Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1903-07-08
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! cay: and no wonder. seeing that scarcely
penny has been spent on it within my
memory"
! you are pretty fellow, very pretty
/ fellow. You want to ruin me, eli r.
| AT any rate, sir" | returned. follow
ing him. you will have the outer gall
leries filed up. at once2 If you don't
III not answer for tue consequences.
who askedI your" he cried. Your
place is TO report. not TO advise. As to
ceasing to work the outer galleries, | sup
pose you know that the richest lode of
ore runs there, and that the inner por
ton of the mine is almost barren? You
seem to prefer mutiny and disaffeetion
to study Of your employers interests.
tell you fatty. don't intend to listen TO
such nonsense. Thanks to you. the mine
at present yields little or no profit, and
l am in a fair way to become beggar."
Then you will do nothing?"
Il will do nothing under your advice,
for | don't trust yon. A gentleman in
whom | have the utmost confidence will
be here tomorrow morning. You will ac-
company him down the mine. and you
will show him what you have shown me.
shall then be guided by his advice,
not by yours"
Soon after sunrise the next morning.
as | sat in the Office. | was visited by the
person TO whom young Redruth had al
luded. He was a thin. spare, sandy-hair-
ed young man of about thirty. with a
mean type Of countenance. and an accent
which was a curious compound of Cock
neyisms and Americanisms. He had been
born within the sound Of Bow Bells; but
having spent a portion of his manhood in
the United States. he affected the free
and easy manners Of a Yankee citizen.
telling me his name was Ephraim john
son. a civil engineer, from New York. He
Informed me that he had been instructed
by Mr.. George Redruth to go dowa the
mine. and report on its prospects and con-
ditions.
l treated him as civilIy as possible,
and we made the tour of inspection to-
gether. When we came to the outlying
gallery, above which the sea was thun-
dering, he trembled good deal and gave
other signs of agitation. and he did not
recover himself until he had regained
the open air. Curious to know what he
would say to his employer. | questioned
him:
well. Mr.. Johnson? Did l exaggerate
when ! said that the mine was unsafe p
He answered me sharply and impu-
IDENTIFY, but averting his smsll. keen eyes
from mine.
Excuse me, young mar shall report
my opinion to Mr.. George Redruth. not
to you. don't mind saying, however,
that | guess you did exaggerate. on the
whole"
''Ycu didn't seem to express that opia-
ion when you were down belowr'
What do you meanY he cried. turn
ing crimson.
L mean that You seemed rather in a
hurry to get back to the terra frma, up
hereI'
He did not reply. but gave Iae a look
full of mahgnity and dislike. Then he
walked out of the Office, but the next
minute he put his head in again at the
door.
You think yourself smart" he said;
but you'll have to get up early before
you're as smart as me. mean to do my
duty. young man. and SC you'll find afore
very long"
He left me with this curious valedic-
ton. | saw neither Redruth nor John
son for some days. Thea I heard casu-
ally that the latter had gone back to
London. About a week after his depart
ure. / saw it publicly announced that ar
engagements had been made with George
Redrdth. Esq, the proprietor. to turn st.
Gurlott's copper mine into joint stock
company, the said George Redruth, ESQ.
receiving half the purchase money aud
retaining the other half in fully paid-up
shares. Nothing was said about the pre-
else amount of commission money which
went into the pocket of Mr.. E. s. John
! son, but the name of that worthy was
/ down on the prospectus as surveyor and
inspecting engineer, and had no doubt
\ whatever in my I'm mind that he had
made very excellent bargain.