ILLUSTRATIONS By F.E.WATSON
The dav was splendid, as brili-,
ion! as a 'lay ?*n Long Island can |
i# and that i- brilliant indeed. Tin- 1
rreat square house with its mansard j
??4 and many wings and additions j
in<l the neat pillars of the \eranda
hat we a rt*rtain nobility was
E|i?tening white for it had just
pinted. Tiit' painters, as a mat
pr of fart, were still at work on the
n?ar of the house. I hey were work
1(Min. hurrying to finish the job.
John Drane had complained of the
paint odt r. saying it gave him a
lead arhe .
The Drane place, although it
bad been - i ven no name in partic
ular. nas as good as any in W est
rstiniat*'?l it to be worth a hundred i
thousand dollars and pointed to it
a> an example of how prices had
improved in Westcote: Drane had
paid fifteen thousand for it in 1892
and had spent some twenU thousand I
in improving the place, having the
pillared veranda built 011 andso 011
;n that the cost to him had Keen onlv
Iiirtv-fi\e thousand. This was nicn
ioned ns a sample ot the good for
une John Drane had in all his in- 1
ffstments. No one knew just what
ie was worth but he was reputed to
H- wort I ? it least a million dollars.
possil?l% a great many millions.
On 1 1 1 i ^ Saturday afternoon he sat
on hi> veranda just as he bad seated
himself 011 his return from his of
fice in the city. He sat in one of the
kicker chairs, a wicker stand beside
him. and mi this lie had placed bis
bat and cam-, and he leaned hack in
[lis chair with his eyes closed in thej
lllitiul*' ? I \erv tired man. One of
lie h.Mids that grasped the arm of
w it< lied slight l\ ; ii vt as ?
lie si. !. 1 aristocratic hand of a
nan ? ! -i \r nty. Presently \orhert.
he col- -nd houseman, came through!
lie d? 1 t-arrying a tray 011 which
were a glass of milk, a plate of!
'racket, a napkin and several
lainty >andwiches. lie moved the
licker nd a little closer t ? ? John 1
)rane< chair, removed the hat and'
?ane. :? placed the tray on the ?
?land. I ? din Drane opened his eves.
Ml ? 1 -ilit . \orbert. be said.
"11! in<t put this hat an' cane in i
he hall. \1 i-t* Drane." the negro j
aid. "I l bought how maybe you I
niplu like- them sandwiches ? "
"Perhaps ! Perhaps!" Drane said.1
An Miss Amy say I should ask,
you i> \nu goin' use the car any;
?ion* li.U alt noon. She say if vou
tint maybe she go ridin' awhiles."|
Drane dipped a cracker in milk
n,d '?! a little without apparent ap-|
Jetite.
1 don 1 fre| well. Norhert," he!
?aid. | certainlv don't feel well,
lake this stuff way will you? I
;ni t rat it. I tn not going to use!
ne car: you may tell Amy she canj
lave it. I here's nobody come?"
Oni\ Mist' Carter," the egro ?
aid. "Him and Miss Amy is play
,r" tennis out bark in the tennis
'ourt."
"Alone?"
Couple o* young folks.15
"Ves. When ou go out there,
"rliert, tell young Carter I want
0 see him. \n hurry ? tonight or
tomorrow will do: whenever he has
lJWe. And tell Mrs. Vincent to see
. at 'he yellow guest room is ready
or a guest. I'm expecting a man
10 May a few days."
^ sir. \orbert said, and he
#ok up |hP tray and went. He
lOU"jied as he reached the door,
woghed so hard that he had to
u'1'' tray resting on a
It was the distressing cough
a lnan suffering from tuberculos
IS.
|)"J want to be careful of that
f it ? ^ ours- John Drane said, as
<l \t co""h had annoyed him. "How
* ^ incent?"
p 7 *"SS" ' m '"'in' careful of it,"
or rt said and added. s he open
Us" f ' '|'??r: Vincent she's
airly; she ain't no more than
fairlx. No. sir.** .
