e s that had the man had some it but much evil in him butler very well how he had taken the check and a good ly other things in connection with it the manner which he had played his cards to night was on a par the th the way he had run to on the night of the fire he was just shrewd and calculating and heartless butler was not without himself particularly in situations of this kind he wanted nothing to do with him but he wanted his daughter back at once for his wife s sake til make ye no promise he said tell me where my daughter is and i ll think the matter over ye have no claim on me now and i owe ye no good turn but i ll think it over anyhow that s quite all right replied that s all i can expect but what about do you expect her to leave philadelphia not if she settles down and herself but there must be an end of this between you and her she s her family and her soul in the bargain and that s what you are with yours it be time enough to talk about anything else when you re a free man more than that i ll not promise satisfied that this move on s part had done her a real service if it had not aided him especially was convinced that it would be a fine thing for her to to her home at once he could not tell how his appeal to the state supreme court would his motion for a new trial which was now to be made imder the privilege of the of reasonable doubt might not be granted in which case he would have to serve a term in the butler might not aid him in all would not but he might not be so vigorous in his of him anyhow it was good policy to have return she would be safe in the bosom of her and if he were compelled to go to the that was where she ought to be his own hands were going to be exceedingly full for the next two months until he knew how his appeal was coming out and after that well after that he would fight on whatever happened the the best thing that i can do under the circumstances le said after a time would be to see in two or days and ask her what she wishes to do i can explain the matter to her and if she wishes to go back she an i will promise to tell her anything that you say two or three days exclaimed butler two or three she must come home to night her mother doesn t know she s left the place y et to night ii the time i ll go and fetch her bo night had to smile at the old man s impetuous burst of feeling though it was not a smile no that won t do he said i shall have to go myself if you wish to wait here i will see what can be done and let you know very well butler who was now walking up and down with his hands behind his back but for heaven s sake be quick about it there s no time to lose he was thinking of mrs butler called the servant ordered his and told george to see that his private was not disturbed then as strolled to and fro in this to him objectionable room sped rapidly away chapter although it was nearly eleven o clock when he arrived f at the had not yet gone to bed in her bedroom upstairs she was confiding to and mrs some of her social experiences when a ring came at the door and mrs went down and opened it to miss butler is here i he said will you tell her that there is some one here from her father although had instructed that her presence here was not to be even to the members of her family the force of s presence and the mention of butler s name cost mrs her presence of mind wait a moment she said i ll see she stepped back and promptly stepped in taking off his hat with the air of one who was satisfied was there say to her that i only want to speak to her for a few moments he called as mrs went up stairs raising his voice in the hope that might hear she did and came down promptly she was very much astonished to think that should come so soon and fancied in her vanity that there must be great excitement in her home she would have greatly grieved if there had not been the would have been pleased to hear but was cautious as she came down the stairs he put his finger to his in sign for silence and said this is miss butler i yes with a secret smile her one desire was to kiss him what s the trouble she asked softly the you ll have to go back dear fm afraid whispered you ll have everything in a turmoil if fo i don t it may be a good deal of help to me if you io your father is over at my place now waiting for ou let me tell you he went off into a complete of his conversation with butler and his own in the matter s expression changed from time to time as the various phases of the matter were put before her but persuaded by the clearness with which put the matter and by his assurance that they could continue their relations as before this was settled she decided to return in a way ter father s	43
surrender was a great triumph she made her to the saying with a smile that they could not do without her at home and that she would send for her later and returned with od to his own door he asked her to wait in the while he sent her father down well said butler turning on him when he opened the door and not seeing you ll find her down stairs in my observed you may use that if you choose i will id my man for it no thank you we ll walk said butler called his servant to take charge of the and butler stalked solemnly out he had to admit to himself that the influence of over his daughter was deadly and probably permanent the best he could do would be to keep her the of the home where she might still possibly be brought to her senses he did not know to think he held a very guarded conversation her on his way home for fear that she would take argument was out of the question ye might have talked with me once more ie said thinking of what the house would have been her before ye left yer mother would be in a ter the state if she knew ye were gone she doesn t know yet ye ll have to say ye stayed somewhere to dinner i was at the replied that s easy enough won t think anything about it it s a sore heart i have i hope ye ll think over ways and do better i ll not say any thin more now to her room decidedly triumphant in her mood for the moment and things went op apparently in the butler household as before but those who imagine that this defeat permanently altered the attitude of butler toward are mistaken in the mean while was going on doing his best to repair his shattered forces he took up his work where he left off but the of his business was distinctly modified since his conviction because of his action in trying to protect his largest at the time of his he fancied that once he was free again if ever he got free his credit other things being equal would be good with those who could help him most say co co co and the national bank providing his personal reputation was not so badly injured by his sentence that all his friends were would they be that was a question some of them like and would certainly not be he hoped fortunately for his o l of mind he failed fully to realize what a effect a legal decision of this character or otherwise has on the minds of even the most enthusiastic you know observed president of the national to one of his friends the morning after was convicted i don t believe that it will be possible to put young on his feet after this it looks pretty bad to me there have been a good many men who were friendly to him but this will them the expected that he would be but ice he hasn t he shook his head significantly quite right replied the other who was also a r give a dog a bad name they drifted to other subjects but it was quite plain m this which way the wind was blowing od s best friends in the financial whom he had ne considerable to protect at the time of his were convinced that his was a sinking ship it was me student of that once observed that nothing so sensitive as money and the financial mind of the quality of the thing in which it there as no use trying to do much for a man who might be to prison for a term of years it couldn t be done might be done for him possibly in connection ith the governor providing he lost his case before the court and was actually to prison but was two months off or more and they could not u what the of these would be so s repeated appeals for assistance extension of or the acceptance of some plan he had for his were met with the kindly those who were doubtful they would think it over hey would see about it