UPTHE , : ; T B " LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DAVIS UP THE GRADE rf / will go -with you" he answered, " and do my best. 11 Up the Grade BY DAVID W. EDWARDS THE C. M. CLARK PUBLISHING COMPANY BOSTON MDCCCCIX LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DAVIS COPYRIGHT, 1909 BY THE C. M. CLARK PUBLISHING Co. BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS u. s. A. All Rights Reserved CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. THE BADGER BOY 1 II. THE BELDEN FARM 7 III. REVENGE 13 IV. SUNDAY AT THE FARM 19 V. A VILLAINOUS PLOT 22 VI. ANNIE REESE 33 VII. His MOTHER 51 VIII. THE " SILENT ORACLE " 60 IX. "WILD OATS" 73 X. "UNCLE NATE" 79 XI. DISTRUST 85 XII. DOCTOR HASKELL 90 XIII. DANGER 102 XIV. QUEENLY DIGNITY 107 XV. PERSECUTION 110 XVI. "THE BINDERS" 113 XVII. THE BATTLE 118 XVIII. THE CLOUD LIFTED 128 XIX. SHADOWED 135 XX. GOING HOME 145 XXI. THE WHITE CAP 157 XXII. THE ULTIMATUM 162 XXIII. WORKING His WAY.. 167 CONTENTS Continued CHAPTER PAGE XXIV. THE WARBURTON MANSION 172 XXV. THE ATHLETE 179 XXVI. THE BOATMAN OUTWITTED 184 XXVII. THE FIVE HORSEMEN 199 XXVIII. Two "CATTLE KINGS" MEET 205 XXIX. BOB'S STORY 210 XXX. JOHN CLOVERDALE 219 XXXI. THE RAINBOW IN THE SIERRAS 227 XXXII. ROSALIND 241 XXXIII. "!F HE COULD ONLY KNOW" 253 XXXIV. A NEW EXPERIENCE 263 XXXV. THE MUSICAL CONVENTION 277 XXXVI. THE BARRIER 286 XXXVII. MR. YALE'S VISIT 296 XXXVIII. A CHERISHED HOPE 301 XXXIX. THE SCHEMING MOTHER 310 XL. AT DEATH'S DOOR 320 XLI. THE MOUNTAIN PASS 337 XLII. "Up THE GRADE" 344 XLIII. THE EYRIE 357 XLIV. RICHARD'S TRIBUTE 367 XLV. HE HAD DECIDED 375 XLVI. THE GRAND CONCERT 387 XLVII. CONCLUSION .. 395 ILLUSTRATIONS "I WILL GO WITH YOU," HE ANSWERED, "AND DO MY BEST" Frontispiece PAGE THE CHURCH WAS WELL FILLED WHEN RlCHARD AND HIS MOTHER ENTERED 48 HE AIMED A BLOW AT RlCHARD 123 " THIS IS ON THE RANCH, ISN ? T IT? " 246 THE CROWD RUSHED AROUND THEM AND TRIED TO EXPLAIN TO THE OFFICER 270 THE CARRIAGE STOPPED BEFORE AN OLD, HOME LIKE RESIDENCE. 393 Affectionately dedicated to the wife of my youth, and our precious children, whose young lives were guided by her prayers, precepts and example. prefatory Note THESE words were mostly penned during hours of wakefulness, between 10 P. M. and 4 A. M., after days spent in the storm center of business life. The incidents herein related are taken from the personal experience and observation of the writer, whose life has slipped well past its meridian, with its unimproved opportunities, its many failures and few victories. In his feeble effort to faithfully portray the dangers which meet all men at the threshold of life, and point the only way to overcome them, he has written down the words which came to him in the silent hours, when alone with the Infinite. He would make no greater wish than that the reading may prove as great a blessing to the reader, as has the writing to THE WRITER. Bimini Springs, Los Angeles, Col. UP THE GRADE CHAPTER I THE BADGER BOY MR. STEVEN HENRY BELDEN and his friend Judge Densmore were seated under one of the large natural oaks in the front yard of an old Wisconsin homestead. Their conversation was interrupted by a half scream and the sight of a cloud of dust down the road. Running hurriedly to the gate, they saw a horse plunging furiously, the saddle hanging by his side, the rider clinging pluckily, one hand grasping the horse's mane and the other holding to one rein, drawing the head of the spirited animal so as to keep him moving in a circle while kicking and lunging in frantic efforts to rid himself of his fair burden. The situation was so appallingly threatening to the life of the young lady that 1 2 UP THE GRADE for a moment the gentlemen looked on help lessly. In that moment of hesitation a young man vaulted the fence, and, before they had gathered their scattered wits, had the animal in hand and proceeded coolly to replace the saddle and cinch it firmly in place; while she hastily and nervously adjusted her raiment, which had become seriously disarranged in the mix-up, gathered up her long braids of golden hair in a tangled mass that gave to her flushed cheeks and blue eyes a touch of blond beauty far more becoming than could have been produced by the artifice of the most skilled hairdresser. During the brief period, scarcely longer than the telling, her rescuer had not spoken or apparently noticed her; nor did he make reply when he lifted her to the saddle and she blushingly attempted to thank him, other than simply raise his hat with an air which seemed to say: "Not worth mentioning." He watched her for a moment as she galloped away, then returned to his work in the field near by, springing over the fence almost as lightly as he had a moment before. As the gentlemen turned toward the rustic UP THE GRADE 3 chairs which they had just vacated, Judge Densmore broke out enthusiastically : " Steve, that hired man of yours is a thoroughbred!" He received no answer, and they resumed their seats and their conversation. The shadows of the old oaks which were scattered over the grass plot crept lazily along before the descending sun and embroidered themselves in a lacework of oaken leaves along the whitewashed fence; a group of children coming up from the borders of the moist meadowland with baskets of wild strawberries went shouting down the road toward a long bridge which spans the marshy border of a mill pond; Mr. Belden's "hired man" drove a fine "team of blacks" up to the barn, unhitched them, calling each by name as he patted their arched necks, and left them at their well-filled manger. He was slightly above medium height, deep-chested, broad-shouldered, and of so perfect a muscular development as to give that powerful yet easy movement which denotes tremendous reserve strength. His eyebrows and long lashes almost black gave an un usual but pleasing contrast to the full, deep 4 UP THE GRADE blue eyes which had an expression of tender gentleness that would gain the confidence of a child. His face might have been taken for one which lacked firmness and strength of character but for the deep-set lower jaw, broad chin, and rather thin lips which, when parting in a pleasing smile, revealed a set of strong white teeth that slightly inclined in ward. His bare sunbrowned arms and cal loused hands gave evidence that his physical perfection had been earned in the field of honest toil rather than the college gymnasium. As he moved from place to place, doing