Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-11-30
and the ultimate owner of the great

and the ultimate owner Of the great
plant.
| Frances was barely fourteen when
he entered the works, and he at once
began to make her confidant OF his
plans and aspirations for the good OF
her fathers business. The eagerness
and enthusiasm Of the young man
quite won the heart of the steel mag
nate.
Edward is a wonder" he was ac-
customed to say. Never saw such a
hard worker. 1 thought was hus-
tier, but that boy will sooner or later
be showing me tricks"
! How little the millionaire realized
the truth Of what he was saying 30
proudly! Such energy and enthusiasm
as Pinckney displayed must have
brought his advancement in any busi-
ness, and when his benefactor was
also his chief and he lived in the house
| success was necessarily rapid. In
three years he had worked up from a
place in the draughting room to the
post Of manager. In each new position
he made good, and Durant more than
ever congratulated himself on his
foresight in taking up the orphan son
Of his friend.
But Pinckney's love affair had not
progressed SO rapidly. Frances was
glad of his success, but somehow sne
/ Aol fn ha fnfQrQQfn6 n
the man as she had been when girl.
BY the time she was seventeen all the
glamour had worn off. Instead Of TAX
ing him in a sentimental way she had
begun in her own mind to look on him
as a sort Of big brother. Pinckney did
not know this He felt that he was
not coming ahead as fast as he had
hoped, but he felt that there was time,
especially as his hold on the rest Of
the family increased daily.
Durant himself now looked forward
to the time when his daughter and the
protege whom he had come to regard
as a son should decide to marry. He
trusted Pinckney more than ever, and
he rubbed his hands with satisfaction
at the thought that some day both
Frances and the Durant works would
be we'll taken care of after he was
gone.
Frances realized this and by the
time she was nineteen had begun In a
vague sort Of way to accept the situ-
alton. Her friends teased her and
then took the attachment for granted.
She knew that she did not love Ed
ward, but she did trust him, and she
had met no one whom she could care
for.
Edward had spoken to her mother
and father, and both had agreed that
whenever he chose to ask Frances he
had their permission.
Then during the summer Of Fran
ces' nineteenth year her father went
abroad, leaving the entire manage
ment Of the big plant on Pinckney's
hands. This had brought the man
and the girl closer than ever together,
and Pinckney was just debating how
L
he received notice from the govern
ment that the Durant Steel works
would have the task Of casting q new
cannon which a Lieutenant Sommers
of the navy had invented and that
Lieutenant Sommers had been detailed
to stay at the steel plant until the
work had been done. There was an
other gun, the "Rhinestrom gum" In
which Pinckney had more than a cas-
ual interest, but business demanded
that the government work be accept
ed promptly.
One week after the notice from
Washington Lieutenant Sommers ap-
peared, and then Pinckney's troubles
really began.
From the moment Of their first meet
ing Frances Durs mt and Lieutenant
Sommers had seemed mutually drawn
to each other. To each the other was
an entirely new type. Frances had
never met a man just like the young
naval lieutenant. UP to that time her
experience had been with men like
Pinckney, who thought apparently
only Of business and getting ahead. or
with young men of the opposite ex-
treme who went in entirely for So
ciety and dissipation Of all kinds.
Sommers accordingly came as new
and very refreshing experience. He
apparently had all the best qualities
of the two kinds Of men she had
known before. He was young, good
| looking, brave, and that he had brains
| was proved by his invention Of the
Sommers gun, which the government
had accepted Professionally and which
| was to be cast in the Durant steel
works. Then, also, to the glamour OF
his uniform and his reputation the
young naval officer brought the charm
Of a cultured man of the world. He
had been everywhere and seen prac-
| tically all there was for a man to see,
and, unlike many men of his profess
| sion, he could talk about it, and talk
| well. So it was no wonder that the