John L)rane*s fingers tapped the
arm of his chair nervously. He
frowned as his eyes rested on the
long tree-studded lawn that ran
down to the road. This nervousness;
was unusual with him. ordlnurily
he was so calm and cold and un
moved by even the most exciting
events that in the district surround
ing Wall Street he was called the
Human Sphinx ? silent, stern, un
fathomable.
To the town of \\ estcote John
Drane was not a sphinx. In West
cote he had made his home some
twenty-five years earlier, a bachelor
of forty-five who preferred a home
in the country. His purchase of the
old house and his considerable ex
penditures for repairs had been a
seven day topic and then lie had
been accepted as a silent man. pos
sible. suffering from a chronic indi
gestion that made him a littie cranky.
He too no part in the town affairs
that called for mass meetings and
service on committees but he gave
with fair liberal it \ when he approv
ed a cause: he received those who
came to him on such affairs and \\>
tened to them, silently but with
keen attention. Sometimes, without
a word, he wrote a check: sometimes
he mcrelv said, "I am not interest
ed.**
He took no pari in social affairs
I profuse in hi- thanks: not un
til the check was turned in l othe
treasurer was it dis-overed that it
was for the amazing hundred tl
sand. The cheek went through the*,
bank and was paid without question. I
"Well, the bony ?>ld sou-of-a-j
gun!" the treasurer ??(" the hospital
exclaimed. "He must have a heart
in his dried-up carcass after all.
even if he don't look it!"
At seventy John Drane was still
i as bony as ever, but "dried-up" did
I not describe him, nor had it ever.
He was thin almost to emancipation,
but it was a soft thinness: his skin
was not dried nor leathery, and his
face had not so much wrinkled as
fallen into jowls and folds. His
1 cheeks were drawn down below his
J cold gray eyes and when he removed
his eye glasses the hollows below
the eyes were almost ghastly, but
even at seventy he was minutely
I careful of his body and dress, al
most dandified. He shaved twice a
day. once in the morning and once
at noon, for he had a complete
shaving outfit at his office. In a
small dressing-room there he ?? >uld
not bear soiled linen.
He was a tall man. or his thin
ness made him seem tall, and now
lie arose from his chair as mie of
the nondeserip black taxicahs of
tin* town entered lii> driveway.
"All!" he exclaimed, and then
As time passed lie did become in- j
terested in some of the financial j
concerns?he became a director of j
one of the banks, was a regular at
tendant at its board meetings-bill j
he? was known mainly, until auto
mobiles made horses a nuisance, i
for his fine horses. His coachman |
always drove him to the train and
met him on his return until the time!
came when lie bought an antomobilc
after that his chaffeur always drove |
him to his office just around the i
corner from Wall Street on Broad
way. He was not so much a pecu
liar man as a self sufficing one. In I
the deals he made in Wall Street he
played a lone hand. He never took
part in syndicates, ncveralied himself j
with groups. And some of his deals I
were sensationally profitable. li j
was the amazing effrontery of some
of these deals that had attracted at
tention to him sufficiently to war
rant his being given a sobriquet of
his own ? The Human Sphinx. He
would not talk of his deals or of the
or of any thing. The moment he
reached the city he was, for all
practical purposes, mute.
It was not long before W'estcote
knew he was an extremely wealthy
man. Solicitors for a new hospital,
going to John Drane in the hope of
getting him to give some hundreds
of dollars or perhaps a thousand,
came away from the house with a
check for an even hundred thou
sand. There had been no wasted
words. "Yes. I approve of it; I
will give you something," he had
said and. turning to the desk, he
had written the check. The solici
tor, glancing at it. had thought it
was for a thousand dollars and had
VH I
I frowned. Ihtuusc a second taxicabj
j had followed the lirsi.
The two cabs. following the w i?!?* ?
I > weep of the drive, one rah follow- 1
I in?r close on the wheels of the lother. !
I drew up before t!>? veranda andl
iheir doors opened simultanteously.
