The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1910-03-25
VILE And WIT
WIN WIFE

E@kjs$M ------z--a
And 80 YOU want me to Seonsent
to your making Helen your; wife,,
The speaker was HehryStS orcross.
one OF the m~illionaire manIpuIators
of finance In New York. and the
scene was In his private oiice. The
only other person stpreaentl was Carl
Lorraine. for Some years the conf
dental secretary OF Mr.. Norcrcss and
now a sutton for the hand. of. his en-
pioyer's only daughter.
mo. Carl. 4 do not think / d
give my consent" continued the bro
kef- but stttdown5 ana weswfff talk
It over.at Now why should lsgtve my
daughter to your?
Thetquestiot vas unexpected and
was capable OF butsone answer.
We'll. sir. ! love Helen and she
says she returns my fatrection. but
VIII only marry With her fathers
CONSENT I'd
Good girls ehuekied the old
man. siA.E
II think" continued. Carl, shat
my habits are good. and the chief OBJ
section ! can see Is my lack OF
wealth. i amscertatn4that5 / 3haye en-,
deavored to be faithful ito my
Duties" 81 ntslI4
After a moments pause, Mr.. Nor
Cross said: t."Carl,tI am going to- ex-
plain more fully how Iafeel about
this matter. When I wassyour agesI.
had no more money than yon have.
and { lacked the education that has
been given you. AS you SUI, yon are
faithful and of good habits, hut /
want more than that 10: my da;igh-
ter:7 have money enough and when
Idle II wiiitaii. go to Helen! For 'Hei-
ems husband Il swantsn man who will
be able to handle this property Wise
fy. I have made smy money by
my wits..twhile You are to-day no bet
ter OF than you was three years ago.,
except fromEtheA meagerf ano1fnt you
have saved from7thef liberal salary I
allow your T. have seen thisEfeellrE
growing betweencyouyand Helen. and
have hoped to Q you wake up. i
cannot consent to an engagement,
but will make an agreement with
you. II within the next three months
you succeed in making u thousand
dollars Jbyttthe shrewd, Use of your
wits, will consent to your: marriage
to Helen" 4i5gts
Noting the young man's look OF
discouragementaat this, the old man
continued: do you remember how
last week I made $1,000 from my
brother by learning that; he had sold
short on c. and O., then buying UP
all II could find on the market and
selling to him at a large advance?
He Is my brother and II he was In
troub1e my money fs his. but In a
business transaction Iswill catch him
II possible Keep your eyes open and
your: wits on the alert. and tISslnc-
rere1y wish you success
aiTenr$weeks OF the three months
had gone by and the one thousand
dollars seemed us far away as ever:
Mr.. Norcross was In hts office. pre-
pairing to attend an tmportant9meet-
Ing of thetS and n. railrond. He
had stepped into.a brick vault that
had been built In the rear OF his Of
fee In order to get a bundle OF pa
pers that would give him control OF
the railroad and permits him to die
tate Its pollcy-tn his own adyan-
tage.- OF course.
Just as he stepped inside the vault,
a gust OF wind swung the door to aud
the spring lock held IT fast. A+small
barred window prevented any posi-
blllt, OF suffocations. and In a hall
laughing tone theS broker called for
Carl to open the door.
AZ daring Thought Came to- the
youns man and he rose to the occa--
sioE A5lat as; tni
I'm atraidEI have forgotten the
combination, ''the said. What theEold
man said was to theapotnt. bnt pro-
fame. When he quieted OF a.strlHe.
the young d man said. ."1ss think 10
c~hecl'gforEa thousand might set my
wits to .workins.' fi% i1g
Again the violent Language flowed
through the little window, until the
young ElnanEsremlnded Ehir.f Norcross
that the board meeting would be
called In twenty minutes After a
pause; n question floated through the
window. ""shall ~ put the name or
Carl f.oatne on that check?" b4
iA':it sou please" was the polite re-
ply. The check huttered out through
theawindows and ttin Z moment the
door was opened. :ftA-l
Furious at the trick MIR. Norcross
stopped long enough to say.Tha
was rascnlity, not the E%encerclse 4or
your Wits u
One moment" replied the young
man Speaking of wits, yousforget
that a&key is hanging inside the
rault.. to be used In Just such an
emergency az this. I presume four
wits failed to work promptly this
time ~ fE ~ az 4;f.fa IA.
As the hlrnor tot the situation
dawned on the irate broker. he
smiled grinly. and In spite of his
\ prnn r. hnctn IN N Rvt,,, sad ~ Lass -.