The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-11-20
THE EVENING STORY
Luck in Leisure.
(By Martha McCulloch-W illial

Luck in Leisure.
(By Martha McCulloch-W illiams.)
MY last word is-take it or leave
it," Monteith snapped, rising as he
spoke.
Young Ellison felt himself dismissed
without hope and without redress. He
had asked for so little-only a chance.
He had faith in his dream, faith that
ought to move mountains-or men, 1t
had not moved Monteith by hair
breadth. Five thousand dollars for
the tract-power site included had
been his ultimatum.
The site was all he wanted-to har-
ness the bold, beautiful waters young
Ellison loved, and set them grinding
out electricity, which in turn would
grind out many other things far and
near. There would be a fortuLe in the
doing of it, but it needed a lesser for
tune to set the waters at work. Ellison
wanted them set at work, but in other
fashion. 1mpounded at the upper levels,
and led in trickles along the benches
and down through the thirsty lower val
ley, they would mean homes and hap
piness and sustenance for many souls.
They stood in wait-eager, anxious.
They We're fellow woIfxmen, his mates
in the shops where he had wrought
when the lawyer found him out and
told him of his landed inheritance. That
was three years back. Ever since he
had been planning, preaching. praying;
preaching to the men through letters,
planning ways and means, praying
whatever gods there be to give him a
chance. A
He had thought the prayer in the
way of answer when Monteith upon
his tour of inspection had been halted
near the power site by wreck further
on. At first the capitalist had seemed
almost gracious. He had listened in
tently, looked rather keenly at Ellison's
70
branched into anathemas against the
human carelessness that made railway
wrecks possible. After that he had
walked about the site, measuring it
with his eye, noting the water flow and
the massive strength of natural abut-
ments on both sides.
Talk it over in the morning-after
I've slept on it, he said at last
Ellison had not slept at all. Instead,
he had lain wide-eyed. seeing visions.
capital he was helpless. The thirsty
valley gave him barely a lone living.
Such bits as he could water single
handed rfoted into harvest. He was
helf-tempted to appeal to men every
where to come up to his help. If they
were but willing to work and starve
for year they could make a beginning
when they had shown what land and
water could do, maybe money would
be drawn to them.
Then, bitterly, he laughed at himself
How were real men to hunger and labor
themselves, knowing wives and children
were starving? Over and over he re-
peated: 1.-THE poor is destroyed by his
poverty" He had asked of this rich
man a risk inappreciabIe compared to
those he took almost daily-and had
been refused Worse still-in the offer
of purchase there was a menace. If he !
refused it, he knew life could be made |
hard and dangerous for him. He had to |
depend on the railway for all that went
out or come init was easily in its
power to ruin him whatever he might |
undertake.
The track ran half a mile away-he |
had gone there to approach Monteith |
and had 1ured him thence to inspect the |
site. Aimlessly after his dismissal he |
wandered toward it, not along the foot |
way, but over shaly spur of stone |
scantily beset with brushwood. Mid
way it, he was amazed to come upon a |
girl in dusty khaki, with a flapping sun
hat cooked over one ear. She sat flat
ON the ground, with a hammer tightly
clenched in her right hand. Hardly
at him, she said clearly: "Ohi
You are just in time! Pick this sparkler
out of the rocks for me. 1 simply won't
go away without it."
Ellison knelt obediently holding out
his hand for the hammer. He saw
that the fingers holding it were
scratched and sunburned.
You think rubbish of all the
things I'm taking home,' she went
on. You railroaders don't in the
least know the delight of personal
jewelry. That" pointing big
garnet still firm in its matrix, will
make all the other girls wild. Take
care not to chip it-break off a chunk
of the rock. If that freight shark, J.
Monteith, wants to charge me for my
fndings-why, he may write his own
letters all the rest of time"
His stenographer ?" Ellison asked,
looking straight at her.
She also looked at him as though
but nodded. His conf
den-tia1-est secretary" she said,
almost roguishly. But
be careful, man-you- almost
my jewel. But-actually-
you've broken it substantially.
Give it here-Quicki L sha'n't rest
easy till I have it with the rest
They both stood up. As she took
The Clipped stone from him she slid
something into his handsome
thing round and heavy, and cool
which vet burned. He knew she had
mistaken him for a tradesman-un-
knowing any other presence. He
ought not to be angry; there was L