Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1917-02-22

ne showed MS Jaw up within an inch
of the others nose and invited him to
talk, and-well, he found out enough
to make him begin to worry too.
Somebody's been talking to them, Mr..
O'Mara. Somebody has put the fool
notion into their heads that this strip
Of railroad will mean the end Of all
lumber operations in this Countrywide
old time river drives, of course. And
some Of them are beginning to believe,
whoever was responsible for that state,
ment
"You know and I know how absurd
1t is. We know that this road will
mean work for every riverman In this
section, as often as he wants to work.
But it isn't going to help us any If they
can't see it that way. 1t isn't going
to replace the men who quit. I've been
celebrating one point. Don't you sup
pose we might import a regular squad
of construction men now, before it's
too Later"
"It's too late now," Steve told him,
his words none the less final for all
that they were absently quiet. "It
was too late the day we began opera
tons. And yesterday at this time
wouldn't have given much worry to
this particular brand of trouble.
They're an odd lot. They're the hard
est working, hardest living crowd Of
big men that ever failed entirely to
grow up. But since yesterday-since
Ia ho
sponsible for that statement, as you
call it?'
81 didn't say. And If If 1 had
to guess The hand passed across
his eyes now. "O'Mara, do you know
how deeply Mr.. Ainnesley and myself
are involved in this prospect?'
L don't believe l have ever given it
much actual thought Steve replied.
II never viewed it as any Of my af-
fair. But l haven't forgotten the last
time we talked the plans over, that
you couldn't go into it to lose"
"Of course" Elliott answered quick
ly. "Of cOurse-of cOurse" He seem
ed cropping for fresh beginning, then
gave up suddenly all attempt at cir
Guilty and blurted it out much as
though he had lived with the thought
too long to endure it longer alone.
I'm in up to my last dollar" he
stated. "And Ainnesley-why, Ain
nesley wouldn't have a roof over his
head If we failed in our obligations!
You must know as we'll as l do why
the banking interests took our paper
to those amounts which made it posi-
BILE for us to drive the first spike"
When he failed to go on Steve under
stood that the last sentence had been
a question.
"NIr. Allison, l suppose" His voice
became utterly impersonal. without
doubt you mean Mr. Allison"
"They would have laughed at us"
the older man came back instantly.
"And, what is more, they did! They
wouldn't touch the proposition until
Allison came in with us. And then
but you know what Dexter Allison has
done already in this country. l don't
know what he started with. | do
know that all that Ainnesley and
had scraped UP between us looked like
a shoestring to him.
I'VE couldn't move until he, of his
own accord, expressed his enthusiasm
for the plan and asked for share in
the holdings. You know perhaps how
he can laugh too. Well, he laughed
that way and confessed that We had
just beaten him to it, He said it would
tap a gold mine-this strip of STEEL
as he called it. He even told us that
he'd parallel our road with a com
petitor, jokingly to be sure, If we
hadn't tied up the only available and
practicable right of way.
"He came in. He opened up, merely
through his own name and all there is
behind it, loan possibilities for which
We might have struggled uselessly the
rest Of our lives without his help. Be-
tween us Nj. Ainnesley and just man
aged to hold the balance of stock con-
troll and-and that's how deep we are
in, Mr.. OMara."
Both men sat and smoked, each
avoiding deliberately the others eyes.
After long pause Elliott cleared his
throat laboriously.
This morning." he continued slow,
ly-"this morning am In receipt Of
communication from Mr.. Ainnesley
himself advising me that another right
of way has been applied for for sin
gle track road here in the north. The
gossip which CHANGED to come his way
was rather obscure. Little could be
learned about the whole affair save
that it was being put forward with a
view to~tapping the ore and timber
lands all the way to and beyond the
border. But as nearly as he could as
certain the southern terminus Of such
a road would seem to be about-about
at the mouth of that valley southern
most in the Reserve company's timber
holdings. Rather a remarkable choice
for a railroad terminus. Mr.. O'Mara.
wouldn't you say 500"
do you mean that they've thrown
out your earlier application for just
such grant?"
THAT would be a rather harshly