North Carolina Newspapers

KINGS MOUNTAIN HERALD, KINGS MOUNTAIN, N. 0 TheAmbitidh By HENRY RUSSELL MILLER . (Copyright. 1SU b Tha 8YNOP8I8. Murk Truitt, em-ouruired by his sweet heart, fnily Murlln. leaves Hethel. Ml iuT oel hli fortune, glmun Tniltt l.-Mn Mark that It lung haa been lim ilrt-itm to see a steel plant a,t Bethel nil asks the ..in to return and build "ne If he ever K-ta rich. Mark appllea to Thomas Henley, head of the Qulnby Iron works, for a lot ami Is sent lo the con struction Kan. His success In that work wins III in a place as helimr to Roman Amlsrejaxkl, open-hearth furnaceman. He becomes a boarder In Itoman's home anil aaslsts J'lotr. Roman's Bon. In his studies. Kaala, an adopted daughter, shows her ffrat tude In such a manner aa to arouse Mark s Interest In her. Heavy work In the Intense heat of the furnace causes Mark to collapse and Kaala carea for him. Iater Roman also auceumha and Mark Rets his Job. Roman resenla this and tells Mark to find another boarding place. CHAPTER X. Wounded on th Field. The accident was one that happened often. Occasionally, after a tap, water would be turned Into the cinder pit that the cooling Blag might harden and be broken without delay. Not seldom the water would be conveyed under the crust, come Into contact with the still molten slag and be converted sud denly Into steam. Then there would be an explosion. Men might be seri ously Injured, or even killed, which wan very sad but one of the hazards of the employment. It happened when Mark had been following hll straight road ahead for more than five years. Five years during which he bad won success, substantial if not brilliant! The lack of brilliancy might have been disputed by those few who knew that sundry labor-saving devices installed In the Qulnby mills during this period were of his invention. When Henley heard of the acci dent he frowned; Henley detested ac cidents, which spoke of Inefficiency somewhere. But when the Informa tion was added that the foreman of the open-hearth -battery was among the Injured, be said: "Damn!" and In person at once called tbe hospital and bis own physiclad by telephone and through these agencies command eered the best surgical skill and care for that valuable workman. Tbe doctors gathered In solemn conclave and did various things to Mark's shattered body. They dogged hla steps Into tbe very shadow ol death and would not let him die. They did that, knowing they condemned him to a lite of pain, and having the se curity of Thomas Henley's word that their bills should each and every one ' of them be paid. While Mark still lingered In the vale of mystery that leads to full knowl edge, two men began their dally and nightly watches. One was a thin faded man who wore tbe rusty black of the country preacher. The other was an awkward, gray little man who would sit motionless by tbe hour, " never taking his eyes from tbe still ' form under the white sheet. Mark did' not die. His broken body began slowly to mend. He passed out of Immediate danger; he was even al lowed to talk and to be talked to a lit tle. But In the manner of the nurses, of his visitors from Bethel, even of the " calloused doctors, were a grave gen tleness, an absence of the exaltation to be expected after triumph over death, tie felt it " He put his question to his father. - "What are they keeping back from ' aer Simon's glance did not waver, nor did he try to evade with a soothing Jle. " Ye ll never walk easy again Ye'll have to use a crutch, leastways . a cane, always." i "It's my blpf" ' "Yes." - ' "to that all?" "Ye were hurt lnnardly. Yell have to be careful always. No more work : in tbe mills." .'; Hark closed, bis eyes, uttering no complaint. But within was a turmoil : -of protest and rebellion. A cripple, a partial invalid for life! Halt a . man! Bo had ended the dreamed cam t palgn of conquest Tears of futile rage .seeped out through bis closed eyelids. ' His recovery was slow and very .painful; six years of driving ahead at top speed bad left him but little ra - . ' serve vitality for the emergency. The ,imoo4, of .psbelHon died down from lo,f "OT -nation. Ha accepted his tajf funeforV & but sullenly, with no swell- lag heroic resolve to defy untoward f circumstance. lv--v. v Then was no conscious desire to return to tbe mills from which he had been banished. They were too much -the object of hi smoldering resent ', msnt lust then. Ha felt toward them ,- as tbe betrayed toward the