Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1916-05-31

at the bank, and be gave me the ulti-
maytum good and cold"
One Of Bongras' rear-room Injuries
was a portable telephone for every
group of tables. Brouillard made a
sign TO the waiter, and the desk set
was brought to him. = David Mas
singale recognized the number asked
for he paid no attention; and. since a
man may spend his life digging holes
in the ground and still retain the in
stincts of a gentleman-if he happens
to have been born with them-he was
equally oblivious to the disjointed half
of the telephone conversation he might
have listened to.
Hello! Is that Boyer-Niquoia Ma
tional? This is Brouillard.
Can you give me my present figure?
Not more than that?
Oh, yes; you say the Hillman check is
in; | had overlooked it, All right.
thank YOU
When the waiter had removed the
desk set, the engineer leaned toward
his table companion:
A'Aes7-Ao6eAACs III SO4U6 W dSh
you to tell me frankly what kind of a
deal it was you made with Cartwright
and the bank people,"
1T was the biggest tom-fcol razzle
that any livin' live man out of luna
tic 'sylum ever went into" confessed
the prisoner of fate. Il was to stock
the Susan for half million-oh, she's
worth it, every dollar of it; you might
say the ores in sight for it right now
this in Difference to Brouillard's
brow-lifting of surprise. They was to
put in hundred thousand cash. and |
was to put in the mine and the ore on
the dump, just as she stood"
The engineer nodded and Massingale
went on.
Il was TO have two-thirds of the
stock and they was to have one-third.
The hundred thousand for develop
ment we'd get at the bank, on my
notes, because | was president and the
biggest stakeholder. with John Yves.
as indorser. Then, to protect the bank
aceordin' to law, they said, we'd put
the whole bunch o. stock-mine and
their'n-into escrow in the hands of
Judge Williams. When the notes was
paid. the judged hand the stock back
to us"
Just moment" interrupted Brouil-
lard. Did you sign those notes per
sonally, or as president of the new
company"
That's where they laid for me-"
said the old man shamefacedly. Right
there is where John Wes' tcn-dollar-a-
bottle sody-pop stuff we was soppin'
up must a. foolished me plumb silly"
80 it amounts to this; You have
given them a clean third of the Susan
for the mere privilege of borrowing
one hundred thousand dollars on your
own paper. And if you don't pay, you
lose the remaining two-thirds as we'll"
That's about the way it stacks up
to a sober man. Looks like needed a
janitor to look after my upper story.
don't it? And | reckon mebby / do"
"one thing more" pressed the re-
lentless querist. did you really handle
the hundred-thousand-d develop
ment fund yourself. Mr.. Massingale?"
Well, no; not exactly. Ten thou
sand dollars of what they called
contingent fund was put In my name;
but the treasurer handled most of it
nachurIy, we bein' stock company"
Brouillard took out his pencil and
began to make figures on the back of
the menu card. He knew the equip
ment OF the Little Susan" and his
speciality was the making Of estimates.
Hence he was able to say, after min
ute or two Of figuring:
It's bad business any way you at
tack it. What you have really got for
yourself out of the deal is the ten thou
ssud-dollar deposit to your personal ac-
count, and nothing more; and they'll
probably try to make you debtor for
that. Taking that amount and a fair
estimate of the company's expendi-
lures to date-say thirty-five thousand
in round numbers, which is fairly
ehargeable to the company's assets as
a whole-they still owe you about fifty
five thousand of the original hundred
thousand they we're to put in. II
there were time-but you say this is
the last day."
"The last hale o the last day." Mas
singale amend Ell.
That being the case. there is no
help for it; you'll have to take your
medicine and pay the notes. DO that,
take an iron-clad receipt from the bank
IN write 1t out for you-and get the
stock released. After that, Wen give
hem a whirl for the thirty-three and
a third per cent they have practically
stolen from you"
The old mans face. remindful now
of his daughters, was picture of dis
mayed incertitude.
u reckon you're forgettin' that I
hain't got money enough to lift one
edge O. them notes" he said gently.
BrouillarG had found piece of blank
paper in his pocket and was rapidly
writing the "iron-clad" receipt.
No, / hadn't forgotten. have some
thing over hundred thousand dollars
lying idle in the bank. You'll take it
and pay the notes"
II was q bolt out OF a clear sky for
the old man tottering on the brink OF
his fourth pit of disaster. and he
evinced his emotions and the tense
strain OF keyed-up nerves-by drop
ping his lifted coffee cup with crash