quickly but thoroughly his evening work, he came to an apartment furnished with great care and fitted with every convenience for the comfort and safety of its occupant. The walls were decorated with posters, pictures and clippings setting forth the wonderful exploits of " Maid of the West." A beautiful sorrel mare stretched her neck over the box stall and called to him with almost human intelligence. "Hello, Maid, you are glad to see me, are you?" he said, as he stroked her silken mane while she laid her head on his shoulder in great friendliness. UP THE GRADE 5 " You would be glad to go with me tonight, I know you would. You would shorten the road, wouldn't you?" A woman with red hair and a sunbonnet, who was passing with a well-filled basket of eggs, hearing his voice, paused for a moment listening to his words; then passing on un noticed by him, called back in a kindly tone : " I will have your supper ready in a few min utes, Richard." i v i His work finished, he walked toward the house; stopping for a moment he turned his gaze across a long stretch of prairie land to ward wooded hilltops in the distance. A smile lit up his face. Unconsciously he had struck a pose worthy of the brush of the great masters, for under the painting might have been written the words of the writer of sacred history, who said of the son of Jesse : " He was withal of a beautiful countenance and goodly to look to." Richard Williams, our "Badger Boy," was all this and more. We say "boy" not in the juvenile sense, but with a tender solicitude for one who has so much of life yet before him with its possibilities, shadowed by the adverse influences which meet all men 6 UP THE GRADE at the threshold of life and lurk along their pathway. The imp of appetite, or temper, or greed, or lust, or pugilism, who can compass his destruction, will be given a royal banquet in Hades. We must leave him for the present and further investigate these interesting premises known as the old Belden Farm, where we shall soon see how he becomes the target for the arrows of venom, hatred and long-smolder ing revenge in the hands of an insidious foe who wears the smiling mask of friendship. CHAPTER II THE BELDEN FARM THE old farmhouse, despite numerous re- modelings and attempts at modernizing, still shows some of the plainness of the pioneer's habitation visible through its angles. This, however, adds to, rather than detracts from its air of comfortable coziness. Mr. Steven Henry Belden was the owner of the farm, and the other, his most confidential friend, "Judge" Henry J. Densmore, the title having been conferred upon him by his asso ciates, who years before had found him an efficient referee in affairs which would hardly lend honor or dignity to the wearer. Mr. Belden was a man approaching middle life, of unusually prepossessing appearance; a stranger unless an adept in character reading would at once have pronounced him a prince of good fellows. He was tall, with quick but graceful movements, dark hair, a heavy, drooping black moustache, and 7 8 UP THE GRADE black eyes. He was usually dressed in a suit of black, cut in the latest style. His companion, who was a few years older, was quite the opposite in his general make-up, being a larger and more heavily built man of florid complexion, evidently growing toward corpulency in his advancing years; a phleg matic temperament, slow in movement and speech; with a judicial air, probably acquired through deference to his ill-gotten title; a coach in his college days, degenerating into a boxing master and a trainer of pugilists. Upon his cheek he carried an ugly scar from a knife wound, a cruel blow, which it was whispered was aimed at the heart of Mr. Steven Henry Belden, and under circum stances which had cemented the bonds of friendship between them; for Mr. Belden was not devoid of feelings of gratitude. Indeed it was his boast that he never forgot, or failed to remember and reward a friend or an enemy. With this favorite expression, it was notice able that the reference to an enemy, even on his well-controlled countenance, always brought to the surface a hardness of expres sion such as invariably marks the features UP THE GRADE 9 of one who harbors the evil spirit of revenge. "How long have you owned this place, Steve?" asked Judge Densmore. " Well, I might say, all my life. I was born here and, as you know, being the only off shoot of my father's branch of the Belden family, I inherited this and what other property he accumulated by a long life of hard work and habitual frugality; for, while it may be hard for you to believe it, after so intimate an acquaintance with his only son, my father was an honest man, and my mother well, I don't like to think of her, and don't allow myself to very often. You know father was stricken with apoplexy under this old tree, on just such a summer evening as this, and fell dead right where you are sitting, and mother followed him soon after. I can see her now, sitting there with that tired, lone some look on her face. I was left alone with Aunt Fanny and the hired men. She sent me to school over there by the mill pond. There was an old log schoolhouse standing there then. " You remember when I showed up at the 'U/ I was about as unsophisticated a kid 10 UP THE GRADE as you ever punched in the ribs with an eight-ounce glove." The Judge moved uneasily in his chair, and, as if to change the subject, said: "I didn't know your father was so much of a pioneer, Steve." "Yes," he replied, "he took this land from the government, and the patent bears the signature of President Jackson." "President Jackson! That was long before my time. Here, Steve, take a pull at one of these, and imagine that it was rolled and the wrapper moistened by the rosy red lips of the prettiest black-eyed Cuban gal you ever saw way ahead of those dainty, dancing Creoles you took such a shine to down in New Orleans. Fm afraid you are wandering off into a remi niscent mood. If my memory serves me right, I believe you and I agreed long ago that for us there was more pleasure to be found in par ticipating in the present, and in anticipating the future, than in the retrospective." Mr. Belden lighted his cigar, his face re taining the same absent-minded expression, and proceeded in the same vein, evidently not heeding the attempt of his companion to UP THE GRADE 11 break in upon his reverie. "It was here, just as I was getting ready to go back to my last year at the 'U/ when old