Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-11-23

LOOK AT THAT HE CRIED, HOLDING A
NEWSPAPER TOWARD ELY.
out food or shelter. He was unkempt
and unshaven, and his clothes ached to
be taken off. But his bloodshot eyes
were staringly awake, and his voice
was an angry bark.
Look at that!'' he cried, holding a
newspaper toward Ely, who made no
motion to take it, but merely identified
it with a glance. "Have you seen it?"
st have" responded Ely. "Stendhall
has a pull with those people; not
enough to make them print a fake, but
of considerable advantage when his
news happens to be true. The paper
states that our machine can't be run
more than an hour at a time and that
everybody who has bought our stock Is
beautifully stuck. 1t also describes
quite accurately the interesting scene
which that. fire sc fortunately inter-
rupted. It's a wonder that somebody
didn't do it before, but Stendhall has
evidently been holding it up his sleeve
until he could get me where he want
ed me. What do you think of the pros
pect?"
"Mr. Ely" said Jennings solemnly,
81 think it couldn't be better"
Ely steadied himself against the desk
and looked the inventor in the eyes,.
you mean that you've solved the
puzzle?"
''That's what I've DONE" responded
Jennings. choking with a dry throat.
"Give me till tomorrow morning to put
the new parts on that machine, and I'll
ruin it faster than it's ever been run
before, and not four hours, but twenty
four, if Stendhall will camp there and
watch it."
'If this is true" said Ely, don't you
whisper it to your pillow"
"PillowY" echoed Jennings. "Do I
look like a man acquainted with Pill
lows? But I'll make some of these
other fellows lie awake now," and he
cast the newspaper ~wrathfully to the
floor and trod upon it.
Ely had not the vanity of the in
ventor and was in all respects a juster
a so he felt no animosity against
the newspaper, which had told nothing
but the truth. Nevertheless, as a mat
ter Of business, he served notice of a
suit for damages as soon as he became
convinced that Jennings really had per-
fected his machine. The editor in
question, alarmed, sent experts to the
next exhibition of the automatic, and
they reported that while changes had
probably been made in the machine no
proof could be obtained and it was
now undoubtedly a very valuable in
~vention, whereupon the damage suit
was adjusted and a f1attering retrac-
ton was made.
As a result of all this Stendhall and
his associates lost and Efy's party
won a considerable sum of money, the
price of the stock went to par and 1t
sold freely. Meanwhile, however, a
clique inside a bank where Ely had
large discounts discovered chat the
Jennings Automatic Straw Hat Making
Machine company was worth stealing,
and they laid a very clever trap, from
which Ely escaped after a nerve de-
SliOJ A-tO oti IL was hOC Until ~
middle of December that be knew
whether his profits and the control OF
the compaGy-or indeed the coat on
his back anG the shoes on his feeble
longed to him or to somebody else.
Then the scale turned in his favor
with bewildering s~uddenness. His foes
stood around him. hat in hand, begging
for small fayors, and the air was vel
low with the gold of success.
So Ely went on a trip to get health.
He had the money to rest and build
up. If he bad not won he would most
likely have broken down; but, having
won, he could afford the price of a new
set of nerves, He made a very agree
able trip to the West Indies and re-
turned ten pounds heavier and much
improved In looks.
"Jack, old boy" said he after the
briefest of greetings to his lieutenant,
"bring on the next trouble, and have 1t
hot and strong. I'm ready to get back
into the game"