d the Colonel, "I notice old John hasn't got a corner
on it yet, and he doesn't seem to have all he needs for his own use."
The wrench that had torn open his treasure chest, had also loosened John
Markley's hard face, and he had begun to smile. He became as affable as
a man may who has lived for fifty years silent and self-contained. He
beamed upon his old friends, and once or twice a week he went the rounds
of the stores making small purchases, to let the clerks bask in his
sunlight.

If a new preacher came to town the Markleys went to his church, and Mrs.
Markley tried to be the first woman to call on his wife.

All the noted campaign speakers assigned to our town were invited to be
the Markleys' guests, and Mrs. Markley sent her husband, red necktied,
high-hatted and tailor-made, to the train to meet the distinguished
guest. If the man was as much as a United States Senator, Markley hired
the band, and in an open hack rode in solemn state with his prize
through the town behind the tinkling cymbals, and then, with much
punctility, took the statesman up and down Main Street afoot, into all
the stores and offices, introducing him to the common people. At such
times John Markley was the soul of cordiality; he seemed hungry for a
kind look and a pleasant word with his old friends. About this time his
defiant eyes began to lose their boring points, and to wander and hunt
for something they had lost. When we had a State convention of the
dominant party, the Markleys saw to it that the Governor and all the
important people attending, with their wives, stopped in the big house.
The Markleys gave receptions to them, which the men in our town dared
not ignore, but sent their wives away visiting and went alone. This
familiarity with politicians probably gave the Markleys the idea that
they might help their status in the community if John Markley ran for
Governor. He announced his candidacy, and the Kansas City papers, which
did not appreciate the local situation, spoke well of him; but his boom
died in the first month, when some of his old friends called at the back
room of the bank to tell him that the Democrats would air his family
affairs if he made another move. He looked up pitiably into Ab Handy's
face when the men were done talking and said: "Don't you suppose they'll
ever quit? Ain't they no statute of limitation?" And then he arose and
stood by his desk with one arm akimbo and his other hand at his temple
as he sighed: