TJIE SUNDAY OREGOXIA PORTLAND. SEPTE3IBER 17, 1911.
NEW5 5NAR5H0T5 Or PEOPLE AND EVENTS
m LATE LY
i mr v
ir-
THC PUBLIC EYE
si
1
---.Jr
2 r
v.
,v T v , . .
J
7
c2
s s- m-cs - - -
4
n
Z
Compensation
ntor Anthony St-1 anj tat vtf. Ju
it. of Ohio, ar promin.nt la Wuhtcii-
toa. IX C.. nrlt)r At a llm suppol to
Inrtjdo Prvold'at R4iill'i Adtnlnutra
lea. and tbo otory ptia ltb th.lr aoinc
t tho romlnc-out party of MtM Katbho
A'arrvoA, a ifcuog Krl hum ttiry had ntrt
.ara pratfu !t. tthar cu-.ca at tha party
aro finatir Harwuod. v'artrr tard. tha
attT avph.a. and Lucll Tag, a friend
of tho So rial or a. Yuung Nln llaraowd
rova marked altantloa ! Kathlren. a fl
mat la not.d by MaJr Warrna. tha ;oun
lady'a faihar. A d.bat la d'i'k-tJ In tho
nttod lltatea Henatr. ah.ro Senator Stoolo
d.Hvora a iprech in favor of railrnad roaa
lalloa. ooator Htraned. ojhi to In tho em
ploy of tho "tntereota." oppo.t Staole.
i'hrtatmaa ovo la Waahlnatoo. p. t.. la
ptrturod. and afra. 5teeie bua a doll f"r a
atranao Mttia trl Tha steelea clvo a New
Y.ara party at th.lr camp, and acme of
lao (ue.ta rnduTao In rtever aud.vtlla.
aoBona; them bolna Kathleen U'arrena. who.
o tha diatreaa of her married outer. Poro
tiea. (lyeo a ftpanl.a danra la rootume.
Venator steel, aroaa lndlffer.nl to hia wtfa
and auaporta that ha la roally In lor. with
Kathlora. Mra. Paco arrlvea. Irromet iuf
pMtoaa of tho re;atlona eilatlna between
Btoola and Kathleen and la anted by tha
latter from belnc ba1ly burned when h.r
drooo catrhea flra. (tenor do la Veil, a
fomra diplomat, toromeo Interratrd In
Kathleen and taken her and other member,
f tho party for a walk tnrouah the snow
of Paid Mountain. They hcorna loot, and
atoolo ard t'arter oraanlao a oearvhlna
party. Steele flnda Po La Vea and Kalh
ln loaether. ehtvenne; with rold. and aa
ho rarrlea Kath'.eea homo aho ralla him
'Anthony and ho enV.o her -little friend
Tha houao party retuma to Washington, r.
. Mra. Steel, beclna to feot that her hue.
pand la drlfttnc aaav from her. Senator
Harwoo4 and hit oorrrtary. aliaa Tratnor.
ronoplro against 8tee!e, and tha Senator
ntata that Nelson Harwood should marry
Kathleen. Steele advlaea Major Warrens
at to rnveot Kathleen'a y.1A.om tn the Har.
wood crowrt'a bocua T. L a T railroad
atora. sonator Harwood beaina a newa
paper war aaalnaf Steei. Major Warrrnl
dlea and M:aa Kathleen and Senator 5e:a
oarhanco Ioto yowa. Via tetTa her that ha
had never lorad bla wife, stoalo Interriewa
the Hrealdent of the 1'ntted State. and
a-g-ueo f'e aa .du.allonal quallf tca:von for
tha fraochtao.
CHAITER XIII Cone udrd.
"Well. Tm afraid you'll find It up
hill pulUrut" Tha Prraiaenta first
JubLlatlon coramanced to calm down,
aa ha ramembaj.d certain ichrmn ot
hla oaen. Juat as reaaonablo. which had
mat with relent lesa defeat- 1 aup
poaa wa can hardly look upon such a
radical fneajur aa tmonf tha proba
bilities yet: but drill It Into them
tfrlil It Into them. Go ahead and do
what you can. You ran count on me
for support, all nrht, and when you
da win. you'll have done a srrater
piece of law-maklor than all tha pres
idents and klna-s la creation. I enry
jtob Lb strufsle." He siook Steele's i
hand cordially once more, aa the latter
roue to no.
"Then you don't think ma an eiro-tistlt-al
-itrnoramus to attempt tha af
fair?" There a half wlatful note
In the tall Senator's voice.
