The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1910-10-07
FRANCIS LYNDE

quick If he wins out so much the
better for all concerned. If he doesn't,
why. we left the property entirely In
his hands. and he smashed it. Don't
you see the beauty of it,"
! The president wheeled short on Tom.
| What you may think you are extort~
ing, my dear boy, you ARE going to get
through sheer goodwill and desire
to give your father every chance in the
world he said, blandly. I'VE discuss
ed the plan of electing him vice presi-
| dent, with power to act, before we left
home, but there seemed to be some OBJ
jections. We are willing to give him
full control-and this altogether apart
from any foolish threats you have seen
fit to make. Bring your legal counsel
to Room 327 after breakfast ana we
| will go through the formalities. Are
you satisfied?"
Il shall be lot better satisfied after
the fact" said Tom, bluntly; and he
turned away to avoid meeting Major
Dabney and the ladies, who were COM
ing from the elevator to join the two
early risers. He had seen next to
nothing of Ardea during the three Bos-
ton years, and would willingly have
seen more. But the new manhood was
warning him that time was short, and
| that he must not mix business with
sentiment. So Ardea saw nothing but
his back, which, curiously enough, She
failed to recognize.
Picking up his cab at the curb, Tom
had himself driven quickly to the Of
flce of the corporation lawyer whose
| name he had obtained from Mr. Clark
son the day before, and with whom he
had made a wire appointment before
| leaving Boston. The attorney was
waiting for him, and Tom stated the
case succinctly, adding a brief of the
interview which had just taken place
| at the hotel.
'You say they agreed to your pro-
posal?" observed the lawyer. Did Mr..
Farley indicate the method?"
NO"
Have you copy of the bylaws of
your company"
Tom produced the packet Of papers
received that morning from his father.
and handed the required pamphlet to
Mr.. Croswell.
"H'm-ha! the usual form. A stock
holders meeting, with a resolution.
| would be the simplest way out of it;
but that can't be held without the pub
lished call. You say your father Is
stockholder?"
He has four hundred and three of
the original one thousand shares. l
hold his proxy"
The attorney smiled shrewdly.
You are a very remarkable young
man. You seem to have come pre-
pared at all points"
The conference in Room 327, Fifth
Avenue Hotel, held while the carriages
were waiting to take the steamer party
1 to the pier, was brief and businesslike.
Something to Toms surprise, Major
Dabney was present; and little later
| he learned, with shock of resentment,
that the Major was also a minority
stakeholder In the moribund Chiawas-
see Consolidated. The master of Deer
Trace was as gracious to Caleb Cor
don's son as only a Dabney knew how
to be. IA
Nothing could give me greateh
pleasure, my deah boy, than this plan
of having youth father in command at
Gordonia." he beamed, shaking Toms
hand effusively. Il hope you'll have us
| all made millionaihs when we get back
home again; I do, for fact suh."
Tom smiled and shook his head.
1T looks pretty black, just now Ma
jor I'm afraid we're in for rough
weather"
The leave takings were brief, and
somewhat constrained, save those OF
the genial Major. Tom pleaded bust
ness, further business. with his attor-
ney, when the Major would have had
him wait to tell the ladies good by;
hence he saw no more Of the tourists
after the conference broke up.
Not to lose time, Tom took noon
train back to Boston, first wiring his
{ father to try and keep things in order
at Gordonia for another week at ALL
hazards. Winning back to the techni-
cal school. he plunged once more into
the examination whirlpool. doing his
/ best to forget Chiawassee Consolidat-
ed and its mortal sickness for the time
being. and succeeding so well that he
passed with colors flying.
Rut the school task done, he turned
down the old leaf. pasting It firmly in
MACE. Teleeraphing his father to meet
him. on the morning Of the third day
following. at the station In South Tre-j
depar he allowed himself a few hours
for 4 run up the North Shore and a
conferences with the Michigan iron
king. after which he turned his face
southwark and was soon speeding 70
the battlefield through land by this
time shaking to its industrIaf founda-
tons In the throes OF the panic earth
, quake.
CHAPTER XIV.
4 AS early as o'clock in the after-
} noon, The elder Helgerson. acting az
day watchman at the iron works, had
3 opened the great yard gates, and the
: men began to gather by fwos ana
: threes and Ia little caucusing knots On