Independence enterprise., May 07, 1920, Page PAGE SIX, Image 6

Page Six
z 1 . . i.i Klmu le. O S B -f7Tl
U l U UU fc v " - z- . I . -1 1 I
Of I KPJ in v" yr, ( J
;9 f ', K-n
ClK Cow Panclw
(Continued from Last Week)
; neir eyes met, and each of them
kn w what It meant. It mount an
no nccuiPtit to lior mothor that she
ha 1 met Dave downtown. It meant
p" Imps a supposition on her mother's
pa it that she had gone downtown for
th::t pi::'i-.oO. II whs far-reaching.
But she said simply, "I should enjoy
driving home with you."
n the wnv they planned that the
following Sunday they would drive
Inl i the foothills tntthoi Of course
tht y would ask Mrs. Hardy to necoMi
pir y them. Of course. Iut It rtiipht
hn pen that Mrs. Hardy would he lu
dis.iosed. Irene was of the opinion thai
wl it her mother limited now was resi.
AS it happened Mrs. Hardy was at
tht- pate. She reeled Da eordiaii.v
etv ugh. Encouraged by her moou.
Ir'ie determined to settle th Suti-
i: program at once.
' Oavw lit good enough to brinjr me
I J iu hu L.ir." she s-'i. " fa
i i -k! lie Invites us to drive into rh
.-..hills wiil) liin nest S-.moV. Will
I come ? Ir will be delightful. Or
I rc you tooling "
'Mr. KU'.en is very kind." said Mrs.
'lir. 'dy, with (iiyrnity. "I hnve no doubt
Mr Conward will accomjnny us. Uh
Is to cail this evening and 1 will ask
him. . . . Ye, I think It very likoly
we will go."
- The sunnier wore on, and autumn
followed on Its heels. The processes
which had been discerned by Conwarti
and other astute operators were n
apparent to the mob which forever
follows in the wake of the successful.
but usually at such a distance as to
be overwhelmed in the receding flood.
The forces which had built up fabu
lous fortunes were now In reverse
gear, and the same mechanism tha'
had built up was now tearing down.
AS the bcom had fed upon itself, cr
ryi.ig prices to heights justifiable only
to the most Insane optimism, so did
the subsequent depression bear down
upon values until chey reached depths
justifiable only to the most abandoned
despondency. The rosy bubble. Inflat
ed with the vapors of Irresponsible
speculation, had dissolved into thin
Mr.
Mrs. Ilardy was among the last to
admit that she had bought on an
ebbing tide. She contended that her
house was well worth the price she
had paid; what if speculation had
come to a stop? So much the better;
her house was still worth Its price.
She would stand firm.
Mrs. iiardy consulted Conward. It
had grown to be her habit to consult
Conward on all matters in which she
found an interest
"How is It, Mr. Conward," Mrs.
Hardy said to him one evening over
her fancy work for she practiced an
Indefatigable industry in matters of
no Importance "how is it that there
is no demand for property? Tou are
a real-estate expert; you should be
able to answer that Isn't this city
as good today as it was a year ago?
Doesn't it occupy the same site? Are
not the farms still producing?"
"That's Just It, dear Mrs. Hardy.
Why, indeed? Simply because the
booster has given way to the calamity
howler. Its psychological explanation
is simple enough. The world lives by
faith. Without faith there would be
neither seedtime nor harvest. That is
true of raising cities as well as of
raising crops. But there are always
those who ridicule faith ; always were,
always will be. And as scon as faith
djsapppars things begin to sink."
"An!" "said Mrs. Hardy gently. "So
we owe all this these empty houses
and shops, unsalable property and ev
erything to those who have lost
faith or never had it To men like
Mr. Elden, for Instance. Tou remem
ber how he trie! io discourage ra
from the very Zri tried to br. ak
down my faith -that wig it. Mr. 'en
ward I see ! all v.ry pln uly r jv.'--and
he r.ud rNra l:ke hurt have
brought ti..gs io their present ?"z.
