Jasper County Democrat, Volume 10, Number 5, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 May 1907 — CONQUEST of CANAAN [ARTICLE]

CONQUEST of CANAAN

By BOOTH TARKINGTON,

Author of "Cherry" "Monsieur Bcauealre." Etc. !

COPYAICHT, 1009, BY HARPBB C» BROTHER*

.SYNOPSIS OF PRKVIOVS CHAPTKRS. Chapter I—Eugene Bantry, a Canaan (Ind.,) young man, who hat been eaat to college, returns home and astounds the natives by the gprgeousnesa of his raiment. His etepbro- ' eher. Joe Loudin, is characterized by the aged male gossips who dsily assemble at the National House for argument as the good for nothing associate of doubtful characters. II Eugene's appearance has a pronounced effect upon Mamie Pike, whose father. Judge Pike, la the wealthiest and most prominent citizen of Canaan. Joe worships Mamie from afar. Bugene interferes in a snow fight between Joe and bis boidenish and very poor girl friend, Ariel Taber, who is worsted. Artel hotly resents the interference and slaps Bugene, who sends her home. 111-Ariel, unbecomingly attired, attends Mamie Pike’s ball. IV—Joe. concealed behind some plants on the Plk« veranda, watches hungrily for a glimpse of Minnie. Ariel is ignored by most of the guests. Ariel discovers Joe, aut shortly afterward, learning that her uncle, Jonas Tabor, has died suddenly, leaves. The Daily Tocsin ol the next day tells of Joe's discovery on the Pike veranda and of bis pursuit and escape therefrom. It also refers to wounds in the head of himself and of Norbert Flitcroft, who detected him. Joe retires to the “Beach." a low resort kept by his friend, Mike Sheehan, who dresses his wound. VI Joe leaves Mike’s place. He visits Ariel Tabor, who, by the death of her Uncle Jonas, has become rich. She wishes Joe to accompany her and her grandfather to Paris. Joe refuses and leaves Canaan to avoid arrest for the trouble at Judge Pike's. Vll—Joe is heard from two years later as a ticket seller, for a side show. Eugene Bantry also meets him seven years later in a low resort in New York, but wisely refrains from advertising it. VIII—Joe returns to Canaan a full-fledged lawyer. Even his father ignores kirn, and he is refused accommodations at the National house. IX—Joe is welcomed at the “Be>’ch,” and “Happy Fear.” one of Joe’s admirers, seriously assualta Nashville Cory, a detractor. At the end of Happy's term In prison he visits Joe, who now has a law office on the square, with a living room adjoining. Joe has a large practice, principally among the lower classes, and is frequently attacked by the Tocsin. Joe begins, in his lonliness, to yield to the seductions of the bottle. Bantry’s engagment to Mamie Pike Is announced. Bantry is now associate editor of the Tocsin, owned by Judge Pike X—Joe awakens after a “bad night” with the words, “Remember, across the Main street bridge at noon,” ringing In hie ears. He goes there and is presently joined by the most beautifully dressed girl be has ever seen. Xl—She turns out to be Ariel Tabor, arrived in Canaan the night before from her long sojourn In Paris. She has seen Joe as she alighted from the train and, realizing his condition, had escorted him home after exacting from him a promise to meet her the next day (Sunday) across the Maiu street bridge at noon. Joe learns that Ariel is stoppings! Judge Pike's home, the judge having entire charge of her money, etc. XII— Eugene Bantry, although engaged to Mamie, is much smitten with Ariel's charms. Judge Pike tries bls usual blustering tactics with Ariel, but subsides When she tells him that she shall ask him to turn over the care of her estate to Joe Louden. Xlll—Ariel holds a sort of informal reception at Judge Pike'sand learns that the "tough element” is talking of running Joe for mayor. XlV—Happy Fear and Nashville Cory have more trouble. Joe corners Happy and sends Claudine (Mrs. Fear) to meet him. XV—Ariel visits Joe’s office to put her affairs tn his hands. While there Happy Fear rushes in and announces that he has killed Nashville Cory in self defense. Joe makes Happy give himself up.

