Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1910-07-21

prise. with five chances to one against
success?"
Would he?" Cherry laugher. wait
and see."
They had reached their destination
the mouth of deep creek, UP which
Cherry turned her dogs. Emerson
leaped from the sled. and, running for
ward, seized the leader. guiding 1t into
a clump of spruce, among the bo!es
of which he tangled the harness. Tor
this team was like a pack OF wolves,
ravenous for travel and intolerant or
the leash.
Together they assembled the bank
and :. surveyed the surroundings,
Chtrry expatiating upon every fea.
ture with the fervor of land agent
bent on weaving his spell about a pro-
spective buyer. And in truth she had
chosen well, for the conditions seemed
ideal.
1T all sounds wonderfully attractive
and feasible" said Boyd, at last; but
we must weigh the overwhelming
odds against success. First, of course,
Is the question of capital. I have a lit
tie property of my own which l can
u.
dollars! That's tremendous sum TO
raise, even for fellow with q circle
of wealthy friends. Second, there,s
the question of time. It's now early IN
December, and I'd have to be back
here by the first Of May. Third, could
run the plant and make 1t succeed!
It must be wonderfully technica!
business, and am utterly ignorant OF
every phase Of 1t. Then, too, there are
a Thousand other difficulties, such as
getting machinery out here In time,
hiring Chinese labor. charter1ng
ship, placing the output"
George Bait has done all that many
times, and knows everything about 1t,
Cherry interrupted with decision.
every difficulty can be met when
the time comes. What other people
have done, you ought to be able TO
do"
But he was not to be won by fiat
terry Youth that he was, he already
knew the vanity of human hopes, and
it was his nature to look at all sides
Of question before answering 1t H.
nally.
"The slightest error Of Judgment
would mean failure and ruin" he re-
Elected, "for this country isn't like
any other. It Is cut off from the rest
of the world, and there's no time TO
go back and pick up"
"The odds are great, Of course"
she acquiesced, "but the winnings are
in proportion It isn't casino, by any
means. This Ia worth while. Every
man who has done anything in this
IN,
and it's the element Of chance that
makes life worth living"
That's all right in theory he an
swered her. somewhat cynically, but
in practice you'll find that luck Is
largely the result of previous judy
ment. For every obstacle have men
toned, thousand unsupported diff
culties will arise, any one Of which"
The girl interrupted him sharply for
second time, looking him squarely
in the eyes, her own flushed race
alight with determination.
There's only one person In the
whole world who can defeat you, and
that person is yourself; and no man
can finish task before he begins 1t.
Well grant there's a chance for fail
Urea million chances; but don't try
to count them. Count the chances for
success. Don't be faint-hearted, for
there's no such thing as fear. 1t
doesn't exist. It's merely an alb
sence of courage, just as indie
cision Is merely lack of de-
cision. never saw anything yet of
which was afraid-and you're man.
The deity of success is woman, and
she insists on being won, not courted.
You've got to seize her and bear her
off, instead Of standing under her win
dow with mandolin. You need to be
rough and masterful with her. Nobody
ever reasoned himself out of a street
fight He had to act. If man thinks
over a proposition long enough it will
whip him, no matter how simple it ia.
It's the lightning flash that guides a
man. You must lay your course In the
blue dazzle then follow it in the dark;
and when you come to the end, it al
ways lightens again. Don't stand still,
staring through the gloom, and then
try to walk while the lightning lasts,
because you won't get anywhere"
Her words were charged with an
electric force that communicated itself
to the young man and galvanized him
into acIlOn. lie WOulu nave SpOhcu DuL
she stayed him, and went on:
wait; I'm not through yet. I've
watched you, and know you are down
on your luck for some reason. You've
been miscast somehow and you've had
the heart taken out of you; but I'm
sure It's In you to succeed, for you're
young and intelligent, cool and de-
termined am giving you this chance
to play the biggest game of your life,
and erase in eight short months every
trace of failure. I'm not doing 1t alto
gether unselfshly, for believe you've
been sent to Kalvik to work out your
own salvation, and mine, and that Of
poor George Bait, whom you've never
seen. You're going to do this thing,
and you're going to make it win"
Emerson reached out impulsively
and caught her tiny, mittened hand.
His eyes were shining, his face had
lost the settled look of detection and
was all aglow with new dawn Of
hope Even his shoulders were lifted
and thrown back as If from some sud
den access of vigor that lightened his
burden.