certain things were standing i the way and so on and so forth through all the end s excuses of those who do not care to act ood went about the money world in his customary ay greeting all those whom he had known there many and pretending when asked to be very hopeful be doing very well but they did not believe him and really did not care whether they did or not his was to persuade or over persuade any one who could y be of assistance to him and at this task he worked all others why frank his friends would call on seeing n how are you getting on fine fine he would reply cheerfully never the better and he explain in a general way how his affairs were being handled he conveyed much of his o ti to all those who knew him and were interested in his welfare but of course there were many who were not he and were constantly appearing in courts of law he was constantly being re examined in some petition in or waiting on some banker who might tell him something favorable a little later it was a task but he did not he wanted to stay in philadelphia and fight the thing to a putting himself where he had been before himself in the eyes of the public he felt that he could do it too if he were not actually sent to prison for a long term and even then he might when he got out again but he did not want to go to	43
attention three of them judges and men most amen the a a b w a ta m v w w z j v w w ci w i r t vo r i i ji s r were n en of t i i c ry and m r rs i r r o consideration t er r i v ci ie g ne r v r c but ov ing o his political x v v j h ail i at t m f t es i l ic a c l i iv l v v ah a v a v a v t i i a ns or t ie v ji v v r e er mi at it to t r m he states on some r il ri ic le l y of action anyhow other ui s in other cr i and elsewhere v u i in i to ox the decision in this case a s o ir nt the decided that it would n jt do r v any hand down a opinion the ins v n t mind as long as was convicted would like it better in fact it looked better fairer besides mar in and did not care to be included if they could help it with c the and in a sweeping condemnation of cow there was much to be said for his point of view is treatment of butler through the latter s daughter ill that was a very human matter the flesh is weak all five judges fancied they were considering the whole rather fairly and as men will under ch circumstances was not innocent by ly means his whole career indicated that if he must j denied a new trial it was a good thing that he was ally guilty of many things and deserving of punishment t least and thought so he former speaking for himself and judges id the opinion was written by judge and handed down on the of as follows the frank a asks that the finding of le jury in the lower court the state of frank a be reversed and a new trial granted this court see that any substantial injustice has been done the ere followed a rather r sum of the history of the case i which it was pointed out that the custom and precedent of the s office to say nothing of s easy method of business with the city treasury could have nothing to do with as responsibility for failure to observe both the spirit and the letter f the law tlie obtaining of goods imder color of legal process went on judge speaking for the majority may amount in the present case it was the province of the jury to ascertain the intent they have settled that against the as a question of fact and the court cannot say that there was not sufficient evidence to sustain the verdict for what purpose did the get the check he was upon the eve of failure he had already for his own debts the loan of city placed in his hands for sale he had obtained ve hundred thousand dollars in cash as and it is reasonable to suppose that he could obtain nothing more from the city treasury any ordinary means then it is that he goes there and by means i a implied if not actual sixty thousand dollars the jury has found the intent with which this was done it was in these words that s appeal for a trial was denied by the majority the for himself and judge judge it is plain from the e in the case that mr ci n i t receive the check without authority as agent to do so and it has not been clearly that within his capacity as agent he did not perform or intend to perform the full measure of the obligation which the receipt of this check implied it was shown in the trial that as a matter of policy it was understood that purchases jt the sinking fund should not be known or understood in the market or by the public in that light and that mr as agent was to have an absolutely free hand in the disposal of his and so long as the ultimate result was r there was no particular time when the loan was to be bought nor was there any particular amount mentioned at any time to be purchased unless the intended at the time he receive the check to appropriate it he could not be convicted even on the first count the verdict of the jury does not establish this fact the evidence does not show that it could be established and the same jury upon three other counts found the guilty without the semblance of shadow of evidence how can we say that their conclusions upon the first count are when they so on the other counts it is the opinion of the that the verdict of the jury in charging on the first count is not and that that verdict should be set aside and a new trial granted judge a meditative and yet practical man of but peculiarly american appearance felt called upon to write a third opinion which should especially reflect his own and be a criticism on	43
the majority as well as a slight from and addition to the points on which he agreed with judge it was a question this of s guilt and aside from the political necessity of him nowhere was it more clearly shown than in these varying opinions of the superior court judge held for instance that if a crime had been committed at all it was not that known as and he went on to add it is impossible from the evidence to come to the conclusion either that did not intend shortly to deliver the loan the r that the chief clerk or the city did not end to part not only with the possession but also and absolutely the property in the check and the money represented by it t was by mr that mr said he had k of city loan to this amount and it has not been that he had not his non of the in the sinking fund must in all the letter of the law o the contrary notwithstanding be looked upon and judged in the of custom was it his custom so to do in my judgment the now announced by the majority of the court extends the to such limits that any business man who in extensive and perfectly legitimate stock transactions may before he knows it by a sudden panic in the market or a fire as in this instance become a when a principle is asserted which such a precedent and may lead to such results it is to say the least startling these opinions were handed down on february six weeks after had made his appeal and two months and more after had been tried and convicted while he was comforted by the opinions of the judges in which he could use to his advantage in his future commercial and while he had been himself to expect the worst in this connection and had been arranging his affairs as well as he could in anticipation of it he was still bitterly disappointed it would be to say that strong and self as he was he did not suffer he was not without of the highest order only they were governed and controlled hi him by that cold iron thing his reason which never him there was no appeal from this appeal save to the united states supreme court as pointed out and there only on the of some phase i the decision and his rights as a citizen of which the supreme court of the united states must take this was a tedious and expensive thing to do it was not exactly obvious at the moment on what point he could an appeal it would involve a long delay per the v and a half perhaps longer at the end of l i r he have to sen e his prison term any v v ar v which he would certainly have to under or i o r v of cow x s con i wed x n had v c v v v o over to his and en l i l t k i a u v l ss e jl l i ex w a u ii k i h v j v i pi v v v w i c i c j t i vi s i w v t j j c k c h ac v i v o v t z it r v ir vo s ji v v v i mm m m wm b m the a but that won t stop me from going to jail just now i have to go or i have to leave the and i ve made up my mind to go i can fight this out tight here in philadelphia in the long run and win i can get that decision reversed in the supreme court or i can get the governor to pardon me after a time i think tm not going to run away and everybody knows fm not these people that think they have got me down haven t got one comer of me whipped i ll get out of this thing after a while and when i do i ll show some of these petty little what it means to put up a real fight they ll never get a damned dollar out of me now not a dollar i did intend to pay that five hundred thousand dollars some time if they had let me go now they can whistle he set his teeth for the moment with an ugly set and his gray eyes fairly snapped their determination but his face modified a moment after to its usual bland pleasant expression well i ve done all i can frank pleaded you ll do me the justice to say that i put up the best fight i knew how i may not know how you ll have to answer for that but within my limits i ve done the best i can i can do a few things more to carry this thing on if you want me to but i m going to leave it to you now whatever you say	43
