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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1922-12-01, Page 7WisAtaiMA,"1...,; ffiltifigmy liinfe.M.M1 6 wiliVIL $ li.7466, i F, 371 irlet ill,A p 1,0I obk 05 4., riPTVP:23NMAttfar.T,.',' ktrrik; ,f4 41,ts*A. iogrikAiir r• (iikin‘ed tioni last fweeh.i. Ago* Jack tried to *Teak Ilia anger was gone; the pathoii in the Jew's voice, had .robbed him' of:all an- tagonism, but Cohen would allow no interruptions. "And., now one thing more before I let you speak, and then I am through. In all the years I have ever beep able to help him with the only thing I have that van help him—my Money. If it Was five times what you want, he should have 'it. Do 'you'llear? Five times!" • Isaac threw himself into his chair and sat with his chin in his hand. The last few words had come isi a dry, choking whisper—as if they had been pumped from the depths of his heart. - Jack instinctively put out his hand and touched the Jew's knee. "Will you please 'forgive me, Mr. Cohen—and will you please. listen to me. I won't tell you a lie. I did feel that way at first—I do not now. I will take the bonds, and I thank you from the bottom a my heart for them. You will never know how much good they will do; I have hard- ly slept since I knew I had to get this mone'y. I am, perhaps, too tired to think straight, but you must do something for me—you must make it right with my own conscience. I want to sign something—give you some- thing as security. I have only one thing in the world and that iss.some ore property my father left me in tifyland. At present it is worthless and may always be, but still it is all I have. Let me give you this. If it turns out to he of value you can take out your loan with interest and give me the rest, if it does not, I will pay it back as I can; it may be ten years or it may be less, but I will pay it if I live." • Isaac raised his head. "Well, that is fair." His voice was again under control. "Not for me—but for you. Yes, that is quite right for you to feel that way. Next week you can bring in the papers," He picked up the bonds. "Now put these in your inside pocket and look out for them as you cross the ferry. Good-bye." CHAPTER XXX Jack strode out into the night, his mind ,in a whirl. No sense of elation over the money had possession of him. All his thoughts were on Isaac. What manner of man was this Jew? he kept asking himself in a sort of stunned surprise, who could handle his shares like a journeyman, talk like a servant, spend money like a prince, and still keep the heart of a child? Whoever heard of such an act of kind- ness; and so spontaneous and direct; reading his heart, sympathizing with him in his troubles—as his friend would have done—as his own father might have done. And with the thought of Cohen's supreme instantaneous response there ,followed with a rush, of shame and self -humiliation that of his own nar- row- mindedness, his mean prejudices, his hatred of the'race, his question- ings of Peter's intimacy, and his fre- quent comments on their acquaintance , —the one thing he could never under- stand in his beloved mentor. Again Isaac's words rang in his ears. "Is it because I am a Jew? Who taught you such nonsense? Not your uncle Peter—he loves me. I love him." And with them arose the vision of the man stretched to his full height, the light of the lamp glinting on his, moist forehead, his beadlike eyes flashing in the rush of his anger. As to the sacrifice both he and Ruth had just made, and it was now final, this no longer troubled him. He had already weighed for her every side of the question, taking especial pains to discuss each phase of the subject, even going so far as to dis- agree with MacFarlane's opinion as to the worthlessness of the ore Janda. But the dear child had never waver: ed. "Nol—I don't care," she had answ- ered with a toss of her head. "Let WHY BABIES CRY It's often hard to find the trouble —It may be teeth—it may be stomach—but oh I so often it is just a chafed irritated skin on which poor SL:a p has been used'. The remedy for this is so simple{ Hours of suffering—night after night of disturbance—have been avoided by mothers, who lave insisted on Own Soap. Of course it costs a little more, a very little more, however— than what is often bought and used—but four generations of Canadian Mothers are there to vouch for its 'purity, for the soothing healing effect on Baby's delicate skin, for the lovely pure flower fragrance it leaves when Baby fresh and clean is taken from his bath. _ Don't you think, Madam, it's worth paying the 15c, a cake, a little less if you buy a box (8 cakes) which your dealer asks forBaby. Own Soap. Adv. s • flO:c.ot gan' t.bn. -1AY'-. 11/AR. •..1 *If' PPPPlt , t ft**40' 4 4toaa.o.41. 'OrePtik 'AlArt4JA £e21, The '4140' RV 4543'43 TO' erlf SSW tilESW-**I4 be,t9LeStr 'Orb veil: "You -IWA ffaVed.)alk fteln eaoqudedt'Of What** Oble PPP, Mr.qrarief4" -she said, In a 84erifiee not' had �i• low, raonottineuS voiae, "and mylittle realized"the Ione years of wo4whtcl boy as' well. I try to thinlethat Gar - Might ensue, or the aellklealal and ry must have 'been out of his mind constant -anxiety attending its repay- when he took the• money, He would n.ient. 