CHAPTER XVI. WHEN Joe left Ariel at Judge Pike’s gate she lingered there, her elbows upon the uppermost crossbar, like a village ffirl at twilight, watching his thin Hgwe vanish into the heavy shadow of the maples, then emerge momentarily fltiOßt gray and rapid at the lighted crossing down the street, to disappear ■gain under the trees beyond, followed • second later by a brownish streak as the mongrel heeled after him. When they had passed the second corner she could no longer be certain of them, although the street was straight, with flat, draftsmaulike western directness, both figures and Joe’s quick footsteps merging with the night Still she did not turn to go, did not alter her position nor cease to gaze down the dim street. Few lights shone, almost all the windows of the houses were darkened. and save for the summer murmurs, the faint creak of upper branches and the Infinitesimal voices of Inflects In the grass there was silence—the pleasant and somnolent hush, swathed in which that part of Canaan crosses to the far side of the eleventh hour.

"But Ariel, not soothed by this b/ihn. ■ought beyond it to see that unquiet Canaan whither her old friend bent bls steps and found his labor and bls dwelling—that other Canaan where peace did not fall comfortably with the coming of night; a place as alien Id habit. In thought and almost In speech as if it had been upon another continent And yet—so strange is the duality of towns—it lay but a few blocks distant Here about Ariel as she stood at the <ate of the Pike mansion the houses of the good (secure of salvation and dally bread) were closed and quiet, as safely sbnt and sound asleep as the churches. But deeper in tlie town there was light and life and merry, evil Industry, screened, but strong to last until morning. There were haunts of haggard merriment In plenty; surreptitious chambers where roulette wheels swam beneath dizzied eyes; 111 favored bars, reached by devlbus ways, where quavering voices offered song and were harshly checked. And through the burdened air of this Canaan wandered heavy smells of musk like that upon Happy Fear’s wife, who must now be so pale beneath her rouge. And above all this and for all this and because of all this was that one resort to which Joe now made his way—that haven whose lights burn all night long, whose doors are never closed, but are open from dawn until dawn—the jalL , There in that desolate refuge lay Happy Fear, surrendered sturdily by himself at Joe’s word. The picture of the little man was clear and fresh in Ariel’s eyes, and. though she had seen him when he was newly come from a thing so terrible that she could not realize it as a fact, she felt only an overwhelming pity for him. She was not •ven horror stricken, though she had

shuddered. The pathos of the shabby little figure crossing tho street toward the lighted doors had touched her. Something about him had appealed to her. for he had not seemed wicked. His face was not cruel, though it was desperate. Perhaps It was partly his very desperation which had moved her. She had understood Joe when he told her that this man was his friend and comprehended his great fear when he said: "I’ve got to clear him! I promised him!”

