Indianapolis Times, Volume 35, Number 188, Indianapolis, Marion County, 16 December 1922 — Page 10

10

A Hoosier Chronicle By MEREDITH NICHOLSON First Novcl in thè Times Series of Fiction Stories by Indiana "Writers (Copyright. 1912. by Meredith Nicholsoa.)

“Good old Uncle Ike,” howled some ©ne encouragingly. and there waj laughter and appiause. With superi dlgnlty Mr. Pettlt appealed for si lence with gestures that expressed eelf-depreclatlon, humillty, and lateni power In ohe who would, In due oourse, explain everythlng. A group of delegate In thè rear began chantlng stridently, “Orderl Order!” and it was flung back antiphonally from a dozen other delegatlons. Sylvia had sin gl ed out several figures In thè drama enacting below for special attentlon. The chairman had lnterested her by reason of hts attitude of scrupulous falrness, In which thè now saw thè transparent irony; thè banallties of thè temporary chairman had/ touched her humor; ehe watched hlm for thè rest of thè momlng wlth a kind of awe that any one could be so dulì, so tlmorous, and yet be chosen to address nearly two thoueand American cltlzens on an occasion of Import ance. She was unable to reconcile Thatcher’s bald head, ruudy neck and heavy shoulders with Mai> lan’s descrlptlon of thè rich man’s son, who dreamed of heroes and play ed at carpentry. The nomination of candidates now Went forward rather tamely, though relieved by occasionai sharp contesta. The ten gentlemen who had been fa vored with .copies of thè Bassett program were not surprìsed that so many ' of Thatcher’s frìends were nominated; | they themselves voted for most of them. It seemed remarkable to thè j unlnitiated that Bassett should have i Elapped Thatcher and then have al- : lowed him to score in thè choice of thè ticket. The Advertiser, anxious to show Bassett as strong and maligna:;: as possible, expressed thè opin- ; lon that thè Fraserville boss had not aster all appreciated thè full force of ! thè Thatcher movement. On thè veranda of his Waupegan cottage Bassett and Pitch enjoyed thè ! wholesome airs of thè country. Late | In thè aftemoon thè fussy little steamer that traversed thè lake paused at j thè Bassett dock to deli ver a tele gram. which Bassett read without emotlon. He passed thè yellow slip j of paper to Pitch, who read it and ! handed lt back. “Harwood's a clever fellow; but you ughtn’t to push hira into politics. He's better than that.” "I suppose he is,” said Bassett; "but I need hlm." CHAPTER XX Mrs. Bassett remained in bed thè i day following thè convention, lese exhausted by thè scenes she had wlt- ; nessed than appalled by thelr inter- [ pretation in thè newspapers. The i reappearance of Sylvia Garrison had revived thè apprehensions which thè glrl’s vislt to Waupegan tour years earller had awakened. She had hoped that Sylvla’s long absences might have operated to dimlnish Mrs. Owen’s interest and she had managed in one way and another to keep them apart durlng thè college holldays, but thè death of Professor Kelton had evi dently thrown Sylvia Back upon Mrs. Owen. Jealous fears danced blackl} In Mrs. Bassett’s tired braln. At a season vhen she was always buslest with her farms Mrs. Owen had made a long journey to see Sylvia graduated; and here was thè girl es- j tablished on thè most intimate terros In thè Delaware Street house, no doubt for thè remainder of her lise. Mrs. j Owen did not lightly or often change j her planò; but she had abandoned ber Project of spending thè summer at' thè lake to accommodate herself to j thè convenience of her protese. Mrs. Bassett's ili health was by no means a matter of illusion; she was not well. and her sojourns In sanatorlums had ; eerved to allenate her In a. meaaure, from her family. Marian had grown to womanhood without realizing her znother's ideals. She had hoped to i make a very different person of her laughter, and Sylvia's reappearance tntensified her sense of defeat. Even in thè retrospeet she saw no reason why Marian might not have pursued thè course that Sylvia had followed; In her confused annovances and agitations she was bitter not only against Marian, but against Marian’s fatber. The time had come when ehe must take a stand against liis further dallylngs in politics. She was alone in her room at Mrs. Owen’s when Bassett appeared, late In thè afternoon. Mrs. Owen was downtown on business matterà; Marian, aster exhausting all her devicee for making her mc-ther comfortable, had flown in search of acquaintances; and Sylvia hsd that day taken up ber work in thè Normal School. l>eft to herself for thè greater part of thè wann aftemoon. Mrs. Bassett had indulged luxurioualy in forebodings. She had not expected her husband, and hi* unannounced entrance startled her. “Well,” she remarked drearlly, “so you have come back to face it, have you?” ‘T’m undoubtedly back, Hallie,” he answered, with an effort at lightness Crossing to thè bedsid and taking her band. He had rarely dlscussed his politicai plans with her, but he realized that thè rupture with Thatcher must nattirally have distressed her; and there was also Thatcher's lawsuit involving her aunt, which had disagreeable poaslbllities. ”Im sorry your name got lnto thè papere, Hallie. I dldn't want you to go to thè convention, but of course 1 knew you went to pianse Marian. Where is Marian?” “Oh, she's off somew here. I couldn’t xpect her to stay here in thls hot room all day.” The room was not uncomfortable; but lt seemed wiser not to debate questiona of temperature. He sound a chair and eat down beslde her. "Tou mustn’t worry about thè newspapers, Hallie; they always make thè worst of everythlng. The temptation to dlstort facts to make a good story la strong; I have seen it in my connection with thè Courler. It’s lamentable, but you can’t correct it in a day. l’m pretty well hardened to it myself, but I’m you have let these attacks on me annoy you. The only thlng to do ls to lgnore them. What’s that you have there?” She clasped an envelope of clipplngs and thrust lt at him accueingly. The cairnness of his lnspection irritate*! bar and aha broka out aharply:

"I shouldn’t thlnk a man with a vife and family would lay hlmself pento such attacks In all thè newspapers In thè country. Those papers all you another such politicai boss as Quay and Gorman. There’s nothlng chey don’t say about you.” ‘‘Well, Hallie, they’ve been saying lt for some tlme; they will go on saying it probably not only about me, but about every other man who won’t be .llctated to by lmpractical reformers and pharlsalcal newspapers. But I must confess that thls is rather hard iuck.” He held up two of thè cutting. “I’ve undertaken to do just what papers like thè New York Evening Post and thè Springfield Repulilican are forever begging somebody with courage to do—l’ve been trying to drive a raacal out of politics. I’m glad of this chance to talk to you about Thatcher. He and I were frlends for years, as you know.” “I never understood how you could tolerate that man; lie’s so coarse and vulgar that his wife stays abroad to keep her daughters away from hlm.” “Well, that’s not my affair. I have had all I want of him. There’s nothing nivsterious about my breaking with him; he got it lnto his head that he’s a bigger man in this State than I am. I have known for several years that he intended to get rid of me as soon as he felt he could do it safely, and be ready to capture thè senatorship when he saw that our party was in shape to win again. I’ve always i distrusted him, and I’ve always kept an eye of hlm. When he carne into I Fraser County and stooped low enough tc buy old Ike Pettit, I i thought it time to strike. You read a lot about courage in politics in such newspapers as these that have been philosophizing about me at long range. Well. l’m not going to brag about i myself. but it required some courage on my part to take thè initiative and read thè riot act to Thatcher. I’ve done what men are sometlmes praised for doing; but I don’t want praise; I only want to be judged fairly. I’ve always avoided bringing business or politics home; I’ve always had an Idea that when a man goes home he ought to dose thè door on everything but thè interests thè home has for hlm. I may have been wrong about that; and l’m very sorry that you have been troubl**d—sincerely sorry. But you may as well know thè truth now, which is that Thatcher is out of it altogether. You know enough of hlm to underetand that he’s not a man to trust with power, and I’ve done thè State and my party a Service in turning him out of doors.” He had spoken quietly and eameatly, and his words had not been without their effect. He had never been harsh with her or thè chlldren; his manner today was kind and considerate. He had to an extent measurbly rehabllitated hlmself as a herolc pub lic character, man of honor and a husband to be proud of; but she had not snent a sleeploss night and a gray day without fortifylng herself again: - him. All day her eyes had been fixe upon an abandoned squirrel box si thè croteh of an ehn outside her win dow; it had become thè reposltory of her thoughts, thè habitation of ber sorrows. She turned her hea<l slight ly so that her eyes might rest upon this tabernacle of fear and illusion and renewed thè assault refreshed. “How ls lt, then, that newspape* away off in New York and Massa chusetts speak of you in this oh’ rageous fashion? Thev’re so far aw,r that it seems strange they speak o you at all.” He laughed with relief. feeling thè question markcd a retreat towar weaker fortifications. "You’re not ver}’ complimento!-, are you. Hallie? They must thi: me of some importance or they’d l-t me alone. I wouldn’t subsnrlbe to that clipping bureau If you fear we re too much in thè limelight. I’ve been taking thè Service of one of these bureaus for several years, and I read every line thè papers print about me. It’s part of thè regular routine in my office to paste them in sorapbooks.” “I shouldn’t think you oould burn them fast enough; what if thè children should see thern some day”’ "Well, you may be surprised to know that they’re not all so bitter. One9 in a long while I get a kind word. That bill I got through thè assembly separating hardenod crlminals from those susnreptlble of refoi-m—thè indeterminate sentence iaw—was praised by penologìsts all } over thè country. It’s all In thè day’s work; sometirnes you’re patted on thè back and thè next time they kick j you down thè stairs. Without politicai influence you he ve no chance tohelp thè good causes or defeat thè ; bad schemes.” "Yes, I suppose that is true,” she l murmured weakly. He had successfully met and turned Ber attack and thè worst had passed; but he expected her to make some reference to Thatcher’s lawsuit for thè control of thè Courler, and he was not disappointed. Marian, who had a genius for collectlng disagreeable Information and a dramatic infi tlnct for uslng it effectively, had ap- ; prised her of it. This hazarding of ; Mrs. Owen’s favor became now thè gravamen of his ortense, thè oulminatlon of all his offenses. She demanded to know why he had secretly borrowed money of her aunt, when from thè tlme of thelr marriage it had been understood that they should never do eo. Her own fortune he had been free to use as he llked; she demanded to know why he had not taken her own money; butto ask flnanolal favore of Aunt Sally, and thls. too. without consultation, was beyond her comprehension. She was on secure gtound here: he had always shared her feeling that Mrs. Owen required cautious handling, but he had neveriheless violated their compact. She rushed breathlessly and with sobs through her recital. “And you hven’t seen Aunt Sally since; you have made no effort to make it right with her:” “As to that, Hallie, I haven’t had a chance to see her; she’s only been home two days and I’ve been away myself since. Now that I’m in her house I shall explaln it all to her before I leave.” “But you haven’t explained to me why you did it! It seems to me that , 1 have a right to know how you carne to do such a thlng.*’

