The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-03-02
WHEN l AM RICH
By Roy Mason (Copyright, c. w. Dillingham; Company, 10O51
fcontinued from Page 8.

econttnued from Page g., We don't want you-
 .'wha's dat you say?" demanded the negro. The deep bass notes of his magnif1cient voice runbled down into his massive chest, exposed to View by cleft in his shirt.
 Step aside,'' repeated Chester. q m bossing this job, and I'm ap pointing my own foremen."
 ..You'd bettah look out foh ne. Ans a bad niggah.''
 <1ester stepped up close to the man and confronted him.
 "I told you to step aside,'' he said dangerously. s.Are you going to do it?"
 The next instant his gigantic op- ponent had seized him in his tre- mendous arms, and dashed him against the side of the constructioa shack. As Chester struggled to his feet, 1azed by sudden vicious on- slaught, his hand fell upon pile of short crystal-like sticks piled up by the doorway. If he showed the white feather now, he thought incoherent- ly, all was lost, the twenty-five thou a himself disgraced, humiliated, ruined. He struck powerfully at the negro's head with the short stick which he lad convu1sively clutched-
 In second he stood alone. One look had been sufficient for the 6igan- tic negro who was running with tre- .nendous strides in the general direc- tion of Pickslay Hollow. But, to Chester's amazement, his own 1teu- tenants, who should have rescued him in such a crisis, were also mak-l ing for the adjacent woods. There was a general scattering like the wid- ening of the nipples when a stone is cast into still waters, but at far great-' CT speed. Chester gazed about 9ainl in bewilderment Where was the boasted Southern chivalry, the conr- age and fire of which he had heard so much?
 A beIated lieutenant who had sec cured a poor start poked his head cautiously up over the top of the fresh earth of the ambankmeut op- posite.
 sAir yeou all through with that?' he inquired.
 with what2" demanded Chester abruptly.
 .'Because if yeou air,'' continued his interlocutor. ''put it down. Put it down gently. and I'll come back and have a little talk with yeou."
 'swhat in HeI,'' asked Chester f1erce1y. s'are you talking about?''
 ..Nothin' in that locality replied bis lieutenant, climbing back over the embankment. although I expect ed to wake up there any minute The next time yeou get in a fuss with 2 bad niggar. for Gawd's sake don't go to beat him over the haid with 8 stick of dynamite!''
 Chester looked down at his offen- sive weapon, and the color suddenly left his face.
 "You missed his haid by just about the billionth fraction of an inch Pure r1ggah head is pretty nearly the hardest substance known to chem1s- try.''
 ..well, of all the triple expansion jackasses!' exclaimed Chester. his color gradually returning.
 .rYeou express my opinion pehfect- ly, suh,'' observed his lieutenant .sThere's one thing about it, though he added thoughtfully. q reckon yeou won't have very much trouble handIin' youah niggahs again.
 .I trust not,'' replied Chester fer vently. ''He nearly knocked down the building with me. Dynamite won't explode without percussion cap anyway"
 "I presume," observed his 1ieuten- ant, ssthat yeou would select a stick to beat the bass drum wtth.''
 .No,'' admitted Chester,sI wouldr' t do that.''
 q hadn't very much time to req son on the properties of dynamite, 5 said his lieutenant- s.I wanted right smart to get behind that embark ment oveh yondeh. I didn't feel quite suhtin in my mind what yeou were calcu1atfn' to do next"
 By this time the white men had gathered about him, and the negroes were gradually reassemblfng at re- spectfuI distance. Chester laid the stick of dynamite gingerly back on the pile from which he had taken it, md turned more to his task of ap- rofnting forenoen, and explaining, over and over and over again, the conditions of the contest.
 At two o'clock the gangs were marched formally out to their re- speetive stations along the 'ncom- pIete line, and white men were ap- pointed as umpires of the work. There was no difficulty in finding candidates for the latter positions. The whole town was interested and,