The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 1914-12-20
81! q n

Another fellow named Carter had
been employed by McAndrews to
watch the quality OF materials and
the progress of the work. Carter was
typical inspector. He looked upon
every person with an injured air ais
though the entire human race were In
a gigantic conspiracy to cheat him
out of something. This characters
tic was so pronounced that those who
were constrained through circumstan-
ces to be friendly with him felt, when
treating him to refreshments, that in
some manner they were doing him an
injustice. Nothing was ever satisfac-
tory to Carter. Habit made him con-
denim and denounce everything that
came on the job. my Gawd!n he
would exclain, you're not going to
put that rotten stun here?ni He voiced
this formula so persistently and
habitually that finally the supply men
would first substitute sample lots OF
inferior material and then the better
grade, in order to anticipate him But
the formula came just the same. What
did Carter care? He drew a salary
from McAndrews, one from Horton
and had also negotiated stipendary
emoluments from Putnam and half
dozen sure thing supply men. His
cue was to be perpetual bluff and
as such he was bowling success.
Meanwhile work was progressing
on the lob" Twenty teams and 100
laborers had quickly dug out vast
hole In the ground on the McAndrews
lot. The first car loads OF structural.
steel, separately contracted for by Nc
Andrews, as is the custom with large
buildings OF the kind, arrived and
were unfoaded in the street. A host
of special representatives of manu-
featuring concerns still besieged the
job, Colonel Horizons Offices, the
builders exchange and the Planters
bar. Harry knew they were negotia-
ting crooked deals and he and Joe
exerted their best efforts to get some
evidence to this effect.
One afternoon the rumor spread
that Watkins, of the Noko Hollow
Tile Company, had landed with the
colonel. Watkins and the colonel
were together frequently that day and
in the evening Harry trailed them
constantly. They were together that
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another "gentlemen's agreement" was
to be made but he conjectured that 1t
would not be completed until Watkins
had communicated with his home Of
fee. Fully conscious that robbery
was being perpetrated under his nose
and ranking because he was power
less to stop 1t, Harry turned over in
his mind dozen impossible schemes
to outwit the grafters.
While thus occupied in a comfort
able Davenport in the lobby, he saw
Watkins step into q long distance
telephone booth, stay for a few min
utes and then walk out A call,
thought Harry, now in a fever Of anx-
iety. Another sudden inspiration
siezed him. Might he not hear the
Watkins side of the conversation
through cracks Of the hard-closing
double doors Of the booths?
There was a row OF four telephone
booths In small room to the right
of the clerks counter and in the rear
of this room was the private switch
board of the hotel, attended by girl
Watkins was called to his booth by q
liveried page and as he took down the
receiver a man in an adjoining booth
walked out, Harry walked in. The
preceding user Of the booth, who had
been having trouble with his service,
had not hung up the receiver; 1t lay
on little shelf Just below the trans
mitter. Seeing that the door Of Wat