Deacon Barlow moved to the rolling prairie neighborhood, and I first met and fell desperately in love with his daughter Celia. Just as I was getting nicely under way with my courtship, and had begun to think I was getting on the soft side of her, David Williams came over from the town of Cadmus, and engaged Celia to teach their school; and that little incident, trifling as it may seem, came very near knocking the whole thing in the head." "Williams, why, isn't that the name of the young fellow that's now working for you?" "Yes, but the one I am speaking of was his father that was before this mild-eyed kid was born. Til get round to this one pretty soon; he comes into my story, as he will find out to his sorrow some day. Well, she went over to teach their school, and I, of course, was a frequent visitor at their home during the few days that remained of my vacation she boarded there. Well, to make a long story short, before I went back to school, the purest and sweetest girl I had ever asso- 12 UP THE GRADE ciated with had promised to be my wife as soon as I returned with my diploma. 77 "You say, Steve, this was just before you came back the last year?" "Yes, just about the time you left for the South." "You young rascal," said the Judge in a half-serious tone, "you were engaged to the daughter of the widow who ran the Capital Hill boarding house, where a lot of you young bloods boarded." "Oh, yes, I had a girl for nearly every even ing of the week, and engaged to all of them, but I was sowing my wild oats then." "And harvested quite a crop, too, as I remember," raising his eyebrows with a feigned air of reproof. "Your story is getting interesting, old man. I have never heard you speak of this romance before go on." CHAPTER III REVENGE THE remarks of the Judge seemed to be lost, as Mr. Belden, apparently not noticing them, proceeded with unaltered countenance : "During that last year, I kept up correspon dence with Celia. For some time her letters were all that an ardent lover could wish, but they gradually became less frequent, and I saw a change, which could hardly be called coldness more of a sadness, which I men tioned in one of my letters and asked for an explanation. But I was mighty careful how I worded that letter, for she was the most sen sitive person I ever knew. There was a shy ness about her that reminded me of a fawn I caught over on Eagle Island when I was a boy she was so timid, and put on such a fright ened look when anything went wrong. When her answer came, she said that a very dear friend, who was older than she, and whose truth, judgment and honesty she could not 13 14 UP THE GRADE doubt, and whose name she could not give me, had advised her to break our engagement, and she felt it her duty to ask me to release her until she was older, and we would become better acquainted with the inner life of each other. I felt sure it was Dave Williams 7 wife that was at the bottom of it all, for she took Celia to her heart on first sight, and (Delia's letters were full of her praise until their tone changed, and she never spoke of her after that. I wrote her at once, telling her to consider herself free, and I would wait patiently until she was satisfied that I was all she believed me to be, before that wise friend prompted no doubt, by a sincere and purely unselfish interest in her welfare had given her what my own judgment forced me to feel was good, sensible advice to one so young and pure; that I never expected to be worthy of her, but since she came into my life, it had received a special uplift, and it would be my daily prayer that that small spark which had been kindled by my sainted mother in the heart of her orphan boy might be fanned into a blaze of religous fervor. " Judge," he continued, rising and slowly UP THE GRADE 15 pacing back and forth before him, his eyes gleaming like a fiend incarnate, every nerve and muscle strained to its highest tension, "that was the hardest letter to write I ever put on paper. It tried my diplomacy to the limit, and I have written some that would have made the devil himself blush for shame. That letter was written between the bitterest and blackest oaths and curses. David Williams' wife! Curse her and her offspring!" As his rage increased in fury, his voice sank to a low, soft and measured tone: "I took a solemn oath that night that Celia Barlow should be my wife; and I called upon the spirit of evil, and all the demons of darkness to help me wreak eternal vengeance on Mary Williams and her progeny and blight her fondest hopes. Judge, I don't believe in a personal devil, but I do believe that there is a spirit of evil that you can pray to, and if your prayer is backed up by action, it will be an swered." " Then you must believe there is a spirit of good that will answer prayer?" " Yes, I do, if the prayer asks for something 16 UP THE GRADE good and is backed up by hard work, but I have never done any of that kind of praying myself. " The Judge broke into a hearty laugh, say ing: "Well, if these two spirits got in their work on a fellow at the same time, the one trying to knock him out, and the other to brace him up, which do you think would be the most likely to get the decision? Which would you put your money on, Steve?" " I wouldn't put up anything on that match, Judge, for the fellow has the game all in his own hands no referee needed there; he decides it himself, throws it whichever way he chooses, and takes the consequences. That's my theology, but I must confess that I have always tried to steer clear of that kind of a racket. I have chosen the easy way that runs smoothest and helps me get sweet re venge, with no worry about the future." "This kind of spirit suits me very well," said the Judge, another outburst shaking his fat sides, at the same time handing a pocket flask to Mr. Belden, saying: "try some of my theology. But, say, your story grows in in terest. I am anxious to know how you came UP THE GRADE 17 out with the gal, and what you are going to do with this young fellow." Just at this moment, footsteps were heard, and Richard Williams was seen approaching, dressed in a very plain suit of light summer clothing, which was evidently his Sunday best. "Here he comes now," said Mr. Belden. "He often goes home of a Saturday night." Then turning to the young man he said pleasantly: "Starting for home, are you, Richard? You are not going without your supper?" "Yes, I am going home. I have had my supper. Your supper is