'PractlealeUentionS on so large not. listen to me, and he would not tell scale -had 'been- outside the range of me the truth. Jack is 'going to pay it her experience, Here was the spirit hack to-morroW, and nobody will ever of Jen of old, 1Srbo reckoned nothing • know that My husband did. wrong; of value but her ideaL butI.couldn't let you go away without Nor can vie blame her. • When your thanking you for having saved us. My cheeks are twin roses; your hair him* . stepfather wouldn't help nobody as 'a crow's wing and fine as winild help but you. I don't know and your teeth—not One flsiseioekio why you did it. It seems so strange. many seed pearls peeping' from pont- I had given up all. hope when Jack °crenate. lips; when; your blood goes came back last night." skipping and bubbling through your. Peter sat perfectly still, his hand veins; when at night you sleep like on her wrist, where he had placed• it a baby, and at morn you spring from to show by a kindly touch his arm - your bed in the joy of another day; pathy for her. Not knowing what hr when there are two strong brown lips would tell, he had begun tes pat hands and two strong arms, and a the back of her black glove when she great, loving, honest heart every bit started to speak, asione Would quiet your own; and when, too, there are a child who pours out its troubles, crisp autumn afternoons to come, withbut he stopped in amazement as she gold and brown for a carpet, and long proceeded. He had not loaned her a winter evenings, the fire -light danc- dollar, nor had Sack, as he knew, sue - tog on the overhead rafteraFand 'way ceeded in getting a penny, unless by —'way—beyond this—someWhere in a miracle he had met some one on the far future there rises a 'slender the train who had come to his rescue. spire holding a chime of bells, and What did the poor woman mean? beneath it a deep -toned organ,—when Disgrace! Trouble! Garry taking money, and Jack paying it back on Monday! The honor of her husband's sudden death had undoubtedly turned her mind, distorting some simple busi- ness transaction into a crime, or she would not be thanking him for some- thing that he had never done. This talk of Jack's could only have been a ruse to keep up her spirits and give her false strength until she had pass- ed through the agonizing ordeal of the funeral—he • accepted all her delus ions as true—as one does when an insane person is to be coaxed back into a cell. These thoughts went whirling through his mind, as Peter watched her .face closely, wondering what would be his course. He had not met her often, yet he could see that she was terribly changed. He noticed, too, that all through the in- terview she had not shed a tear. Yes —there was no question that her mind was unbhlanced. The best plan would be to bring the interview to an le, so she g on her this, I say, is, or will be the gold of the Indies is - as tinkling brass, and Map dem a mere bauble with 'W quiet a child. ' so much a's die- • h It was not until he was nearing Corklesville that the sense of the mon- ey really came to him. He knew what it would mean to Ruth and what her eyes would hold of gladness and re- lief. Suddenly there sprang to his lite an unbidden laugh, a spontaneous overflow from the joy of his heart; the first he had uttered for" days. Ruth should know first. He would take -her in his arms and tell her to hunt in all his pockets, and then he would kiss her and place the package in her hands. And then the two would go to Corinne. It would be late, and she would be in bed, per- haps, but that made no difference. Ruth would steal noiselessly upstairs; past where Garry lay, the flowers heaped upon his coffin, and Corinne would learn the glad tidings before to -morrow's sun. At last the ghost which had haunted them all these days was banished; her child would be safe, and Corinne would no longer have to hide her head. Once more the precious package became the dominant, thought. Ten bonds! More than enough! What would McGowan say now? He slip- ped his hand under his coat fondling the wrapper, caressing it as a lover does a long-delayed letter, as a pris- .onpr does a key which is to turn dark- ness into light, as a hunted man a weapon which may save his life. It did not take Jack many minutes we may be sure to hurry from the station to Ruth's home. There it all happened just as he had planned and schemed it should—even to the kiss and the hunting for the package of bonds, and Ruth's cry of joy, and the walk through the starlight night to Corrine's and the finding her upstairs; except that the poor woman was not yet in bed. "Who gave it to you, ,lack?" Cor- inne asked in a tired voice. "A friend of Uncle Peter's." "You mean Mr. Grayson?" "Yes.' There was no outburst, no cry of gratitude, no flood of long -pent-up tears. The storm had. so crushed and bruised this plant that many 'days must elapse before it would again lift its leaves from the mud. "It was very good of Mr. Grayson, Jack," was all she said in answer, and then relapsed into the apathy which had been hers since