The Newtown bee. (Newtown, Conn.) 1877-current, 1900-08-17
The Home Circle.
STEPPING STONES TO FORTUNE.
OUT OF TIE JAWS OF A BEAST OF PREY.
HOW PETER PoORE WAS SAVED FROM
THE UsURPER JOSEPH WARREN WAL
KER IN THE SPRINGFIELD REPUBLICAN,.


THE UsURPER JOSEPH WARREN WAL
KER IN THE SPRINGFIELD REPUBLICAN.
One dark, clustering midwinter even
ing man in rough and ragged garb
might have been seen, had there been a
passer.by, skulkiuR in stream Of light
that poured through the lower half OF a
little window into the street. The win
dow was in the side Of an unpretentious
one-story frame building, which stood In
a struggling village in the heart Of the
great treeless region of the New North
west but on the half-raised shade with
in glistened the inscription, In letters OF
gilt, 1.-THE State Bank Of Kanoka." The
man in the street was intently gazing
within. Before him, In front of the
cheerful Ignite burner, sat two young
men, each enjoying his cigar, In apparent
unconsciousness Of the blasts without.
As the shivering gazer looked upon the
, dark snd frowning face of Jonathan
Grabbe, the banker, his hopes vanished
but suddenly they revived, as he caught
. glimpse Of the frank and open counter
ance Of william Hartman, Kanoka's
most highly esteemed lawyer. Then,
wondering within himself how there
could be anything in the shrewd young
man Of force that should so draw the
other to him, or how there could be any.
thing in the candid spirit Of the other
that the forceful man of cunning should
be so powerless to resist, he slowly
walked away from the stream Of light
and shuftled along to the front entrance of
the bank, on the main street Of the vii
lage. Stealthily opening the storm door
he entered. He raised his hand, as If to
knock for admittance, but suddenly he
drew 1t back, leaned forward and turned
ais face to one side. He had discovered
that the front door was sjar and that he
could distinctly hear the conversation
within, and his eavesdropping procliv,
tiles had again asserted themselves. The
words that he heard seemed to interest
him greatly, and to rivet him to the spot.
fright there's where you're away off,
Bill" just then exclaimed the young
banker, bringing his hand down violent
ly on something. II want to tell you
that it's no such deuced big trick to
make an Independent torture right here
in this new country, and in less than
half lifetime, too. You seem to clean
forget that there are millions on millions
lying under our feet, just waiting for the
farmers to dig them out of the soil.'
"And 40 you would have the farmers
dig your fortune out for you," retorted
the young lawyer rather sarcastically.
II would help them develop this rich
country, just as haYe been doing, and,
of course, take my share of the rake-off.
But understand me, Bill, I'm not saying
that any mere lunkhead can make suc-
cess of himself here or anywhere else. A
successful man must have the right kind
of stuff In him.
"Of what kind Of stuff must he con-
sist?'
"Of three kinds. he must have the
business sense to form come plan that
will reach all along the line, the shrewd-
ness to carry it out in all its details, and
the will to stick to 1t, let come what may"
"That sounds very fine, Jonathan, and
It strikes me that I have read substan-
TALLY the same in print. But do you hon.
estly think that it would be entirely the
proper thing to follow out such plan
rigidly, in all its details under all circum.
stancesp"
San successful men do it, at. least in
everything short of actually breaking
the law; and even If they crack the law
little occasionally, and get one of you