Camas Prairie chronicle. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1901-1917, 1911-02-17

quaintance with the multimillionaire
iron king who had founded 1t. Mr..
Clarkson did not believe that the f1nan-
ctal storm would grow to panic size.
AS for himself, Tom thought the haZ-
ard was less in the times than in the
Farleys. Father Caleb was to keep his
finger on the pulse of the main office,
wiring Boston at the first sign of its
weakening.
The junior metallurgical was in the
thick of the June examinations when
the catastrophe befell. The brief story
of 1t came to Tom in the first dictated
letter he had ever received from his
father, and the tremulous shakiness or
the signature pointed eloquently to the
reason. Chiawassee Consolidated was
out of blast-"temporarily suspended
in the pleasant euphemism of the elder
Farley; the force clerical and manual,
was discharged, with only Dyckman
left in the deserted South Tredegar Of
fees to answer questions; and the
three Farleys, with Major Dabney, Ar
dea and Miss Euphrasia, were to spend
the summer in Europe.
Caleb wrote in some bitterness Of
spirit. Though the Gordon holdings in
the company, increased from time to
time as the iron master had prosper
ed, amounted to a little more than q
third of the capital stock, everything
had been done secretly. The general
managers own notice of the shut down
had come in the posted Notice to En-
ployes." When the Farleys should
leave, he would be utterly helpless; on
their return they could repudiate ev-
erything he might do in their absence.
Meantime, ruin was imminent The af-
fairs of the company were in the ut
most confusion; the treasury was emp
ty, and there were no apparent assets
apart from the idle plant. Creditors
were pressing; the discharged work
men, led by the white coal-miners,
were on the verge of riot; and Major
Dabney's royalties on the coal lands
were many months in arrears.
Tom rose promptly to the occasion,
and in all the stress of things found
space to wonder how it CHANGED that
he knew instinctively what to do and
how to go about it. Before his infor-
nation was an hour old a rush tele-
gram had gone to his father, asking
from what port and by what steamer
the Farleys would sail; asking also
that certain documents be sent to a
given New York address by first mail.
This done, he laid the eXigencies
frankly before the examiners in the
technical school, praying for such len
iency as might be extended under the
circumstances. Since all things are
possible for an honor man, beloved of
ph iS tn mr. ha
human weapon to it's edge, the difficult
ties in this field vanished. Mr. Gordon
could go on with his examinations until
his presence was needed elsewhere;
and after the stressful moment was
passed he could return and finish.
The return telegram from Gordonia
was a day late. Knowing diplomacy
only by name, Caleb Gordon had gone
directly to Dyckman for information
regarding the Farleys' movements
Dyckman was polite to the general
manager, but unhappily he knew moth
ing of Mr.. Farley's plans. Caleb tried
elsewhere, and the little mystery thick
ened. At his club, Mr.. Farley had
spoken of taking Cunarder from Bos-
ton; to a friend in the South TredegaI
Manufacturers Association he had con-
fided his intention of sailing from Phil
adelphia. But at the railway ticket Of
fee he had engaged Pullman reserva-
tions for six persons to New York
This last was conclusive, as far SIS
it went; and Japheth Pettigrass sup
piled the missing item. The Dabneys
and the Farleys made one party, and
Japheth knew the steamer and the
sailing date.
Party will sail by White Star Line
Baltic, New York, tomorrow. New
York address, Fifth Avenue Hotel. Pa
pers to your care 271 Broadway by
mail yesterday" was the message
which was signed for by the door
keeper at the mines and metallurgy
examination room in Boston, late in
the forenoon of the second day; and
Tom looked at the clock. Nothing
would be gained by taking a train
which would land him in New York
late in the evening; so he plunged
again into the examination pool and
thought no more of Chiawassee Con-
solidated until his paper on qualitative
analysis had been neatly folded, dock
eted and handed to the examiner.
Ito be continued.)