"Not one bit of It! No sincere effort
to effect a Brest reform ever seemed to
me other than hltch-mlnded and worthy
of succraa. And It is an Inspiration to
me. str. to know a man who considers
his duty as -a citizen before the ever-
IastlnK. 'What do I aet out of It?" You
would hare made a fine Secretary of
Slate, but you make a finer legislator.
flood lurk to you!" And his ugly mn
nrttr smile encourasred Steele's uncer
tainty, before the door closed between
them.
Anthony walked across the Whits
House park In a curiously mingled
state of exultation and misgiving;.
With the sinking of heart that comes
to all those who hsve Just burned the
last bridge behind them, he saw him
self in one comer of his mind as the
fanatic the Party railed him: In an
other corner, lighted by the President's
enthusiasm, aa the Man Who Had Ac
complished at last the thing worth
while. It was all so Indefinite thst If
he had had the decision of the after
noon to remake, he doubted as who
ot us does not. In the tumultuous hSlf
hour after he has risen to his finest
possibilities! One vision stood arro
gant before him that clear April after
noon, the vision of his life at the end
of two years. If he should fail: Besten,
ridiculed, laid forever on tha political
shelf aa a dreamer who had ctfsplsed
his great chance, and used his oppor
tunity In the fabrication of whipped
cream projects only fit for Socialists
and seers. And on the other hand, la
tha fast receding distance lay the al
ternate picture: the dignity of tbs
rremler. undisputed capability before
all the world, and an excellent chance
as a future Presidential candidate
But tha second vision was no longer
among the futurities. He had crossed
his KuMcon. and whatever might be on
this side, be could not return.
He reflected with a half smile on the
rapidity with which he had torn down
the last pillar of the structure It haJ
taken IS years to build. Creating Is so
tedious; disintegration, so unbelievably
swift. Steele looked back upon the
day when he had been for the first
tiro actively dissatisfied with his posi
tion as head-marionette, and wondered
at the completeness of his emancipa
tion. The set of circumstances in
which he found himself now was hard
ly more satisfactory than that which
he bad discarded; it had the one great
advantage of the active element, and
that was all. lie could point back to ,
every week, almost to every hour, of
those IS months, and show some con
crete accomplishment, some usefulness
culminated. The exposure of the most
spectacular corporation, fraud of the
generation was only the last of his
achievements. He smiled with Ironical
amusement at the quick popularity it
had brought him; even the Kvenlng
had devoted two columna of Its first
pai;e to his glorification. Because It
had been negative work! The people
believed In nothing. In no one, that had
not been proved beyond all doubt, and
that they could not understand on tha
face of things. Great rleces of posi
tive statesmanship and of far-reachine;
potentlalty. like race-arbitration, they
could not assimilate. Steele sighed
drearily, wondering If he had given up
his all In pursuit of a phantom.
The thought of his all brought
Kathleen Into the foreground of his
mind, and he felt a swift rush of long
ing for her sympathy. Kemembranc
of her unfailing loyalty to each of hla
schemes carried th comfort which
cornea invariably when on thinks of
that person to whom one is perfect, or
better than perfect necessary. It
seemed as though he had not talked
with her for centuries, not since th
Mood mounted hotly to his eyes, and
bo clenched his hand against his side.
Yes, Kathleen must hear all about it:
What the President had said, and
what he had said. He would writ to
her that evening; It had been weeks
sine he had allowed himself. Full of
anticipation, he slipped his key Into th
latch, and went with buoyant steps Into
th house.
Juliet cam to meet hlra In th ball.
Sh was tall and clear-cut In her dark
riding-coat, and there was a faint
flush in her cheeks. She handed him
an opened .telegram.
"I am glad you have come. Senator
Harwood la dead a stroke of apo
plexy, on of th detectives tele
graphed. He was on th Boston and
Maine Express, bound for Canada."
Steel looked at her with daxed eyes
for a second, before he took the yellow
paper sh held out to him. "That means
that I must get to the newspaper of
fices before the next edition comes out.
Ther were further reports, and you
can't attack a dead man. Then ther
are telegrams whore's Carru there T"
He started to His study for ills secre
tary. He left Just before th telegram
came. But I can do what you want.
Tell me." Sh pulled off her gloves and
drew cut th dlotatlon-panel of ,the
desk.
