The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1914-10-06
The RIVET.CATCHEn
by cRl-TENDEN MARRIOTT.


Copyright,
Fred Faxon stood on the girder that
formed the street side Of the empty
quadrangle that in due time would be-
come the sixteenth floor of the Chin
neystack building.
Over his shoulder was balanced an
empty key. He leaned forward slight
ly, with his eyes fixed on a man who
was tanning the flames in a porta-
BILE furnace some distance to the right
on the floor below.
Suddenly the man dropped the han
die of the bellows, caught up q pair of
tongs, and snatched a heavy white
hot rivet from the heart of the fire.
He leaned back to gather strength:
then, with scarcely glance, tossed
the rivet upward.
Fred bent slightly, shifted his key
an inch or two to the left, and the
rivet fell squarely iuto the key, struck
against its sloping inner side, and fell
dead to bottom. The moment he felt
1t strike Fred turned and ran like q
squirrel, leaning slightly to balance
the thrust of the wind. along the six
inch girder to where two men were
rlvetlng floor beam into place.
One Of them, the bucker-up, picked
the rivet from the key and thrust 1t
upward, still sparkling hot, through
the holes which had been bored for it
months before and hundreds of miles
away. Then, with his dolly-bar, he
bore up against it, holding it firmly in
place while the pneumatic-gun man
mashed another head upon it with a
volley of staccato thuds.
Meanwhile, Fred had run back to
his post and stood ready to catch an
other rivet.
| The wind tore at him, but he heed
ed 1t no more than he did the roar Of
the traffic which rose to his ears from
the stony street, 200 feet below.
| He had been catching white-hot
bolts hurled at him from varying dis
tances for more than three years, and,
being young and artA had learned his
work 80 we'll that it had become me-
chanical. He caught the rivets and
ran along the dizzy spiderweb of grid
ers and floor beams az easily and in.
differently as a ball player catches q
ball and runs the bases.
On this particular day he had other
things to think about. His ambition
was to be "gun-man"-to WELD the
pneumatic hammer that mashed the
second heads on the rivets and bound
the floor beams and the Orders into q
solid whole.
Gun.men got better pay than rivet-
catchers. and Annie West had prom.
ised to marry him the minute he got
his promotion; so he wanted both
badly.
, In the ordinAry course of events,
however. he could not hope for such
a post for several years. and by that
time anything might happen. Annie
might even marry big Bill McSween
bully and tough though he was.
But his chance had come at last
The high wages paid for rebuilding
San Francisco after the great earth
quake and fire had drained the East OF
structural iron-workers and made
room for scores of younger men who
had learned the alphabet Of the diff
cult trade, and the growth of the
whole country had prevented the de-
mand from slackening.
That very morning, Casey, foreman
Of construction on the Chimneystach
building. had called together the hall
dozen rivetcatchers in his force and
had told them that Mr.. Fulton, trav
cling superintendent of the great Full
ton Construction company, would be
at the building the next day, ant
would select the most capable young
ster he could find to go West with hin
to help In the gun-work ON q new
building in Chicago.
"'Tis the great opening it is fol
one of you boys" declared Casey. THE
great opening entirely! Sure, Chicago
is where the company lives when 1T
at home, and it's q fine chance you'll
have to make good with the bosses.
Its mighty little there is to choose
between you. as far as work goes
and I'll make no recommendations ant
let Mr.. Fulton pick for himself. Thinl
1t over today, boys, and let me know
tonight whether it's go or stay herr
In New York you'd rather"
Ten minutes later, as Fred climbed
. the ladders to his post he felt q toucl
, upon his shoulder, and turned to fac,
I big Bill McSween.
! SAY" growled Bill. Say, Faxon
l. want that job. See! And l smashel
J the face Of anyone that gets it ava!
from me. See! I'm sorry you go
engagements that keeps you In New
York and gotter decline. Sect"
! Fred rose instantly to the situation
Physically he was no match for Bill
who was two years older, 20 pound
heavier. two inches taller. and was al
amateur pugilist besides. Clearly tn
case was one for diplomacy.