The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-08-11
Che Memoirs Of
All4hel16taDilt1l1zR
By
ROBERT + ERRlCk
CHAPTER VI.
first BLOOD.
~ G 1a2z5seaHi SH1; ss es,z Fin

CHAPTER VI.
FIRST BLOOD.
Wholesale - The little envtes Of life.
learning ho,O to read What there
might be in sdusdQe Schemes-A rise
In ltfc-Bt1 Johns faporfnQ eue-GotnQ
short Of pork Uncertatntv-Eype thou
sand dollars In the bank.
m TOLD them all at the supper Ia
BILE that evening how l was go
ing into wholesale with Henry
~ l. Dround L Co. Slocum nod
ded approviugly. but before any one
could say q wsrd Of congratulation
Hillary Cox snapped this at me:
so you were looking out for your
self with that Carmichael man!
thought the Enterprise wasn't big
enough for your talents. A desk in the
inside office, I s'posey'
mot quite yet" laughed. But
didn't say how little my job was to be.
Miss Cox had given me up. l don't
believe she meant to be disagreeable.
but somehow we had become strangers
all at once. There were no more gos-
sips on the front steps or Sunday par
ties. Ed went to church with her in
my place. They were getting very
close, those two. and it didn't take a
shrewd eye to see what was going to
happen some time soon.
The others were more generous than
the little cashier and inclined to make
too much of my good fortune. For the
first time In my life had the pleasure
of knowing that folks were looking
up at me and envying me, and liked
the feeling Of consequence. I let them
think was to get big wages.
81 suppose you'll be leaving this
ranch before long?" Lou suggested.
"Oh, shouldn't wonder If l might
move over to the Palmer House."
A look Of CONSERVATION spread over
Ma Persons face at my joking words.
She saw a quarter Of her regular in
come wiped OF the slate. After the
others had gone I told her 1t was only
joke and that should stay with her
until l got married" She cried a lit
tie and said things were bad with her
and getting worse all the time. Lately
Lou had taken to going with such kind
of men that she had no peace at all. l
tried to cheer her u and 1t was a
number Of years after that before
could bring myself to leave her place,
although the food got worse and worse
and the house more messy and slack.
Even when later l began to make Q
good deal Of money did not care to
change my way Of life. At Ma Pier
sons were the only people knew well
in the city. and. though Grace and Lou
and Ed and Dick weren't the most
brilliant folks in the city. they were
honest. warm hearted souls and good
enough company. And the law clerk,
Slocum. was much more. He meant q
good deal to me. He taught me how to
read-I mean how to take in ideas as
they were thought out by those who
put them in books. He lent me his own
books. all marked and penciled with
notes and references, which showed
me how a well tfained mind slows
away its Information. how 1t compares
and weighs and judges-in short. how
It thinks.
We had many good talk. sitting on
the dusty stone steps in our shirt
sleeves late summer nights. when 1t
was too hot to sleep. He had read a
deal Of history and politics and eco
noL1ics as well a. his law. and when it
came to argument he could shut me up
with a lnuuthful Of facts that showed
me how small my lookout ON the world
was. remember how he put me
through his old mill. making me chew
hard at every point until had mas
tered the theory. Then he fed me Oar
win and Spencer and Stubs and Lee
Ky and lot more hard nuts. And
think that I owe no one In the world
quite so much as I do that keen, silent
Yankee who taught me how to read
books and know what is In them.
Meantime l was not doing anything
wonderful over at the yards. For sev-
eral months the big manager scarce
looked my way when he came across
me. while drove and made deliveries
to the city trade. Dround & Co.'S Gus
toners were mostly on the west side.
IN the poorer wards along the river,
where Jews and foreigners live.
used to wonder why the firm didn't try
for better trade. but later when
learned something about the private
agreements among the packers saw
why each kept to his own field. I soon
came to know our territory pretty well
and got acquainted with the little mar
kets. My experience at the Enterprise
gave me an idea that I thought to turn
| to some account with Grounds mana
ger One day as was driving into the
yards I met the Irishman, and he
threw me a greeting:
Hello. kid. What's the good word -
And be climbed a1ably into the seat
beside me to drive up to the ofhce.
Here was my chance, and took It
why don't Dround's handle sau-
sage" l said 10 the manager.
What do you know about sausageY
he asked
told him what had in mind. When
worked for the Enterprise. we used
! TO have trSuble IN. selling our sausaxe.