waiting. Maggie said she did not like to disturb you gentle men you seemed to be having such a good visit. It is seven o'clock now." "Where do you live?" asked Judge Densmore. "At Black Hawk Spring, a small station over on the main line," he replied. "How far is it from here?" "They call it sixteen miles, but I think it is further; it usually takes me six hours to walk it. I am going to try and make it in 18 UP THE GRADE five and a half tonight. I will start back at one o' clock Monday morning, Mr. Belden." "Here, Richard, before you start," and the Judge handed out his flask. "No, sir, thank you," and the next mo ment he was walking up the road toward home. The Judge stood looking after him in amaze ment. "Sixteen miles, and he is going to walk it tonight, after such a day's work as he has done today! Why doesn't he go 'round by train or on horseback?" Mr. Belden made no reply, and they slowly walked toward the house. Just before enter ing, the Judge said: "Don't forget where you left off, Steve. I must hear all of that story." CHAPTER IV SUNDAY AT THE FARM THE person whom Richard spoke of as Maggie, and who presided over the home of Mr. Belden, was a woman of possibly thirty- five years of age, whom he had met in his travels. She was a widow of a captain in the Federal Army, who went down before Pickett's charge at Gettysburg. It was generally believed that her real name now was Mrs. Belden, but that, for the pension which she received as an officer's widow, she and Mr. Belden had agreed that she pass as his hired housekeeper. She was rather large of stature, with bright red hair, which she always wore in ringlets; she had large, light-gray eyes and was slightly freckled. Her manner was kindly, and she was an excellent cook and a model housekeeper. With her the word and look of Mr. Steven Henry Belden was law; she seldom asserted her own individuality; slow to anger, but 19 20 UP THE GRADE when, perchanco, she became aroused, which was most likely to occur over some real or fancied slight on his part, Mr. Belden found he had met his master. She could ride a horse, shoot a revolver, drive a reaper, yes, and she could draw the reins over Maid of the West, when she was home for vacation, after her annual tour of the racing circuit with the same ease and grace that she could make pastry, or serve rich dinners at the Belden farm. After the evening meal, which was one of her best, was over, while the Judge dozed in his chair, Mr. Belden brought out his fishing tackle, gun and ammunition, and in answer to her inquiry said that the Judge and himself were going out in the morning to look for a covey of prairie chickens that he had been keeping for a special occasion, and they would spend an hour trolling for pickerel on the mill pond. "I am afraid," he added, "the Judge will forget it is Sunday, if we don't go hunting or fishing, so I have decided to do both, but we will be back in time for lunch." He kept his word, and after they had UP THE GRADE 21 partaken of the dainties which awaited them, and to which they both did ample justice, they repaired to the shade of the old oak when the Judge, producing his case of Havanas, requested Mr.Belden to "go on with his story." After a few minutes' silence, in which Mr. Belden seemed to be in deep meditation, he again took up the thread of his narrative. CHAPTER V A VILLAINOUS PLOT "AFTER writing that letter and taking those vows, I began to lay my plans, first, to win Celia; second, to get even with that woman. It was always easy for me to keep up with my class, with time to spare. The next Sunday found me way out in one of the suburbs, at a little Baptist Chapel, so attentive a listener as to attract the notice of Elder Mead, the preacher, who came down after the service, shook hands, said he was glad to see me, and invited me to remain to Sunday School, the very thing I wanted him to do. I complimented his sermon, told him I was a stranger in the city, and, hearing of the work he was doing, had come out to hear him preach; that I was pleased with the homelike atmosphere of his church, and should come again. "I took in the Sunday School, enrolled myself as a member of the Young Men's Bible 22 UP THE GRADE 23 Class, and began the cultivation of the 'inner life. 7 " I made such progress that in a short time I yielded to the urgent solicitations of the elder and deacons, and, after complying with the rites and ceremonies of the church, was admitted to membership, and Elder Mead counted me as one of the stars in his crown. "When I left there, a little church bulletin which they published said: 'We regret to lose from our Church Society Mr. Steven Belden, who has, during his all too brief stay endeared himself to all, old and young; his place in the Sunday School will not soon be filled, and one and all wish him a safe journey to his home, and bespeak for him a life of great usefulness.' " In some way, that bulletin chanced to fall into the hands of the good old Deacon Barlow, and he and his family were at once enlisted in my favor, and it was not very long after I returned before I was fully reinstated in the esteem of Celia, our engagement made public, and we were married at Christmas time." "You certainly worked your cards well and won out/' said the Judge enthusiastically. 24 UP THE GRADE "It seems the Williams woman pulled out of the race and left you a clear track?" " Well, I guess not that woman read me like an open book. I never met her, but she made me feel that she was dead onto my curves. She advised Celia to wait a year, and I had quite a time talking her out of the notion. "For a while after we were married, I kept up the church play, but gradually began to grow away from it, and she became so melan choly and quiet in her manners that there was not much enjoyment in life for either of us. I got to spending considerable time up at the Lake, and sometimes came home pretty well filled up. Her health got poor, and she gradually faded away, and before I even dreamt that there was anything serious in her illness, before we had been married quite three years, she died. Her death seemed to bring me to my senses. Every unkind word, all the neglect and cruel treatment I had shown her, came back to me, and when, a few days later, I met one of her brothers down by the mill pond, he turned upon me with all the fury of a wild beast and accused me of killing UP THE GRADE 25 her by my hellish conduct, and threatened to kill me if I ever crossed