traitor. fl think," ha said one to Simon and " Richard Courtney, who had not yet - left the city, "I'll go hack to BetheL" "It wiu be a good place to recuper ata," said the preacher. .; ., .;; ' "But 1 mean to stay." .. . .W ' "We shall be glad to hare yon back." Thoughts of Bethel naturally revived the memory ot Unity Martin. .Mark found a certain .grim, humor in the recollection. ' - - .: -.:.;J-.. He. had had hla period of trade re morse for Kaala. , He had not, how. ver, let conscience posh to the ex eeme of disturbing tbe fixed destiny it n -nitoned, lVr wss be Ions; In r r a Of I- : of Mark Truitt '; Am hor of , "Tilt MAN HIGHRR IIP." "HIS RISK TO POWER." Etc. BobbMTUl ComiWMT) In which he could congratulate himself on having avoided a serious blunder. Not many months later be by chance met Plotr, who conveyed tbe news that Kazla had married Whiting. Plotr1! manner of narration Implied that though Whiting was a poor refuge, Kazla had been fortunate to escape Mark. He seemed disappointed that his auditor showed no deep emotion. Mark's letters to Unity had contin ued, at erratic intervals. Soon ber re plies, too, began to dwindle in number and in length; tbey bad never had much to lose in tbe way of Intensity. And then he sent a letter that she failed to answer at all, leaving tbelr love affair suspended, so to speak, In the olr. One of Simon's rare and mis spelled mlsslvea Informed Mark that she was, In tbe phrase Bethel used, keeping company with one Slocum, a prosperous young tanner of the vicin ity. This may hardly be regarded as poetic retribution, it caused Mark a few days' surface indignation and a secret relief; one can not feel deeply the loss of a shadow, even though one has paid a price (or her. Kazla married; Unity, having Jilted him, keeping company with plodding Bill Slocum! His tragedy bad ended In sheer farce. We do well, he con cluded, not to take our dramas too seriously. An amazing thing happened one day. There was the sound of a quick un familiar tread In tbe corridor, the door was- pushed briskly open and Into the room stepped Tbomas Henley. "How are you, Truitt?" he inquired, shaking bands. "I was going by, had a few minutes and ran up) to find out for myself." "Well enough, I guess," Mark re plied out of his amazement "Good!" said Henley. "Your father, I presume?" He nodded toward Simon. Mark made the necessary Introduc tions. Simon said: "Pleased to meet ye," and flushed for bis son, who had bad to own up to the relationship. Toward the other visitor Henley glanced uncertainly a moment then held out a band. - "Ah! Doctor Courtney! Do you hap pen to remember me?". The question, obviously, was In playful Irony. ' "I happen to," answered Courtney, who did not share Simon's shyness. "I remember now, it was you who sent this young man to me. I," said Hnley graciously, "am In your debt" The preacher's shadowy smile ap peared. "Is he?" Henley laughed pleasantly, "1 fancy he Is. And I have a notion the debt "I'm Going Back Home." " will grow. I am finishing your job, Doctor Courtney." . " . He turned to -Mark. Simon and Courtney pushed their chairs back from the bedside, that the great man might hold the stage. ' ' "When," Henley asked, "do you ex pect to come back to us?" Mark winced and returned to the sullenness that was becoming his habit. "I'm going back home." The pause and the slight emphasis on the last word were not lost on Hen ley; a suspicion as to their import stirred. But: "Exactly right!" he exclaimed heart ily. "Stay as long as necessary to get your strength together. Yoi're too valuable a man to take chances. Your job will wait for yon. By the way, about that new charging machine you spoke of before the accident; I sup pose the plans aren't where we can lay our hands on them?"- ' "No," answered Mark, "you cant lay your hands on them. They're in my heed." -' ,-:.v- v.-.ii "An excellent place to keep "em," Henley agreed. "Suppose then, when you're feeling up'to It, I send one of our engineers after yoa to- go over the plans with yon? : It there's anything In ths idea, ws ought to Install the ma chines before winter." ' - . - "You an send him. If yon want to.' But 1 wont go over-the plans with film." Mark discouraged the sugges tion. ' .' Henley 1. ' "I'm r n f ' - ..; of aaawa Til see tnat you don't steal this," Mark responded ungraciously. "Be cause, when you pay for it you've got to pay for this, too." He put a band on tbe Injured hip. "That Is, If I ever put the Idea in shape." Honley waved a hand to Intimate that allowance must be made tor an Invalid's humors. "Of course, we ex pect you to be business-like. Just wbat do you mean by that 'If'?" "I mean I'm through with the mills." "Who," Henley's glance swept Simon and Richard Courtney sharply, "who has been putting fool Ideas Into yonr bead?" "You, for one, when you come here because I'm a valuable man, not be cause I'm a man. Would you come to see me If I badn't a new invention In mind?'' "Nonsense! You're sick, that's all." Henley smiled kindly but confidently. "I've seen men In your case before. You think you won't come back. But you will. Why? Because you're a val uable man I stick to that You've a genius for mechanics, you know bow to handle men and you've got a sense of organization. Most men would think themselves lucky If tbey bad any one of tbose. What does It mean? That you fit In here, ot course. And when a man fits Into any kind of life, he can no more keep away than molten steel can avoid the shape ot the mold. And you'll find It so there's something about our business that gets Into the bone and blood of a man." He looked at bis watch and rose abruptly. "Olad you're getting along. Don't forget your job Is waiting tor you." "But you don't seem to understand," Mark cried. "I'm done for. I'll have to go on a cane, maybe a crutch, all my life. And the doctors say, no hard work at all." Henley could be very human, when he chose. "Ah!" be said gently, "I bad not heard that I'm sorry. It makes a difference, of course." It Is possible that Henley was not thinking of Mark's commercial value, as he stood looking searchlngly down at the querulous patient. Unexpectedly he leaned forward a little. From his eyes a commanding flash leaped. He put out a band and caught one of Mark's strongly. "Your brains donLt need a crutch, do they? It Isn't brute strength that makes you valuable we can buy that cheap. You said something about be ing a man. Now's your chance to be one. What's a little thing like a crutch or a doctor's prohibition? The meas ure of a man is what.be overcomes. Go home and rest, get your nerve to gether. And when you're ready, let me know. I'll find a place for you." He was gone. And there was Mark, who had Just been weakly if resent fully accepting defeat, athrlU like a war-horse that has heard the bugle call. CHAPTER XI. The Measure of a Man. When be met Unity again, be had been in Bethel for more than two weeks. He had started out for the morning turn on his crutches, to test bis re turning strength, and before be quite realized it ths village lay behind him. He swung along for some two hundred yards farther; then let himself care fully down on tbe roadside. He sat there for a long time, baring his bead to the summer sunshine. "this Is very good Indeed!" It would have been almost flawless but tor one thing he was rather lonely; be felt the need for some one to share the day with him. He had his wish. Down the valley road appeared a buggy drawn by a lazy heavy-footed horse of tbe sort dis tinguished as "safe for women." From within the buggy Mark caught the gleam of a white shirtwaist and a sailor hat Even before the vehicle drew near enough for recognition, be knew the passenger for Unity. A slight tremor passed over him. To meet the embodiment of a shadow by whom one bas been Jilted or whom one has jilted? Is at least mildly ex citing. : A slight lightening of the reins was sufficient to stop that horse. "Hello, Unity!" Mark frit. that this greeting tell short of the dramatic proprieties. '' "Oh! How do you do?" she an swered polorlessly. There was a moment of silence dur ing which, without seeming to do so, they inspected each other. . Mark had a twinge of disappoint ment This was not tbe Unity he had loved so boyishly and so briefly. She was as pretty as ejer, In a way even prettier; but one could hardly have thought of her as splrltuelle. Her face was fuller, Its color deeper, and there was a healthy roundness In the line ot shoulder and breast, of the ankle that protruded from under tbe dust robe. Not that she was fat! Bus her daintiness was gone.' In. the Item of dress she would have suffered from comparison with the young ladies of his boarding house. Her hair was dona carelessly. And vivacity had gone the way of daintiness.- She bad the air of having settled Into the habit of Bethel, of having accepted Its narrow outlook. . A faint vertical line between her eyes hinted that aha might not have accepted It with complacency. Therefore he said: "Ton look the same as ever. Unity." -.