Milford chronicle., 1883-08-03

OF thing, In charge of her feeble mother
and baby sister, and how she contrived
to get along and keep grim famine from
. the door on the pittance of her earnings.
Whenever 1 could, without making a
fuss, I helped them along little. And
when we got well acquainted, I used to
d hurry through my work so as to be able
to see her home every day after six
O'Clock. Sometimes, too, we used to go
to concerts and lectures together and
I very often found time to visit them all
of an evening. I hadn't said word of
love to her yet, but was waiting till my
wages were increased enough to enable
me to keep home of my own, and then
ask her to fill it. OF her state of feeling
toward me I knew nothing, except that
she looked upon and trusted me as a
brother.
One thing used to rile me, though,
and that was the sneaking sort of liking
that Hardness seemed to have for her;
and worse, he showed it plainly enough
by the way he persecuted her with his
odious attentions whenever he got the
chance. She told me she would leave
the place if she could only get another.
I have said that it was sixteen years
ago that I entered the box-factory. If
you will take the trouble to subtract,
You will find that makes 1867. 1t puts
us just in the year of the great financial
crash. had been in the factory about |
three months, and was getting used to
the general run of things; and though |
it was out of my line, and none |
of my business, could not but no.
tice how slack trade seemed to be.
Rumors of failures up the street,
down the street, on the corner, at Nos.
30 and 81 over the way met my ears
Rumors of failure past and failures to
come. Rumors of great distress East,
West, and South. Rumors of threat
ened general smash-up. Money men tell
me that when the market is tight it only
needs such wholesale panic to bring
down every one. tits the apprehension,
not the reality that does the work. But
this is not telling my story, either.
Well, old Harkness kept on with his
manufacturing, though I could see that,
day by day, fewer calls for work were
made. He always wore a cheerful smile a
through those troublous times, as much e
IS to say: 'Look at me, if you want to /
zee a model man of business. don't L
speculate. don't get involved. Mark f
ny consequent prosperity" Now, when n
see man with a good deal of bluster
md swagger about him, always make il
Up my mind that he is a coward in
leart. And when some people parade h
heir financial soundness, the Wall-st. ID
nimals always snuff rottenness some
rhere. 1t must have been on this
rinciple that I begin to suspect that IL
wasn't 50 safe, after all.
One night I was delayed by an unex- IL
ected breakdown in gearing, and staid SC
my cellar long after the girls, the "
lerk and the fireman had gone, hard to "
'ork tinkering at the engine. No one
'as in the factory but Hardness and
lyself. lido not think he suspected my
resence. As l was taking off my over w
lis aud fixing up, I heard heavy dray b
1me up to our door. There were four WI
, five men with it, who we're not our ap
igular cartmen. They jumped out,
ere let in through the half-closed doors ma
the main floor above me, and were led -, -,
o-stairs by Hardness. Presently they ex
appeared, bearing cases of various sti
nds of stock, fancy paper, gliding th
ntf, light machinery and different odds br
I'd ends, with which they loaded the =,
ay, and then drove off again. All was ~, Clr'
me in such a quiet, mysterious way, dis
at it was evident that something
ong was being done. What could it
The men were not robbers, for
ere was Mr.. Hardness, and he sole Fr
ner of the factory. A man does not He
mmit larceny on his own property. tba
ouldn't make it out at all. sor
started to go. Just as I entered the liri
ice from below, Hardness came in by of
passage way door from the floor \
we. He started perceptibly when he ing
' me, but instantly regained his CON- lod
sure, and said, as cool as you please: On
'Ah you're late, Bill. What's wrong frol
lay? Hope you won't blow us up evi,
a week or so yet. We're doing nv
wing business, Bill" q think 1 and
him now, washing his hands with T01
isible soap in imperceptible water" eve
b that self-satisfed, hypoctrical leer kill
his faee.) "Just sent a load of fine F
es down to the Winged Arrow. She ioki
S tomorrow, so we had to ship in a elai
ry. Fine boxes, and beautiful YES par
Bill. Good night to YOU" dror
Good night, sir, said l, and left han
s I went up the street another draw wis,
sed, driven toward the factory. I kill,
the curiosity to turn and watch to see ton
'ther it, too, stopped there. It did spit
when reached the corner of Broad hap
I stopped and looked back once app
e. There, ia the darkening twilight said
same process of hurried loading was my
lg repeated. 1t seemed to be all his
it. Hardness was there, but some you
was It quite satisfied. Trimming kill
hines are not fine assorted gilt-edged F
es, by any manner of means, you npb
". And I knew it, too, though. for
: likely, old Harkness didn't give me him