Just send these messaaes" h told
them off rapidly for a few minutes
"and telephone th President's secre
tary to mak sura tiat ba baa th ,
word. That nephew of Harwood's
should be notified; I suppose his solici
tors will attend to that. All right
then; I'm off. and thank you. my dear."
Sh heard him shut the front door
with a hurried click,, and listened to
his quick step on the pavement until
she could no longer follow it. The
work he had left her was soon finished;
a few minutes at the telephone and
she had disposed of It. Going back
Into the study for her hat and gloves,
sh was moved by some sudden Im
pulse to sit down again In the chair
by Mi desk.
It was the place ot all the house
where she felt nearest Anthony, and
the place where she felt farthest away
from him: Her among: the flies of
letters, speeches, reports, clippings, all
of which she had read, and some of
which she had helped to write, Juliet
realized keenly that she knew her hus
band as most women do not. The In
cidental assurance that the other side
ot him the side most women know by
heart was blank to her. also Im
pressed Itself very sharply in this
room where they so often worked to
gether. Until she had caught the light In his
eyes as they rested on Kathleen, she
had wondered if he had such a hint of
th typical In him. In these recent
days th mercy of the doubt was not
left her. She knew that when he sat
for hours staring into the long Spring
dusks, his thoughts were not on poli
tics. She knew the meaning of tha
lines about his mouth when she had
met him once or twics coming out of
th whit room upstairs, where a soft
toned picture hung. And she longed
to take bis head in her arms and to
whisper to him that, aha understood,
that she would help him, aa she always
had helped him when he needed her..
In the Intensity of her sympathy, sh
felt that she would gladly have gon
down into the very valley of desolation
to leaven his suffering. She would
have shut her eyes and blindly given
th laat thins she had to give his
freedom. Dally th maternal element
of her love urged the sacrifice; but
something stronger refused It. "Hands
off" had been the theme of her belief
so long that she could not. change it.
could pot adujst it. even for Anthony.
It waa characteristic of her that she
held to her creed of acceptance when
the strain fell hardest upon herself.
And ho that tossed than down Into tha Hold.
Ha knows about It ail ba knows ha
knows!
For a long time she sat there In the
stiff desk chair, thinking and think
ing, at last she picked up her gloves
and rose to go upstairs; and as she
did so, some orderly impulse made her
take a package ot unused pencils from
th table and place them In th desk j
drawer. It stuck a little when ah
tried to close It, bringing something
crisp yet velvety against her hand. She
drew out the drawer and turned It to
wards the reading lamp, expecting to
find a dead moth or other insect
huddled in the corner. But underneath
the pencils lay a big red polnsettia,
fratrlle but still Intact.
Memory stung the color Into Juliet's
face as she lifted the great flower from
under the heavy package with tender
hands: and her eyes were full of rev
erence. "I have spied upon something
very sacred," sh told herself, starting
to replace the treasure. But in the
warm hollow of her hand It fell quietly
apart, leaving only a few crumpled pet
als to tell ot Its ever having bloomed.
Tremblingly she put the dead things
back In their hiding-place. "I did not
mean, to do It" she cried, gazing at
them almost with awe "I did not
mean to do It! I I would have had It
live, quite whole, until the end."
CHAPTER XIV.
Dorothea, and Dicky came and went
Their visit was exactly like that of
every other year, only more tedious.
since the family was in mourning and
the chances for social respite tew. But
the lengthy ' two weeks wore them
selves to an end somehow, varied Only
by the departure of Olive and Jack to
Vienna. Kathleen had gone up to New
York, to see them off, and came back
wlttf a lump In her throat which
seemed determined to stay there. Not
even the sheering picture of the de
parting Merrills could quite restore
buoyancy; and she packed for Conover
with all the depression ,of a homesick
schoolgirl. Kelson was the only one
who could call up any animation In her,
and he came every day, filling in by
his unflagging thoughtfulness many of
the spaces Kathleen bad labelled aa
forever empty.
As they were sitting together one
morning. Miss Ann hurried in. holding
one of the ominous yellow enevelopes
in her hand. "From Colonel Hammer
sleigh, at Warrenston, my dear. Cousin
Sophia Is dying and asks constantly for
me. he says I suppose I must leave at
once: Sophia Hammerslelgh was your
father's favourite cousin. But what
ever will you dor" Th gentle old
spinster sank down into a chair, much
agitated by the sudden complication.
"I oh, I shall be all right" Kath
leen was already looking up timetables.
"Don't worry about me, dear. The thing
Is for you to get oft now."