-' ' . She brightened a little. "You think so?" There wsa something almost pitiful to htm In the way she caught at the remark. She became spiritless again. "But; of course, that Isn't true." . . "But, of course. It Is." -. She laughed unpleasantly. "You wouldn't think so, if you saw ths way they treat ma hers now." :, . "The men? Surely not!" .i She shruri-'crt hor shoulders. "No. worsen, "i so 1 ' V PfW and they dont giggle behlnd'my back. And when thsy haven't anything else to gossip about tbey talk about how I'm settling Into an old maid." "Isn't that what the rhetorics used to call hyperbole? It should be spar ingly used. Besides I hear you have a beau." "Oh! hlra!" With another shrug. "He's afraid I'm not a good cook." "That's a nice way to talk about a lover! Especially," be laughed self consciously, "since you threw mo over for him." He almost mlKaed the acid look she Hashed at him. "It broke your heart, of course!" "I've had pleasanr experiences." be said dryly. "Why jldn't you aiiBwer my last letter, Unity :" Her Indifference might have been a little too well done. "For one thing, even I have a little pride. It was easy to see you'd got tired of me. Not that I eared! Those boy and-glrl at- He Was Still Resting on His Grassy Bank When ths Slow-Going Vehicle Reappeard. fairs always die a natural death. There was another girl, wasn't there?" "Why, I. believe so. In fact, there was. I gave ber up tor you." - "And I gave, you up. You must have thought," again her unpleasant laugh rang, "ybu'd made a poor bargain all round. Or bad a lucky escape!" "I did," be answered grimly, leaving her to construe the answer as she chose. "That's an easy conundrum." She gathered up the reins. "Well, I must be going. We're harvesting now and I have to get back in time to help get dinner. Good-by.'' She drove on, as casually as If tbey bad been neighbors In the habit of meeting dally. . . . And this was their first meeting after six years. He leaned back on bis grassy bank, having found. If not a companion, at least food for reflection. . He was still resting on bis grassy bank when, an hour later, the slow going vehicle reappeared. With diffi culty for he bad not yet become ex pert wtlb hla crutches be rose and stood In the middle of the road. The horse, without urging, stopped with its nose against him. A more skilled ob server than Mark might have noticed that some villager's' mirror and comb had been utilized to the advantage of Unity's balr and that her hat had been readjusted to Its most becoming angle; and would have drawn certain In ferences. ' Mark did not. He merely smiled at her over the horse's bead. She seemed rather Impatient with his obstructlveness. "You've bought the pike, then? I hadn't heard." He laughed and waved his hand air ily. "This morning the world Is mine. Do you know, we haven't shaken hands?" "Oh, haven't we?" Her tone at tached no Importance to the omission. Nevertheless, when he stood aside, she drove the horse forward a length and laid a limp hand In Mark's. "Also," he continued, "you haven't said you're sorry thst I was hurt'" "Oh!" she repeated, with perfunc torlness unrelieved, "I'm sorry." He laughed again. "You needn't mind . now. You'll have plenty of chances before long." "Meaning?" '. "The road to your house Is still open to the public isn't It? I'm thinking of buying a new horse. Unity,:' he re turned to gravity, "there Isn't any rea son why we shouldn't be good friends, Is there?" "People will talk." . . He paraphrased a classic1 formula. "Unity," he said earnestly, "drat the people!" "You can say that You don't have to stay here." "But Tm going to stay here." "Not for good?" ' "For good." ; ' "Why?" " - Mark laughed shortly. "When you're put out of the race, you don't want to stay where you bave to watch the others still running " ' She Inspected him again, more closely. He thought he was sincere. But he did not know that despite tbe crutches snd his drawn whits face he had not ihe resigned dispirited air of the man who haa accepted perma nent seat on the shelf. , "Look as long as yoa want to," he suggested at last "In the meantime will yon set. the -dogs on me when I drive down your way?" . ri - "Oh", well!" . She tried gnsuocees futty to return to indifference; "ir yoa , really want, to come! It's been a I dull season. I srnoffe It would be a