Well, they have a .reat responsibil
ity." As a result of this eisicu'in Dave
found himself rather less popular
with Mrs. Hardy than befor- Dave
accepted her dlspleasu v tL i. light
headedness that was exu-ei:ie:y trying
to the good woman's temp Had it
not been for his desire to s, .re Irene
any unhappiness he would have treat
ed it with open flippancy. He was
engaged in the serious business of
capturing the heart of Irene Hardy
a task made none the easier by the
self-imposed condition that he must
conduct no off enslve . but must await
with such patience as he could com
mand the voluntary capitulation of the
besieged. On, the whole he told him
self he hud no reason to be dissatisfied
with the progress of events. He and
Irene often motored together, frequent
ly accompanied by Mrs. Hardy, some
times by Conward as well, but occa
sionally alone. And Irene made no se
cret of the fact that she preferred the
trips in which only she and Dave par
ticipated. The gradual shrinkage of values
to the vanishing point imposed upon
Dave many business duties which
he would very gladly have evaded. The
office of Conward & Elden, which had
once been besieged hy customers eager
to buy, was now a center of groups no
less eager to sell; and when they
could not sell they contrived to lay
the blame upon tbo Arm which hud
originally sold to t'..em. Althoupli, for
the most part, these were men and
women who had bought purely from
the gambler's motive, they behaved
toward the real-estate dealer as i
though he had done them an injustice
when the finger of fortuue turned up
a loss instead of a profit. For such
people Dave had little sympathy, and
If they persisted In their munnurlngs
he told them so with becoming frank
ness. Then there was Merton, the wid
ower with sick luiifKi and the mother
loss boy, who had brought his little
savings to the West in the hope of
husbanding out his life In the dry,
dear atiiiosnhere and snvTnjf his son
i"ivi!) the .i:U death that had already
invaded heir little family. With a
cruelty ti:!tost unbelievable Conward
bad tnlkrd this man Into the purchase
of proptriy so far removed from the
iT.v as ro possess no value except
ns farm l;ud; and the little savings
vhieli .,-'e to ward o!T sickness and
ikvith, iu. if that could not be, minis
r nu i - i comfort In the declining
hours mi life, had been exchanged for
propei ry which, even at the tlne of
th1 transaction, was valueless and un
salable. M.-iron had called on Iave with re-sth-o!
io his investment. Dave had at
firsi V en disposed to tell him frankly
that the property, for whlca he hod
rId '.wuiy dollars a fot, wa barely
worth that much an acr. Bt a sec
ond look at the man changed his pur
pose. "I know you were stuns. Morton,"
b ald. "!hnmele!y stnny. Yon are
one of those unsuspecting fellows who
think everybody is poinn to play fair
with them. You belong to the class
who keep all kinds of rogue and
.vm;:uln?!s In easy circumstances. You
might almost be charged with being
accessories. Now, just to show how
! feel about it how much did you pay
for those lots?"
Three thousand dollars. It was all
I had."
"Oi course it was. If you had had
more you would have paid more. 1
suppose Conward justified himself
with the argument that If he didn't
take your easy money someone else
would, which is doubtless true. But
just to show you how I feel about it
I'll buy those lots from you, for three
thousand dollars."
"I can't do It, Mr. Elden; I can't
do it." said Merton, and there was
moisture on his cheeks. "That would
be charity and I can't take it. But
I'm much obliged. It shows you're
square, Mr. Elden, and I hold no ill
r.iil io you."
"Well, can I help you In some way
you will accept? I'm afraid I don't
mean to be unkind, but we may as
well be frank I'm afraid you won't
need help very long."
Merton answered as one who has
made up his mind to the Inevitable,
and Dave thought better of him. This
little wreck of a man this child In
business matters could look death in
the face without a quiver.
"Not so long," he said. "I felt ever
so much better when I came here
first; I thought I was really going to
be well again. But when I found what
a mistake I had made I began to wor
ry, not for myself, you know, but the
boy, and worry is just what my
trouble lives on. I have been work
ing a little, and boarding out, and the
boy is going to school. But I can't do
heavy work, and work of any kind Is
hard to get I find I can't keep going
that way."
Merton looked with dreamy eyes
through the office window, while Dave
was turning over the hopelessness of
his position and Inwardly cursing a
system which made such conditions
possible. Society protects the phys
ically weak from the physically
strong; the physical highwayman usu
ally gets his deserts; but the mental
highwayman preys upon the weak and
the inexperienced and the unorganized,
and Society votes him a good citizen
and a success.
"I had a plan," Merton continued,
half apologetically, as though his plan
did him little credit "I had a plan,
but It can't be worked out. I have
been trying to raise a little money on
my lots, but the mortgage people Just
look at me."
"What is your plan?" said Dave
Vindly. "Any plan, no matter how
;ad, is always better than no plan."
"I thought," said Merton timidly
"I thought If I could build a little
shack on the lots I could live there
with the boy and we could raise a
very fine garden. The Roll is very fer
tile and at least we should not starve.
And the gardening would be good for
me, and I could perhaps keep some
chickens and work out at odd jobs as
well. But it takes money to build
even a very small shack."
"How much money?" demanded
Dave.
"If I had a hundred dollars"
"Bring your title to me tomorrow;
to me personally, you understand. I'll
advance you five hundred dollars."