goes don t talk nonsense at this stage i know whether i m satisfied or not and i d soon tell you if i wasn t i think you might as well go on and see if you can find some definite for carrying it to the supreme court but meanwhile iii begin my sentence i suppose will be a day to have me brought before him now shortly it depends on how you d like to have it frank i get a stay of sentence for a week maybe or ten if it will do you any good won t make toy objection to that i m sure there s only one the will be around here to morrow looking for you it s his duty to take you into again once he s that your appeal has been denied he ll be wanting to lock you up unless you pay him but we can fix that if you do want to wait and want any time off i suppose he ll arrange to let you out with a but i m afraid you ll have to stay there nights they re pretty strict about that since that case of a few years ago referred to the case of a noted bank who being let out of the jail at night in the alleged ci of a was permitted to escape there had been emphatic and severe condemnation of the s office at the time and since then or no money or no money convicted were supposed to stay in the county jail at night at least meditated this calmly looking out of the lawyer s window into second street he did not much fear an thing that happen to him in s charge since his first taste of that popular gentleman s hospitality although he did object to spending nights in the county jail when his general term of imprisonment was being reduced no whit thereby all that he could do now in connection with his affairs unless he could have months of freedom could be as well adjusted from a prison cell as from his third street office not quite but nearly so anyhow why he was facing a prison term and he might as well accept it without he might take a day or two finally to look after his affairs but beyond that why bother when in the ordinary course of events if you did nothing at all would i come up for sentence oh friday or monday i fancy replied i don t know what move is planning to make in this matter i thought i d walk and see him in a httle while m think you d better do that replied the ay or monday will suit me either way i m really better make it monday if you can on t suppose there is any way you can induce keep his hands off then he knows i m responsible ion t know frank i m sure i ll see i ll go round to him to night perhaps a dollars him the of his rules that much smiled grimly fancy a dollars would make le lot of rules he replied and he got up to go arose also i ll see both these people and then round at your house you ll be in will you s y slipped on their and went out into february day back to his third office to see and chapter the business of arranging s sentence for monday was soon disposed of through who had no personal objection to any reasonable delay that s all right mr he observed most cordially after the proposition had been put to him no opposition on my part not in the least i want to congratulate you on the way you conducted your case i thought you d win to tell you the truth if public sentiment weren t as strong as it is against and i think you would have anyhow you divided the supreme court that s something i have no hard feelings if you haven t smiled cordially certainly not he said he shook hands and then went away not bearing any resentment in the least he next visited the county jail dose on to five o dock when it was already dark was pleased to see him he came out from bis private library where he had been engaged upon the noble work of cleaning his pipe how are you mr he observed smiling how are you glad to see u won t you sit down i suppose you re round here again on that matter i received word from the district attorney that he had lost his case that s it replied he just asked me to step around and see what you wanted him to do in the matter judge has just fixed the sentence time for monday morning at ten o clock i don t suppose you ll be much put out if he the t show up here before monday at eight o clock you or sunday night anyhow he s perfectly as you know was sounding out trying to make the time of s arrival trivial matter in order to avoid paying the hundred if possible but was not to be so easily of his fat face lengthened considerably ow could ask him such a favor and not even st the slightest form of it s ag in the law mr as you know he cautiously and td like to ac him everything else being equal but since case three years ago we ve had to nm this ce much more careful and h i know interrupted but this isn t an ordinary case in any way as you can for yourself mr is a very important and he has a great many things to attend to now it were only a mere matter of seventy five or	43
a to satisfy some court clerk with or to pay a it would be easy enough but he paused and x wisely away and mr s face began to t once the law against which it was ordinarily so hard offend was not now so important saw that it s as needless to introduce any additional arguments it s a very business this mr put the but if any i were to happen it would cost me my place i don t like to do it imder any wouldn t only i happen to know both mr ood and mr and i like em both i don t think got their rights in this matter either i don t mind taking an exception in this case if mr i t go about too publicly i wouldn t want any of le men in the district attorney s office to know this don t suppose he ll mind if i keep a somewhere ar ah the time for looks sake i have to you know the really under the law he won t bother him any just keep en guard like then if anything should happen i can say well i was just him out for a half hour or so on very special mr looked at mr very and wisely almost under the circumstances and mr nodded quite right quite right you re quite right and he drew out his purse while the led the way very cautiously back into his library i d like to show you the of law books i m fixing up for myself in here mr he observed but meanwhile closing his fingers gently on the small roll of ten dollar bills mr was handing him we have occasional use for books of that kind here as you see i thought it a good sort of thing to have them around he waved one arm at the line of state reports prison etc and pretended to look quite so quite so a good idea i think very good indeed so you think if mr gets around here very early monday morning say eight or eight thirty that it will be all right i think so replied the nervous but agreeable anxious to please i don t think that anything will come up that will make me want him earlier if it does i ll let you know and you can produce him i don t think so though mr i think will be all right they were once more in the main now glad to have seen you again mr very glad he added call again some day went to the outer door where a stood on guard and waved the a pleasant solemn farewell then he on his way to s house when came home from his office in the evening after having been by of the loss of his appeal he decided to make the announcement in an the way in order to end against any show of feeling anybody s part later