The weekly Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1911-1922, 1911-05-04
The Slaue of
the Steel God

sulpnur0uS smoke into the alredQ1
poisoned atmosphere, and steam pipes
spurted viciously here and there be
low; half a dozen cupolas fiared will
red and violet against the darker
drift or faded in pale glow as reck
less wind pulled the settling clouds
away.
Inside the works a thousand o.
more pairs of hands gripped lever, bar
shovel handle, hammer, rammer Of
cable as the mighty muscles behind
them strained and relaxed unceasing
ly to multitudinous clangor of meta
on metal and the creak and scream
and whirr of wheels and pulleys.
In one of thousand and more
shacks that were not stupendous SAVE
in their CRIME and bare ugliness, the
blinds were down in that room facing
the main avenue of cinders.
1t was LATE Spinney's shack. LATE
is, of course, the familiar abbreviatior
of Lafayette, who, it will be remem
bered, risked his life and spent his
money in the cause of American free
dom
Somebody in the Spinney family
must have admired him at the time
the christening took place-if Their.
was christening.
A few hours before, LATE SpinL-y
had been one of the thousand or more
toilers in the works. He had started
in at one end of line Of furnaces
naked to the waist, raking, stirring anC
feeding their soaring fires until he
reached the other end, and then bach
again. Twelve hours of it at a shift
and if you don't like the job, why thi;
is free country and you know what
you can do.
The blinds were down, but Mr.. Spin.
ney was not dead. Far from it. He
was only SO years old and, bar acci
dents, good for another 10 years of it
His eye was closed and. his mouth
was opel and from that mouth pro
ceeded rhythmic snore, broken al
regular intervals by choke and 6
gasp
IL,
ney iousied herself at the stove, trieo
to restrain the activity of four chill.
dren in semi-clean dresses and rib
boHs and looked a good deal at the
clock.
AS the noon whistle blew Mrs Spin
ney pushed the coffee pot to the bach
Of the stove, took an odorous herring
from the oven, looked at the clocs
again and sighed.
Il hate to wake him." she said. 81
don't think We ought to wake him al
that"
Four shrill voices were raised in
protest.
well, then, hush your racket" said
The mother. She put bread on the ia.
BILE with the herr;ng and surveyed the
food disparagingly "Hunkies' grub it
is" she grumbled. But 1t might be
worse easy enough. Now, If l can
turn my back for a minute without
you mixing up your buds, I'll go wake
him up.
1t was no easy matter to wake him
He muttered and swore, half arose
and rolled back again, and woulc
have slept but for his wife's persist
ence. At last he lurched half hi:
bulk from the bed, sat up, and nodded
drowsily at his shoes.
Come" said his wife sharply, bul
with a plying look 1.-The lunch is
all put up, and your brikfus is ready
and the children is crazy to be
a-goin'"
"Going?' repeated Late. "A-going
where?"
ITO the park, snapped the woman
Don't you know? Wake up nowl"
Presently he came dumping into
the kitchen, a tall, ungainly figure
with a SCARED face and an empty eye
socket, his shoulders bowed and his
hair grizzled by the stress of his 81
years Without a word, he seated
himself at the table and devourec
the food wolfishly. Then he turned
his one eye on his family in a not un.
kindly regard
We'll, you all ready?" he asked.
There was chorus of assent and
he smiled horribly. for. owing to the
exigencies of the steel business, he
couldn't smile any other way.
We're all awaiting on you" said
his wife. Hurry, now, and get
ready"
He hurried and soon he was at the
mead Of a small procession that strag-
gled along the cinoer path toward the
car line. A neat patch was over the
empty eye-socket and he was in his
black best, with a celluloid collar tor
turing his sinewy neck.
1t would take too long to tell the
events of the street car ride that took
the Spinneys from the gloom and op-
preston of the works" into the sun
light and air Of the park. There
were events, as when the conductor
tried to charge full fare for Evelyn
and when LATE Junior nearly fell ou.
of the window in his eagerness to OBJ
serve an asphalt gang. In fact, the
trip. itself was an event, and a big
event.
But the point is that they got to the
park, that 1t was possible for a man
to work a 12-hour night-shift and We.
have time to take his family on a littls
excursion. before returning to work.
We have seen that LATE Spinne,
slept and that he ate. Now he was
passing spare time loafing around on
the grass with his pipe in his mouth