The Republican journal., 1914-03-26

CHAPTER VIII.
SAFE FIRM. SOLID INVESTMENTS
TERRIBLE DISASTER. MIRACULOUS
ESCAPE.
.How lovely to be young. beauti1ul
and single" remarked Mrs. Dyer rather
sadly. az the friends disappeared on the
hillside. >,
.You are all that, except single, Gear,
commented her husband, smiling grlmiy
at the rattle of her matrimonial cnalns.
'sThe heyday of youth soon passes
we drift gradually into responsiveness,
and speculate continually about what the
future portends. Life seems to me
Ejaculation as uncertain as that on the
Exchange. We continue to plan to i've,
achieve and enjoy. We never plan 70
die. We rarely think of dying. we
believe we will not die because we never
have died. ;+.h,o
were the victims of the Jamestown nooo,
of the earthquake at Messina, and OF tne
explosion beneath the Maine. we are e
here TODAY and gone tomorrow. Is II
worth while to worry?' observed tne
doctor, gravely, regarding the group
with sympathetic compassion.
mot for mine, answered Dyer. dow
inp smoke through his nose. l am en-
ployed by Yankee, an lrlshman ana
IeW-a safe combination. l do not specu,,
late on life, death, future state anu
Heaven. but on the character OF my Gus,
TONER and the size of his roll. l attend
strictly to business and let the firm DO
tha worrving.'' A burst of laughter
STONED further confessions.
"Cutnet is sly dog. Except IN auto
extravaganza, he has put his many thou,
sands into solid Investments, remarked
Dyer: .+s ,, oskod
Mary, interested Immediately;
ooh. real estate, bonds and stocks OF
great railroads, industrial manufactures
and established mines.
Sometimes" commented Wendell,
"a title may be defective, or properly
NAV burn and the insurance fail; bonds
NAV be illegal or irregular, or may de-
fault in their interest; railroads may
have strikes, poor earnings, or disasters
an industrial plan may waste assets ano
stop dividends, and there is no certainty
of continuous profitable production IN
any kind of mines.
"Nothing is absolutely solid or safe.
We can only consider investments rea'
sonably SO. Many diamonds have flaws,
but they sparkle just as brilliantly as
fawless ones"
"Certain! Remember how acres OF
fireproof brick and stone buildings crum,
bled in the flames of Boston, and a flood
swept away an entire city OF Pennsyl'
vania." added Over.
"You are quite right about Johns
town." said the doctor. "Father was
there before the calamity in consultation
with physician in good practice: Inc
doctor took him about the city behind
splendid pair of grey horses, gloatec
over the beautiful scenery and the city
industries, and incidentally mentioned
his own prosperity. 1 have made some
solid investments for old age he said
4 own that row of tenements beyond the
rolling-mil hold block Of stock in this
street car line; have considerable mil
stock, and possess my half acre and home
unincumbered. There on the hillside by
the Corinthian tomb is my cemetery lot,
where. high above the beautiful valley,
my family and l will rest away from the
rumble OF the mills and the roar OF the
railroad trains.
Father congratulated him, as he
drove carefully down the steep NIL to the
business section, and with thanks ano
good wishes, boarded a train for Phila
delphia. One month later, every vestlge
of the prudent physicians solid invest
ments was swept away; his wife was
saved miraculously, but he went with mis-
investments amid tons of lumber, brick,
stones, IRON ore, railroad rails and loco
motives far down the river, where the
cruel sand covered him. He sleeps in
the only solid investment spared him, his
burial lot overlooking the turbulent Cone
maugh.
"ts1her went out, as soon as he could
get transportation, and viewed the DESC
lation and helped the ruined survivors.
The city was sandy plain, with nothing
to indicate it's former habitation except
twisted gas pipe and scattered stones
projecting above the surface. The sur,
rounding hill houses sheltered the few
who had escaped. Solid investments, in
decd Even land is not safe from floods,
avaIanches, and-storms, lava and earth
quakes.
Chow terrible!" exclaimed Mary, with
tears in her eyes, as she looked anxiously
at Wendell, who shrugged his shoulders
and smiled. She felt sure her invest
ments were safe in his stronghold.
.'Terrible? The suffering and sorrow
of that disaster have not ceased yet, -
observed Mrs. Dyer. Mother told me
a baby floated in its cradle down the river
to Pittsburg and was rescued there un-
harmed and smiling; and hundreds of
floating inhabitants were saved by boats
along the banks"
Alice and Mary were packing boxes
and bags with the remains of their lunch
con and chattering concerning the doc
tors story The six suffering mortals
occasionally wiped their brows and bath
ed faces and hands in the cool brook. The
sultriness and heat OF the afternoon were
increasing.
'The we atber is worse than it is in the