in case he might have to go he did not know how soon he might have to ave s errand might not be successful and any w he might have to be the first thing friday this might be his last night here the not be willing for him to remain out of his one night you would not have thought seeing the front steps of his handsome in his neat gray suit and well cut overcoat that he as thinking that this might be his last night here and henceforth he might not even come to this charming pot any more his air and walk indicated no f spirit he entered the hall where an early lamp was glow and wash an old negro who was just coming up from the a bucket of coal for one of the fire places cold out dis aid wash to whom anything less than sixty degrees i as very cold his one regret was that philadelphia as not in north where he came from tis sharp wash replied he was thinking for the moment of the house ind how it had looked as he came toward it west along avenue what the neighbors were thinking of too these days was also in his mind he fancied hey were observing him from time to time out of their it was clear and cold the lamps in the re hall and sitting room had been lit for he had no air of gloom to settle down over this lace since his troubles had in the far west of he street a last gleam of and violet was bowing over the cold white snow of the the of gray green stone with its lighted windows and colored lace curtains had looked especially he had thought for the moment of the pride had taken in putting all this here and the it and whether ever he secure it for himself again where is your mistress he added to wash when he himself the sitting room mr ah think ascended the stair thinking curiously that wash would soon be out of a job now unless mrs out of all the wreck of other things chose to retain him which was not likely he entered the sitting room and there sat his wife by the sewing a hook and eye into one of second s she looked up at his step with the peculiarly uncertain smile she used these days indication of her pain fear suspicions and so on and inquired well what is new with you frank her smile was something like a hat or belt or ornament of one kind or another which one puts on or off at will nothing in particular he replied in his way except that i understand i have lost that appeal of mine is coming here in a little while to let me know	43
i had a note from him and i fancy it s about that he did not care to say that he had lost he knew that she was distressed as it was and he did not care to be too rough just now he was thinking of the and what it would be whether could get him any special privileges there he had heard that the rules of the eastern where he was destined to go were ordinarily very though had assured him and he himself that the terrors of most were worse in the minds of inexperienced than they were in fact still no doubt whatever they were bad enough you don t say replied with and fright in her voice and getting up she had been so used to a world where were scarcely thought of where things went on smoothly from day to day without any noticeable intrusion of such distressing things as courts and the like that these the few months had driven her nearly mad lad so definitely insisted on her keeping in the back he had told her so very little that she was all at ea anyhow in regard to the whole nearly that she had had in the way of intelligence had been rom his father and mother and and from a md almost secret scrutiny of the newspapers at the time he had gone to the county jail she did not know anything about it his father had come from the room and the jail and had broken the news to her it had been a terrific blow to her now to have this thing suddenly broken to her in this way even though she had been expecting and it was too much she was a decidedly charming looking woman as she stood holding her daughter s garment in her hand even if she was forty years old to s thirty five she was in one of the of their late prosperity a cream colored gown of rich silk with a combination for her her eyes were a little hollow and about the but otherwise she gave no evidence of her keen mental distress there was considerable evidence of the former tranquil sweetness that had so fascinated him ten years before but not enough and he felt sorry isn t that terrible she said weakly her hands in a nervous way isn t it dreadful isn t there anything you can do anything more you o t really have to go to prison will you he objected to her distress and her nervous fears he preferred a stronger self type of woman but still she was his wife and in his day he had loved her much it looks that way he said with the first note of real sympathy he had used in a long while he w is afraid to go any further along that line however for fear it might give her a false sense as to his present which was more of sorrow for her than anything the she was not so dull but what she see that the consideration in his voice had been brought about in just this way the other of his manner his face and eyes indicated as much still it appealed to as a touch of the old time she wished sincerely that there was more of it i don t want you to feel distressed about me though he went on before she could say anything to him tm not through with my fighting i ll get out of this i have to go to prison it seems in order to get things straightened out properly what i would like you to do is to keep up a cheerful appearance in front of the rest of the family father and mother particularly they need to be cheered up he thought once of taking her hand then decided not she noted mentally his hesitation the great difference between his attitude now and that of ten or twelve years before it did not hurt her now as much as she once would have thought then he was so enthusiastic so constantly on her time now when he was going to prison a blow sufficient to have broken her heart a few years before he was telling her of it at long range as it were she looked at him scarcely knowing what to say there was really not so much to say will you have to go soon if you do have to go she ventured wearily i can t tell yet possibly to night possibly friday possibly not until monday i m waiting to hear from i expect him here any minute he turned to go to his little private office where a of papers some of stock and other things which he would have to seal up and turn over to for safe keeping were kept mrs stood there as he turned she wondered in a way what she could do is there anything i can get for you she asked starting forward as if out of a dream do you want me to do anything don t the think perhaps you had better leave philadelphia frank you needn t go to prison unless you want to she was a little beside herself for the first time in her life shocked out of a deadly calm and she was not making the suggestions for him not saying the things that would appeal to him now he paused and looked at her for a moment in his direct examining way his hard commercial business judgment restored on the instant that would be a confession of guilt and fm guilty he replied almost coldly i haven t done that my running away or going to prison either i m merely going there to save time at present i can t be this thing forever i	43