his path, and wound up by saying that if she had taken the advice of Mary Williams, she would now be alive and happy. "I fled for my life, and the old hatred for that Williams woman came back to me with increased bitterness. Through my influence, the Williams farm had been taken away from them by the foreclosure of a mortgage, and they had moved out of the state, but I swore I would find them and get even with her yet. That thirst for revenge gave me some thing to live for. I went to New Orleans, and you remember when I met you there at the races?" "Yes, Steve, I shall never forget how we met when we were both nearly broke, nor how you had changed. You had grown from a happy, reckless young boy to a sedate man, looking at least ten years older. We had some wild adventures and saw some of the world. We worked some pretty cunning schemes with that patent of mine, and caught a good string of suckers, but your poker racket was the trump card, and we worked it to the 26 UP THE GRADE tune of over one hundred thousand, in about ten years. " Do you remember when we opened up at St. Louis I went into the city by train, and you got off a river boat I, a gentleman of leisure who played for fun, and you, a Span iard, who could hardly speak English, and really knew but a few sentences in broken Spanish, but passed as a professional gambler, how we always met as strangers, and when I managed to get a winning hand up my sleeves, or in a card Jack under the table, and began to sing When I went down to Washington, To vote for Abram Linkum, how you put up your pile, and I raked in the pot, and you and the poor suckers who were not onto our game all went broke; then I would lend you a few dollars to get out of town on, and we would move on and acci dentally meet in some other city, and play the same old game, always doing the suckers?" "Yes," said Mr. Belden, "I remember it all, and what you have so considerately failed to mention, that I got so dissipated that you were forced to drop me out, and when you UP THE GRADE 27 put me on the boat at the foot of Market Street, in Frisco, with a ticket 'round the Horn, a well-filled buckskin bag of California gold in my trunk, I, more dead than alive, a broken wreck, with just enough strength left to get back to the old farm and die, as I then thought. "I have not seen your good old scarred face since that day, until you dropped in on me last Friday/' At the mention of the scar, the Judge drew his hand over his cheek, a movement that had become habitual with him, probably to con ceal the disfigurement, and said jovially: "Well, never mind, but tell me what you have been doing since we parted in Frisco. Did you ever run up against that brother-in- law who run you out of the country?" "No, he died in an epidemic that swept over this part of the state, and a good many others who lived here when I went away; and my past career seemed to be forgotten, or possibly my money has aided their forget- fulness. They certainly have treated me like a lord. A judicious contribution now and then to the benevolent and progressive enter- 28 UP THE GRADE prises of the neighborhood seems to act as an anesthetic and sinks the past in delightful oblivion. Scarcely a week passes that some good sister or brother of the church doesn't come 'round to see Brother Belden for a sub scription. I sometimes wonder if 'charity covers a multitude of sins' isn't a misquota tion, and it should read 'money' instead of 'charity/ no matter how you got it, and" "How about that Williams woman, Steve? You seem to have let up on her." "Not by any means," said Mr. Belden. "After I got sobered off, and began to recover my health, I made diligent inquiry among the old settlers regarding the whereabouts of my old friends, the Williams family; but all I could learn was that they had moved out of the state just before the war. You may imagine my surprise and satisfaction when one day last winter Dave Williams walked into my house. He said they had been living in a small town in Iowa, where he had had all sorts of bad luck, and had never been able to get ahead, or hardly to make both ends meet; that when the railroad was built through to the Fox River, and that branch UP THE GRADE 29 became the main line, he moved back and located at Black Hawk Spring, which prom ised to become a thriving little town, and acquiring a lot in the townsite by gift, he had managed to erect a small cottage, for which he was in debt the first home he could call his own since he lost his farm in the town of Cadmus, or rather, would call his home when it was paid for. I asked him about his good wife and family. He said she was in rather poor health, having borne seven children, three of whom had died in infancy, probably from lack of nourishment, due to overwork of the mother. 'But/ he added, 'our oldest boy, Richard, is our mainstay, now a man grown, a perfect Hercules in strength, who has been accustomed to all kinds of hard work, and can turn off about as much work in a day as two ordinary men. He is the idol of his mother, and her only regret is our ina bility to give him an education. He is a great reader and very quick to learn, and hungry for an education. As soon as we get our home paid for, we hope to give him a chance to get a little schooling. He hasn't a bad habit, and has always brought home 30 UP THE GRADE every cent he could earn, and put it into the family till. You ought to see him, Mr. Belden, and you would not wonder that he is the hope and pride of his father and mother/ "I promised him I would come over and visit them at no distant day, for I had not forgotten that Mrs. Williams had been the bosom friend of my dear wife. In a few days I paid them a visit, and before I left, it was agreed that their son should drive the black horses, and do the work on the Belden farm this summer, and here he is under the tender care of 'an old friend of the family/ where he shall learn some of the ways of the world. " I suppose today he is having a great visit with his mamma, or possibly, making a bash ful call at a certain big white farmhouse just out of the new town of Black Hawk Spring. Daniel Reese, a good old Welsh pioneer, lives there; his young daughter Annie is said to be the prettiest girl in the county. It is also said that she smiles sweetly on Richard. The old folks are strict church people, of the Cal- vinistic faith a hint that Richard is growing a little wild over here, whispered into the ears of the old