The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1914-10-08
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
THE CATCHER
By cRIrTENDEN MARRIOTT.



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
~. with his eyes fixed on q man who
was tanning the flames In a porta-
bic furnace some distance to the right
on the floor below.
Suddenly the man dropped the han
die Of the bellows, caught up pair Of
tongs, and snatched a heavy white
bot rivet from the heart of the fire.
He leaned back to gather strength;
then, with scarcely a glance, tossed
the rtvet upward.
Fred bent slightly, shifted his keg
an Inch or two to the left, and the
rivet fell sQuarely into the keg. 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
riveting floor beam into place
One OF them, the bucker-up, picked
the rivet from the keg and thrust it
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 1t firmly in
place while the pneumatic-gun man
mashed another head upon 1t 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 apt had learned his
work 70 we'll that It had become me.
chanical. He caught the rivets and
ran along the dizzy spiderweb Of GRID.
ers and floor beams as easily and in.
differently 40 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 girders 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: 80 he wanted bott
badly.
In the ordinary course of events
however. he could not hope for such
q post for several years, and by thai
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 O
structural iron-workers and mad,
room for scores OF younger men Wit
had learned the alphabet of the din
cult trade. and the growth Of tn,
whole country had prevented the de
mand from slackening.
That very morning, Casey, forema,
Of construction on the Chimneystacl
building, had called together the hal
dozen rivet catchers In his force an,
had told them that Mr.. Fulton. trav
cling superintendent of the great Full
ton Construction company, would b.
at the building the next day. an,
would select the most capable young
ster he could find to 90 West with hin
to help in the gun-work on a new
building in Chicago
IT'S the great opening It Is TO
one Of you boys" declared Casey. 9TH
great opening entirely! Sure, Chicag
Is where the company lives when it
at home, and it's fine chance you'll
have to make good with the bosses.
IT'S mighty little there is to choos
between you, as far as work gost
and I'll make no recommendations an
let Mr.. Fulton pick for himself. Thin
1t over today. boys, and let me kno,
tonight whether it's go or stay her
In New York you'd rather"
Ten minutes later, as Fred climbe
the ladders to his post, he felt touc
upon his shoulder, and turned to fac
big Bill McSween.
Say" growled Bill. Say, Faxo,
want that job. See! And l smashe
the face Of anyone that gets 1t ava
from me. See! I'm sorry you &c
engagements that keeps you in Ne
York and gotter decline. See!"
Fred rose instantly to the siruatio,
Physically he was no match for BIZ
who was two years older. 20 pound
! heavier. two inches taller, and was q
amateur pugilist besides. Clearly Il
case was one for diplomacy.
81 How In the world did you kno,
2 BiIl?" he demanded smilinsly.
8 Bill grunted.
a