ll et out be out or out in a reasonable length of time just now it s better to go i think i wouldn t think of running away from philadelphia two of five judges found for me in the decision that s pretty fair evidence that the state has no case against me his wife saw she had made a mistake it her judgment on the instant i didn t mean it that way frank she replied you know i didn t of course i know you re not guilty why should i think you were of all people she paused expecting some retort some further argument he had quietly turned to his desk and was thinking of other things suddenly the of her own state came over her again why on his time she asked herself why bother he really did not care for her any more that was it nothing could make him nothing could bring them together not even this tragedy why explain he was interested in another woman and so her foolish thoughts and explanations her fear sorrow distress were not important to him he could take her wish for his freedom as a comment en his the able guilt a doubt of his innocence a criticism of him she turned away for a minute and he came out and went into another room then he came out of that and crossed to the hall again on his way to the other house to see his father ru be back again in a few moments he are the children here yes they re up in the play room she answered sadly utterly and what was she to do in a situation of this kind what say h frank she had it on her lips to cry but before she could utter it he had down the steps and was gone she turned back to the table her left hand to her mouth her eyes in a queer melancholy mist could it be she thought that life could really come to this that love could so utterly so thoroughly die ten years before but oh why go back to that obviously it could and thoughts concerning that would not help now twice now in her life her affairs had seemed to go to pieces once when her first husband had died and now when her second had failed her had fallen in love with another and was going to be sent off to prison what was she going to do where go she had no idea of course for how long a term of years he would be sent away it might be one year or it might be five years as the papers had said good heavens the children could almost forget him in five years she put her other hand to her mouth also and then to hei forehead where there was a dull ache she tried to think further than this but somehow just now there was no further thought suddenly quite outside of her own with no thought that she was going to do such a thing her bosom began to heave her throat contracted in four or five short sharp aching her eyes burned and she shook in a vigorous desperate almost one might have said dry eyed cry so hot and few were the tears she could not stop for the the moment just stood there and shook and then after a while a dull ache succeeded and she was quite as she had been before why cry she suddenly asked herself fiercely for her why break down in this stormy useless way would it help but in spite of her philosophic observations to herself she still felt the echo the distant as it were of the storm in her own soul why cry why not cry she might say she wouldn t but in spite of herself and all her logic she knew that this tempest which had so recently raged over her was now merely round her soul s horizon and would return to break again chapter the arrival of with the information that no move of any kind would be made by the until monday morning when could present himself matters the banker had time to think to home details at his leisure he broke the news to his father and mother in a way and talked with his brothers and father about getting matters immediately adjusted in connection with the smaller houses to which they were now shortly to be compelled to move there was much among the different members of this organization in regard to the minor details and what with his with his seeing personally stone of co george his old time employer henry was dead ex state van who had gone out with the last state administration and others he was very busy and the time passed now that he was really going prison wanted his financial friends to get together and see if they could get him out by appealing to the governor the division of opinion among the judges of the state supreme court was his excuse and strong point he wanted to follow this up after he should be gone and he spared no pains in trying to see all and who might be of use to him edward of co who was still in business in third street arthur rivers joseph the d goods prince now a judge kitchen the former representative of the money at and many others the wanted to approach the newspapers and see if he could not their attitude so as to work to get him out and he wanted walter to head the movement of getting up a signed petition which should contain all the important names of money people and others asking the governor to release him agreed to this heartily as did speaking	43
for his work in connection with the newspapers i ll do everything i can frank assured him heartily and as for he simply said you may depend on me mr and he meant it informed now as had others before that he knew that the local and butler were against him that they had been anxious all along to see him convicted and for what reason he could not quite make out it was to break up his local street railway activity had heard of s relation to butler but he did not care to speak about it and i can t see why either was his comment unless it s because you were getting too deep in the street car game here lifted his eyes that s one good reason anyhow isn t it he replied had one last opportunity of seeing her lover outside the prison walls they met on saturday before the monday of his sentence and there was one of those peculiar scenes peculiar to the privileged classes which money and mental as both possible and safe had not me in contact with her since the decision of the supreme court had been rendered but he had had a letter at a private mail box and had made an appointment for saturday at a small hotel in which being across the river was safer in his judgment than anything in philadelphia he was a little uncertain as to how would take the possibility of not seeing him soon again the after monday and how she would act generally once he was where she not confer with him as often as she chose he was very anxious to talk to her on many not the least of which was that of his love and his sorrow at being compelled to part with her in this way who through all this long period of disaster had been repeating her assurances of faith and affection was no less emphatic in her than she had ever been in fact was much more so she went at her in that direct way which only she could attempt with him a sort of which he both enjoyed and admired and slipping her arms around his neck said honey you needn t tell me i saw it in the papers the other morning don t you mind honey i lo e you wait for you be with you yet if it takes a dozen years of waiting it doesn t make any difference to me if it takes a only i m so sorry for you sweetheart i ll be with you every day through this darling loving you with all my might oh my lovely frank my boy she his solid head while he looked at her in that quiet way which at once his and yet his interest and satisfaction in her he couldn t help loving he thought he couldn t help admiring her now more than ever because in spite of all his intellectual strength he really could not rule her she went at him even when he stood off in a calm critical way as if he were her special property her toy she would talk to him always and when she was excited as if he were just a baby her pet and sometimes he felt as though she would really overcome him mentally make him to her she was so individual so sure of her importance as a woman now on this occasion she went on as if he were broken hearted in need of her greatest care and tenderness although he really wasn t at all and for the moment she actually made him fed as though he was the it isn t as bad as that he ventured to say eventually but she went on pa no heed o him h yes it is too honey i know oh my poor rank but fu see you i know how to manage whatever happens how often do they let visitors come out jo see the prisoners there she had seen in the papers the name of the institution x which he would probably have to go only once in three months pet so they say but i think we can fix that after i get there only do you think had better try to come aren t you in danger of stirring up your father he might cause a lot of trouble out there if he were so minded only once in three months she exclaimed with rising emphasis as he began this explanation oh no surely not once in three months oh i won t do it oh i can t stand that i won t i ll go and see the myself he ll let me see you i m sure he will if i talk to him stop a minute said firmly while he drew her to a chair and pulled her down on his lap he was thinking in spite of all his other calculations how charming she was looking to day how young she kept and how while he was his full maturity she was a comparatively young girl and as beautiful as ever she was wearing a black and silk in the curious bustle style of the times and set of including a httle cap on top of her red gold head you re not thinking what you re he continued you re not thinking remember your father remember your family father may know the out there you don t want it to get all over town that you re running out there to see me your will cause you trouble you don t know the small as i do they gossip like a lot of old the women you ll have to be very careful what you do and how you do it i don t want to lose you i want to see	43
