Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1918-07-25
By S. Paquiin
Copyright. 1917. Western Newspaper Union.

lem of the hour, but that he takes q
serious view Of life as a whole; sur
veys it; analyses it; tries to riddle
its meaning.
Such a moment had come to Harry
Merton. Really there was for
him to view life with satisfaction, but
q close study of his face would have
told any keen observer that he was
not altogether satisfied. The day
marked an epoch in his 1ife-one on
which his friends were dropping in
now and then to congratulate him-for
he had just been promoted to the po-
sition Of general manager Of the West
ern Star Fire and Insurance company,
a concern in which he had climbed up
from a start as Office boy Is years be-
fore.
But as he viewed his progress in ret
respect, his mind ran on something
like this:
eyes, I have done it. I have reaped
the success I set out to win, but what
does it amount to after all? 1t has
been a long fight, and I have sacri-
feed a great deal to win it. Perhaps
I have sacrificed too much. When ]
began as a messenger boy Jim Perkins
had the start Of me by a year. I
have often smiled up my sleeves at
Jim since I began to climb up past
him. First special agent, then gen.
eral agent, and now general manager,
on6 NOR old Tim So c+i11 ~ b;> doe1, ~,
a clerk. But I reckon Jim is happier
than I am for all that. I thought so
yesterday when his wife came in with
that pretty boy of theirs, just to see
papa's new desk in the new office.
Somehow, it made me feel as If I
were missing something that a man
needs to make his life complete"
Then Merton's line Of thought was
interrupted. He had been standing be-
side his desk with his hands crossed
under his c%oat-tails, watching the sign
writer who was putting gold letters on
the windows Of the company's hand
some new Offices. The sign-writer was
marking the glass in letters bigger
than those that spelled the company's
name-"Henry Merton, General Mana.
ger"
Here, my good fellow, that Yon't
do" said Merton, stepping forward to
the mans side."
GLOW will you have 1t, sir?"
"Just put that name in small let
tiers and a little off at one side," said
Merton quietly. 1T will look bet.
ter"
That was just like Henry Merton.
Few men in the business had more rea-
son to pride themselves on the at
tainment Of marked success, for he
had made his way in the world unaid-
ed. But there wasn't a grain Of van
ity in him. He was q modest, SUBJ
dued, u~nassuming sort Of a man. One
would guess it by looking at him. He
was tall, shapely, handsome; but it
was plainly to be seen that he was OBJ
livious to his W comeliness as a
man. Vanity can be seen more read
lily in a man than in a woman.
This over, Merton began thinking
again, his thoughts taking a new tan.
gent, and n that surprised him.
II wonder. if ambition is a selfish
thing? I've done well enough in a
business way, and have no one to
thank for it but myself; but how many
people are there who have anything to
thank me for? There's Miss Travers,
who is the best stenographer I ever
had in my office. She does more good
In a month than I've done in fourteen
years. She doesn't know that I know
1t, but the reason I raised her salary
last month was because I overheard
n Of the other stenographers say
She was supporting her younger broth
er in college. She's q fine girl, too,
It's a wonder some man doesn't marry
that girl"
Then Henry Merton whistled as if
to himself-a long, low whistle. The
very thought Of some other man mar.
rying Alice Travers had made him
clinch his fists, but till that minute he
had never thought Of marrying her
himself, or Of marrying any other WON.
an, for that matter.
In the next room Alice Travers. who
had just finished transcribing q lot
Of letters Mr.. Merton had dictated to
her in the morning, was writing a let.
ter to her brother in college. Strange.
ly enough, it was full Of Henry Mer.
ton. It said:
"Dear Ted: You'll excuse me,
know, for writing to you on a type.
writer; I can do it so much quicker
and easier this way. We have lust
moved into the new offices and I am
finely fixed. Mr.. Merton has given
me a nice little room to work in, all
to myself, and I have nothing to do
now but attend to his correspondence,
which is quite enough, since he came
to be general manager. Really, he
doesn't seem to have the swelled head
q bit on account of it, and he's quite
q young man, too; not more than
Twenty-Five or thirty, I should say. He
hardly looks happy, even.
"He has been very kind to me, and
raised my salary hast month, though