The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1889-07-03
Seletteo Storp.
"TOtesv Last " Take"

months before he was given a " CASE"
Tom, who had served through the war,
besides receiving several wounds had
contracted a habit more dangerous than
all his wounds. He was undergoing
the modification of flesh and pride;
had "swore off " for time with sore
head from his last periodical" The
only sound heard in the composing
room that afternoon after Tom uttered
these words, "Pull out, boys" in
surly tone, was the regular dull
clicking of type and IS sticks y as the
boys shot sharp chances at each other,
screwed up their faces or winked until
Tote Potter's voice broke the silence.
"Are you Mr.. Duncan?"
Tom, who was shipping out pile of
nonpareil copy rapidly glanced over the
letter and numbers a second time,
reached out hand for the wire, thrust
the fresh "takes " down on it angrily,
tossed the wire stand back in the box,
lifted three entire sheets of loosely
written but very familiar copy, stuck
them on the BREWER wire, checked off
the letters running, and, in answer to
awhistle at his back, swore under his
breath, inclined an ear to the tube, and,
without looking at the boy, said: "My
names Duncan. What do you want?"
"I've come; they told me / might -
yes, yes, yes" said Tom, impa-
tiently, chow many times do you want
to repeat it? Go to the devil! He
turned from the tube and looked di-
rectly at the boy, whose face grew red
as scarlet He was walking away, when
Tom called after him.
Coo,a booL bora I uoontt taIb;np
to you. l was talking to the sap-heads
down stairs. Now, what is it? Speak
out" But speech failed Tote at that
moment. He looked around him ner-
vously, dropped his eyes and scratched
the floor with his toe. He was shoe
less and the hair twisted up through
the torn crown of his hat. The fore
man scrutinized him closely. There
was something in the boys face-a
bright, clean-cut face it was--that he
liked. "What is it? Who sent you
here?'
g They said you was foreman"
Who's they?"
The boys l 60 with
"Well?n'
GO / came to see if l could get Job"
A pair of clean blue eyes were lifted
10 the 10remanS.
:" Want job. What have you been
doing?"
"Shined and sold papers,"
Never worked any?"
Il never had chance"
That's pity Why, you must be
thirteen years old, at least?"
''I'm past fourteen"
What's your name?'
1.-THE boys call me Tote, but -
"T That just suits you. What's your
other name?"
Potter, I'll come again when -
But the foreman's ear was at the tube
again, while his right hand waived the
boy to broken chair. When he
turned from the tube he looked at
Tote keenly, wrote rapidly on a slip of
paper, dropped it into the elevator and
shut the box down with bang. Then
he addressed Tote grimly:
GIVE just fired the third boy they've
sent up to me in two weeks" He
reached up to the pigeon-hole, pulled
out slip of yellow paper, wrote rap
idly on it.. Composing room, boy.
Tote Potter, April IA, 1881" handing
it to Tote, said: eff you'll risk being
the fourth be on hand tomorrow at
two O'Clock, sharp. You give that to
Mr.. Peters-remember Peters"
Thus was Tote taken OF" the Yin
Dictator.
When Mr.. Peters came up stairs, two
hours later, and eXpostulated with the
foreman for employing that little raga-
muffin" Tom Duncan, who was feel
ing worse, if possible, than he felt at
two, retorted, dryly: Z" don't know an
office in town, Peters, that needs devil
more than the Vindicator. We've tried
three of your angels, and they were all
dead failures" Peters shot down stairs.
1t was against the rules to take a
boy into the composing room fresh from
the outside world, but Tom Duncan
had wholesome contempt for Peters,
whom he did not hesitate to designate
as a round peg in square hole, and in
this, as in other instances, he violated
the rule with impunity, saying Peters
might sweep all the boys he pleased
into the business end of the paper, he
wanted boy that could be taught the
difference between a" galley" and a
dump" inside of six weeks.
Totes wages for the first three
months were necessarily small. 1t was
the only way Peters could work out
his revenge. Peters idea of the mis-
sion of the American press was to re-
duce the amount enclosed in the en-
velopes on pay day to the lowest point.
He practiced steadily at it, until ten
cents seemed large enough in his eye
to serve as pivot for the universe to
revolve upon.
So Totes wages, instead of equaling
the three angels he succeeded, was just
seventy-five cents less. The angels
envelopes contained SO. Totes days
labor was carefully marked on Mr..
Peters roll as thirty-seven and one
half cents.
The difference was not discovered by
the foreman until July was approach
ing. Then, by the merest accident, he
overheard Tote INDUCING in antici pa
ton of the glorious time he would have
if he could be sure of " day off. ,
Tote had picked up" more in a weel
than any predecessors had learned in s