Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1909-09-03
CHAPTER LII.

cOmpanyS docks, had arrived in
u response to the presidents sun
mons. conveyed to him by the tele
phone Smith, known 10 his famiiarS
as Jlmsy. was II tall. gaunt. angular
man. bearing all over him the stamp
of wcsterncr. He was. in fact, from
Colorado where he began his active
career by engaging in mining. Scant
success attended his efforts IN this di-
rection. however. and after working
with the dogged determination that
patience was exhausted he finally en-
tered the employ Of the steamship
company In whose service he had
risen to his present positions with
headquarters In New York.
There was something about Smith
that matter. to take to him on sight.
The unbounded good nature. big heart
edness and unseltishness beamng in
his blue eyes and In his whimsical
smile were written in every line of his
clean shaver face. Another thing that
an ho NdAiiC
in contact with him was his absolute
imperturbability In all his thirty
seven years Of existence he never had
been known TO get move on" not
even when a premature blast in
mine had sent the diggers heller skel-
ter for safety and carried death and
suffering to many. Smith had walked
TRANQUILITY away amid the rain Of rock
and earth until II was all over Then
he had returned and organized the
work of rescue. his placidlty causing
the others instinctively to look to him
for direction. Nor was his speech
more hurried than were his move
ments. He spoke but little. and then
his words came In quiet. even. dis
tinct drawl. But he got there" rs
quickly as most men. and a good deal
quicker than some whose nerves were
highly strung and with whom rapidity
OF action was as necessary rs breath
Ing. for he was possessed Of keen pow
ers Of observation and common sense.
an earnestness Of purpose that gave
his utterances weight and an integrity
as unsuitable as the rock Of Gibral-
tar. AS a fitting. almost necessary,
complement Of such nature he was
endowed with a sense OF humor that
added not a little TO the attraction he
exercised for those who knew him
sufficiently well to be able to appre-
ciate his qualities Of heart and mind.
Hn took n calu, oil irn ri curvav
Of the office rs he entered. looked over
to Brooks desk and salutcd him with
a cordial motion OF the hand and in
structed n boy to notify Captain Will
liams Of his arrival. He was ushered
Immediately into the chiefs presence.
That worthy. who. like his superin-
tendent. was clean shaver, was seated
at his desk In his shirt sleeves. and
the whole room. despite the wide open
windows. was thick from the smoke
from an old blackened cOrncob pipe at
which he was putting vigorously. He
was bury man. and the short. thick
neck. the broad shoulders. the power
full. big jointed fingers and the mus
cleS that stood out I'm punches on the
hairy arms disclosed by his rolled up
shirt sleeves denoted that he possessed
unusual physical strength. An ugly
man 10 get into an argument with was
Williams, one who. 1t needed no mind
reader to judge. would be capable of
following the word with blow that
would crush an ordinary opponent
For years. as Brooks had intimatcd.
he had led the toughest life a man
can lead. hammering by sheer brute
strength way TO wealth by ways in
which scruple had counted for nothing
at all and expediency for n good deal,
and his entrance upon higher plane
Of civilization had not impaired much
polish to his appearance. habits or
speech. which were those Of the old
time sailing ship mariner. although of
late years he had striven to conform
more closely to the examples Of re-
finement he witnessed In the only 20
lite society he cared for. which was
that Of the family Of his dead friend,
Stanley Harris. who was general man.
ager Of the Latin-American line when
u
way Of glazing at person from I'M
der his bushy eyebrows with a scru-
tiny that seemed to read through and
up and down him and made him most
Ill at case under 1t.
He made his decisions promptly, au-
thoritatively. after the manner of
man accustomed to command and to
be Obeyed without question, and he
never changed them. ut least in his
business and administrative dealings.
Add to all this voice like foghorn,
the effect of which, when he raised
1t. was. as he knew full we'll, to make
his subordinates quake and to intimi-
date others who had to do with him.
and it will be realized that he lived I'D
fully to his reputation of being a hard
man.
For his quiet. unmovable and thor
oughly capable dock superintendent he
entertained a certain respect. He
knew from experience that the man
was not the least bit afraid or even
disturbed by his bullying manner and
his believing and that his glare, al
ways squarely met, had no more effect
upon him than 1t would have upon the
bronze statue OF Washington which
stands sentinel on the steps Of the sub
treasury In Wall street.
Smith lowered himself slowly and
easily into big armchair beside the
presidents desk.
Two delegates from the I1ongshore-
mems union were here Just now" an
nounced the captain. They say the
freight handlers are going to strike"
"Ya-as:" said Smith interrogatively.
"Yes. What do you know about itY'
Nothing, except that they came TO
me with demand for higher pay for