man at the right time, will UP THE GRADE 31 sow the seeds of distrust in his fertile brain, and our Dicky will find the course of puppy love not any too smooth. If my schemes work, he will not be just the sort of a fellow to satisfy the pride and ambition of that sturdy old Welsh couple, when I get through with him, or the beautiful Annie, for that matter. " I sent him up to the Lake with a load of wheat a few days ago, drove over myself with the Maid, met him there (accidentally, of course), gave him his first lesson at playing pool, and saw him drink a few glasses the first that ever touched his lips. He started off beautifully. If he once gets going, he will go fast; he never does anything by halves. I have told him of some of our exploits at the poker table and the money there is in it, if played right. I could see that he can be easily worked up to a fever heat over any thing that will bring money to pay off his dad's debts. "I got him at just the right age, Bill. Jackson, the telegraph operator at Black Hawk Spring is a big, strapping fellow who weighs one eighty, and stands nearly six feet in his stockings. He used to drive Maid of 32 UP THE GRADE the West for me until he got overweight, when he learned telegraphy. He went over to Black Hawk Spring with me the first time I went over there, got his eye on Annie Reese, and went wild over her. I helped him get that office. Richard, the young Hercules, as his father calls him, will be likely to make his acquaintance. If he ever runs up against Bill Jackson, he will hear something drop. I haven't played my best cards yet; I have some up my sleeve that will 'rake in the jack pot/ I feel it incumbent on me to look after the spiritual as well as the physical, moral, intellectual and possibly matrimonial interests of this precious young pet of his mother. His mother, Judge, is Mary Williams. This brings my story up to the highly interesting present. If my little schemes work as they promise to Mary Williams will be paid back in her own coin, and some, if not all of them, will work" CHAPTER VI ANNIE REESE WHEN Richard left Mr. Belden and the Judge, the sun was sinking toward the western horizon almost enshrouded in a gauzy drapery of shimmering heat. A few straggling rays darted toward the earth as though the god of the day was making a dying effort to draw from the rivers and lakes moisture to scatter in pearly drops upon the thirsty earth. Not a breath of air stirred the leaves on the maple and locust trees which were scattered along the neighboring farms; and when he reached the border of the rolling prairie through which his road lay, the tall lombardy poplars which for a distance lined the road on either side stood motionless, sending their slender shaft- like shadows athwart the fields. The blades of corn hung limp in the sultry air. The yellow dandelion, the white clover and the daisy lifted their heads from the closely cropped grass of the roadside and turned 33 34 UP THE GRADE their faces upward, inviting the dewdrops to wash away the dust and heat of the depart ing day. The silence was broken by the sound of horses' feet, and glancing backward, Richard saw a light carriage approaching, drawn by a fine pair of matched bays. The driver, who was alone in the carriage, he recog nized as a rich banker who lived in the town of C , a few miles from his home. His heart gave a bound when he thought of the possibility of an invitation to ride, and what it would mean to him to ride in that shining, cushioned seat to within four miles of his home. He stepped aside, the horses slack ened their pace, the driver 's whip cracked, and the carriage sped onward, leaving a cloud of dust behind. The banker's mind was doubtless too much absorbed with the thoughts of the price of land or some loan he was negotiating even to notice the plain young farmer by the roadside. Ah! Mr. Banker, you have lost an opportunity, which, if properly improved, would have given you more satisfaction and been of greater profit than that shown on your balance sheet for many a month to come. Had you given that UP THE GRADE 35 tired young man a seat by your side with a word of cheer, and an hour of helpful sug gestion from a successful business man, who can say what lofty ambition you might have encouraged, what noble resolutions strength ened? Richard watched the carriage as it passed from one to another of the rolling prairie hilltops, and finally, in the gathering twilight, he saw it climb what was known as the long hill and go over the summit out of sight. " If that man had asked me to ride, I would now be over the long hill and home by ten o'clock," he soliloquized, his features taking on for a moment an expression of great annoy ance, not to say anger. "I may drive as good a rig as that of my own some day. Who knows but I may pass him on the road, or some of his family, sometime?" Then, after walking on thoughtfully for some distance, "I guess her way is best after all." Whoever or whatever of the past his memory had called up, it was evident that the resent ful spirit was gone, and some holy influence had set his heart at peace with all men, for his step seemed lighter, and his face assumed 36 UP THE GRADE its wonted expression of happy hopefulness. When he reached the summit of the "long hill," he paused for a moment, removed his hat and wiped the perspiration from his brow. The moon, now in its first quarter, had disappeared behind a tumbled mass of black clouds, which lay banked along the westerly sky, topped by ragged crests of great foam- like "thunder heads," which at intervals were illuminated by vivid flashes of lightning. From here his road passed through dark woodlands and wound along the damp border of a swamp, from which came the dismal notes of the night bittern, and a whip-poor- will broke into song so near the roadside that the clucking sound dividing its notes was plainly audible. The storm drew nearer; the sky became overcast; great gusts of wind shook the trees. He stepped beneath a clump of basswood boughs where broad leaves offered a tem porary shelter. A few great drops of rain the sound of hail pelting the earth in the distance and the storm had passed to the eastward. The onrushing rumble of a rail road train, the shrill whistle as the belated UP THE GRADE 37 midnight express dashed by the station at Black Hawk Spring, showed that he was almost home. Turning an abrupt corner, the road ran past an orchard, then the out lines of