Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1910-01-05
ION 4 CAPITAL . ... r.
OF TWO CENTS,
sv LOUISE q. CUMMINGS.

BY LOUISE q. CUMMINGS.
copyright, 1909. by American Press Asso'
ciation.l
Sam CaIkins was strapped. There
was no doubt whatever about his
financial condition.. 1t was cents In
hand-ltterally in hand. for be was
looking at the copper coins iugubrious-
~. remembering ut the same time that
there was not even a crust Of bread In
the house for his wife and two little
children. He had taken chair on the
porch OF the Sandwich hotel because
chairs there were free and be didn't
belong anywhere. Sam was miner
and had worked in many mines. He
had been caught In labor storm with
the result of loss of employment. His
savings were all gone. there was no
prospect of work where he was. and
he had no means Of taking himself
and his family anywhere else.
Two men were sitting at the other
end of the porch talking together ex.
citedly. though in a low tone. Calkins
heard the word strike" and. suppos-
ing it referred to labor matters In
which he was interested. be pricked up
bis ears aud soon discovered that they
referred to strike of paying ore in
some mine the name of which they
did not mention One of the men took
a package from his pocket-the wrap.
per was piece Of newspaper-and.
unrolling 1t. showed his companion
words six hundred to the ton" This
told him that the specimens mention
ed assayed to produce this amount out
of a ton OF ore. After passing the SAM
pies back and forth for awhile. they
were rolled again in the bit OF news
paper. and the man who had produced
them put them again in his pocket.
Soon after both men arose and went
away.
Calkins would have gone away. too.
If be had had any place to 60. But
he hadn't. Being restless. he got up
and walked over to the other end of
the porch. In chair in which one
of the men had been sitting be noticed
little dark lump about the size of a
hickory nut. Taking it up. he looked
at it scrutinizingly.
If the Constant vein hadn't run
out" he remarked to himself, "l'd
swear the chunk came out OF it,
1t was brownish quartz and full
Of gold. Calkins had worked in the
Constant mine. which had proved in
constant. While there he had taken
out just such ore as this. Hut be had
seen the vein grow narrower and mar
rover till it was nothing more than
a crack. The mine. after a search for
reopening of the vein. had been aban.
doned. and Caikins had gone to work
elsewhere. Personally he believed
that IL the vein were followed deep
enough it might be found to reopen.
But the stockholders were discouraged
and would not stand assessment. Sud
denly it occurred to Calkins that the
vein had been followed and paying ore
again struck. Then came the quick
thought. Can l. with only cents in
the world, profit by what suspect II
it is true%
He went into the hotel. where q
printed list OF quotations Of mining
stocks was hanging on the wall. and
glanced at sales Of Constant. There
were sales at + cents share. The
stock had recently stood at 4 cents.
Then Calkins walked up the street to
the Office of man OF the name of
Fisher. whom he knew held some OF
the shares.
i've got some information" said the
miner. "Do you want it or shall
take it elsewherey'
'l'm your man."
''What'Il you givey'
"Ten per cent of the profit"
snake it 70 and I'll out with it,"
"All right. 20 it u.s."
Calkins produced his chunk of ore
and told Fisher that it had come out
Of the Constant mine. Fisher asked
how he knew it. but Calkins declined
to satisfy him. He felt sure that if
his man knew he was guessing the
transaction would end then and there
Fisher had that morning sold part or
bis stock ut cents share. He sent
In an order to buy it back and 10000
shares more at the market price He
got 1000 at 6. 1000 at 61a and the bal
ance at figures rising by fractions till
the price paid was ~ cents. The
sales were larger than for many
months. but not considerable.
Calkins wished to ask Fisher for a
little money in advance to buy d SUD-
per for biz family. but dared not lest
he should cad him to suspect that the
whole aft; if was simply game to
beat him out of paltry sum. So great
was his suspense that he preferred to
keep away from home. He was hang.
ing between heaven and he'll.
The next morning when he turned
out OF an clubhouse where be had
slept he spent his cents for paper.
There In big headlines he saw the an.
nouncement that the Constant vein
had been recovered richer and broader
than before. When the Mining Ex.
change opened the stock went up 10
s. share and stayed there. Before
noon Fisher gave his informant a
check for $4,000.
Fortune had favored the man whose
capital was but cents. Those in the
secret had bought up what stock they
wanted at private sale. knowing that
it they all went into the exchange to-
gether they would advance the price.