Elk City mining news. (Elk City, Idaho) 1903-1913, 1911-03-09

he found himself matched against men
who knew buying and selling az he
knew smelling n casting. They rout-
ed him, easily at first, with increasing
difficulty as he learned the new trade,
but always with certainty. 1t was Nor
man, the correspondence man. trans
formed now into a sales agent, VINO
gave him his first hint of the inward
ness.
Were too straight, Mr.. Gordon;
that's at the bottom Of It," he said to
Tom, over a grill-room luncheon at the
Marlboro one day. TT takes money to
make money. Four times out OF five
we nave to sell to a municipal COM
mittee, and the other time we have 10
monkey with the purchasing agent OF a
corporation. In either case 1t takes
money-other money besides the differ
ence in price"
Tom was in town that day for the
purpose of taking a train to Louisville,
where he was to meet the officials OF an
Indiana city forced. despite the hard
times, to relay many miles of worm
out water-mains. He made a pencil
computation on the back of an envel-
ope. The contract was a large one, and
~0 NAAAO ~ 10
lower han any competitor could make,
would still stand a cut and leave a
margin of profit. Before he took the
train he went to the bank, and, when
he cached the Kentucky metropolis,
his first care was to assure the wheel
horse" member of the municipal pur-
chasing board that he was ready 10
talk business on q modern business ba-
sis.
Notwithstanding, he lost the contract.
Other people were growing desperate,
too, 1t appeared. and his bribe was not
great enough. One member of the
committee stood by him and gave him
the facts. A check had been passed,
n 1t was a bigger check than Tom
could draw without trenching on the
balance left in the Iron City National
to meet the months payroll at Cor
donia.
You sent a boy to MILL" said the
loyal one. And now it's all over 1
don't mind telling you that you sent
him to the wrong mill, at that. Bullin-
gers a hog"
I'D like to do him up" said Tom,
vindictively.
We'll, that might be done, too. But
1t would cost you something"
Tom did not take the hint; he was
not buying vengeance. But On the way
home he grew bitterer with every sub
tracted mile. He could meet one more
payday. and possibly another; and
then the end would come. This one
contract would have saved the day, and
1t was lost.
The homing train, rushing around
the boundary hills of Paradise, set him
down at Gordonia late in the afternoon.
There was no one at the station to
meet him, but there was bad news IN
the air which needed no herald to pro-
claim 1t. Though it still wanted half
an hour of quitting time, the big plant
was silent and deserted. Tom walked
out the pike and found his father ON
the Woodlawn porch.
You needn't say 1t, son." was his
low greeting, When Tom had flung him.
self into a chair. 1T was In the South
Tredegar papers this morning
What was in the papers?"
About our losin' the Indiany con.
tract. I reckon it was what did the
business for us, though there were a.
plenty of black looks and a storm
brewin' when we missed the payday
yesterday"
Missed the pay-day7 Why, left
money in bank for it when l went to
Louisville!"
Eyes, 1 know you did. When Dyck-
man didn't come out with the pay
rolls yesterday evening 1 telephoned
him.. He said Vint Farley, as treasur-
er of the company. had made a draft ON
him md folra, Il o1Ip
And the menu"
1.-The miners went out at 10 o'clock
this morning. The blacks would have
stood by us. but Ludlow's men drove
'em out-made 'em quit. We're done,
Buddy"
Tom dashed his nat on the floor and
the Gordon rage. slow to fire and fierce
to scorch and burn when once II was
afame, made for a moment a yelling
maniac OF him. In the midst of it he
turned. and the tempest OF im%precation
spent itself in a gasp of dismay. His
mother was standing in the doorway.
thin. frail. with the sorrow in her eyes
that had been there since the long
night OF chastenings three years agone.
AS he looked he saw the growing
pallor in her face. the growing speech
less horror in her gaze. Then she put
out her hands as one cropping in dark
ness and fell before he could reach her.
1t was her stalwart son who carried
Martha Gordon to her room and laid
her gently on the bed. with the hus-
band to follow helplessly behind. Also,
1t was Tom, tender and loving now as
a woman. who sat upon the edge of the
bed. chatting the bloodless hands and
striving as he could to revive her.
I'm afraid you've killed her for sure.
this time, son!" groaned the man.
But Tom saw the pale lips move and
bent low to catch their whisperinps.
What he heard was only the echo of