Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1908-05-22

| once IN the address Clement Sbav,s IT.
| regular handwriting Cut off. as he had
oeen LOT over MONTH from all COM
inunlcatlon with former friends. he grasp-
Gu the letter with sensation of ioy. and
| hurried pack to his room to read it ouiet-
| ~ ana without risk of interruption.
Inc letter ran as follows:
My Dear Young Friend have inst
received your letter asking me 70 writo
you at Columbus. I am glad TO Obtain
your address, as l have a matter Of i'm
portance to speak Of First, however, let
| me congratulate you on the success YOU
nave met with as book agent 1t is not
business to which l should advise YOU
| 10 devote yourself permanently; but I
| nave no doubt that the experience which
you acquire, and the necessary contact
| into which it brings you with different
| classes of people, will do you good, while
the new scenes which it brings before
your eyes will crafty the natural love
OF adventure which you share in common
with those of your age. When you set
| out, mad mlsglVlngs as to your success,
admit. 1t was certainly an arduous
| undertaking for a boy of fifteen; but
you nave already demonstrated that you
are able to paddle your own canoe, and
| | shall hereafter feel confident of your
success in life, SO far at least as relates
to earning your living. That you may
also be successful in building up a good
character, and taking an honorable posi-
ton among your fellow-men, | earnestly
hope.
Il now come to the business upon which
| wish to speak to you.
You will remember that a man named
James Wall was prominently identified
with the Great Metropolitan Mining Com
pany, by which your poor father lost his
fortune. Indeed, this Wall, who is a
plausible sort of fellow, was the one who
induced him to embark in this disastrous
speculation. l suspect he has feathered
his own nest pretty we'll already, and
that he intends to do so still more.
was surprised to hear from him some
| ten days since. l will not copy the let
ter, but send you the substance of it. He
reports that in winding up the affairs of
the company there is a prospect Of real
izing two per cent for the stockholders,
which, as your father owned thousand
shares, would yield two thousand dollars.
| IL UlEy De SOLl6 IlilIc uc dNOS, DCAOlC ILC
dividend will be declared and paid. He
processes a willingness, however to pay
two thousand dollars cash for transfer
of your fathers claims upon the COM
pany.
"Now, two thousand dollars are not
to be despised but my impression is that
such a man as James Wall would never
have made such an offer if he had not
expected the assets would amount to
considerably more than two per cent L
am unwilling to close with the offer until
know more about the affairs OF the
company, Here it has struck me that
YOU can be of assistance. This Wall lives
in a town named Portville, in Wiscon-
sin. on the shore of Lake Superior. l
would suggest that you change your name,
| 90 at once to Portville, and find out
what YOU can. l can give you no in
structions but must trust to your own
native shrewdness, in which l feel sure
YOU are not deficient. If it should be
necessary to give up your present busl-
ness, do so without hesitation, since the
other business is of more Importance L
will write Mr.. Wall that l have his oder
under consideration. If you need money,
draw upon me.
"T hear that Joshua Drummond has
run away from home, carrying away con-
siderable money belonging to his father.
The latter appears to lament the loss OF
his money more than of his son.
81 remain your sincere friend,
"CLEMENT SHAW"
This letter gave Walter much food tor
reflection. He determined to give up his
hook agency, and leave as soon as pos
s;ble for Portville. 1t was encouraging
to think that, in any event, he was likely
~ realize two thousand dollars from the
mining shares, which he had looked upon
os vo1ueIess. Besides he felt there was
tsverv reason to hope they would prove
even more valuable.
Three days later, having closed his ac-
counts as agent, he started for Portville.
He had made new start in life, and
+bis unexpected money would prove a
stonning stone to new ambitions. His
f,,t,,re nroved his courage and integrity,
with his motto always, Strong and
Steady"
| Walter found cheap boarding house
and gave his name as Carl Walters. lie
- once made INQUIRIES about James Wall.
ua found out that Wall was regarded as
shrewd speculator and was associated
With several men of dubious business rep
utation in various copper and iron MIN
| ing enterprises.
The man had an Office employing sew
eraI clerks, who sent out considerable
advertising matter offering shares OF stock
n investors at a distance. Walter man
AGED to get employment in the office.
within five days he had learned all tn
| ms and outs of the business; In ten ne
was ready to make a move in his own in
| terests. -
The stock for which Shaw had been
offered two thousand dollars ne dlscov-
ered was really worth ten thousand dol
| lars. IS.
walter hired lawyer. When ne lett
portville he carried with him check Tor
| a small fortune.
Stanleton was his destination. Walter
decided to invest some of his money IN
General store there. Joshua Drummond
Vas surprised and indignant when ne
learned of this new business rival, but
i ~