Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1896-05-29

is in it already, and if it goes I shall be
ruined"
"Don't let it worry you, my boy.
You shall not be sold OUT
CHAPTER TX.
John Latham held limited and con.
ditional though publicly acknowledged
partnership in the prominent legal firm
Of Gaunett, Stryker 6 Latham, place
he had conquered by sheer merit. While
his financial gains from it were not as
vet much better than the salary he
formerly received as the managing clerk
of Messrs. Gaunett & Strayer, the part
nership was far more advantageous than
the clerkship, since it gave him stand
ing and certainty Of ultimate fortune.
A very considerable portion Of the bust
ness Of the firm was the exhaustive in
vestigation Of properties and enter
prises, Of any and every kind, in which
their rich clients contemplated invest
ments. For this class Of work clear
headed, wide awake, thorough and con.
scientious John Latham had come to be
regarded as man Of remarkable value.
One Of the notable triumphs Of the firm
was his first achievement in that line,
and, by the way, the manner in which
the opportunity therefor fell to him
seemed at the time to be sheer accident
A couple Of clients, who were about
making a joint investment Of half q
million dollars in western railroad
scheme, at the last moment bethought
them that it would be at least prudent
thing, Notwithstanding the excellent
representation made to them, to have
Gaunett 6 Stryker critically examine
the enterprise before they risked their
money upon it. Mr.. Gaunett could not
leave town, Mr.. Stryker chanced to be
i'll, and so the delicate and highly re-
spcrsible duty was perforce conhded to
their then managing clerk, Mr.. Latham.
His report was emphatically against the
investment as unsafe, and in very
few months events proved his Judgment
correct. So heartily was his good wcrl:
in that investigation appreciated that
the grateful clients, in addition to pay
ing the firms fee, gave him a very
handsome present out of the half mil
lion he had unquestionqbly saved to
them, while his emplc yers, recognizing
his value, made a place in the firm fcr
him. Of course there were those who
enviously said "John is very lucky. "
But is it not strange how "lucky" men
of brains and energy are?
Upon reaching his Office one morning
a couple of days after Chester's exposi-
tion of the desperate plight Of his specu-
lations Mr.. Latham found awaiting bis
personal consideration and prompt ac'
ticn an important piece Of business,
closely akin to that already mentioned.
A southwestern railroad this time afford.
ed the subject for an investigation, and
the matter was one that would admit
CT no delay. He was busted until late
in the afternoon in getting such neces-
sary data as were at his. clients COM
mand and in closing up such office busl-
ness as could be put aside fer a time.
Then he wrote letter CT instructions tc
the detective, when he characterized as
his "McCaffrey chaser" and hastened
off to Harlem for a farewell interview
with Addie. By z o'clock he was at
home, packing valise, and at . was
aboard an express train starting out OF
Jersey City.
At the time Of Chester Sewall's s
launching himself upon business ca,
reer, when he set out to win fortune
in Wall street, he had sensibly taken
John Latham g advice in retrenching his
unnecessary expenditures, and one of the
main steps to that end was his removal
from the costly hotel where he had been
living to the combined lodging and
boarding house in which John resided.
There he had bedroom, small, but large
enough to sleep in, for the same sum
per week as he had been paying pei
diem for his apartment at the hotel. Ii
adjoined Johns room, which was large
one, and when the communicating dool
had been opened the young men prac'
tically enjoyed the two in common. The
larger one, in which good fire was
kept, served as their parlor. Some OF the
persons occupying rooms in the house
took their meals at the landlady's table,
but Latham and Sewall found it better
suited to their convenience to patronlze
restaurants at such times and places as
appetite and opportunity conformity
served. When Chester Sewall returned
home at the usual hour for finding his
friend there on the day Of John La
tham's hurried departure for the south
west, the busy young lawyer was in
Harlem. The loneliness and quiet OF the
room were uncomfortable to man whose
distress and anxiety had wrought his
nerves to the highest tension, and Ches'
ter went out again to walk, not with the
object of going anywhere, but just tc
walk until he should have tired himself
out and might hope to sleep. By the
time he revisited the room his friend