I- 10111 the second tin- passenger was
j quick to alight. a -mull man all in
j Mack, and In* glanced toward John
| Drane. The millionaire, still
[frowning. raised a finger and touch
ed his lips a gesture so brief that
| it was hardl> observable, but the
I man in black caught it and nodded
that In* understood. From the first
i cab the passenger had considerable
trouble alighting. He was a huge
man, broad of shoulder and hip and
lie was Irving to bring with him a
| huge yellow oilboard suitcase, in
j^ize proportioned to himself. He
had the awkwardness of a man not
accustomed to the frequent use of
cabs and when he finally stood <>n
the gravel his face was red and per
spiring and he wiped his forehead
with the back ot his hand before he
dug into bis pocket for the cab fare.
"Black my cats!" he cried. "Come
mighty near never gettin' out of
your shebang, son. Half a dollar,
hey? Tain't bad: here's a dime for
you."
He picked up his suitcase and
turned to the steps.
"Well, black my cats!" he cried.
"You durned old Johnnie Drane! If
you ain't just as bony and skinny
as you was when we was kids! Well,
now who'd have thought I'd ever be
shakin' hand with Skinny Drane
away down east here, on the front
porch of a regular blamed old pal
ace like this! How are you. any
how, you old pascal? Good old
Skinny Drane! Well! Well! Well!"'.
"Simon. I'm pi ad (< > see you.* j
John Drane -aid. taking the fat
mans hand. "Leave \<>ur lii'jcaj!*
there, my man will take care of it.
It > good to -fc \nu again. Simon.)
I never see anyone from Riverbank j
? none of thorn ever come east. ^ es. |
it s good it ? see \ou.
Ho turned then to the smaller man
in Mack.
"Dart." he said to him. ''I'd like
you to meet an old friend of mine,
a man I haven't seen for ? how long
it is Simon? Twenty-five years?*'
4*Black my cats. no. John! Thirty
five. anyway. I wasn't to home
when you was there twenty-five
years ago." the fat man said. "I'd
gone down to Kansas City to try to
find that hov of mine. hut you i
wouldn't remember that. 1 guess. |
j Thirty-five years!"
'"Simon Judd. from my old home!
town of Riverbank. Iowa." John
Drane said, completing the intro
duction. "And m\ good friend \\ il
| liam Dart." he added. ''You've
heard me speak of Riverbank.
Dart."
| "Quite frequently : quite frequent
' ly.' Dart said. "I m very glad to
'know you. Mr. Judd. Any friend
of Mr. Diane's, of course ? ^ ess. in
deed. I've heard Mr. Drane speak of
Riverbank! ^ frequently."
The\ were interrupted by a young
! girl who came hurriedly and merri
J l\ around the house, half running
j and carrying a tennis racquet in her
i hand. She evident 1\ had expected
? to find Mr. Drane alone and had
I icen eager t ? ? sa\ something. but
now -lie put it oft. seeing that Drane
had visitors, t Continued ne\t week.
SUBSCRIBE NOW!
NEW LIONS HEAD
i j ik j
Benjamin A. Rut fin
Benjamin A. Ruffain was elected
President of the International Asso
ciation of Lions ("lubs at tlie last ses
sion of the twelfth annual conven
tion of tin* Association, held in Des
Moines. Iowa, July 10-13, 1928. Mr.
liuffin was horn and raised in Rich
mond. \ irginia. which has always
been his home.
The new President of Lions In
ternational is engaged in the general
insurance business and is a partner
of one of the leading firms of archi
tects of the city, and also a director
of many other companies. He is the
author of various insurance papers
and insurance forms which have
been adopted In the American Rank
ers* Association and has spoken be
fore man> bankers" conventions in
various states.
Mr. Ruffin lias been associated
with Lions International for a num
ber ? >! \ears. and due to his pleasing
personalis and eloquent oratorical
power he has been constantly in de
I mand as a speaker at district con
ventions. charter nights and every
i where Lions have gathered.
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