r w y i to g've t"!ir tongues a chance to clack ones mors." Sh drW the reins taut, "A real philanthropy," ha assented, grinning, as the horse lumberingly re sumed Its journey, Mark swung slowly along homeward. He smiled pityingly. He had read aright the new Interest in Unity's face that of the condemned prisoner who bas heard rumor of reprieve. He was sorry for her. And pity we have It fjm the poets i, love's poor relation. Mark regnluid a measure of strength, lie discarded one crutch and began each day to take a few steps experi mentally with no support but a cane. He spent many beautiful Idle hours, alone or with Itichard Courtuey, driv ing his new horse among the hills. Sometimes often l.'nity was with him on these drives. Tongues clacked according to prophecy. Hut Mark did not care. And Unity did not care. Mark fell placidly and easily In love with Unity again. At least, the while protesting, be decided that It must bo love. But tbe protest was half hearted. He wanted to love. "Are ye goin' to stay here in Bethel?" Simon broke a long silence to Inquire, one rainy evening. "I don't know," Mark answered out of a brown study, off his guard. But he added quickly: "Yes, 1 do know. I'm going to stay." "Then, what are ye goin' to do?" "I don't need to do anything I've got twenty thousand dollars. That'll last me In Bethel." Simon shook bis bead gravely. "Ye can't stand that Ye've got to do somethln'. An' .there's nothin' to do here yet." "And never will he." . "Mebby not. All the more reason why that Mister Henley's right" "Would you bave me go back to the city?" "Yes." "You don't know what you'ro say ing," Mark began Irritably. "I could never take a pen pushor's job. The mills are all I know. And that life you don't know it It costs too much. It takes It out of you, drives you like a slave. It I'm not fit for It now. It oh, let's not talk about It." But Simon bad more than one of Mark's problems on bis mind. "Are ye," -he went on, "goin' to marry Unity Martin?" "I don't know. I suppose so." "If ye don't find out purty soon," remarked Simon most surprisingly, "she'll do your knowln' fur ye. I wouldn't." Mark stopped at a window, looking f rownlngly out at the sheets of rain that dashed across the square of light Simon muat have felt deeply on the subject for be repeated, "I wouldn't" "No," said Mark testily, "I suppose you Wouldn't I don't know. But if I do it, it will be with my eyes open:" Which seems a most unlover-llke say ing. There was an evening when he was alone with Unity on Squire Martin's front porch. It was one of the soft languorous nights that sometimes come to Bethel In early September. Tbey talked little and that In low tones. Once be leaned toward her. He had to peer closely to make out her look of content "Do you know," be remarked, "you ought to be glad I came back?" "Indeed! And why?" , . "Have you looked In the mirror lately? When I first came you looked well, cranky' and as though you didn't care whether school kept or not." . "Well, of all the conceit! I sup pose you take all the credit" Thus she admitted certain Improvements. "And why not?" he laughed lazily. "When you come right down to It Unity, you never really, definitely threw me over." "It Isn't too late." "Yes, It Is too late." She Bald nothing. But when he reached up to take her band he found It a tightly clenched little ball. ' "Unity, do you remember the drive we took that Sunday before I went to the city?" "I think I do." "She thinks she does!" he apostro phized the night "I have a scheme. Tomorrow, right after dinner, I'm go ing to drive down bere for you. Unity, let's have the Sunday over again In every particular." Again she was silent "You don't agree?" "I I'm not sure." "That you love me?" She shook ber head. "That I want to marry you." .. But when he drew ber down and kissed ber, she did not resist "Walt" be whispered fatuously, "until tomor row. Then you will be convinced." Although - what virtue . the morrow would hold he did not say. He prob ably did not guess. Unity did not scruple to change the current of another's life; she saw no occasion for scruples. She thought she loved Mark. But she did not believe his expressed resolve to stay In Bethel was, could be, genuine; or. If genuine, that its execution wduld be good for blm. And, principally she knew ex actly what she wanted. Neit day they drove over much the same road they had taken seven years before. Tbey chatted In lighter vein, with Intervals ot eloquent silence. On a tilltop whence they could see only other hills and the sinking sun they ate the lunch put up by the thoughtful Susan. Then they waited to watch the sunset. . ' "Unity, what must I do to convince your "Nothing," she murmured. He considered his happiness. . ' And after a while she said: "Ten me about your life in ths city. You've never said much about If Innonent demand! 