Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1907-06-15
A MECHANIC.

down.
The grinding season had been long and
unsatisfactory. A premature spell of
hard weather, blizzard, and heavy
fall of snow, the thermometer ten degrees
below zero followed by spell of mild
Indian summer, had first frozen the beets,
then rotted them into sour pulp.
To make sugar out of a queer black
juice pumped up to the pan floor was,
according to an expert brought to the
factory to see what could be done with it.
an impossible task.
The expert had backed away from the
malodorous stuff after stating his opin-
ion, declaring privately he would notzun-
dertake the proposition of converting it
into marketable sugar for $1,000 a month.
Wouldn't lose my reputation on any
such proposition" he said, and took the
afternoon train back to New York.
A slim, dark-eyed young man, who had
come from Louisiana, having been en-
gagged as sugar boiler by the superintend-
ent, looked through the glasses of the
pan at the boiling, jumping juice, smiled
grimly, pulled out the proof stick, and
gave the pan another drink. then passed
on to the brown pan, and the third pan,
handling the liquor with uncommon skill,
the result of long experience and cool
Judgment. After which he washed his
hands in copper pan of clean water, and
sitting down on wooden chair, fitting it
back comfortably, he looked over through
a window at the vast farstretching
plains outside.
The scenery of Colorado in this par
ticular locality is neither picturesque nor
interesting The country is absolutely
fiat, with here and there small villages to
break the monotony. The beet fields sup
plying the factory spread around isolated
frame houses, and in the distance a blur
on the horizon indicated a town.
The sugar boiler, Austin Renter, looked
with unconcern at the cold, gray sky,
while the monotonous rumble of machin-
cry filled his ears. A very different pic
ture arose before his mental vision. That
of a high bred, delicate face, surmounted
with hair now gray, whose color had once
been rich brown, and deep blue eyes look
ing smilingly at him with infinite af-
lection, trust and confidence, eyes of great
courage, in whose depths lurked the sad
ness of loss, sorrow, poverty and distress.
His mothers health was not as good
as formerly; the lines of care were deeper
in her face for Austin's work in the beet
factories in the west and then down in
the tropics kept him away from her. She
was lonely, and he knew how much she
missed her son, in spite of her courage
ous acceptance of their separation She
would not complain to dishearten him.
The snow fell faster, narrowing the
vista outside the window. and the dull
rumble of the mill droned on. Austin
got up to inspect his pans and force gran
ulation in the thin, sour juice. Spring
would soon be on them. and the factory
must get through with its protracted
Wcrk. The juice was blackened and
burnt before it reached the pan floor,
and Austin's protest and better knowl-
edge awaited nothing. AS head sugar
boiler he was expected to make white
sugar out OF it.
Intent to his difficult and unsatisfac-
tory task, Austin was not aware that
someone had come up the steep steps to
the pan floor and was watching him in
tently.
Kathleen Plowden was the only child
of Sam Plowden, who owned the factory,
multi millionaire, with interests in lead
and ore mines and other industries in
the bustling little western town. Kath-
leen had been educated in an exclusive
college in the east, and had gone
abroad for two years under the chaper-
onage of a clever woman of fashion. On
her return she insisted on coming west to
be with her father in the remote and
crude town among the beet fields of Colo
RADIO.
Austin whistled an air from "Don Pas
quale" while working intently. He
stopped to calculate vigorous d! on
pulling out his proof stick.
What is the trouble?" pleas
ant voice asked
Wheeling around Austin confronted a
smiling and handsome girl, who was evil
IDENTIFY much amused at his disguised irri-
tation.
Il beg your pardon; 1 had no idea you
We're up here. You must excuse work
ingman's manners" Austin said, taking
oil his cap, an answering smile replacing
his previous fTown.
Kathleen waved aside his excuses with
a light gesture
What is the matter with whatever is
boiling inside those things?"
Every tHiilg, AuStlH answered WIN
renewed irritation while glancing
through the glasses of the pan. The
beets were frozen, and the juice is badly
handled on the beet end of the house.
1t is burnt and comes up here blackened
by caramel formation on the pipes.
The warm weather we had some weeks
ago soured the beets and makes it a hard
problem to convert the juice into decent
sugar" Austin explained, again busy with
his proof stick.
The handsome girl sat down in the
wooden chair and watched him with lei
surely interest.
The ciearcut features, 1.-THE figure.
slender, toilworn hands. the easy grace
and simple and well-mannered self-pos-
session of the young man, her fathers
sugar maker, made him a very interest
ing study to Kathleen.
rs the responsibility of the sugar on
49, u u