Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1918-04-05

surveyed him admiringly, with Il graft
fed sense of proprietorship. The
cheeks of him were tanned to a healthy
brown, his eyes clear and shining. The
offending flesh had fallen away on the
strenuous paths of the Klappan. He
radiated boundleSs vitality, strength,
alertness, that perfect coordination of
mind and body that is bred of faring
resourcefully along rude ways. She
thrilled at the touch of his hand, was
content to lay her head on his Shout
der and forget everything in the joy
of his physical n~earness.
They elected to spend the evening
quietly at home, as tEey used to do.
To Hazel it seemed quite like old
times. Bill told her of the Klappan
country, and their prospects at the
mine.
Its going to be a mighty big thing"
he declared.
"Tm SO glad" said Hazel.
"We've got a group of ten claims.
Whitley Lewis and the original stakers
hold an interest in their claims. l.,
acting as agent for these other fell
lows in the company, staked five more.
l took in eight more men-and, be-
lieye me, things were humming when
l left. And, say l went in by the
ranch. Old Jake has a fine garden.
He's still begging away with the mule
'und Gretchen, der cow l offered him
Il chance to make a fat little stake at
the mine, but he didn't want to leave
the ranch. Great old Teller, Jake.
Something of a philosopher in his way.
Pretty wise old head. Hell make
good, all right"
In the morning, Bill ate ms break
fast and started downtown.
That's the dickens of being a bust
ness man." he complained to Hazel,
in the hallway. sit rides a man, once
it gets hold of him. Adios, little per-
son. I'll get out for lunch, business
or no business"
Eleven-thirty brought him home,
preOccupied and frowning. And he
carried his frown and his preoccupa-
ton TO the table.
Whatever is the matter, Bill?" Ha-
eel a%nxiOusly inquired.
"Oh, I've got a nasty bunch that
there's a niger in the woodpile," he
replied.
And that was all he vouchsafed.
He finished his luncheon and left the
house. He was scarcely out of sight
when Jimmie Brooks runabout drew
up at the curb. A half minute later
he was ushered into the living room.
bill in?" was his first query.
mo, he left just a few minutes
ago" Hazel told him.
Mr.. Brooks, a short, ~heavy-set, neat
ly dressed gentleman, whose rather
weak blue eyes doomed preternaturally
large and protuberant behind pince
nez that straddled an insignificant snul
nose, took off his glasses and twiddleC
them in his white. well-kept fingers.
"Ah, too bad!" he murmured
Thought I'd catch him.
by the way" he continued, after
a pause, "yOu-ah-well, frankly,
have eason to believe hat you have
a good deal of influence with your hus
band in business matters, Mrs. Wag
staff"
"Well, 1 don't know; perhaps
have. Why?"
"Well-ah-yOu see" he began rath
er lamely. 1.-THE fact isl hope you'll
regard this as strictly confidential, Mrs
Wagstaff. 1 wouldn't want Bill 4
think /, or any of us, was trying t.
bring pressure on him. But the fac
is, Bills got a mistaken impression
about the way we're conducting tn
financial end of this mining PROPOSE
ton. You understand? Very abb
man, your husband, but headstrong a
the deuce. I'm afraid-to speak frank
ly-he'H create a lot of unpleasant
ness. Might disrupt the company, il
fact, if he sticks to the position h
took this morning. Thought I'd run i
and talk it over with him. Fellow
generally in a good humor, you know
when he's lunched comfortably a
home"
I'm quite in the dark" Hazel COZ
fessed. bill seemed a tri1e put on
about something. He didn't say VIVA
it was about"
shall | eXplain?" Mr.. Brooks su.
gested. You'd Understandable 70
might be able to help. I don't as a rul
believe In bringing business into tn
home, but this bothers me. l hate t
see a good thing go wrong"
Explain, by all MEANS" Haz,
promptly replied. eff 1 can help, T
/ be glad to-"
THANK you" Mr.. Brooks polishe
his glasses industriously for a secon
: and replaced them with painstakin
7 eXactitude. "Now-ah-this is the 81
1 uation: When the company we
formed, five of us, including your hu
band, o up enough stock to financ
p. the preliminary work of the undertal
ing. The remaining stock, seventy-fy
thousand dollars in amount, was le
in the treasury, TO be held or put @
the market as the situation warrante
With the first cleanup, Bill forwar
ed facts and figures to show that "
had a property far beyond our grea
. est expectations. And, of course, "
saw at nee that the thing was ride
lousy undercapitalized.
$50 we held a meeting and autho
lied the secretary to sell stock. Ma
urally, your husband wasn't cognizal
of this move. for the simple reasc
that there was no way of reachir
him-and his interests were thOroug
ly protected. anyway. The stock W,