the hour when the details of her husband's dishon- esty had dropped from his lips. Poor girl! she had no delusions to sustain her. In her earlier years she and her mother had been accustomed to look things squarely in the face, and to work out their own careers; a game of chance, it is true, until her mother's marriage with the elder Breen ; but they had both been honest careers, and they had owed no man a penny. Garry had fought the battle for her within the last few years, and in return she had loved him as much as she was able to love anybody; but she had loved him as a man of honor, not as a thief. Now • he had Peel to her, had refused to listen to her pleadings, and the end has come. What was there left, and to whom should she now turn—she without a penny to her name—except to her stepfather, who hod insulted and des- pised her. She had even been com- pelled to seek help from Ruth and Jack; and now at last to accept from Mr, Grayson—he almost a stranger. These were the thoughts whit+, like strange nightmares, swept across her tired brain, taking grew - some shapes, each one more horrible than its predecessor. At the funeral, next day, she pre- sented the same impassive front. Breen and her mother rode with her in the carriage to the church, and .Tack and Ruth helped her alight, but she might have been made of stone so far as she evinced either sorrow or interest in what was taking place about her. And yet nothing had been omitted by friend or foe expressive of and heart -felt sorrow the emended. Holker Morris eath of maps with a special the vie occasion sent to her, expressing his confidence in and respect for the man he had brought up from a boy. A commit- • tee was present from the Society of Architects to which Garry belonged; half a dozen 9f his old friends from the Magnolia were present, Billy a- mong them; the village Council and the Board of Church Trustees came end as quickly as possi should not dwell too I sorrow. "If I have done an mg to help you, soy dear lady he said with gentle courtesy, min from his chair and taking her hand again, "or can do anything for you in the future, I shall be most happy, and you must certainly let me know. And now, may I not ask you to go upstairs and lie down. • You are greatly fatigued— I assure you I feel for you most deeply.". But his mind was still disturbed, Ruth and Jack wondered at his quiet as he sat beside them on the way back to MasFarlane's—gazing out of the carriage window, his clean- shaven, placid face at rest, his straight thin lips close shut. He hardly spoke until they reached the house, and then it was when he help- ed Ruth alight. Once inside, how- ever, he beckoned Jack, and without a word led him alone into MacFar- lane's study—now almost dismantled for the move to Morfordsburg—and closed the door. "Mrs. Minott has just told me the most extraordinary thing, Jack—an unbelievable story. Is she quite sane?" Jack scanned Peter's face and read the truth. Corinne had evidently told him everything. This was the sever- est blow of all. "She supposed you knew,'sir," an- swered Jack quietly, further conceal- ment' now being useless. "Knew what?" Peter was staring at him with wide-open eyes. "What she told you, sir" faltered Jack. The old man threw up his hands in horror. "What! You really mean to tell me, Jack, that Minott has been steal- ing?" Jack bent his head and his eyes sought the floor. He could hardly have been more ashamed had he him- self been the culprit. "God bless my soul! From whom?" "The church funds—be was trustee. The meeting is to -morrow, and it would all have come out." A great light broke over Peter— as when a window is opened in a dark- ened room in which one has been stumbling. "And you have walked the streets trying to beggar yourself, not to help MacFarlane to keep Minott out of jail!" Amazement had taken the place or horror. "He was my friend sir—and there are Corinne and the Ifttle boy. It is al 1 over now, I have the money— that is, I have got something to raise it oil." "Who gave it to you?" He was still groping, blinded by the revela- tions, his gray eyes staring at Jack his voice trembling, beads of perspir- ation moistening his forehead. "Isaac Cohen. He has given me ten Government bonds. They are in that drawer behind you. H over- heard what I said to you yesterday about wanting some money, and was waiting for me when I went down- stairs. He gave them to me because he loved you, he said. I am to give him my ore property as security, al - firma for free book giving full partic- ulars of Trench's world-fmous prep- arationf or Epilepsy and Flia—sisotme home treatment. Over 30 mare, anemia Testimonials from all ports office werld,• over i000 h ma Cr.yeWrIto at ate.* TRENCI-PS REMEDIES LIMITED 2807 011aarnea' °Members, 79 Adataidest.E. - Toronto, Ontario 44. theugh told' WM*, '7,fia of WS talitO," Peter made ji etep lvard, fifzetek- otst a hand as 'if steady hiss- self.