The Washington herald., 1916-07-16

to the mills to see Mr.. Peltz, the new
president. For dads sake he'll give me
work there"
"As common mill hand?" cried Mrs.
Clark in disgust.
NO" contradicted Tom. NO man is
common mill hand, unless he chooses
to BE- Every man can be an uncommon
mill hand, and in that way he can rise
to a better job. That is what l mean
to do. Mr.. PETE will start me on a
living wage. I'm sure. In these busy
times the lowest wages paid over there
is two dollars a day. With twelve dol
lars a week as a start III soon forge
ahead. Watch me do it."
And in spite OF all the protest OF his
mother and sister he held to his resolve
Early next morning he sought an inter-
view with Peltz, the new president The
latter-more because there was a short
age of men than from any sentiment
about John Clark's memory-turned Tom
over to Joe Carr, a department foreman
with orders to put him to work.
Carr a powerful and grizzled veteran
Of the machines, received the presidents S
orders in respectful silence. merely nod
ding to the applicant to follow him to
his own department. But the moment
outside Peltz' office, the old foreman's s
manner underwent a lightning change
Wheeling, he grasped Toms hands in
both Of his, exclaiming:
"Boy,'I worked alongside your father
and then under his orders, for thirty
years. He was the whitest, kindest
squarest man the Lord ever made. There
isn't a man in the mills that didn't love
him and trust him. There isn't a man
here who won't welcome John Clark's
son and give him a square deal"
Tom was genuinely touched by the
rough sincerity of the old mans welcome.
And he was equally pleased at the warm
seconding that welcome received from
the other workers. At once they made
their former boss son feel at home
among them. and they eagerly showed
him the details of his new work.
At first, they welcomed Tom because
he was John Clarks son. But presently
they found themselves more and more
fond OF him for his own sake. The lad
Inherited all his fathers popularity and
ma agnetic power over men. He also in
herited his fathers warm heart and
friendliness, as well as his swift capa-
bility for mastering any form OF mechan-
ical work.
odds the most popular man in the mills.
and he was by far the cleverest and
quickest workman on his floor. He ad-
Yanced rapidly, and he we'll earned every
advance Old Joe Carr grew to regard
him almost as a son.
Before that first year was out, too,
Joe Carr had still other reasons for
being fond Of his young protege. One
noon Cars daughter. Edna, brought her
fathers lunch to the mills, as he had
forgotten to take it with him in the
morning.
As she approached Carr's desk. Tom
Clark CHANGED to be standing there. re-
ceiving some routine instructions. Carr
introduced the two young people to each
other.
Tom, as he turned to acknowledge the
introduction, found himself looking down
into quite the most beautiful pair of eyes
he had ever beheld. vaguely. too, he
noted that the eyes were set in a dain-
tily fowerlike face, and that the face
was upraised toward his own with an
adorable expression OF interest.
Something seemed to tug thrillingly at
Tom Clark's hitherto immune heart.
Completely to his own surprise. he found
he had fallen victim to that mystically
poetic malady known as love at first
sight"
Edna Carr, too, felt an unaccountable
stirring at her heartstrings at this first
meeting with the man Of whom she had
heard so much from father. Already,
from hearing Of Toms story, she had in
vested young Clark with all the at
tributes of a hero OF romance. Now, his
good looks, his magnetic personality and
his oddly brilliant smile, combined with
his very evident admiration Of herself to
finish the capture of her girlish heart.
Joe Carr, we'll pleased, looked on at
this brief meeting. Nor was he less
pleased when Tom asked leave to call
on Edna, nor when, during the next
few months, the youth was an almost
nightly visitor in the tidy little living
room Of the Carr cottage.
Love had dawned, and courtship
was quick to follow-an ardently ador-
ing swain's wooing of a girl who met
his loyerly advances halfway.
1t was very sweet, very innocent,
very blissful, this love affair. Both
Tom and Edna were terribly in earn
est. With each it was a first love, as
well as love at first sight.
Tom did not actually propose, be-
cause he was not yet earning enough
money to add the expense of a wifes
support to that of a sister and a moth
er. But he worked all the harder at
the mills, IN order to rise to a position
with salary that would permit him
to marry, in addition to his present
heavy expenses.
In the meantime he spent his every
spare moment at Ednas home. And
he caught all-too-brief glimpses of
her at noontimes, too. For, since
meeting Tom, she had taken to carry
ing her fathers lunch to the mills
nearly every day.
I'm going to own these mills, some
day." he once told her. 'I feel 1t in
my bones. I'm following in dads foot
steps, and I'm advancing every bit
as rapidly as he did. Your father
says so. I'm going the whole dis
tanee, before I'm done. But long be-
fore I reach the goal itself, I'll have
the right to say something to you that
I'd rather say than anything else in
the world. It's so hard not to say 1t!
But, at the rate they're advancing me,
I'll soon have the right to-"
Edna understood. And she was well
content to wait-for years, il need be
for the day when he would be able to tell
her of his love. But neither of them
realized in what strange manner that
avowal was to be made.
Kelly, the easy-going old superintendent
OF the mills, retired on pension. In his
place the directors appointed a man who
had won an enviable record for efficiency
in another city's mills. His name was
Agnew Graham. In age he was about
thirty-five. He had a reputation for slave
driving and for wringing from the mills
list of results that were highly graft