Gone From Atlanta

L.VUKIX, LATÍ OK TIIAT CITY. i ooulii have guessed a lamlllarity with Chicago jnurnalisin trom thls," I tlKMiiiht. as 1 glanoed again at Xremaine. He was wrttlng íuriousiy. The mesaenger boy arrlved trom thc telegraph office soon after witta the welcome -iiiirty." and Tremalne's peaoil waa still flying over the ' paper. lVrhaps hi' was at work on a "special"- a record of hlB nd ventures while jonrneyins out of Chicago, possibly. Wedl, sueli articlos uit,' frequent enoogh iu newspapera, lut if well written were always intoresiinir; lesides. the result would enable us to Judge oí this nian's e&pacity for the work that ïnisrlit devolve upon liim. I had conceived a peculiar Interest in this stranger, sü fraakiy appreclative of hls own lack of and the powers of oottcentratlon, continuity. md tenaeity BO necessary to the sue:ees of every newspaper man. foreover, 1 liad every reason to believc that he was pcnnilcss; he mijrht even lio hunirry. All this a.ppealed irresistiUly to my symiiathicK. Havins ed iny woi-k. I BOUgbt Mr. Seott and asfaed hlm if he could glve Trematne ;m it. arging Mm with a recital ol tlu' circumstanees and my mvn suppositions. theories, and coafldence in my pxotege'a abillty. "The assimiment is a',1 riilht," said (?cott; "bot un'ioss he is a ürst-clasa man. I can't promtee anything permanent; we've gfot a pretty Mg CTOWd ol Hpecial-detail men, and, of course, it ■v ruldn't ie exactly fair m forcé o ncw man In just niow. l'U teil you what l'll do. thuuirh." Boobi contlnued; "I inte'.ul to send Ilastinss to interview tliat faith-cure crowd in lletliany. l'll put Tremeine on to that and glve Haatinga tifl Sanderson morder- he knows tlio people and circumytancrs. Teil Tremaine to report at eleven o'clock."' I returned to my mvn room and found my ncw fricad ut ill al work. lic did not sm to notlce my presence. As 1 wau'.K'd hlm, I notlced that Uie movoment of liis hand. as 11 ROided the pencil across the paper, ivas apasmodic, bnl without pause: sometiim-s s'.ow. but always mOTlng- b movoment antnterrupted by laok of iiieas. but a movement that I thouirht Bomewbat mechanlcal. The li.ülit from tlio jras-jet shone upon hi pale. pinched lace. The features wer as witii mental purpoae, and hia eyea rere cloeed. Buddenly he stopped; il convu'sive tremor shook liis body; liis hand. graaplng the pemcil, trenVWed io'.vntly and stretcbed esway to the rinat. clear oí the desk; the lingera relaxed, t'.ie peneil dropped to the ftoor, and tJie wrtier aank, as if complet-ely exhausted, in a heap in his chair. -Come," I said, "yoü're not strong enpuGTh lor work to-nlgbt. We'll go out and v.ei soraetliing to eat. Tlien you must iret some slep.p." Tremaine did not n-nswer, but Bal huddted tiiere lik,' a dead man. I put m my overcoat and hat and. approadhlng hlm, lald my hand on liis Shoulder. ■■i ■ i e," I repeal :d; "lel os go." iii opened bia eyes, bul there alatton" Ín liH g-laace. He . as í impelled iy my wlU rafcher tluui be ;iiiy v(,UtiiKi ol hla own, and followed me Uke a aleep-walker into thestreet. At the restaurant he roused 8omewha1 and ate with apparent nlisii. Lnduced, probably, by a long fnst. r.nt his thoughta seemed.far away. When I told htm ihat he could reat the office al eleven o'clock, he merely answleped, "All rjgíht," and ed al iiis lelt hand, the lingera o uhirii he opcnod and shut slowly, aa ií performing a Burlona eJcperlm nt in 'iiicli he as deeply interested. He as tlred and Sleepy, I thotight. .t the hotel I beeame reaponsible íiir lüs room-rent, and hnrried to my home, lmpreaaed with the idea i lia! I liad iouud a ni'w kind ui crank. T dreamed oí him that morning. He camo to mi' and told me that hf was going away. a sniili1 fllekered about hls thln lips and hla hauntlng eyea glimpeed merrlly, as i he had heard ■ tiewa and waa glad tu begin hla Journey. ín my dream-thoughts I oonaldered it anoecessary tu asi; liim why he as going, where, and I eertainly telt oo al lis departnre. Then nía form graduaUy melted away- so gradnally that. ji t ■ Uw last, hia smlle, as shadowy as the fninicst cokxr n a elouded ]rism. waa stlll Hngerlng in my fantasy when I ' ai&ke. I reacbed the office that aíternoon about twxi o'clock. As I entered my len, Triin.