Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1916-07-07
CHAPTER XXI G
An Evening Call
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naQ sought so anXlOuSly to verify, the
Metropolitan awakening to realization
that once more the tide had turned to
bring new pillows of prosperity tun1-
bling into the valley of the Niquoia
came with sudden and triumphant
shock.
The first Of the quickening waves
fell upon the government reservation.
Between sunrise and nightfall, on q
day when the cloud of depression had
grown black with panic threatenings,
the apathy which had lately character
lied the work on the great dam disap-
peared as II by magic. The city found
its billboards posted with loud calls
for labor; the idle mixers were put in
commission; the quarries and crush
ers began to thunder again; and the
stagings once more shook and trembled
under the feet of busy army of pud-
oilers.
While the revival was as yet only in
the embryonic period, fresh labor be-
gan to come in gangs and in carloads
and presently by special trains. Swarm.
ing colonies OF Greeks, Italians and
Bulgarians were dumped upon the city
through the gate of the railroad sta
ton, and once more Chigringo avenue
at night became cheerful midway
answering to the speech Of all ma
tons.
Change, revivification, termination
instantly became the new order Of
the day; and again Mirapolis flung it.
self joyously into the fray, reaping
where it had not sown and sowing
only where the quickest crop could be
gathered. For now the dullest of the
reapers saw that the government work
was really the Metropolitan breath of
life. Neither the Quickening of the
city's industries nor the restarting of
the gold dredges in the Quadjenai
canals, the reopening of the Real Els.
tate exchange nor the Buckskin com.
pany's sudden resumption of the profit
less prospecting on Jacks mountain
served to obscure the principal facts
that without the money the reclama-
ton service was disbursing the new
prosperity structure would collapse
like house Of cards.
This new and aforementioned con.
viction wrought an eager change in
men and in methods. Credit vanished
and spot cash Was tacitly acknowl.
edged to be the only way to do bust.
ness in a live community. Fortunes
changed hands swiftly, as before, but
now there was little bargaining and,
with hot haste for the foreword, little
time for 1t. To the western motto of
60 to It and get tho money" was
added: "And don't come back with
out it." 1t was said with . laugh, but
behind the laugh there was menace.
Among the individual transforms
lions wrought by the new conditions.
the young chief of the reclamation
service afforded the most striking ex-
ample. From the morning when he had
summary cancelled the lease for the
Offices in the Niquoia building and had
returned his headquarters to the old
log buildings on the government reser-
walton and thence haa issued his first
series Of orders fes- tie resumption Of
full-force work on the dam and canals.
those who had not known him best dis
covered that they had not known him
at all. Even to Grislow and the men
of his staff he was curt, crisply manda-
tory, almost brutal. For one and all
there was rarely anything beyond the
shotlike sentence: Drive 1t, men:
drive it; that's what you're here for
drive IT."
The time he took to eat his hurried
meals at Bongras' could be measured
in minutes, and what hours he gave
to sleep no man knew, since he was
the last to leave the headquarters at
night and the first on tho work in the
morning. Twice, after the renewed
activities on the great wall had be-
come a well-ordered race against time,
and the concrete was pouring into the
high forms in steady streams from the
ranked batteries Of mixers, Mr.. Cort-
wright had sent for Brouillard, and on
each occasion the messenger had gone
back with the brief word: TOO busy
during working hours" And whom .
third messenger came to inquire what
MI. Brouillard's working hours were,
the equally blunt answer returned was:
"All the time"
In the face of such discouragements
Mr.. Cortwright was constrained to
pocket his dignity 40 mayor. Is the
potentate of the exchanges, and AZ
the unquestionable master Of the surly
young industry captain who refused
to come when he was called, and to 30
in person. Choosing the evening hour
when he had been assured that he was
likely to find Brouillard alone and ct