- His face grwwbite then slid. denly flushed. lIi breath seemed t6 ha:?;.43knitt'il/inen did tilk4i" he gasped. "and you for Minott!' Why—way---" Jack caught him inte arms, think- ing he was about to IL "No! Nol I'm 'ail' right," he cried, patting Jack's shoulder. "It's you! —you—you, my splendid boy! Oh! —how I love you!" firce-1; ..n.. eHAPTER XX XI The following morning Jack walk- ed into Arthur Breen's private office while his uncle was reading his mail, and laid the package containing the ten bonds on his desk. So far as their borrowing ' capacity was con- cerned, he could have walked up the marble steps of any broker's office or bank on either side -of the street— that is, wherever he was known, and he was still remembered by many of them—thrust the package through the cashier's window, and walked down again with a certified check for their face value in his pocket. But the boy had other ends in view. Bing human, and still smarting under his uncle's ridicule and contempt, he wanted to clear his own name and character; being loyal to his friend's memory and feeling that Garry's rep.. utation must be at least patched up— and here in Breen's place and before the man who had so bitterly denounc- ed it; and being above all tender- hearted and gallant where a woman, and a sorrowing one, was concerned, he must give Corinne and the child a fair and square ata in the house of Breen, with no\o+erdue accounts to vex her except such petty ones as a small life insurance and a few un- collected commissions could liquidate. These much -to -be -,desired results could only be attained when the senior member of the firm was -made ac- quainted with the fact that, after all, Garry's debts could be daid and his reputation saved. The money must, therefore, be borrowed of Arthur Breen & Co. His uncle- would know then beyond doubt; his axiom being that the one thing that talked loud enough ever to make him listen was "money." It was therefore with a sense of supreme satisfaction, interwoven with certain suppressed exuberance born of freedom and self-reliance, that Jack, in answer to Breen's "What's this?" when his eyes rested on the bundle of bonds, replied in an off -hand but entirely respectful manner: "Ten United States Government bonds, sir; and will you please give me a cheque drawn to my order for this amount?" and he handed the as- tounded broker the slip of paper Mc- Gowan had given him, on which was scrawled the total of the overdue vouchers. Breen slipped off the rubber band, spread out the securities as a lady opens a fan, noted the title, date, and issue, and having assured himself of their genuineness, asked in a con- fused, almost apologetic way, as he touched a bell to summon the cashier: "Where did you get these? Did MacFarlane give them to you?" "No—a friend," answered Jack cas- ually, and without betraying a trace of either excitement or impatience. "On what?" snapped Breen, some- thing of his old dictatorial manner asserting itself. "On my word," replied Jack, with a note of triumph, which he could not wholly conceal. The door opened and the cashier entered. Breen handed him the bonds, gave instructions about the drawing of the check and turned to Jack again. He was still suffering from amaze- ment, the boy's imperturbable manner being responsible for the most of it. "And does this pay Minott's debts?" he asked in a more conciliatory tone. "Every dollar," replied Jack. Breen looked up. Where had the boy got this poise and confidence, he asked himself, as a flush of pride swept through him; after all, Jack was of his own blood, his brother's son. "And I suppose now that it's you who will be doing the walking instead of Minott's creditors?" Breen inquir- ed with a frown that softened into a smile as he gazed the longer into Jack's calm eyes. "Yes, for a time," replied Jack in the same even, unhurried voice. The clerk brought in the slip of paper, passed it to his employer, who examined it: closely, and who then af- fixed his signature. you get any more of that kind .of stiff and want help in the new work, let me know." "Thank you, sir," said Jack folding Op the precious scrap and slipping it into his pocket. Breen waited until .Tack had closed the door, pulled from a pigeon -hole o bundle of papers labelled Maryland Mining Company, touted another button summoning his stenographer and said in a low voice to himself! "Yes, I have it! Something is go- ing on in that ore property. I'll write and find out." CHAPTER XXXII The Board of Church Trustees met as customary, on Monday night, buf there was no business transacted ex cept the passing of a resolution ex pressing its deep regret over the loss of "our distinguished fellow -towns- man, whose genius had added so mud-. to the beautifying of our village, and whose uprightness of character will always be," etc., etc. Neither Jack nor McGowan, nor any Vp.rto /1 ,o map x aza And to the Matter 10.0,0e.ed;etteh' WO every ORO concerned belng.rejele, edever.tile elderee9, • "Mr. Minoti was 111r,' newAtad a big stack of !MeV ever at his. step. tatIrer's hank," Wee Mirrp-bre etate meat to a group around the table in one of the bar -rooms of the Village, "He wain a big deal, so Mac thinks, and didn't want to haul any of it out, Se when he died Mr. - Breen never. squawked—just went ever and told 'the old man that Mac wanted the • money and to fork out; and