Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1915-01-29
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sketehed, In Perfect Perspective, a +
nearby restaurant. During that week
Harper studied his craftsman closely,
and Mrs. Harper made two unobtru-
sive trips to the office for the same
purpose. On Sunday Conrad was taken
to the Harper home and formally in
stalled.
He's simply a revelation, SAM"
Mrs. Harper pronounced In surprise
after the first week. After you get
used to the dialect you begin to dis.
cover that he's well educated; he's
artistic to his finger-tips, a poet In
feeling, lover Of severely good
music; he sings divinely, and little
Elsie fairly loves him. She makes
him rock her to sleep every noon be-
fore he goes back to work"
Il was the good-fellowship of this
couple, together with their unwaver-
ing affection, which made Conrad turn
his admiration of them to the same
degree of worship that he had already
bestowed upon four-year-old Elsie. His
lines were cast in pleasant places in
deed, and he thrust his roots deeply
into the soil.
At first he had to overcome the
same contemptuous prejudice that had
bestowed upon him the title OF the
Dutchman." Mrs. Harper introduced
him to some nice girls, but secretly
they laughed at his broken English;
and Blanche Reynolds, by whom he
was at once speechlessly smitten,
openly flouted him; whereat Mrs. Har-
per wanted to shake her. With the
young men he was in somewhat less
constraint, though even here he was
still an alien until one evening when,
in passing the library, one of a group
of young men made some laughing re-
mark, loud enough to be overheard,
about the Dutchman." Conrad
wheeled Immediately and came back.
Not Dutchman-Germani" he de-
clared, marching directly up to the
one who had spoken. 1t was Price
Reynolds, her brother. 1T ISIS not dis
grace to be Dutchman, either. but 1t
Is disgrace the way you say it. | am
Dutchman no more! and you hear til"
The other laughed.
Keep your collar on, Dutchy." he
admonished with amused tolerance.
Il am not Dutchman, | have said"
insisted Conrad. Il challench you'll"
They repaired to Hyde's barn. Here
tofore fights In Holden had been swift.
unexpected, spontaneous affairs, and
they had been fought out with great
Yigor In an entirely impromptu man.
ner; but this was decided novelty,
at which even the sworn officers of the
peace Winked complacently. When the
battle was waged. an hour later,
Hyde's barn was full to overlooking
with enthusiastic spectators. Candor
compels the admission that Conrad
was worsted in the encounter, but that
was not the point. He had fought
gamely from beginning to end
That was his initiation. From that
day he was admitted to be q man
among men, without any regard what.
ever TO nationality or habit OF,
speech; and where the boys led, fol.
lowed the girls. Through Their he pa.
tiently plodded to Blanche Reynolds,
and having secured her frank favor
there was nothing more in this world
that he wanted. He was the aelxnowl-
edged sutton of the handsomest, the
most brilliant, the most wonderfully
endowed girl in all the world: he lived
in home atmosphere that to him was
divine; his work was not only con-
genial; 1t as his life. and his en-
ployers-precious thing to this vivid
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES him implicitly.
Both to save expense and TO con-
centrate energy. the office had been
moved down to the mill. where Con-
rad became not only designer and
craftsman. but timekeeper.
One evening Harper asked for his
time-book
Perched on a high stool, Harper
read him the items one by one; that
on such date one workman had put
in nine hours, another six, another
two. and so on through the spring and
the early summer.
That cannot be- objected Conrad
at one point. raising his head; Wright
hat not work nine hours by the 29th.
That day he hat been hurt"
That's so. admitted Harper. con-
fused. I'm looking at the wrong line.
1t was on the 28th he worked nine
hours"
ia, bit on the 2sth you hat read IT
seven hours"
That was mistake. too" said
Harper impatiently. make it nine"
Conrad looked troubled. The whole
time-list had an unfamiliar look to
him, and 1t bothered him that his usu-
ally Photographic memory should be
confused. It did not occur 70 him
for an instant TO suspect that Harper