The Alaska citizen., 1910-09-12
CHAPTER II lContinued ]

 mnities to quarrel. Johnson is a jackass. but honest. He is a pessimist and has pea-green liver. Listen to him and the business will die pain lessly. by inches. Applerod is also a jackass. and I presume him to be honest; but l never tested it. He suffers from too much health, and the surplus goes into optimism. Lis ten to him and the business will die in horrible agony. quickly. But keep both of them. Let them fight things out until they come almost to an understanding. then take the middle course.
 That was all Bobby turned square ly 10 survey the drowning Johnson and the still beamng Applerod, and with a flash of clarity he saw his fathers wisdom He had always ad- mired John Burnit. aside from the fact that the sturdy pioneer had been his father. but had admired him much as one admires the work of a master magician-without any hope of emulation. As he read the note he could seem to see the old gentleman standing there with his hands behind him. ready to stretch on tiptoe and drop to his heels with thump as he reached a climax his speclaclcs showed up on his fore head. his strong. wrinkled face stern from the cheek bones down, but tWinkIing from that line upward, the twinkle. which had it's seat about the shrewd eyes. suddenly terminating in d sharp. whimsical. little up-pointed curl in the middle of his forehead. To corroborate his warm memory Bobby opened the front of his watch case. where the same face looked him squarely in the eyes. Naturally, then. he opened the other lid, where Agnes Elliston's face smiled up at him. Suddenly he shut both lids with a great show of energy, to the heavy statement which had all this time confronted him. The first page he read over laboriously. the second one he skinned through, the third and fourth he leafed over; and then he skipped to the last sheet, where was set down a concise statement of the net assets and liabilities.
 According to this" observed Bob by with a great show of wisdom, ''l take over the business in very fourshing condition"
 Well" grudgingly admitted Mir. Johnson "it might be worse'
 Tt could hardly be better" inter- posed Applerod-'that is, without the extensions and improvements that think your father would have come in time to make Of course, at his age he was naturally a bit conserya- tive"
 Mir Applerod and myself have never agreed upon that point" wheezed Johnson sharply. For my part I considered your father-well scarcely reckless, but, say, sufficient ly daring. Daring is about the word"
 Bobby grinned cheerfully.
 He let the business go rather by
 
 Both gentlemen shook their heads, instantly and most emphatically.
 He must have" insisted Bobby As I recollect it, he only worked up here, of late years, from 11:55 to 12 every other Thursday"
 "Oftener than that" solemnly cor rected the literal Mr. Johnson. He was here from II until 12:30 every day"
 What did he do?"
 It was Applerod who, with keen appreciation, hastened to advise him upon this point.
 Said yes twice and no twelve times. Then, at the very last minute, when we thought that he was through he usually landed on a proposition that hadn't been put up to him at all, and put it clear out of the busi- ness"
 Looks like good finessing to me-" said Bobby complacently T think shall play it that way"
 Tt wouldn't do, sir" MT. Johnson replied in tone of keen pain. You must understand that when your father started this business it was originally a little 14-foot front place, one story high. He got down here at 6 o'clock every morning and swept out. As he got along a little further he found that he could trust somebody else with that job-but he always knew how to sweep. It took him a lifetime to simmer down his business to just yes and mo-
 T see," unused Bobby; "and I'm expected to take that mans place! How would you go about it?"
 'I would suggest, without meaning any impertinence whatever, sir" in