he did, like a good one. t seen the check, I tell ye. Oh! they're all in together, Mr. Breen's kin to them blew York folks, and so is Mrs. Minott. He's her father, I hear. I think Mac shot off his mouth too quick, arid I told him so, but he was so bet up he couldn't keep stilL Why, them fel- lers has got more money than they can throw- away. Mac sees his mis- take now. Heard him tell Mr. Breen that Mr. Minott was the whitest man he ever !gnawed; and you bet yer life he's right." Nor was Murphy's eulogiumt the only one heard in the village: With- in a week after the funeral a com- mittee was appointed to gather funds for the placing of a stained glass Will- dow in the new church in memory of the young architect who 'had designed and erected it; with the result that Holker Morris headed the subscrip- tion list, an example which was fol- lowed by many of the townspeople, including McGowan and Murphy and several others of their class, as well as various members of the Village Council, together with many of Garry's friends in New York, all of which was duly set forth in the coun- ty and New York papers; a fact which so impressed the head of the great banking firm of Arthur Breen & Co. that he immediately sent his personal check for a considerable a- mount, desiring, as he stated at a club' dinner that same night, to pay some slight tribute to that brilliant young fellow, Minott, who, you know, married Mrs. Breen's daughter — a lovely girl, brought up in my own house, and who has now come home again to live with us. Peter listened attentively while Jack imparted these details, a peculiar smile playing about the corners of his eyes and mouth, his only com- ment at the strangeness of such posthumous honors to such a man, but he became positively hilarious when Jack reached that part in the narrative in which the head of the house of Breen figured as chief con- tributor. "And you mean to tell me, Jack," he roared, "that Breen has pushed himself into poor Minott's stained- glass window, with the saints and the gold crowns, and—oh, Jack, you can't be serious!" "That's what the Rector tells me, sir." "But, Jack—forgive me, my boy, but I have never in all my life heard anything so delicious. Don't you think if Holker spoke to the artist that Mr. Iscariot, or perhaps the es- timable Mr. Ananias, or Mr. Peck - sniff, or Uriah Beep might also he tucked away in the background?" And with this the old fellow, in spite of his sympathy .for Jack and the solemnity of the occasion, threw back his head and laughed so long and so heartily that Mrs. McGuffey made ex- cuse to enter the room to find out what it was all about. With the subletting of Garry's house and the shipping of his furni- ture—that which was not sold—to her father's house, Jack's efforts on be- half of his dead friend and his fam- ily came to a close. Ruth helped Corinne pack her personal belongings and Jack found a tenant who moved in the following week. Willing hands are oftenest called upon, and so it happened that the two lovers bore all the brunt of the domestic upheaval. Their own packing had long since been completed; not a difficult matter in a furnished house; easy always to Ruth and her father, whose nomadic life was marked by constant changes. Indeed, the various boxes, cases, crates, and barrels containing much of the linen, china, and glass, to say nothing of the portieres, rugs and small tables, and the whole of Ruth's bedroom furniture, had already been loaded aboard a box car and sent on its way to Morfordsburg. there to await the arrival of the joyous young girl, whose clear brain and competent hands would bring order out of chaos, no matter how desolate the interior and the environment. For these dainty white hands with their pink nails and soft palms, so wonderfully graceful over teapot or fan, could wield a broom or even a dust pan did necessity require. Ruth in a ball gown, all frills and ruffles and..lacc, was a sight to charm the eye of any man, but Ruth in Calico and white apron, her beautiful hair piled on top of her still more beautiful head; her skirts pinned up, and her dear little feet pattering about, was a sight not only for men but for gods as well. Jack loved her in this cos- tume, and so would you had you known her. I myself, old and wrinkl- ed as I am, have never forgotten how I 'tapped at the wrong door one morn- ing—the kitchen door—and found her in that same costume, with her arms bare to the elbows and covered with flour, where she had been making a "sally-lun" for daddy. Nor can I for- get her ringing laugh as she saw the look of astonishment on my face, or my delight when she ordered me in- side and made the open the oven door so that she could slide in the finished product withoet burning her fingers. (Continued next week.) A6610 Irelrr, litthe ; x..? • FOre...114 - • • ' • • A Big A full-size, fult-.weight, solid of good soap is "SURPRIS Best for any and all:household use. S M KE OLD C LIN Therrobacco of Quality Acts Like a ALAEffe Results Guaranteed 169 SOLD IN SEAFORTH BY E. UMBACII • L;,,, Li , ;„, , !„ .„. , , , 4,4 • ',,....l'iiir'Atiligtj',l,;.,A14'.‘,11,444.44-4A44i 41,1"4,