you but you ll have to mind what you re doing don t try to see me at once i want you to but i want to find out how the land lies and i want you to find out too you won t lose me i ll be there well enough he paused as he thought of the long tier of iron which must be there one of which would be his for long and of seeing him through the door of it or in it i know i know replied firmly but think of three months honey i can t i won t it s nonsense three months i know that my father wouldn t have to wait any three months if he wanted to see anybody out there nor anybody else that he wanted to ask for and i won t either i ll find some way had to smile you could not defeat so easily but you re not your father honey and you don t want him to know i know i don t but they don t need to know who i am i can go heavily veiled i don t think that tlie knows my father he may anyhow he doesn t know me and he wouldn t tell on me if he did if i talked to him he d help me not me her confidence in her charms her personality her earthly privileges was quite shook his head honey you re about the best and the worst there is when it comes to a woman he observed affectionately pulling her lips down to his but you ll have to to me just the same i have a lawyer you know him he s going to take up this matter with the out there is doing it to day he may be able to fix things and he may not i ll know to morrow or sunday and i ll write you but don t go and do anything rash until you hear i m sure i can cut that visiting limit the n half and perhaps down to once a month or once in wo weeks even vm not sure they only allow me to one letter in three months exploded again and i m sure i can have that made different some but don t write me until you hear or at least don t sign any name or put any address in they open all mail and read it if you see me or write me you ll have to be cautious and you re not the most cautious person in the world now be good will you they talked much more of his family his court appearance monday whether he would get out soon to attend any of the suits still or be was enraged at her father for his part in the local political attitude toward and anxious to see the latter come out and again she believed in his e still she had read the opinions of the judges in his favor and that of the three agreed judges against him she was sure his day was not over in philadelphia and that he would some time re establish himself and then take her with him somewhere else she was sorry for mrs but she was convinced that she was not suited to him that frank needed some one more like herself some one with youth and beauty and force her no less she clung to him now in embraces it was time to go so far as a plan of could have been adjusted in a situation so incapable of accurate it had been done she was desperately downcast at the last moment as was he over their parting but she pulled herself together with her usual force and faced the dark future with a steady eye chapter the matter of was carried out i h that due r ard for the forms of so justice which make the final disposition of any individual case always interesting as a spectacle in spite of s decision not to stand trial at the time that was being tried when it came to the actual matter of pleading guilty he had changed his mind as has been said and on the ad ice of friends pleaded not guilty standing trial rather than bear the of acknowledged guilt judge for a romantic legal reason of his own and because s change of heart had thrown his trial over into the january term of court had decided to sentence both and him at same time he had readily granted a stay of sentence in s case because he wanted to see how s appeal when that failed he ordered both men brought before him at the same time proposing to make a fine moral example of their conviction he had even framed up the language in which he would set forth their error to them separately and he had both speeches committed to memory at the time they were finally brought before him the process of bringing them there was interesting enough as things legal go once the decision of the court was reached it was entered on the court records at the court itself and a notice to the district attorney of the district in which the had been tried he in turn the court before whom the case had been tried and the latter then fixed a day for sentence and ordered the prisoner to be the wrought before him it was the business of the nice he was of the defeat of an appeal to see hat the individual whom it concerned was promptly into his care through and as we have seen was freed from being to come to the county jail and surrender himself i having fixed monday the sixteenth at ten clock in the	43
was this pale thin dusty high on his bench with his weak eyes and his thin white hair looking down on them now his whole soul was convinced that he was some very important function of life acting in accordance with some inherent fact of our being for the benefit of the people good heavens and the and the law why had not the law seen to it that he had not had one kind of treatment at the county jail and the poor now before him another why had not the law prevented him from being not so much as a real as a why had not the law prevented the from this court and the one above it law justice nonsense he had no quarrel with things in particular he was just a little weary of the endless and nature of life you could not put your fingers on any definite facts save those of strength and weakness or the lack of it and he had his fingers there safely enough but this poor silly negro would have the really to him for his crime and this horse thief chapter it was not long after thought this that he found out what do had been listening to the usual arguments between the of the district attorney s office and the lawyers for the in criminal cases as to why certain cases were or were not ready the arrangement of the day s trial was always the first business of the morning ing finished with this he was now ready to hear from the court clerk the names and the crimes of all those who were to be this morning in their order as was customary in all such cases had handed him by the courtesy of the district attorney s office the papers in the case of charles the negro who was the first on the list how is it this man comes before me asked when he saw the amount in cash the value of the property was supposed to have stolen your honor the assistant district attorney explained promptly this negro was before a lower court and refused because he was drunk or something to plead guilty the lower court because the would not forego the charge was compelled to bind him over to this court for trial since then he has changed his mind and has admitted his guilt to the district attorney he would not be brought before you except we have no alternative he has to be brought here now in order to clear the judge stared at the n ro who was leaning comfortably on the gate or bar before which the he average criminal stood erect and terrified the latter obviously not very much disturbed by this examination for he had been before police court before on one charge and another conduct and the like his whole attitude was rather innocent amusing like that of a large dog well inquired his honor severely did you or did you not steal this piece of lead pipe as charged here four dollars and eighty cents worth i did began the negro i tell you how it was i was a along past lumber yard one saturday afternoon and i hadn t been an i saw piece o pipe de fence inside and i reached with a piece o i found and it over to me an it an dis man he waved his hand toward the witness chair where in case the judge might wish to ask him some questions the had taken his stand come around where i an accused me of it but you did take it didn t you i done it well don t you know it s wrong to do anything