BOOK IV
THE OLD HOUSE
"_Tell them, O Guns, that we have heard their call,
That we have sworn, and will not turn aside, That we will onward till we win or fall,
That we will keep the faith for which they died_."
CHAPTER XXX
"JEST LIKE THE INTERPRETER SAID"
It is doubtful if in all Millsburgh there was a soul who felt a personal loss in the passing of their "esteemed citizen" Adam Ward. During the years that followed his betrayal of Peter Martin's friendship the man had never made a friend who loved him for himself—who believed in him or trusted him. In business circles his reputation for deals that were always carefully legal but often obviously dishonest had caused the men he met to accept him only so far as their affairs made the contact necessary. Because of the power he had through his possession of the patented process he was known. His place in the community had been fixed by what he took from the community. His habit of boasting of his possessions, of his power, and of his business triumphs, and his way of considering the people as his personal debtors had been a never-failing subject of laughing comment. Men spoke of his death in a jocular vein—made jests about it—wondering what he was really worth. But one and all invariably concluded their comments with some word of sincere sympathy for his family.
Because of the people's estimation of the Mill owner's character, the publication of his will created a sensation the like of which was never before known in the community.
One half of his estate, including the Mill, Adam Ward gave to his family. The other half he gave to his old workman friend, Peter Martin.