Rocky Ford enterprise., 1915-08-13
CHAPTER XIV.
In the Mold.

Then began what promised to be-
come a rake's progress. Mark sought
out new companions and got himself
invited to Join their revels. He tried
hard, at first recklessly, then deter
minedly and then wistfully to enter
into the spirit of dissipation. The at
tempt was fiat failure. The thor
oughgoing habit of mind that looked
unerringly for the last result saw
through at once to the dregs in the
cup. His companions privately laughed
at the spectacle of this hard serious
man awkwardly essaying the role Of
devil of fellow: but for the humor
he thus unwittingly provided they
would soon have got rid of him as a
death's-head at their feasts. He sue
ceeded on;y in still further impairing
his health. in acquiring a bad taste
in the mouth and relaxing all along
the line his habit Of rigid abstemious-
ness
After a few months he returned to
the old routine.
II hear" Henley interrupted a con-
sultation one day to remark, you've
been sowing wild oats. Got 'em all
harvested?"
Mark nodded, grinning sheepishly.
Crops in the barn-and for sale
cheap. / agree with the prophet that
all is vanity"
What made you do it,"
Il don't know. To see what it's
like, / guess. But ! didn't have the
knack Of it."
Trouble at home" thought Henley
shrewdly.
Aloud he said: Il imagine not. You'd
better stick to business, where you
at in."
Il sometimes think that's all vanity.
too
AT least we have something to be
vain over. And on the whole there's
more romance in making steel than In
helping to support the Tenderloin."
Mark made a gesture of disgust.
After frowuing pause. he answered.:
"l don't know. The trouble is, I've
lost the romantic point of view. To
me the business is nothing but a
money-making machine now-and
something to do. wonder why we
work SO hard to get money we don't
need. We get no good out OF it. Tim
othy Woodhouse gets more pleasure
out Of his flying machines that won't
n.y."
Just wait" said Henley dryly. "un-
til somebody tries to take 1t away from
you. Nearly every man OF unusual vi
tality goes sooner or later through
the stage of questioning the existing
scheme of things. Things are, is all
the answer he gets. The sooner he
quits asking questions. the better for
his peace of mind.
They returned to the matter in hand,
which was the fleeing of Timothy
Woodhouse.
No one would have been more sur
prised than Timothy to learn that he
had any fleece worthy of the atten-
zion of such shearers as Henley and
Truitt. But years before a Lochinvar
had come out OF the West with stock
to sell in the Iroquois Iron Ore Min
ing. Development & Transportation
company. He had gifted tongue. He
departed for his own place, a richer
and doubtless a wiser man, having
received a profitable lesson in the
credulity of his fellows. Later inspec-
ton revealed that the long-named
companys properties consisted of an
immense field OF admittedly good ore.
but its development work only OF the
extraction of the sample 80 proudly
exhibited by the promoter and It's
transportation facilities Of franchise
to build a railroad through 800 miles
of wilderness. In those days the build
Ing of railroads was not lightly under
taken. The investment seemed to fall
short of Lochinvar's prospectus.
Naturally" Timothy once said rue
fully, Since invested
But a time had come when makers
of steel began to operate on larger
scale and TO look far ahead into the
future. The MacGregor company con-
ceiyed the project of buying that ore
seld and building that railroad. It