Produced by Al Haines. [Illustration: Cover art] [Illustration: Moon Ying] *THE APPLE OF DISCORD* BY *EARLE ASHLEY WALCOTT* Author of "Blindfolded" WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY ALICE BARBER STEPHENS GROSSET & DUNLAP Publishers :: :: New York COPYRIGHT 1907 THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY OCTOBER *CONTENTS* CHAPTER I I am Presented with an Overcoat II The House of Blazes III A Glimpse of Sunshine IV Machiavelli in Bronze V Miss Kendrick’s Pleasure VI Big Sam’s Diplomacy VII In the Current VIII A Contribution to the Cause IX Peter Bolton X A Council of War XI Troubles in the Market XII The Lottery Ticket XII The Wisdom of His Ancestors XIV Bargaining XV A Ripple of Trouble XVI Laying Down the Law XVII Big Sam’s Warning XVIII Little John as a Man of Action XIX Mischief Afoot XX On the Sand-Lots XXI Battle XXII I Become a Man of Business XXIII The Committee of Safety XXIV The Justice of Big Sam XXV Facing a Crisis XXVI On the Precipice XXVII A Call to Arms XXVIII With the Pick-Handle Brigade XXIX A Tongue of Fire XXX The End of the Feud XXXI The Broken Web XXXII The Answer Epilogue Postscript *THE APPLE OF DISCORD* *CHAPTER I* *I AM PRESENTED WITH AN OVERCOAT* Colonel Wharton Kendrick leaned back in his chair, stroked his red side-whiskers reflectively, and looked across the table with an expression of embarrassment on his round ruddy face. For the moment his command of words had evidently failed him. As embarrassment and failure of language were equally foreign to his nature, I was confirmed in a growing suspicion that there had been an ulterior purpose behind his cordial invitation to luncheon. The meal had been a good one, and he was paying for it, and so I felt that I owed him my moral support. Therefore, I returned such a look of encouragement as might properly express the feelings of a fledgling attorney toward a millionaire who was the probable source of active litigation, and waited for him to speak. "See here, Hampden," he said at last; "you know something about my row with Peter Bolton, don’t you?" "The Bolton-Kendrick feud is a part of my very earliest recollections," I admitted. "When I was a small boy I was convinced that it was quite as much a part of the institutions of the country as the Fourth of July. You may remember that my father took something of an interest in your affairs."