Merton sprang up, and there was
more enthusiasm in his eyes than had
seemed possible. "You will? But I
don't need that much "
"Then use the surplus to live on."
So the Merton affair was straight
ened away in a manner which left
Dave more at peace with his con
science. But another event, much
more dramatic and far-reaching in its
effects upon his life, was already ripe
for the enacting.
There were cases that could not
be turned away with a sharp answer.
Bert Morrison, for Instance. Bert had
never mentioned her "investment"
s'nee the occasion already recorded.
E.ie greeted Dave with the sociability
due to their long-standing friendship;
and her calm avoidance of the subject
hurt iiim more than the abuse of all
his Irate patrons.
Business conditions had necessitated
unwonted economy in the office affairs
of Conward & Elden, as a result of
which many old employees had been
la!doff and others had been reolaeed
"I Think You Are Absolutely Inno
cent," He Said Gravely.
cent," he said, gravely, "but it's the
Innocent thing that gets caught"
The girl had broken into violent
tears. "Whatever shall I do? What
can I do?" she moaned. "Oh, why
didn't somebody tell me? What can
I do?"
He let her passion run on for a few
minutes, and then he sought, as gently
as he could, to win her back to some
composure. "Some one has told you,"
he said "In time. You don't have to
go. Don't be afraid of anything Con
ward may do. I will settle this score
with him."
She controlled herself, but when she
spoke again her voice had fear and
shame In It. "I I hate to tell you,
Mr. Elden, but I must tell you I I
took I let him give me some money
to buy things. He said maybe I was
short of money and I would want to
buy some new clothes and he would
pay me extra, in advance and he
gave me fifty dollars and and I've
spent it !"
Elden swung on his heel and paced
the length of the office in quick, sharp
strides. When he returned to where
Miss Wardin stood, wrapped about In
her misery, his fists were clenched and
the veins stood out on the back of his
hands.
"Scoundrel !" he muttered. "Scoun
drel I And I have been tied to him. I
have let him bind me; I have let hlra
set the standards. Well, now I know
him." There was a menace in his last
words that frightened even Gladys
Wardin, well though she knew the
menace was not to her, but ranged In
her defense.
"Here," ie said, taking some bills
from his pocket. "You must tell him
you can't go tell him you won't go;
you must return his money. I will
lend you what you need. Don't he
afraid. I will go with you"
"But I can't take your monay,
either, Mr. Elden," she protested. "I
can't stay here any longer. I will have
no job and I can't pay you back. You
see I can't take it, even from you.
What a fool I was I For a few
clothes " '
"You will continue to work foi
me," he said.
She shook her head. "No, I can't. I
can't. I can't work anywhere near
him."
"You won't need to. The firm of
Conward & Elden will be dissolved at
once. I have always felt that there
was something false, la Conward
by cheaper and less experienced labor.
Stenographers who had been receiving
a hundred dollars a month could not
readily bring themselves to accept
fifty, and some of them had to make
way for new girls, fresh from the busi
ness colleges. Such a new girl was
Gladys Wardin pretty, likable, inex
perienced. Her country home hint
offered no nnswer
and she had come
the most dangerous equipment a young
wonuui can curry an attractive face,
nnd an unsophisticated eonlltlonee In j
the goodness of humanity. Conward I
had been responsible for her position '
in the office, and Pave had given little j
thought to her except to note that she !
was a willing worker and of comely
appearance. j
Returning to the office one Saturday
evening Pave found Miss Wardin mak
ing up a bundle of paper, pencil"! and j
onrNm paper. Mie was evidently iu
hlfo spirits, and he smilingly asked
If she intended working at home over
Sunday.
"Oh, didn't Mr. Conward tell you?"
she answered, as though surprised that
the good new s hod beeu kept a secret.
"He is to spend a day or two at 'ne
of the mountain hotels, and 1 aiu to ro
along to do his correspondence. Isn't
It just lovely? I have so wanted to go
to the mountains, but never felt that
T could afford it. And now I can com
bine business with pleasure."
The smile died out of Dave's eyes,
and his face became more set and
stern than she had ever seen it.
"Why, what's the matter, Mr. Kl
den?" she exclaimed. "Is anything
wrong?"
He found it hard to meet her frank,
unsuspecting eyes ; hard to draw back
the curtains of the world so much that
those eyes would never pgnln be quits
so frank and unsuspecting. "Miss
Wardin," he said, "did Conward tell
you that?"
"What? About going to the moun
tains? Of course. He said he was
taking some work with him, and he
wondered if I would mind going aloi.g
to do It, and he would pay the ex
penses, and and There was a
quick, hard catch in her voice, and she
seized Elden's arm violently. Her eyes
were big and round; her pretty face
had gone suddenly white.
"Oh, Mr. Elden. you don't think
you don't think that I that he
You wouldn't believe that "
"I think you are absolutely lnno-
somethiug lhat
Now I know."
...1 .....a a uniind
liu-re - , .,,1
Btrect door, and Couwaru i
CHAPTER XI.
Conward paused as he entered th
II.. bad evidently not expel ted
to her ambitions,; t0 nnij kwoii there, but after
to the city with i mwlt f hesitation he nodded conliaii.v
Miss War.llnl" !
"Our train goes la"
.i.
i-li from m.s i"m-.
., on the i'Jrl.
ile woinl1'
,iunni'iit.
In bis p-i nner.
"Almo-; ready
iiskei!. edecrily.
Ho took his wut
lilul consulted it.
I ., rvi'S ere fixed on
! wlieiuer. Hi tins n',ll"
wmiiil tUlllt '"r herself or
,,. xvoakly on lorn as i.er proiem...
tli- jiii .nor reassured hiai.
". it.aUes no iliiTeieuee when It
(vs Mr. Conward. I'm not goltii! "o
,,,' Hor voice trembled nervomly.
nut there was no weakness In it. l'tie
,r,oney x.hieh Dave had given her a
.still crumpled In her hand. She ml
vaneed to where Con ward stood acn
to lug to sense the situation, nnd
m-UI lb.- iutl b'lVr" bi.,i. "Tl-re
mir .i..r.-v. y?. c Vnward." h rl'
"Xi . ! ioit due this uie..tl?"
"lie."" is your lie 'Hey . Will .vU
i. .V.- it. r'.'.iseV"
Wo, l won't take It until you
plain "
She opened her linger ami the h'll"
fell to the door. "All rUht," Mi" said.
Ceiiwanl'x eyes had shifted M Dave.
"Veil are nt the bottom of this. lUdeii,"
he said. "What does it mean?"
"It means. ( 'onward." Daxe an
swered, and there was steel in liU
voice "it means that after all these
years I have discovered what a ear
you are Just In time to balk you, nt
least in this Instance."
Conward flushed, but he nui! n r ;i 1 ned
an attitude of composure. 'You've
been drinking, Dave," he said. "I
meant no harm to Miss Wiirilln."
"Don't make me call you a liar as
well as a cur."
The word cut through Conward j
mask of composure. "Now by (,'i! I
won't take that from any man !" lie
shouted, and with a swing of his nrins
threw his coat over his hhoulilers.
Pave made no motion, and Conward
slowly brought his coat back to posi
tion. "I was right," said Dave, calmly. "I
knew you wouldn't fight. You think
more of your skin than you do of your
honor. Well It's better worth protec
tion." "If this girl were not here " Con
ward protested. "I will not fight "
"Oh, I will leave." said Miss Wardin,
with alacrity. "And I hope he soaks
you well," she shot back, as the door
closed behind her.
Hut by this time Conwnrd had as
sumed a superior attitude. "Dave,"
he snld, "I won't fight over a quarrel
of this kind. But remember, there are
some things In which no man allows
another to Interfere. Least of all such
n man as you. There are ways of get
ting back, and I'll get back."
"Why such a man as me? I know I
haven't been much of a moralist In
business matters I've been In the
wrong company for that but I druw
the line"
"Oh, you're fine stuff, all right.
What would your friend Miss Hardy
think If I told her all I know?"
"You know nothing that could affect
Miss Hardy's opinion."
"It's too bud your memory is
poor," Conward sneered. "Why were
your lights off that night I passed your
car? Oh, I guess you remember! What
will Miss Hardy think of that?"
For a moment Pave was unable to
follow Conward'H thought. Then hi
mind reached back to that ngbt be
drove Into the country with I'.ert Mor
rison, when on the brow of u hlil be
switched off his lights that they might
better admire the majesty of the
heavens. That Conward should place
nn evil Interpretation upon that inci
dent was a thing so monstrous, so al
together beyond argument, that Dave
fell bnck upon the basic human meth
od reserved for such occasions. His
fist leaped forward, and Conward
crumpled up before It.
Conward lay stunned for a few min
utes, then, with returning conscious
ness, he tried to sit up. Dave helped
him to a chair. Wood flowed down bis
face, and as he began to realize what
had occurred it was Joined with tears
of pain, rage, humiliation.
, "You got that one on me, Elden," he
.said, after a while. "But it was a
coward's blow. You hit me when I
wasn't looking. Very well. Two rim
play at that game. I'll hit when you're
not looking . . . where you don't ex
pect it . . .where you can't hit buck.
