The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1914-05-14

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here than they do in New York City,
and I am convinced that there are more
scrub-women. Today we had thirty new
ones scrubbing the loggia on the gun.
room floor, and they all seem to have
apprentices working under them. The
carpenters and plasterers were not 30
numerous today. I paid them off last
night, you see. 1t may interest you to
hear that their wages for three days
amounted to nearly seven hundred dol.
lars in our money, to say nothing Of
materials-and breakage."
"Breakagei" I exclaimed in sur.
prise.
"Yes, sir, breakage. They break
nearly as much as they mend. We IL
we II 60 bankrupt, sir, If we're not
careful"
I liked his pronoun. "Never mind"
I said, eve II soon be rid Of them."
"They've got it in their heads, sir,
that it will take at least a year to
finish the"
"You tell the foremen that If this
job ISM finished to our satisfaction by
the end of the month, III fire al Of
them," said I, wrathfully.
"That's less than three weeks off,
Mr.. Smart. They don't seem to be
making much headway."
"Well, you tell 'em, just the same. !"
And that is how I dismissed it. "Tell
'em we've got to 60 to work our
selves"
"By the way, old man Schmick and
his family haven't been paid for near.
ly two years. They have put in claim.
The late owner assured them they'd get
their money from the next"
discharge them at once" said I.
"we can't get ON without them,"
protested he. "They know the ropes,
so to speak, and, what's more to the
point, they know all the keys. Yes
terday I was nearly two hours in get.
ting to the kitchen for conference
with Mrs. Schmick about the market.
men. In the first place, couldnt I find
the way, and in the second place all the
doors are locked"
"Please send Herr Schmick to me
in them the" couldn't recall the
name of the administration chamber at
the head of the grand staircase, 50 I
was compelled to say: "I1l see him
here"
"If we lose them We also arc lost, "
was his sententious declaration. I be-
llieved him
On the fifth day Of our occupancy,
Britton reported to me that he had de-
vised a plan by which we could utilize
the tremendous horsepower represent
ed by the muscles Of those lazy giants,
Rudolph and Max. he suggested that
we rig up huge windlass at the top
of the incline, with stout steel cables
attached to small car which could be
hauled up the cliff by hitherto wasted
human energy, and as readily lowered.
It sounded feasible and instructed
him to have the extraordinary railway
built, but to be sure that the safety de.
vice clutches in the cog wheels were
sound and trusty. It would prove to
be an infinitely more graceful mode Of
ascending the peak than riding up on
the donkeys / had been persuaded to
buy, especially for Poopendyke and me,
whose legs we're so long that when we
sat in the saddles our knees touched
our chins or were spread out so far
that we resembled the Prussian coat.of.
arms.
That evening, after tho workmen had
filed down the steep, looking for all
the world like an evacuating army, I
sought few minutes Of peace and quiet
in tho small balcony outside my bed.
room windows. My room was in the
western wing Of the castle, facing the
river. The eastern wing mounted even
higher than the one in which We were
living, and was topped BY the loftiest
watch tower Of them all. We had not
attempted to do any work in that sec.
tion as yet, for the simple reason that
Herr Schmick couldn't find the keys
to the doors.
The sun was disappearing beyond tho
highlands and cool, soft breeze swept
up through the valley. I leaned back