1 Not In vain Is the trap i !. a i' ' t ft a y -f man In love. He began to describe tba mills to her. And aa he went on, Into his words crept ths an conscious elo quence of a real enthusiasm. His face became eager. Before bs had ended, he was on bis feet declaiming to bar, who was a very attentive audience. He saw what he described. "Ah!" she breathed, as he reached a period. "What a Ufel And you could leave It?" "You forget," he reminded her, "I was put out of It." ; "l She leaned forward suddenly, rest- lug her hand on the one that held ths ,: cutie. "Murk, why don't you go back to It?" i He jerked his band free, as If bs had felt a twinge of pain. "Don't suggest that. Unity!" be cried. "There's that other side. It's hard and cruel and v narrowing. It eats up all the best of you. Sometimes It kills you. , It makes you a machine, not your owe man. 1 used to feel It when 1 was there, sometimes terribly. Here I see . It from a distance and I understand belter. It's just one hellish scramble, that lire" He stopped abruptly, with an Impatient gesture. "If 1 go back, Unity, you won't " : Hut how could he phrase bis fear or I Interpret the hot surging that drowned It? . v She sighed happily. He was soon to learn. A man and a woman entered Into the most trying of human relations. Both were young, but both bad har dened In the pursuit of selfish desire. Neither had the love that finds Its : chief Joy In yielding. CHAPTER XII. A Man snd His Wife. In the down-town offices of the Qulnby company and In the particular room which may be called tbe head quarters of the Qulnby army, two men were sitting late one winter afternoon. Tbe one was Henley himself, now chairman ot tbe company, a bit stouter than when we first met him twelve years ago, bis arrogance a lKtle less evident in manner albeit time bad not altered the fact The other was a youngish man whose thin bony face and hands and streaks of premature gray hair spoke of physical frailty. . It was common knowledge In the Qulnby company that no one was more welcome In Henley's office than the young superintendent whom the master's Influence had put in com mand of tbe big new open-hearth plant. It was even suspected that Henley had taken Truitt In with him In his speculations. At the end of a long discussion of company affairs Henley pressed a but ton. His secretary appeared from the adjoining office. "Bring In the light and beat ac count." The secretary returned with the ac count of tbe latest successful a pecula tion. Henley gave It a rapid glance and banded It to Mark. The latter studied It carefully, questioned certain Items, questioned the explanation and finally accepted them. Henley smiled At the Door a Crippled Beggar Ae. coated Them. 1 again. He knew men who would have hesitated to question bis accounts. Everything he knew of Truitt he liked. "Make out Mr. Trultt's check," he directed the secretary, who withdrew and promptly returned. , Henley signed the check and deliv ered It to Mark. The latter receipted the accompanying voucher. "I've another thing In mind," Hen ley suggested. "Care to go in?" Mark hesitated, his brow suddenly wrinkling. "I think not," be said at last. The note ot Irritation did not escape Henley. "I've my eye on a new house." "I thought you were pretty com fortably fixed." Mark shrugged bis shoulders. "H seems the neighborhood leaves some thing to be desired!" ' . . - "Yes? I see," Henley Indicates! Mark's heavy furred overcoat "you're driving out Yon can take me home unless you're in a hurry to reach that delinquent neighborhood?" A quarter of an hour later the two men emerged from the corridor of the) Qulnby building. At the door a crip pled beggar accosted them. Henley Ignored him. Mark slyly gave blm a coin." - - A beautifully matched team of blacks harnessed to a light sleigh awaited him.- Evidently Mark had not forgot-, ten his early knowledge ot horse Been. Only a man whom fortune, had kissed . could have afforded such horses. Fur -Markwith his "leg and a hair thr were hardly an exti.vair,nce, a :!- a neri"'-"v. '.''.. c ' V