I know the stake you're playing for,
and I'm going to spoil It." li,. llnil,i
his swollen, bloody face to Dave's, nwl
hatred stood up In his eyes ns lie al
tered the threat. "I'll hit you. Inn.,"
lie repeated, "where you can't bit
buck."
"Thanks for the warning," H;dd Kl
den. "So Irene Hardy is to be the
stake. All right, I'll sit in. And I'll
win."
"You'll think you've won," returned
Conward, leerlngly, "nnd then you'll
find out that you didn't. I'll present
her to you, Dave, like that." He lifted
a burnt match from an ush-tray and
held It before him.
Dave's impulse was to seize the
thick, flabby throat in his hands and
choke it lifeless. With a resolute ef
fort he turned to the telephone and
lifted the receiver.
(Continued Next Week)
Salem Oregon Growers' Associa
tion to construe and equip fruit press
ing plants aggregating expenditure
of over $100,000.
mm
THE REASON J H
Money u Mor, Sf(.') fcWC
NATIONAL fti J n
"OVER 21 BILL!
RESOURCES
r I I II 1 II
1 R
i
(Each Ur.t'fr Q..
Of !! the i taceMI,
Hide. luui ih
t .. .. . 1 H
""" l 111,.,,
vny w should prt
Nntlonul lUuiy.
!
THE INDEPENDENDENCE NATIONAL BAK(
ThU Bank is Under Supervision of Unid $tl.
Government.
i -
fiS:
RC
.1 1
" mwL"
l WILL I IND IN YOl'H
City - Meat - Marke
LINK OF MEATS KQI'AI. TO ANY MAKKET IN A LARGE CT
CONSISTING OF THF. FINEST MEATS OHTAINADLl
Si! THE CITY MEAT MAKKEli
Independence, Or;
Main street.
Mr. Barnes, U. S. Wheat Director Says:
at SViore
Bread1'
And reduce the High Cost of Living."
olsum Breacp
j IS THE CHEAPEST AS WELL AS THE MOS.
WUnt renwr vnrr riM nritr hjadvTT
lubuovniu i uuu yjij trie mrtirwii
H
t
BUY THAT
EXTRA LOAF
Your Grocer Has It
Cherry City Baking Co
ELECTION, MAY 21
302 X Yes
303 No
Vote 302 X Yes
For 4 o state Road Bond Limit
liAU.OT TITI.10 IS AS FOLLOWS:""
" iV'.-l ;t. AMBNIMEN-T-!U.rfa U. lt. P-'P1'
I ....!.. u.l.iy. J
LIMITATION OF FOUH PE CEHT STATE INDI,1
. . '"'"'ItNl ROAOi.-l'urpo-u: To ""
Am. ., X I ..f . ., t ( t,, Mu.t irf On"' T.L'
''":f'M.:4n,l Imhilitimiwltuli!:! pi.-vmu. 'M!,
1 .1 Hi Mi:r,..,,f l.mijn.jf Bm M.,fmin, V'm"l"" Ztf
'"""ii. t. -I !.,r (,, ,.,,t ,. f ,,rllw.,w, v,u.oiuii "I ' 'J,.,
' -'tT-K:,,,L:,.nli .p-rniainn"JU
NO PROrEHTY TAX-Ml mm TAX
NO !?1CRE$E i;i AUTO LICENSE FEES
v 4i KCI INCREASE OF GASOLINE TAX
KaHoIinP Hv u-; ! U",V!,,;'-S 111 !..!. Tl. iiri'si-nt auto license v'
L ,r H. . K,y 1"),h Prinrripu! and intent on all the
woik. .No iU.ht.KHKil taxation of any kind.
O
FEDERAL FGNDS MUST BE MATCHED
t
ri in i ... .
merits .r (m-ko,, , '"'"y Fundi to mutch I'ViIitaI "I'lVl
eitliw Htutc nm.ls , ' "' '"V"' IH ,l i'''Hil.y. Ui.Ichh limit "
yM't Prolyl ; , many, Lny yarn, or
n H't PreSe", ' W - nd ,n,CreSt ,
' V - '" '" !""'" unci i , I ir ..Iv : :nilu KS
. , , OREG O N HO A'n m"a !!n'"!'1"" "r ttUtatnMoiriU to
. L THOUfSON, rmltfm ui.AH. A N D DEVELOPMENT A OCIATION.
hfllniilttri II w
... 'ouiKjiiiirtum, 3l w.
C. t. CilAPHAR. CtMirma lu '
VQTP tnt x, "'TBMrtor Building, 1'ortlBnd, On"'
302 X YES-For 4 State Road Bond Limit