The Wahpeton times., 1917-12-06
A Good-Hearted
Man
By ALAN HlNsDALE
Copyright. 1917. Western Newspaper Union }


business and we set up hardware
store. Not having any custom to start
on l went out beating up trade, leav.
ing Jim in the store to do the inside
work: l was a pretty good salesman,
If say it myself, but Jim made a
mess of his part of the business. He
did not keep at the financial part of
it ut all. He would trust any one, and
the consequence was that we were
soon loaded down with bad debts.
One evening after business hours
We figured up and found that we
couldn't go on. Jim had advanced
money to certain parties who had
played upon his feelings. He agreed
to go out of the concern, assuming
those debts and leave me to try to
wind up the concern. He took him.
self Off to a neighboring town and /
went to work trying to get in the bad
debts he had made.
There were so many of them, large
and small. that it would take me Il life.
time to run them all down. So hired
Il collector. paid him 81 hundred dol.
Iars month and ut the end of the
first month he turned in So. This
was not paying. SO l dismissed him
and hired another collector. He made
Il worse failure than the other man.
hired five men in succession, then
switched off and a woman having ap.
piled for the position engaged her.
Since Miss Julia Sparks had Il win.
some way with her l believed she
would succeed where others had
failed. And she did. The first month
She worked for me she got in 5000. the
second month $1,000 and the third ST..
200. She continued her work till she
had got in every outstanding debt
Jim's assuming the loans hc had
made didn't help mo ut all. He could
neither collect them nor pay them
himself. was sued as his partner ON
enc of them and The case went against
me. So wns liable for them all.
II WONDER" said Miss SPARKS one
day, eff ! couldn't collect those delil:
i''i S'ul pItiIitl, ~ itS tk) tlIt(bit lllIl
to pay them t" YOU"
''lf you can and WILL" l replied. Il
will grant you any favor you ask"
'W"ll, III try She said. Can you
give me Il list of thcm?"
l gave her the list and she started
out TO see what she could do. She
found it very hard work. The debtors
were mostly "dead-beats," who had
imposed on Jim's good nature, and
some of them had no money to pay
with. Those who had the money We're
skintints. who never paid until they
Wrr" compelled to ut the end of Il law
suit.
Miss Sparks started out on her work.
Tho firsr day she succeeded in getting
three dollars that Jim had loaned a
Young sport who got rid of il the same
day at pool. think he must have
gone sweet on the collector, or he
never would have paid the loan in the
world. Miss Sparks averred that he
had won solne money at poker the
night jcrn"" and she caught him in
tlr nick of time. Three days later s!,n
got in two amounts t0taIing eight dol
lars. The amounts she collected were
sometimes paid to her. hut these were
small ones. All the large ones were
paid to Jim.
At the end of three months hard
work Miss Sparks told me that she
had got in 80 per cent CT the amount,
% per cent having been paid directly
to .lii;i. The remaining 81 per cent
was UncGl]rctnble. either because the
debtors We're without any means
VIII: :lcvrr or could not he found. The
amount Miss Sparks had collected
into me- She asked me, should Jim
turn in til" amounts paid to him would
|. upon his promise to turn deaf ear
to applicants for loans and sell only
rood buyers. take him back into the
firm. After refusing for soEic time [
at last gave in. l was puzzled to u!-
drrStand why she was interested in
JiIn'S reinstatement.
She came into the store the nrNt af
tcrnnnn with 81 pair of rcd eyes, show
ing that she had been weeping. "'.i"n
| asked. her What was the trouble
size toli ne that she had gon" to .Ti:n
for the amounts nn:d him and found
that he had loaned or given away
every cent that had been paid him.
Her interest in Jim and her cnilmec-
ton with this matter remained To be
cleared up. She and Jim were old ar-
Guaintances. He h:,,! loaned her
money. so that she was one of the
debtors. She had fallen in love With
him. and knowing of his difficulties
resolved to &c: him out of ilc,I. She
had collected ali the slew debts he had
made for the firm. and then had TO got
to work on the amounts h" had loaned.
She was much crc>1fallrn ut the re-
suit.
"If you hadn't got stuck on jim"
said, II would ask You to marry me.
You've not married Jim, have you?"
'Ycs. have" WAS the reply.
"Wcll, you and Jim come in here. Jim
can he salesman under you. YOU to de-
eide whom to trust. I'll he outside
man. How does that suit you?"
She threw her arms about my neck
and cried some more. Tn" firm was
.oo.-,.;..,1 .nl ant a. <,r1ot