"I know, why of course" Miss Ann
brightened with, the acquisition of sui
Idea. "Nelson, my dear. Just fetch me
a telegraph blank from the Btudy I
shall ask Juliet to take you for a few
days at Conover until I can get away.
She has Invited you there so many
times, and you will enjoy being with
her. won't you? Certainly! That will
be the very best way."
"But Auntie, I had much rather wait
here for you I mean. I don't mind in
the least staying alone for a day or
two. There is Lucy, and "
"My dear, you know that I could
never leave you unchaperoned with on
ly a servant to look after you." One
might have thought that Miss Ann pa
trolled the house. Instead of allowing
herself to be very tenderly managed.
"Besides, what do you reckon the
cousins down In Warrenston would
think?"
And Kathleen knew that the ultima
tum had gone forth, and that it was
useless to argue. Sh could only have
tut ud a ver-v weak case, anyway; for
'her aunt would have aske'd very soon
Just why she did not want to go to
the Steeles.' and that was a question
that had no answer. So she had to
sit still and acquiesce by silence, while
Miss Ann wrote the telegram that was
no less than an order to the Inquisition-chamber
for Kathleen.
It was In a tumult of uncertainty that
she read Juliet's cordial answer, while
hastily packing Miss Ann's portman
teau. Did Anthony know that she was
coming there, to his house and if he
did. what did he think? What was he
going to do? She remembered his ex
pression when he heard that she was
going to Conover, and her heart pound
ed ungovernably. It was a relief when
Nelson took Miss Ann down to the
station, and she was left alone to think
things over.
But she found that she couldn't think,
at least not outside of a certain cir
cle. She loved Anthony; she had done
without him until her control had al
most worn out; now she was going to
his house, to be under the same roof
with him for tantalising days; would
she break down again? Her self-confidence
wavered, and she doubted her
endurance because she loved him.
That, was the Alpha and Omega of all
her reasoning. And when nnauy sne
found herself on the train, and real
ised that every click of the rails waa
brinKlnar her nearer to trial, her hands
chilled with apprehension.
The whole idea of going west Tor
the Summer had frightened her. Brief
glimpses of Anthony during the Win
ter had warned her that her only
saJety lay in not seeing him: the tem
rest which shook her on those rare
occasions was too emphatio to bs mis
understood, and eh recognized half I
angrily too big for her resistance.
But this cou'd hardly be explained to
Miss Ann, who had taken it into her
head, in spite of all protestations, that
Kathleen was longing for a Summer
In Conover; and that have it she should.
The near-sighted old lady would have
been distressed indeed, had she under
stood the deepening shadows under het
idol's eyes, or caught the meaning of
i Kathleen's quickly-compressed lips
every time the plan was mentioned. 11
Is one of the eternal singularities how
we can live day after day and year
after year, and yes, life after life,
In d'rect touch with a soul, and still
not know It!
Yet the person nearest the Indlvl
duaf itself does not know it. Kathleen
no longer put forth this and that as
among her characteristics. She told
herself candidly that she did not know
them. And along with the admission
came the discarding significant in
every soul's development of that un
alterable code of ethics which Is hung
about the neck of every properly-brought-up
young person. The pre
sumption of passing Judgment on th
attitude of others in the various rela
tions of life or love, it is all the same
is severely shaken when it comes
to personal departures from the iron
line. Kathleen looked back on her
point of view of three years ago with
a pitying recoil from its crudity.
"What a narrow baby he must have
thought me-" she told herself, not
realizing that it was her very narrow
nessor the fresh youth that was its
background which had conquered him.
Kathleen's was a nature that grew
so fast that she invariably saw the pe
riod Just past as irreconcilable with
the one Just forming. The dreamy-eyed
debutante was scarcely among her
acquaintances of 'the present. As a wo
man, her vision had cleared, until she
could no longer see through the knot
hole of 18. But she was afraid, also,
to look out of the broad doors of expe
rience; opoprtunity loomed up so plain
ly unmistakable. And Kathleen waa
not adamant
Neverthelss, when it actually pre
sented itself, she faced the situation
with admirable self-possession. Juliet
wondered at the ease with which she
accommodated herself to Miss Ann'a
blunder; and Inevitably Anthony
viewed her calm courtesy witn soma
bitterness. It is too much to expect
that a man in love will ever see rea
sonably. So for some days Kathleen
carried out a gallant deception, mak
ing herself the most agreeable of
guests while In the. house, and spend
ing long hours away from it under
the pretext of attending to her. own.
Continued oa Pac T. ,