-ünr's manuscript caugtil niy 3 e. T picked up a sheel and read: ' -'iv , arms pintoned, w oíd as U lis (!. " i;'il a ïlrcumstantlaJ ontlnuatioi atcb froni !lal1 ■ aight b?l wo. The story : ü vas fnll o llil'I was particu auvderer had b ■ ,!. i'.u' tai i bdrtèa and duaky, but p ïüs waiting I Thpoughout the artlcle names were mentioned, clrcnmetaiiceB minutely detai'.sd, Incidente recouni 1. and "local r" Omployed to render the Btory auslbie as posslble as il Uie writ■i- had been actually present. 1 laid aanuscript away In my :ltending to compare tin1 accouni with , ,r,s in the Allanta papers when bhey should arrlve. I had heard ïnuch of "unconsclons ceretoratlon;" I was curkms t ascertaln ii -this was a case in point. I did mu see Tremalne i 'nat day, hui ;nl inmi him thnraali Seott, who as enthartastlc In pralse f the work he had alrrady poriorm.il. ■Tho account ol Utas falth-cure Bean ■ reada Ukè a page bom Dlckens," he coneludrd. "AVhat havo yon ith liim ?" I asked. "Sent him to the slugglng-match,' s'ott replied; "gave Mm carte blanche and M'iit Dowaey wiiu him to posl him on the cniwil. AVr'il iri't a dandy rerort." I read botli of Tremalne'a reports on tho follawlna: morninir. and uiy opinión ooincidcd -vith that ol Scott. The work was far above the averasi'. As a result. Tromnino waa souffht „ut by tho "old man," hcartily complime&ted, and placed on the regalar staff at a fair salar?. Wbat I am nnw alxnit to nárrate is so incrediWe, so oxtraordinary . oontrary to all aceepted theorlea of natural events contingent upon natural cansos, that I do ttOt expeel th ordlnary pháloeopher or the absolute materialist to give it oven the coarte ons consideration doe to tiie relatitw of au ñonest enromcier. ïct tiio gcioi; sneer, howewr. and let inteltectual egoísta frown ii it bo pleaa them- there are tew thlngs In heaven and earth that are not dreamed of In thoir superficial phUosophy, and th( eompllcated actlon ol the human mta is ono of them. Daring the days immediately ollinv inu; 'nis íirst successes i saw llttl of Tremaine. They fcept Hiin verj buey, and his consciëntieus adher to duty wonld not permit hlm to squander a single moment of hi.s em ployer'a Urne. The casual gUmps b t'.iat 1 c&ught as the young man cami and went bhrough the city ftepaxt ment were ButKclent to show that hi issumed the attlre ol o gentle man. II' was clean-ahaTen, his coat was ol tashlonable ent. his linen -as spotloss. his old hat, greasy and dirt begrlmmed, had been discarded for i new om - 8 SMItlegS dishcarl u andering Bohemian na langer, V1 sou Tremaine had asserted his man hood and was a credit to hlmsell an ti'.c netrspaper. Bcott told me tha Jie w.-is s.Tipn!ously exact in all his oi-k. hut exceedingly reserved towarc those with whom he was'brouicht in contact. He vree courteons enongü mward hls fellow-reporters, Imi sed ulously avoided t.heir friendly com panionship. In due time the Atlanta papers con taininii the account of the executioi arrlved. I opened I rly yeguely convinced tnat I would fim at least a reportorial resemblance be lumi Tremaine's acoouni and tha of the hical newspaper man. I wa ccrtainly not prepared for the abso lutc trutli di detail, the reallsm, th the accuracy of circmnstance, whicl this comparison proved m exist. only difference was the glaring snper iority ol Tremaine's article. 8001 nftcr this he striilled into m; ihanked me cordially tor my etiorl in his h.'iiaii. "How tang 11 Been slac ■ yoi w.t.' iu Ail.-nu;i V 1 asked liiin. whil narrowly obeervlng expressie '! have never been there," lie am swered. II'' betrayed nol the leaa surprise a1 my question; nelther dl ■■e . iiil il the - I idicatiuii 1 lia tspected a relerence, on my pari to hls "report" of the hanging. 1 hls lack of Interest .-is genuine, was torced to the conclusión tha Tremalne had wrltten that trticl s Hit totaily unconscioua- that he ha dreamed hlB story and that the pa pable resalí öhere In my desk was i'n record u" hls dream. It became hls hablt, alter iiiis. 