Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1916-06-01

Hello! rs that Boyer-Niquoia Na-
tional? This is Brouillard.
Can you give me my present figure!
Not more than that?
Oh, yes; you say the Hillman check is
| in; l had overlooked It. ALI right,
| thank you"
When the waiter had removed the
| desk set, the engineer leaned toward
his table companion:
| Mr.. Massfngale, I'm going to ask
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-fool razzIe
| that any Twin live man out of q luna
tic 'sylum ever went into" confessed
the prisoner of fate. 81 was to stock
the Susan for half a million-eh, 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-lif- ng 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.
81 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
accordfn' to law, they said, we'd put
| the whole bunch o. stoek-mine and
thefr'n-into escrow in the hands of
Judge Williams. When the notes was
paid, the judged hand the stock back
| to u.s."
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' ten-dollar-a-
bottle sody-pop stuff we was soppin'
up must "a foolished me plumb silly"
so 1t amounts to this: You have
given them 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 WELL"
That's about the way 1t stacks up
to a sober man. Looks like I needed
janitor to look after my upper story,
don't it? And reckon mebby do"
Zone thing MORE" pressed the re-
lentless querist. Did you really handle
the red-thousand-dollar develop
ment fund yourself, Mr.. Massingale?"
well, no: not exactly. Ten thou
sand dollars Of what they called a
contingent fund was put in my name;
but the treasurer handled most of it
nachurly, 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
specially was the making Of estimates.
Hence he was able to say, after min.
ute or two of figuring:
Its bad business any way you at
tack it. What you have really got for
| yourself out Of the deal is the ten thou
sand-dollar deposit to your personal &C
count, and nothing more; and they'll
probably try to make you debtor for
that. Taking that amount and fair
estimate Of the company's expendi.
lures to date-say thirty-hve thousand
in round numbers, which is fairly
chargeable to the company's assets as
a WhOle-they still owe you about fifty
five thousand Of the original hundred
thousand they were to put In. II
there were time-but you say this Is
the last day."
"The last half O. the last day" Mas
singale amended.
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
I'll write it out for you-and get the
stock released. After that, wen give
them 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 a picture of dis
mayed incertitude.
Il reckon you're forgettin' that
haint got money enough to lift one
| edge O. them notes." he said gently
Brouillard had found piece of blank
| paper in his pocket and was rapidly
writing the "iron-clad" receipt
mo, hadn't forgotten. I have some
thing over hundred thousand dollars
lying idle in the bank. You'll take 1t
and pay the notes.'
1t was a bolt out Of a clear sky for
the old man tottering on the brink of
his fourth pit Of disaster, and he
evinced his emotion-and the tense
strain Of keyed-up nerves-by drop
! ping his lifted coffee cup with a crash
into his plate. The little accident was
helpful IN its Way-it made a diver.
sion-and by the time the wreck was
repaired speech was possible
Are you-are you plumb sure you
can spare it?" asked the debtor husk-
lily. And then: Il cayn't seem to sort
O. surround tall In a bunch, that
way. l knowed ]. Wesley had me-
down; the 'Susan's' the only piece o.
real money in this whole blamed free
for-all, and he knows it,
After they had made their way
through the excited sidewalk ex-
changes to the bank, and Brouillard
hld bon Ill 1l