like that didn t you know when you reached through that fence and pulled that pipe over to you that you were stealing didn t you i it was wrong replied i didn t think like but i done it was wrong i done i take it i guess of course you did of course ou did that s just it you knew you were stealing and still you took it his honor was very emphatic but troubled by a new thought he turned to the assistant district attorney who was standing near him has the man to whom this negro sold the lead pipe the been apprehended yet he sharply he should be for he s more guilty than this negro a of stolen goods sir replied the assistant his case is before judge quite right it should be replied severely this matter of receiving stolen property is one of the worst in my judgment he then turned his attention to again no v look here he exclaimed irritated at having to bother with such a petty case i want to say something to you and i want you to pay strict attention to me up there don t lean on that gate you are in the presence of the law now had himself comfortably down on his elbows as he would have if he had been leaning over a back fence gate talking to some one but he immediately drew himself straight still grinning foolishly and when he heard this you are not so dull but that you can understand what i am going to say to you the you have committed stealing a piece of lead pipe is a crime do you hear me a criminal one that i could punish you very severely for i could send you to the for one year if i chose the law says i may one year at hard labor for stealing a piece of lead pipe now if you have any sense you pay strict attention to what i am going to tell you i am not going to send you to the right	43
not to the fullest extent of the authority granted me protect society against you and your kind finding absolutely nothing to or your guilt i sentence you to fifteen years imprisonment k the state for the eastern district at labor he turned calmly from his victim while the latter stared and then hurried away being marched rapidly past who followed him with his eyes to turn back when the latter s companion in crime was placed at the rail the latter looked und while his honor him in almost the the same terms it was the same crime the same weapons the same to plead guilty had been offered and refused looked at this man as as he had at that he should have both of them for companions at the for the eastern district think he might even encounter them there have to work with them as passed by him back to the little pen room along by a august the young man charged with was called forward and stood at the rail rolling his cap quite pale evidently having endured no doubt a great mental strain for some time past as usual his record was by the court and a and then judge staring at the and the subsequent history of his case asked where did you come from when you first came to philadelphia sir what did you do there i worked in a how did it come that you didn t stay there they shut down most of them sir last spring and then you came to philadelphia yes sir why didn t you admit you stole this horse in the first place instead of putting the state to all this expense of trying you you did steal it didn t you i i the victim swallowed and licked his lips he bad stolen the horse truly enough but he had been badly advised or not properly influenced to tell the truth in the first place a fourth rate lawyer had been appointed by the court to defend him seeing that he had no money and had no confidence in the latter he had been afraid to admit that he had the horse because he fancied an effort was being made to the trap him consequently he had lied to him the silly lawyer an american was standing beside him now you d better say yes he whispered to it make it easier for you you did didn t you shouted very much irritated by s uncertainty as to whether he would tell the truth or not even yet the evidence at the trial had indicated very plainly that he had stolen the horse yes sir he finally said of course that s it you had to put the state to ill the expense of trying you although you knew all the time that you had stolen the horse and that you ought to be could not know that had been brought up through a rather hard boyhood and being not too strong mentally had often sought to by lies well i don t know what to think of you i guess you don t to much really you know you stole the horse the evidence shows that you worked for this a little while and then when he couldn t keep you any more had been discharged because he was really not quick enough to be a s you went back and stole his horse that shows a very bad trait in you you re dull and you re lacking in gratitude and honesty i did think some of letting you go seeing this is your first so far as this court knows but all things considered i think a year in the will do you good it will rouse you to a sense of the significance of the law and make you understand that the property of others is sacred and not to be with my judgment is that you be confined in the for the eastern district of for one year and that you repay this the value of this horse as estimated here the one hundred and thirty five dollars out of future s had sold the horse to a passing for forty dollars he was led away rolling his cap uncertain not knowing what to think of his crime or his future when it came to s turn to be called his honor himself and straightened up for this was a type of man and he could not be handled in the si way became much more self conscious l cow called the clerk stepped briskly forward as his name was sorry for himself ashamed of his position in a way but it neither in look nor manner he stood ven ht in of the gate very simple and yet courageous eyed him as he h ul tho others asked the for the benefit of the court s n i rank hundred seven avenue v v v tion h a u i n r ad joined by the moment he wi and the latter stood close beside him v tu re v to make a final state v v r iv o or of io and the public when the v ni iv v v o a i her position in the crowd o v is t t time in her life biting her v s v t v ly r vi were great beads of v v s father was tense with s v vo brothers quickly away x s v o v o h r sorrow v tv v s a r v v a w i the in the ms way coming forward have you to say why judgment should not now be pronounced upon you if so speak started to say no but put up	43
his hand if the court please my mr the prisoner at the bar is neither guilty in his own estimation nor in that of two of the state supreme court the court of last resort in this state he exclaimed loudly and clearly so that all might hear one of the interested listeners and spectators at this point was edward butler who had just stepped in from another court room where he had been talking to a judge an court attendant had warned him that was about to be he had really come here this morning in order not to miss this sentence but he his motive imder the guise of another errand he did not know that was there nor did he see her the crowd was quite large the father and sons were so intent on frank that they did not see him butler had a peculiar look of interest on his face not malicious but strangely grim and determined as he himself at the time of his trial went on and as the evidence clearly showed he was never more than an agent for the gentleman whose was subsequently by this court and as an agent he still and two of the state supreme court agree with him that he was strictly within his rights and privileges in not having deposited the sixty thousand dollars worth of city loan at the time and in the manner which the people acting through the district attorney complained that he should have my is a man of rare financial by the various letters which have been submitted to your honor in ins behalf you will see that he commands the respect ind the sympathy of a large majority of the most force the ful eminent men in his particular world he is a man of distinguished social standing and of notable achievements only the most and the thrust of has brought him here before you to day a fire and its consequent panic which involved a financial property of the most thorough and stable character in spite of the verdict of the jury and the decision of three of the state supreme court i maintain that my is not an that