1 spend an hour or two witli me afte hls nlght's work, usually accompanj [ng me bo hincheon al midnighi au i hen retlring to his room. He had lei the hotel and was living fo the sul orbs. As onr frlendshlp grew mor confidcmial. I irrailually learned froi liiin Bomething of hla htetory. Th only son oí a rlch New York mercham motherless trom early yonth, he ha been educated at Harvard, and o lus graduatlon, in opposition t" lii ïatin'i's wialies, he had entered th newapaper business. Ilis tather'a tal ure and subsequeni d.ath lelt hll without ties of close kindred and vii tually pennUesa Stnce that time, h had shiftrd trom place' to place wit! out aettled purpoae, contení to ai qulre only sufficient ior liis lmmediat nccils. almost without ambitiOD 0 bjèci Id lili somítimeB ïn easy oirimstances i n i oltener redw ■i mu a dreanver," he said : "i am like Cassiu -I a ni 'leaa and -. Dut w b ■ dds? n daj .' " ii quoted, &l." There ir in hion, aíter ■',X i.lll's iked. i.iii." I ■■;■■-■ ■ ''" "II Í8 I raa i a moment, aaid then said, Ín a halí-muslng I ■I tlilnk su. too. lí there la such thlng aa fldelity i" ;i woi trlondship, it s posslble thai l may I have a . m here." Everybody remembere the Randolph divorce case, li w-ae tJhe abeorblng I ir weeks. Ttoe detialla were us Intereatlng as aae ol Gaborlau'a detective storles and aa plquant aa a biapter mu u' Daudt. 'l'iii' flrsi Dtimatl m i the Bcandal thai carne i me as a brlel dlspateh from our Ww York correspondent, reeeived late i nlghi -too late tor a return telepram asking for fuiler particulares. )nly the Harnea ol Üie principáis and wi) co-reapondents, with am unsatsíactory "cause ol complalnt" and i promlae ol "lntereattng partlculars u the trial." oomprlsed ttoe "meat" ol the (lispatch. I know it wás "a jrood Hbory." I too. that New York papera would !lo íull of it In ö niorninp. Our correspandeBi liad slmply negteeted Mí luty. Thoroughy annoycl. 1 tumed to TriMuainc. ■",:,! was readliig an exchamge at the lcsk wh.Ti' h' uMiallv sat when Waltínt íor in ■lv you know Xow York'.'" 1 asked. "Pretty well." be answered. Wcil. pad i'iat dlspatch for me- mayb you know somethlng ibout those peoplf - they belong to the exciusivos of the Four Hundrod- Patrlarchs, I believe," aaylng whlch I handod him the telegram sheet. Efe lonkcd at it. reeoprnizi'd the ñames wlth an exclamatk ol surprise, and without a word went to work. 1 watched him wlth intruse ruriu.-it. . llis actlon was the saine as that which characterlied iii extraordinary performance on the nighi wiu'ii he "reported" the hanging; the same gpasmodic, mechanlcal movement of the hand; the saine seemingfy tmconscious mental ettort. And when. alter half an hour's work, the pencil made lts final UourMb and fi-ll to the n, ir, the same stupor overpowered liini. and h" Bal troddted in hls chair as iï deprlved of all hls vitality. I gathered the "eopy" and read it. it . as a. clear, ctmolse stateanreni of (acta apparently eoverlng every promineni or more Latereeting feature of the case. Fora moment,! healtated a.i:uut printing lt. Th people iiivolvod all occupled high poeltlons In the world, and I had )'.; atteolute proof that the alleged facta In Tremaine'B account had the least foundation in iruth. I kin)v that ih'avspaper men more eonsctentloua than 1 aan regarding the pnWlcatton of doubtful news, howerer tnterestlnx or Important, wlll blame me for my action iñ tflüs tostance, but I had such ooniidence in ii.n T had come tocónsidci- Tremialne's "second Bight," that I oould not reelat tiic opportunity alforded ol "scooplng" eontoinporarios. I sent the eopy 1 the printer. As on the prerioua oecaslon, Treniaine gave no evldence o! Imowledg ■ ol wiiat he liad done. ll' did nol even reler bo the telegram I had iííven liïm. Xhe publlcation of the "Randolph caae" created th aensatton 1 had anticipo tod. Tin "oW man" made pleased biquiries, and was eatlsfled wlth aation tbat the story came tJirough a special correspondent. Dntil the arrlval oí the Neiw York papers, however, l was perturbed, uneasy, anxlous; l could Bcarcely bellere my a w-hen 1 read them, bo clearly (lid Tremaine'e "clalrvoyant" report coincide wltíh the actual facts as pubmetropolitan Journals. Aiier ihis. 1 did aai hèsitate to "use1 Tremalne ón tny "specials;" Europ■ .