DOTNGS OF THE DUFFS—

HEIEM, 1 OON T WANT lo BUTT IN. A HE MAY MAKE. SOME f H K LIUO, 1 MR. SAWDSTONE.PLEASE.! \ ì ( OH ! WHAT HAVE I DOME?, A • BUT VP óO AND SEE A IAWYER | JJiZ SlM p l E LITTLE SUGGESTIOM V HELLO, MR. SANDSTONE - THIS IS ( CALLED A LAWVER.J I | ABODT The TOM IS STAVING j nP. THAT WILL STRAIGHTeM OUT / . _ Mtf. CHIFF SPEAKING -fD LIKE / I SHOULPH’T HAVE PdN& I HP*t A A D r- S I?o E# i |§y THE WHOLE THING? TO HAVE A TALK WITH '*3o ABOOT \ THAT! A LAWYER 1 - MS HUSBANP! 1 Aa!SS-.)Ch K^’SSSS’'^ts^l '

f WV vf | OmE. OF TMEM NEW l ( MERE ELF. rTS so ) FANGrLED CHAIRS I \ \ COMFORTABLE) !, COULD NT CF STARftD) ( SOFT. ELF DAKIN NEEDED VEF?V LfTTLE FORNITURE I WMEN t-AE STARTED HIS NEW BARBER S : OP. J