he has not committed that he should never have been convicted and that he should not now be punished for something of w hich he is not guilty i trust that your honor will not me or my motives when i point out in this situation that what i have said is true i do not wish to cast any reflection on the integrity of this court nor of any court nor of any of the processes of law i appreciate the peculiar and distinguished position which your honor holds in this matter but i do condemn and the chain of events which has built up a seeming situation not easily by the lay mind and which has brought my distinguished within the of the law i think it is but fair that this should be finally publicly stated here and now i ask that your honor be and that if you cannot dismiss this charge you will at least see that the facts as i have indicated them are given due weight in the measure of the punishment inflicted stepped back and judge nodded as much as to say he had heard all the distinguished lawyer had to say and would give it such consideration as it deserved no more then he turned to who was standing as erect as before and all his dignity to his aid he began frank you have been convicted by a jury of your own selection of the of the motion for a new trial made in your behalf the your learned counsel has been carefully considered and the majority of the court being entirely with the propriety of the conviction both upon the aw and the evidence your was one of more than gravity the more so that the large of money you obtained belonged to the city and it was by the fact of which we have knowledge that you had in addition used md converted to your own use several thousand of the loan and money of the city for such an the punishment by the law is singularly merciful nevertheless the facts in connection with your hitherto distinguished position the which your failure was brought about and he courteous appeal of your friends and financial will be given due consideration by this court t is not of any important fact in career paused as if in doubt what further to say he knew very well how he was about to proceed t was all written out and in his mind he knew what us expected of him if your case points no other moral he went on after a moment with the it will at least teach the lesson long needed at the present time that the treasury of the city is not to be invaded and with under the thin disguise of a business transaction and that there is still a power in the law to itself and to protect the public the sentence of the he added solemnly the while gazed on is therefore that you pay a fine of five thousand dollars to the for the use of the county that you pay the costs rf and that you undergo imprisonment in he state for the eastern district by or solitary confinement at labor for a period of four and six months and that you stand committed this sentence is complied with the the judge dropped the papers and moved to pick up those in connection with who was to follow satisfied that he had given the no chance to say he ha i not given due heed to their plea in behalf and yet certain that the would be pleased that he had so nearly given the while appearing to	43
have given due heed to the for mercy in his case saw through the trick at once but it did not disturb him it struck him as rather weak and contemptible a came ard and started to him away the prisoner to remain a moment called judge the name of george w had been called by the clerk and the ex city was now quite near co did not quite understand why it was that he was detained but he soon learned it was that he might hear the opinion of the court in connection with liis co partner in crime the latter s record was taken as had been s the irish political lawyer w ho had been his all through his troubles stood near him but had nothing to say beyond asking the judge to consider s previously honorable career s father who had borne up rather the actual sentence was pronounced was concealing his wet eyes behind the back of his son edward who was leaning over with his elbows on the seat before him his head in his hands was biting her lower lip and her hands to keep down rage and disappointment and tears four years and six months she thought that would make a terrible gap in his life in hers still she could wait it was better than eight or ten years as she had feared it might be perhaps now once this was really over and in prison he governor would pardon him as he thought oh if only would while she was thinking judge was begin the to address who made no such figure as had standing before the rail or gate he was too pale too limp too in on himself he looked very tired and very sickly george w said his honor while the audience including listened attentively the rule for a new trial in your case having been refused and the motion in arrest of judgment it remains for the court to impose such sentence as the nature of your requires i do not desire to add to the pain of your position by any extended remarks of my own but cannot let the occasion pass without expressing my emphatic condemnation of your the tion of public money has become the great crime of the age k not promptly and firmly checked it will ultimately destroy our institutions when a republic becomes by corruption its vitality is gone it must upon the first pressure in my opinion the public are much to blame for your and others of a similar character heretofore official fraud has been regarded with too much indifference what we need is a higher and purer political morality a state of opinion which make the improper use of public money a thing to be it was the lack of this which made possible beyond that i see nothing of in your case judge paused for emphasis he was coming to his finest flight and he wanted it to sink in the people had confided to you the care of their money he went on solemnly it was a high a sacred trust you should have guarded the door of the treasury even as the protected the garden of and should have turned the flaming sword of honesty against every one who approached it position as the representative of a great that you have the the in of all the facts in your case the court can do no less than impose a major penalty the section of the criminal act pro that no shall be by the court of this to either of the thereof for any term which shall between the of november and the day of february of any year and this provision requires me to three months from the of time which i would x in your case namely five years the sentence of the court is therefore that you pay a fine of five thousand dollars to the for the use of the knew well enough that could never pay that and that you undergo imprisonment in the state for the eastern district by separate and solitary confinement at labor for the period of four years and nine months and that you stand committed until this sentence is complied with he laid down the and rubbed his chin thinking how nearly he had complied with the wish of his political that and be given the same sentence and both the latter were hurried out butler was the first to leave after the sentence quite satisfied seeing that all was over so far as she was concerned stole quickly out and after her in a few moments came s father and brother they were to await him outside or he was to await them and they were to go with him to the the remaining members of the family in avenue were eagerly awaiting intelligence of the morning s work and joseph was at once despatched to tell them did not think it necessary to go back home at present told him that he was sure he would be wanted in the court the following thursday and if he chose he could visit his home then seeing that he had actually been the was anxious to get off his hands out of his the as it were he had given orders to take him straight away after obtaining the final paper of the court which was now ready the day had now become cloudy and it looked as if it might snow a little who had been given all tiie papers in the case announced that there was no need to return to the county jail in consequence the five of them his father and edward got into a street car which ran to within a few blocks of the prison within half an hour they were at the gates of the	43

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