■ui r.ews. A i'.ivation. I'ihi-i Irs, Parliamentary eoniplicatlcms, and other Important happenings i;i quarber oi the globi were "padded" bj htm lnto the Ireshest and "very latest" neus. amed and accused us of "inaimiaotnrinu" the news. luit subBequeni coniirmatlon lnvarlably vin dlctated our facts. The prople in the ti'leuraih office wonöered, and tlio OW man rubbed ais hands wlth Klee, aluays accepting my romance about "our special correspondent. " One n[ghi i tosa t a she I to Tre e, containing a paragraph an nouiK'fiu: a Baltlmore wedding ii higb Ufe- the marrlage ol Lleutenan i ie irge R. Wal ion, of the ünlte Siales Navy, and Miss l'.dilh Itlaiieli ard. the youngest daugbter ol Lem nel Blanchard, a milUonalre lroo man ulacturer. Thai as all. As thi nianüoid [luttered over Xremalne'e desk, he caugtrt i'. itli a ttourlsti and. holding it aluft, Bald, in a nierrier iban 1 bad erver haard liim utter ■■hal is il ? Is Hhe Aklin nid ol' sw.-u dead agaln, onr has Prlnce Bacinalnpi broken out in n new place V" He smoothed tlio tissue on a white Burtace, üne better to read lt, and al the first Tang froin liis aeal with a low. moaning cry pitiahle to hear. It was more Uke the gasp of a Btricken animal than the atterance nía man. I gtarted loward Jiini expecttng i" sec htm íaii. imt b liini i. dull. hard look ame , and droj hmyüy n.,1 hls chalr. His pencil fair. over the pap c os he "padded" ili dispateh. He worked au hour; la haml made thai final flourish; the ;, ; i , ie tlOOT and lli.' wrilrr beek eübausted. S " ly reovered hlmself. A superhuman pow! sri'in.ii bo be ni'uiim' hlna hack to ; iiisncss. His features became aore mobile wlth human expreetíon -imt ii as the expressioo ol terror, 'morse, or agony. Eiagerly he read ■he firsi linea ( whai he had wrlttem; ten be reaá t ii .- original dlaftatch. VTlth a groan he soaggered ho his fret. ■■My God! it la true," he mo'aned, nul reeled out Into the nigbt, leavlng nv amased and regretfnl thai 1 had ropoeed tbla last terrible taak upon ïim. Tremaine's account of t ha t wedlin was one ol the most brillia.nt ixtlclea I heve ever soen In a daily newapaper. ït was a poem - an eplthnla.nnum; ono could almost he.ir -1h'Hs and bn'Mthi' the perfume oí the oraoge-btosaoxnB. Tiiis record, so strannoly made, ol an eve:M that fillod liearts with hnppiness and dest.royod tdie bope of one man, is iu my poesesskm to-day. It iia.s never boon publishcd. That waa a terrible niffht in the -vvorld's lnsuiry. Mnrder stnlked u brood and suicide lurked in the solitudes; mlsery emerged f rom its kennel fco make lta hopeteeB moan to mankind; skeletons came forth from ihe closet s ol Ulasled liimies to uit cibliertng at jnillions of lieartli-stones in the morniai.c; thoft, outrage, and nametesa ertmea were dragged trom their necrei hiirs: the wirrs sliuddi-red with t iie awful borden f Ihelr horrors, and the midnisht grew darker- in the luidst wa'.ked the pestilenei' oí vice eoinptininiiii; witli the lejirosy of iinmorality. "Tremalne is at the telepfoone and wants yon." It was Bcotl who deUvered tiiis message to me about one o'cloek in the moralng. I entered the closet where the teleptoone hnng and rang the bell. "Helio!" I cried. The answer came !ow and faint- a wtllsper, bnt plain recognizable ;i the voice of Trein;iine. ■■What do yon want V' I nsked. 'There is a suicide at 286 Merivale avenue- send a.ma.i." whlBpered Tremalne. "Why can't you attend to it '.' We are very busy here just now." ■It is impossible; hut I -vvill be there u i ui the reporter comes." "Where are yon now '.'" 1 askrd. There was no repiy. I repeated the questlon, but only the ïuimming ol l,!ie wires geve answer, iike a nmrniurDUS echo. Then somebody ent in" on my wire. and impatiently I rang up ■'central." "Where waa thai cali (rom ?" I nsked. "You have had no cali within íiíteen minutes." was mswuril from the central office. I lnstated ihat there had been a cali and that 1 had just taikeil with one oí out reporters over i'.iat wire. 1 wanted to know where lie was. r.ut "central" was posltlve tiiiat I uas mistaken, and I leit belephone angry and bewlldered. ■■Suicide an 286 Merlvaie avenue," I aald to Sccxtt; "send a man over ri:;ht away. He will iind Tremaine iiicre." sentí sen1 Hastlngs, wlio returned in hall a.i hour pale, pant; H ■_' and excli i'd. - 1 i i 3 ou get ii ?" asked, Scott. "Yes." ■■Mucii oí a case '.'" "Tes." "DW you aee Tremaine ?" I osked. "Yes." ■Where is he ï" "A1 the morgu ■."