Over and over Joe had reiterated: “I’ve got to save him! I’ve got to!" She had answered gently, Joe,” hurrying to keep up with him. “He’s a good man,” he said. “I’ve known few better, given his chances. And none of this would have happened except for his old time friendship for me. It was his loyalty—oh, the rarest and absurdest loyalty!—that made the first trouble between him and the man he shot. I’ve got to clear him.” “Will it be hard?” “They may make It so. I can only see part of It surely. , When his wife left the office she met Cory on the street. You saw what a pitiful kind of fool she was, irresponsible and helpless and feather brained. There are thousands of women like that everywbffir_e—some of them are ‘court beauties,’ I dare say—and they always mix things up, but they are most dangerous when they’re like Claudine, because then they live among men of action like Cory and Fear. Cory was artful. He spent the day about town telling people that he had always liked Happy; that his ill feeling of yesterday was all gone. He wanted to find him and shake life hand, bury past troubles and be friends. I think he told Claudine the same thing when they met and convinced the tiny brainlet of his sincerity. Cory was a man who ‘had a way with him,’ and I can see Claudine flattered at the Idea of being peacemaker between 'two such nice gen’tlemen as Mr. Cory and Mr. Fear.’ Her commonest asseveration—quite genuine, too—is that she doesn’t like to have the gen’lemen making trouble about her. So the poor imbecile led him to where her busband was waiting. All that Happy knew of this was in her cry afterward. He was sitting alone, when Cory threw open the door and said, ‘l’ve got you this time. Happy!’ His pistol was raised, but never fired. He waited too long, meaning to establish his case of •self defense,’ and Fear is the quickest than I know. Cory fell Just, inside the door. Claudine stumbled upon him as she came running after him, crying out to. her biisband that she •never meant no trouble,’’ that Cory had sworn to her that he only wanted to shake hands and Tnake up.* Other people heard the shot and broke into the room, but they did not try to stop Fear. He warned tiiem off and walked out without hindrance and came to me. I’ve got to clear him.” Ariel knew what he meant. She realized the actual thing as it was and, though possessed by a strange feeling that It must all be mediaeval and not possibly of today, understood that he would have to fight to keep his friend from being killed; that the unhappy creature who had run into the office out of the dark stood in high danger of having bis neck broken unless Joe could help him. He made it clear to her that the state would kill Happy if it could; that it would be a point of pride with certain deliberate men holding office to take the life of the little man; that If they did secure his death it would be set down to their efficiency and was even competent as campaign material. “I wish to point out,” Joe had beard a candidate for re-election vehemently orate, "that in addition to the other successful convictions I have named I and my assistants have achieved the sending of three men to the gallows during my term of office!”

“I can’t tell yet," said Joe at parting. “It may be hard. I’m so sorry you saw all this. I”“Oh, no!” she cried. “I want to understand!” She was still there at the gate, her elbows resting upon the crossbar when a long time after Joe had gone there came from the alley behind the big back yard the minor chordtngs of a quartet of those dark strollers who never seem to go to bed. who play by night and playfully pretend to work by day: i You know my soul is a-full o* them-a-trub-bils Ev-ry mawn! X cain* a-walk withouten I stum-blls! Then le'ss go on— Keep walkin' on! These times is sow’owful, an* I am pow*owful Bick an’ fo’lawn! She heard a step upon the path behind her and. turning, saw a white wrapped figure coming toward her. “Mamie?” she called. “Hush!” Mamie lifted a warning hand. “The windows are open,” she whispered. “They might hear you J” “Why haven’t you gone to bed?” “Oh, don’t you see?" Mamie answer ed in deep distress. “I’ve been sitting up for you. We all thought you were writing letters In your room, but after papa and mamma bad gone to bed I went In to tell you good night, and

you weren’t there nor anywhere else, so I knew you must have gone out. I’ve been sitting by the front window waiting to let you tn, but I went to sleep until a little while ago, when the telephone bell rang, and he got up and answered it He kept talking a long time. It was something about the Tocsin, and I’m afraid there's been a murder downtown. When he went back to bed I fell asleep again, and then those darkies woke me up. How on earth did you expect to get in? Don’t you know he always locks up the house?” ‘1 could have rung.” said Ariel. _“Oh, oh!” gasped Miss Pike, and after she had recovered somewhat asked: “Do you mind telling me where you’ve been? F won’t tell him. nor mamma, either. I think, after all. I was wrong yesterday to follow Eugene’s advice. He meant for the best, but I” “Don’t think that You weren’t wrong.” Ariel put her arm round the other’s waist. “I went to talk over some things with Mr. Louden.” “I think,” whispered Mamie, trembling, “that you are the bravest girl I ever knew—and—and—l could almost believe there’s some good in him since you like him so. 1 know there is. And I—l think he’s had a hard time. I want you to know I won’t even tell Eugene.” “You can tell everybody in the world,” said Ariel and kissed her. Ito bx cobtimusd.]