Evening star., 1897-03-20

father standing beside the table gazing
down at her. His face was white. gaunt
and haggard and the gloom of his counte-
nance was deeDened rather than relieved
by the somber smile that parted his lips
as he regarded her. He seemed like a man
on the verge of a serious illness. ana so
startled was the girl that for a moment
she looked at him with .wide-ooen eyes.
tearing that an apparition stood before her.
Father, she cried al last. springing to
her feet, what has happened?"
Nothing, my girl, except that you have
been asleep in the chair when you should
have been in bed long ago
Il don't think l have been asleep. vet |
are i'll -
I'm right enough. little tired, that's all.
NO, won't have anything to eat. thank
you It's after closing hours, / know: but
m traveller. and I'll have something TO
drink, If you don't mind'
he tried to laugh a little over this at
tempted pleasantly hut his laugh sounded
dismal. and 1t frightened the girl still more.
instead of reassuring her, as was his inten-
tion The neck of the decanter clattered
against the glass like chattering teeth
"hlch seemed to annoy Sartwell. for he
muttered something. and shot a glance at
his daughter to see if she had noticed his
unusual nervousness. Then he grasped the
vessel more firmly. pouring the liquor with
a steadier hand, but the effort made him
tighten his lips He drank off the lGi;l
and set down the empty glass. Edna stood
opposite him; he looked up at her with a
wan smile ON his lips.
Well. my girl" he said. the games up
Has the strike ended, father" she asked,
her voice quavering.
Actually, no; practically, yes. The firm
will give in tomorrow, and l shall resign
Sorry?'
Il am sorry If you are, father" said
Edna. kneeling beside him. Il am not sorry
that the tension has ended. for think any
thing is better than the anxiety you have
been undergoing for the past few weeks.
And you look positively i'll tonight
Yes. A man hates to be beaten Well
I'm fairly knocked out, and if there is any
comfort In a decisive beating. 1 have it
What has happened?'
You see. Edna, in the pictures of a bat
tie we always have the horses galloping
the men firing, or being shot, or cutting
down their enemies with the sword, but we
rarely get view of the background. and
SO people sometimes do not know that il
exists: yet the picture merely shows the
front of the fight, as it were, while battles
are often won by perfect arrangements in
the rear-the supply of ammunition, the
food>And water carriers. and all that sort of
thing. Well, strike is like a battle; there
are other things to consider than the actual
fighting, and these things often decide the
day. The direct loss in a struggle of this
kind is nothing to the indirect loss We
see trade slipping away from us and going
to our bitterest rivals. Some of our Gus
toners may come back: others won't. Then
we are unable to fulfill contracts We have
made, and, strike can hardly be called
an act of Cod we are liable to have dam
ages awarded against us where no strike
clause has been inserted in the agreement.
All this have had to fight, as well as the
strikers themselves Then there is great
difficulty In filing up the shops-much more
than l expected. During the last week l
have been slowly losing ground with the
directors. They haven't said very much,
but have felt it.
1T was in the air chow that we were
fighting losing battle. and so things have
been on the balance. and the only reason
the directors did not give in a week ago
was that they knew l would resign If they
did so. 1t only required straw TO turn the
scales against me. Some time before the
strike began steamer sailed for Sydney,
New South Wales. 1t had a large quantity
of our goods on board. Today l received
notice from the owners that the ship lay
there and could not be unloaded because of
our strike. They propose to hold us re-
sponSible for the delay, and that will mean
an expensive lawsuit, whichever way the
verdict goes. This is serious enough in it
self, but the fact that we have been struck
from the remotest ends of the earth while
being paralyzed in London will make the
directors give in at once. So, my girl, I'm
beaten man..
But might you not have been beaten in
any case?"
No; another week would have seen the
men back-I am sure of it. They are seeth-
ing with discomfort and have called a
meeting for tomorrow night. in spite of the
protests of Marsten. There is to be
split, and all ! need is a slight detection to
Set the works going again
why need you resign, father? You have
done your best. and the directors know it
"Ah, my girl, you are sleepy; l can see
that or you wouldn't ask such a question.
But now you know all about 1t, SO off you
CO."
CTo be continued)