The Yale expositor., 1908-03-13

DilNdlC sOuhS
man stepped at once to the elevator
and presently found himself in the
well-furnished office that had Auditor"
printed in gold letters on the door
John C. NARROW, a big. brusque man
who had pushed his way to success
by sheer force of bulldog will, was
striding up and down the room. AS
the door opened to let his subordinate
in he wheeled in his tracks and fixed
his piercing deep-set eyes on him.
He saw a young man of lean, clean
build, with a forceful face that spoke
of latent power. The eyes were gray
and steady, the jaw firmly clamped.
and there was in his manner an air Of
quiet resolution that said more elo-
quently than words that Roger Cotton
was man to be relied upon to meet
an emergency competently.
"Sit down. Colton-in that chair"
NARROW pointed to the swivel chair
usually occupied by the auditor OF the
United States Coal and Iron Company
when the corporation had one, when
just at present II did not
The young man took the assigned
seat.
How do you like it,
Like what, sir?" asked Cotton.
The auditors chair"
Only a hint of the young mans sud
den exultation reached his voice. Il
like it very much, sir, il it suits you
to have me sit here
THAT depends" was the prompt,
grim answer. 1T depends on wheth-
er you have the stuff in you to earn it.
You may be auditor if you're good
fighter enough to win the place"
Howe"
Let me outline the situation for
you. You know from the newspapers
that Kelly, who practically owns the
Pacific Transcontinental railroad is
fighting TO gain control of our com
pany He is building a spur across
the state to connect his chain of lines
from coast to coast so that he may
be independent of other and compel
ing roads. To make this new noun.
tain line pay he must get as much
local freight as he can; in other
words, he wants to carry all ours,
whether we want him to or not. To
do this he must control our company.
The annual election is next week. It's
a finish fight between me and Kelly.
Just now IL looks as II | were going
to lose. IL do there will be a clean
sweep of officers clear down the line
and one of Kelly's men will be au-
ditor."
Cotton waited He had the rare gift
of knowing when to keep silent.
Its going to be a near thing Col
ton, so near that if | could put my
hands on 1900 more shares | would
win. You're the first living soul /
have told this to. Don't let it out for
your life. Now there is just one per
son from whom that stock can pos
sibly be got. His name is Frank Jack
son, and he lives, or did when the
stock was bought, in Salt Lake. Kelly
is after him, too, but neither of us can
find him. Go out there and rake that
country with fine-tooth comb. II may
cost money, but whatever IL costs, find
Frank Jackson and make him give you
his stock to vote. Buy il at his own
price. If necessary"
Cotton rose. I'll leave on to-nights
train" he said
That's the way to talk. Get that
stock and you're a made man. j. G.
NARROW sticks to his friends. I've
got to have that stock or be ousted
from business that / have made out
of nothing into the biggest thing of
its kind in the west. Get it for me,
and I'll not forget"
I'll do my best"
"One thing more, Cotton. You want
to keep an eye peeled for their man
Briggs. He's out there somewhere in
that country on the same errand you
are. I'll give you line to the head of
the local Office of the detective firm
that has been retained by us"
Roger Cotton spent the night In a
sleeper. He awoke early, and drew
aside the window curtain of his berth
to find himself in the heart Of the
Rockies. He was an early riser by
custom and he got up at once. He
could see that the train was putting its
way under a doubleheader toward
Leadville, and by the time 1t reached
Malta Junction he was washed and
ready for a breath of the cool, crisp
air OF the high lands.
Only one other passenger descended
from his car to walk the platform dur.
ing the stop, and she was a resolute,
business-like woman of middle age.
She was plainly but cheaply dressed,
and there was a suggestion of grim
ness about the corners of her mouth
that suggested the ability to look out
for herself in all situations Strong.
minded, the young man voted her
When Cotton returned to his seat me
found that the porter had been busy
putting up his berth and the one oppo-
site. He sat down and picked up n
magazine But as he did so a shock
of excitement ran through him. A suit
case projected from under the seat
opposite, and the legend lettered on
the end was +. Jackson, Salt Lake.
Utah