Wichita eagle., 1890-02-12


counted himself fortunate.
Chow about our different matters!"
said Stephen one day about this time, in
rather an exulting tone, to his cousin.
"Ihave no reason to complain Of mine,
said John, sit has served me well"
"But not so well as mine"
cit is hardly time to feel sure OF that
yet" said John.
Il don't agree with you. shall keep
on as 1 have begun. Indeed, shall ex-
tend my operations. am in treaty for
a larger store; and"-
"For larger store?" exclaimed John,
surprised.
Eyes; it may suit you to poke along at
a snails pace, but 1 boast little more
enterprise"
"You can't expect things will always
be as favorable as they have been this
last year"
ave must take things as they come,
of course; but when the sun shines, it's
the time to make hay"
81 hope you viii make plenty of it,
and be ready for shower, if that should
come"
"Trust me for that. know what I'm
about. You'd better follow my exam
pie"
"How, move into larger store?"
eyes; take this one which am about
to leave"
John shook his head.
cit is too large for me," he said. II
am not yet ready to enlarge my opera
tons beyond my present limit.
"Well, it's good advice I'm giving
you, whether you take it or not"
GIVE no doubt you think SO, Stephen.
hope you will meet with no reverses to
shake your faith in your motto"
So the two cousins again separated,
and each continued to do business in his
own way. Not only did Stephen in
crease his business expenses by occupy
ing a store at a higher rent, requiring an
additional number of clerks, but he also
moved into a larger house and set up
carriage.
But circumstances still favored Ste
phen. The rise in price continued, though
not to as great an extent, and his stock
being larger, he cleared another five
thousand pounds. He began to think Of
himself as destined to be lucky, and in
no danger of any reverses. But at the
end of the third year, which was less
favorable, he barely held his own. Still,
he was worth fifteen thousand pounds.
The tide had turned, and he should have
taken in sail. But this he saw no neces-
sity for doing. So for two years longer
he kept on his way. In that time goods
fell very considerably. His stock was
very large, and his losses also very large.
His property had shrunk to eight thou
sand dollars, while Johns had increased
to nine thousand, and he was now the
richer of the two. John now felt author
lied in renting a somewhat larger shop,
while Stephen remained in his own.
shall not be able, nor would it be in
teresting, to detail the varying fortunes
of the succeeding years. Suffice it to
say, that at the end Of ten years John
was worth fifteen thousand pounds, and
was carrying on a safe and profitable
business. Stephen found himself at a
point where failure was inevitable unless
he could obtain the immediate use of ten
thousand pounds. His personal extrava-
gance and i'll judged expansion may &C
count for this.
In this dilemma he bethought himself
of his uncle. He made his way to the
well known counting room, and was
shown into Mr.. Lingard's private room.
Il hope everything is going well,
Stephen" said the merchant.
so yes" said Stephen, ''that is, pretty
well But, to tell the truth, I'm in q
tight place just at present"
"Indeed; I'm sorry to hear it."
"You see my operations are pretty
large, and I am afraid l shall have to
suspend unless I can raise ten thousand
pounds within a week"
"That's large sum-"
"Well, my business is large"
"What do you estimate your stock at7''
Twenty thousand pounds"
"Will ten thousand pounds set you
free entirely?'
"No," said Stephen reluctantly. 81
have bills to the amount of eight thou
sand more maturing in six months"
"Deducting the proper margin, it is
doubtful if your assets equal your iabii-
ties"
"A loan of ten thousand pounds would
give me chance TO right myself. Will
you come to my help, Mr.. Lingard?"
The old gentleman shook his head.
Frankly, no. / resolved when l start
ed you in business to leave you to your
self without further help. Observing
how you started, foresaw how things
would turn out You have held out
longer than anticipated"
Then what am l to do, SIR" asked
Stephen, gloomily.
Il advise you to call your creditors
and make a frank statement. If they
allow you to go on, contract your opera
tons. take a smaller store, and begin
over again. If you prefer, however,
will give you clerkship at five hundred
pounds salary. l presume my partner
viii not object"
Your partner, sir? Have you taken
one?''
Eyes, 1 find 1 am getting old and need
rest
! May I ask who he Isl"
alt is John Warren
| Stephen sprang to his feet in amaze
ment, anger and envy. John Warren to