a large white house became visible there was a light burning in one of the upper windows. It was the home of Daniel Reese. He, slackening his pace, cast a half-timid look at the house and its surroundings. There is the well, with its long sweep and battered bucket; the great tree with the large, dark opening beneath its roots where the children had thrown broken crockery and glassware since their earliest recollection, and where the hens stole their nests away. Here by the grove of plum trees is a great scar on the earth where the old log house stood, which has recently been torn away the house where Annie was born; and the old gate at the end of the walk leading to the broad porch where he and Annie had stood when she had told him of her plans to become a teacher, when her education was finished. He remembered the deep longing in his heart when she told him of her school and her studies, and said, "You ought to be in school, Richard/' He 38 UP THE GRADE remembered how he told her frankly of the yearning he had for an education, which, for the present at least, he could do no more than long for, as his duty to his parents and love for them must take the preference; and he remembered the look in her face when she said, "That's right, Richard, do your duty; wear your old clothes if necessary, but do right, and you will be a great man some day." Had he always done right? A feeling of shame, when he thought of his recent experi ence with Mr. Belden, came over him and brought a flush to his brow. Quickening his gait, he moved onward with a buoyancy of heart such as is experienced only in healthy youth upon the eve of some expected joy. In a few minutes he would be home. He was nearing the outskirts of the village, which at that time consisted only of a few small frame houses, more or less of a temporary appearance the railroad build ings in the center, a tall grain warehouse, a store or two, a small church and schoolhouse standing at a respectful distance to one side. Just before reaching the railroad track, from which his father's cottage could be seen, UP THE GRADE 39 there was a grove of trees to be passed, where thick, overhanging boughs cast a deep shadow. When he reached the darkest spot, as if by some guiding instinct, he felt the presence of danger and sprang quickly forward just in time to elude the grasp of a pair of strong hands which were thrust out from the dark ness as if to drag him to the earth. With the quickness of thought he had grappled with a form of great size and strength, but no match for him in suppleness and courage. Before his assailant had time to recover his surprise, he found himself stretched upon the earth, gasping for breath with a vice-like grip upon his throat. "What do you mean, you great, cowardly ruffian, by attacking a stranger in this manner? Who are you? And what are you?" said Richard calmly, holding him in his iron grasp, until he ceased struggling and tried to speak. Then Richard released his hold, and he scrambled clumsily to his feet and slunk away in the darkness of the grove, muttering in a hoarse, muffled voice, "You'll find out soon enough who and what I am!" Richard reached the railroad crossing and 40 UP THE GRADE saw a light in the window of his home. In a moment his face lighted up all traces of his recent encounter disappeared. Almost flying across the intervening space, he threw the door open, with " Hello, ma!" and his mother's arms were about his neck. "Be careful, Richard," she cried, "you are as strong as a bear!" Being a frail little body, he took her up in his strong arms and placed her gently in an old, wooden armchair, which was still rocking and in which for hours she had been sitting, patiently and silently awaiting his coming. A table, meagerly furnished, but with snowy covering, was spread for two, and beside the lamp lay a timeworn, leather-covered Bible, upon the fly leaf of which was inscribed, evidently with a scratchy quill pen but still legible, "Presented to Aaron Chester by his beloved wife, September 23rd, A. D. 1723." Its yellow leaves and well-worn pages testi fied that it had been well read by the descend ants of the said Aaron Chester through many succeeding generations. "Stir up the fire a little, and I will soon have a cup of tea for you," said his mother, UP THE GRADE 41 bustling about the room; then, as with a mother's intuition she detected something in his manner which told her plainly that there was a burden on his mind, she said : " I have been worrying about my son lately. I hope you have not been in danger? That was a terrible storm that passed north of here tonight. I thought you would surely be caught out in it." "Yes, mother, I have been in danger, but not from the storm; that passed very near me, and I thought I was going to get a wetting, and would if I had been a half mile farther back. I was not afraid of the storm. I like to hear the thunder roar and see the chain lightning. I have been in great danger, and I came home a week earlier than usual to tell you about it, and will before I go to bed; but we will drop that subject until I have had that cup of tea. My! but you have some thing 'round here that smells awfully good." As they sat down to the table Richard began tugging at his coat pocket as though he had forgotten something. Finally draw ing forth a package neatly wrapped, and laying it beside her plate, he said : 42 UP THE GRADE "When I was working in the back lot, Maggie put up a lunch to take with me every day. The first day she put in some pickles of the kind you like so well, and I told her they were great, and she put in more after that, so I just tucked them away to bring to you. I didn't care for them myself I had plenty without them." "It was very good of you/' she said, open ing the package and tasting one, "they are very nice/' then, rising hurriedly so that Richard did not see her brush away a tear drop, said, "I have something for you that you like," setting it before him. "Jiminy! A vinegar pie!" he said, "Hot, too ! Now I know what you had in the oven, so fat it ran over." He went at it with a relish which gave proof that she had not for gotten his favorite article of diet. Then continuing his appreciative comment: "This is the best one you ever made so nice and juicy. I never did like dry stuff." " Do you know," she said in her quiet way, "your almost abnormal taste for moist or juicy food from your childhood has been the cause of some anxiety to me?" UP THE GRADE 43 "Why so, mother? I don't see anything strange about that. You have always hu mored that peculiarity in cooking for me." "I know I have, but I have sometimes feared that if you ever got a taste of intoxi cating drinks, you might very easily acquire an appetite for them." While speaking, she resumed her seat in the rocking chair, and Richard, drawing a low wooden stool to her side, took her hand in his and looking into her eyes tenderly and earnestly, said: "Mother, the danger I have just passed through was along that line. I have had a taste of intoxicating drink and have had a narrow escape. When that storm passed so near me tonight and made the young trees bend to the earth, while the old and better- rooted ones stood firm and strong, it made me think of my experience the other day when I was in town with Mr. Belden. He has been very kind to me, and when he offered to play billiards with me, I felt honored; and later when he offered me a drink, and I saw him take so many glasses of beer without any apparent effect upon him, and he declared it was not intoxicating, I was too weak and 44 UP THE GRADE cowardly to say 'No' to him, and before I knew what I was doing I drank several glasses, and soon began to feel it in my head. I grew dizzy, and it seemed as if the floor was rock ing under my feet. He urged me to drink more, but I told him I had had too much and would not take any more that day. He got so he could hardly walk, and I had to help him into his buggy. When I did so, he said : 'you are a good fellow. Before your time is out I will have you so you can drink as much as I can and not feel it.' He said the right thing in the right place and at the right time for me. These were the only words he ever spoke to me that really did me good. It opened my eyes to my danger. I made up my mind right there that I would come home and tell you all about it, so I wrote you that I would be home tonight instead of next Saturday night. I came home to take a temperance pledge" ; and reaching out and taking the old Bible and holding it in both hands, he said : "I do now pledge my sacred word and honor that I will never again taste any in toxicating drink whatsoever." UP THE GRADE 45 When he had finished, her eyes were stream ing with tears. She threw her arms about his neck and drew him to her bosom as though he were a child again and she would shield him from harm. He rose to his feet and straightened him self to his full height. "Mother, from this hour I shall try to face the world like a man. I came past the Reese farm tonight, and when I passed the gate I thought of the time when Annie said, ' Always do right, and you will be a great man some day/ and when I thought of my weakness in yielding to Mr. Belden, I felt like a sneak and a coward, not worthy to look her in the face again." "I have known for a long time that you loved Annie Reese," said his mother, "and I am sure she loves you; shall I advise you?" "Yes, I always^want your advice." "Well then, go to church tomorrow. " "Today, you mean," he interrupted. "Yes, today, and walk home with Annie as you used to do, and tell her the whole story as you have me. She will believe you and trust you as I do." "There are two things that seem to make 46 UP THE GRADE that impossible," he said. " In the first place, I don't look fit to go to church and go home with her; I am not dressed well enough. In the second place, my love and respect for her make me afraid of her. I do not feel worthy of even her good-will. When I can show that I am of some account in the world, if she is free, I will tell her of my love ; but I shall never ask her to commit herself or make any promise to me until we are both older and she has had a chance to do better; and, if she chooses to do so, marry a man who can offer her something more than promises." "Then you will not go to church?" "Yes, I will go with you and come home with you, and have a romp with the children and rest up a little. I promised Mr. Belden I would start back at one o'clock Monday morning." Richard was awakened early by little fingers trying to lift his eyelids, and the baby voice of his two-year-old brother Freddie, lisping, " Me turn in to tiss bruzzer. Mamma say bruzzer tired. Me want to see him." Hurried footsteps were heard, and the mother appeared on the scene with: "You UP THE GRADE 47 little mischief! You got away from me and woke Richard; I wanted him to rest a little longer this morning." " Oh ! I've rested enough, mother. Where are Eddie and Bessie?" he asked while hur riedly dressing, stopping between times to smother the baby with kisses. The other children came rushing in from the garden whence their mother had sent them to keep them from waking Richard in their impatience to see him. He greeted them affectionately, and they soon made the house ring with peals of childish mirth. "It is too bad father isn't home today/' he said, addressing his mother. "Yes," she said, "he will be disappointed at not seeing you, but there was no way to send word to him after your letter came. He will be through with his work and be home when you come next month." After the morning meal the two older children were dressed in their best, their lessons reviewed, and sent to Sunday School after promising to "hurry home to take care of the baby, so Richard and mamma could go to church." 48 UP THE GRADE The church was well filled when Richard and his mother entered. A quick glance showed him that the one whom his eyes and heart sought most of all was in her accus tomed place beside her parents. The sermon was one of great power and childlike faith. The minister a gray-haired man who had seen many years of faithful service as a circuit rider spoke with a radiance of countenance that seemed almost to reflect the light of the "Celestial City." In his discourse he re ferred to the story of Jonah, emphasizing his utmost faith in every word of the sacred book. Richard had reason long after to recall his earnestness and simple faith. When the ser vice was over there was the usual hand-shak ing and kindly inquiry after the welfare of their respective families. As Annie Reese and her parents passed out of the church, she stopped and greeted Mrs. Williams kindly and held out her hand to Richard, and with a pleasant smile: "I am glad to see you once more, Richard. You are looking well. I heard you were coming home." Then turning to his mother before he had time to reply, said, "I suppose you church ^vas u