THKM DAYS IS GONE FOREVER—

- - - " " eoe lapa eri -umicm caaiajep STuff too Took TO Pcav/a)6 THEM OJKfS I S Club - a.mp tmat is iomt I’m For i?-h€T? TMe t'oor SSNS FOREVER!

I (Wte* WAcXCK) fa-T FFR.Ì \ HStLu M, vollcleanup/ ' HOHE - - FLNNVy' r, SAVE. US THIS TbwN SO f The- jwcci.oseò\ TILL SPRINQ WE WOiT Y THE WHOyVESìE EATVMOr THE TOWN 3)^ IN.TQ DEBT E S CAPE D FROM -mEOAH-.SO MAPSHALOTEY WALKER DECIDED TO AVOIP Y ANT SUCH T-ROUBLE IN THE NEARL FUTURE 'SthhlmV n^ B ip.vict

"Well, then, thè fact is that newspapers these days are not cheap and thè Courier eost a lot of money. l’ve been pretty well tled up In telephone and other investment of late; and I have never taken advantage of my ownership of thè Bassett Bank to use ite money except witliin my reasonable credit as it would be estimated by any one else. Your own funds I have kept lnvested conservatively in gilt-edged

OUT OUR WAY—By WILItIAMS

THE OLD HOME TOWN—By STANLEY

securitles wholly removed from speculative lnfluences. I knew that lf I dldn’t get thè newspaper Thatcher would, so I made every possible tum to go in with him. I was $50.000 shy of what I needed to pay for my hall' and aster I had raked up all thè money I could safely, I asked Aunt Sally il’ she would lend me that sum with all my stock as security.” ‘‘Flfty thousand doll&rs, Mortoni

THE LNDIAAARULiS TIMES

“Somewhere A Voice ls Bawling M

Tou borrowed that much of heri” Her satisfactlon in learning that Mrs. Owen conimanded so large a sum was cruahed beneat.h his stupendous error In havlng gene to her for money at all. “Oh, she dldn't lend it to me, aster all, Hallie; she refused to do so; but she allowed me to bi; enough shares for her to make up my quota. Thatcher and I bought at SO conta on

Things Are Getting Serious

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tho dollar and she paid thè Bamo. She has her shares and lt's a good investment, and she knows it. If she hadn’t lnslsted on having thè shares in her own name, Thatcher would never have known it.” He turned uneasily in his chair, and she was keenly alert at this sign of discomflture, and not above taking advantage of it. "So without her you are at Thatch-

FRECKLES AND lITS FRIENDS—By BLOSSER

OUIi BOARDING HOUSE—By AHERN

er’s mercy, are you? I haven’t spoken to her about this and she hasn’t said anything to me: but Marian with her usuai heedlessness men tioned it, and it was clear that Aunt Sally was very angry.” “W’hal did she say?” asked Bassett anxiously. “She dldn’t say anything, bnt she shut her jaw tight and changed thè aubject. It was what she didn't say!

DEa 16, 1932

—By ALLMAFf

—By AL POSEN

Vou’d better think well beforo you broach thè subject to bar.” “I vo been thinking about it. If I take her stock at par she ought to be sa.tisfìed. l’U pay more if it’s Decessa ry . And of eourse, l’il malte OYory effort to restore good feeling. I think I understand her. rii take oaj~e of this, but you must stay out of it, and teli Martin to keep quiet,” (To Be Contìnue#)