Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1917-08-03


himself man of his hands who could
not only take punishment, but cOulc
hammer an opponent swiftly and neat
ly into any desired state of subsection.
"Come in here and sit down; want
to talk to you," was the way Williams
began it; and after Smith had found
chair the chief went on: "Say, Smith,
you're too good a man for anything I've
got for you here. Haven't you realized
that?"
Smith pulled a memorandum book
from his hip pocket and ran his eye
over the private record he had been
keeping.
1--WE shown you how to effect few
little savings which total up something
like 10 per cent of your cost of prOduc-
ton and operation" he said. "Dsn't
you think I'm earning my wages?"
"That's all right; I've been keeping
tab, too, and know what you're do
| ing. But you are not beginning to earn
what you ought to- either for yourself
or the company" put in the chief
shrewdly. And then: Loosen up,
Smith, and tell me something about
yourself. Who are you, and where do
you come from, and what sort of job
have you been holding DOWN."
Smiths reply was as surprising as it
was seemingly irrelevant.
"If you're not too busy, Mr.. Williams,
I guess you'd better make out my time
check" he said quietly.
Williams took a reflective half-min-
ute for consideration, turning the sud
den request over deliberately in his
mind as his habit was.
81 suppose by that you mean that
you'll quit before you will consent to
open up on your record?' he assumed.
"You've guessed it," said the man
who had sealed the book of his past.
Again Williams took little time. It
was discouraging to have his own and
the colonel's prefguringS as to Smiths
probable state and standing so prompt
ly verified.
81 suppose you know the plain infer
ence you're leaving, when you say a
thing like that?"
Smith made the sign of assent. at
leaves you entirely at liberty to finish
out the story to suit yourself" he adj
mitted, adding: 1.-THE back numbers
my back numbers-are my own, Mr..
Williams. I've kept file of them, as
everybody does, but l don't have to
produce it on request"
"Of course, there's nothing cOmpul-
sorry about your producing it. But I'm
less you are what they call in this
country q crooked crook, you are
standing in your own light. You have
such a staving good head for figures
and finances that it seems a pity for
you to be wasting it here on an under
graduates job in cOSt-cutting. Any
young fellow just out of a technical
school could do what you're doing In
the way of pairing down expenses"
The cost-cutter's smile was mildly
incredulous.
Nobody seemed to be doing it be-
fore l came" he offered.
NO" Williams allowed, that's the
fact. To tell the plain truth, we've had
bigger things to wrestle with; and we
have them yet, for that matter-enOugh
of them to go all around the job twice
and tie in a bowknot."
"Finances?" queried Smith, feeling
some of the back-number instincts stir
ring within him.
The chief engineer nodded; then he
looked up with a twinkle in his closely
set gray eyes. eff you'll tell me why
you tried to kill Burdell the other day
maybe I'll open up the record-oul
recorder you"
This time the cost-cutter's smile was
good-naturedly derisive, and it ignored
the reference to Burdell.
"You don't have to open up your
recorder me; it's the talk of the
camp. You people are undercapital
ized-to boil it down into one word
Isn't that about the way it sizes upT
THAT is the way it has turned out
though we had capital enough to begir
with. We've been bled to death by
damage suits"
Smith shook his head. "Why haven
you hired a first-class attorney, Mr.
Williamsp
"We've had the best we could find
but the other fellows have beaten u:
to It, every time. But the legal end Of
it hasn't been the whole thing or thu
biggest part of 1t. What we are need
ing most is a man who knows a Httl;
something about corporation fights ant
high finance" And at this the engi
neer forgot the Smith disabilities, rea
or inferential, and went on to explain
in detail the peculiar helplessness o
the Timanyoni company as the antag
onist of the as yet unnamed land ani