, 1918-05-02
"Too Old"
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tcopyrisht, is1s, Mss,srn Ms~~SsSSNsssS
BY VICTOR REpcLrprr

way leading to the offices. After that
the ~draughtlng rooms. Then building
AFTER building, pattern lofts, machine
rooms, molding floors. Well, thirty
years, boy and man, I've gone up those
stairs, kept going till 1 mounted high
er and higher, and became superintend-
emit. then-follow me a bit, and ri
show you the other side of the pic
ture."
Thus Gabriel Purcell. sturdy old dis
ciplinarian Of fifty. He did not look
1t, he did not feel 1t. His voice was
clear as a clarion note, his eye was
full of fire and power. Just a wee
stoop Of the shoulders threw the stall
wart figure out Of direct plumb line,
and the silvering hair was touched
with the first frost Of time and win
ter.
He carried a magnificent gold-head-
ed cane under his arm, d%isdaining its
use as a support and only taking It
with him for company because 1t was
the cherished gift Of some cheap
shovel men in the factory, who loved
him and his just, helpful way ms IL
he had been an own father to them.
Gabriel Purcell led his companion, an
old-time friend, making a brief visit
to the town, around the great stone
wall fnclosing the plant, and then
swung his zane to where a long steep
chute ran from the upper floor Of the
tin speciality shops to the barren rear
yard. Down 1t was now pouring the
scraps, refuse, waste of the factory.
"The dump head-see 1t, F%arleigh?"
questioned the old man bitterly.
"That's me-in at the front, rushed
through, worked out and thrown IN
the dump headl"
At that same hour Thomas Wynne,
head of the great Wynne company, sat
facing his attorney In his private Of
fee.
"The fact is, Wynne, isn't 1t that
Purcell is Oslerized," submitted the
latter.
"Don't use the word jauntily, Ran
DALI" returned the founder, but that
about covers 1t. You don't know how
1t jars on me to face the merest i'm
putation of injustice regarding Pur-
cell. He has been my right hand since
I started in here with a little twenty
by forty shed of a shop, and has help
ed build the business up to its pres
ent up-to-date proportions. You knox
how fifteen years ago my wife Inherit
ed a large estate and supplied n
hundred and fifty thousand dollars
capital to expand the enterprise. Well,
recently a younger brother of hers,
what you may call a mechanical the
orist and ultra-system man, got h
idea in his head that he could come
in here and double up profits in a
year"
"But what interest has he in the
business?"
"None, except through the courtesy
of my wife and some relatives who are
also stockholders. OF course I can't
gainsay her. Her estate owns con-
siderable of the company stock. She
helped build me up. 1 can't afford to
bubble with her. I had to super
cede Purcell. My brother-ln-law is
now in charge Of the mechanical de-
partments. Younger men. stricter
rules, more business, higher profits, his
aim. We shall see how 1t works out"
Mr.. Wynne sighed.
1--WE shall, indeed" muttered the
lawyer c~ynically.
"Yes, that isn't all, Randall" re-
sumed the manufacturer. II am ap-
preaching a delicate subject. o
know that Purcell has a son who is
the pride of his soul and the apple or
his eye, Arnold Purcell"
Eyes" nodded the lawyer, and 1t was
palpably apparent that the mention
aroused pleasant sentiments. "a fne
Young man, an exceptional one. they
say. Capable. ambitious. high grade.
I hear that he has won quite some
eminence as an advanced sanitary en-
~gineer."
Every well, by some strange freak
of destiny he and my daughter. Elsi-
more, met at a social function In the
city. Plainly, they are In love with
each other. I am no aristocrat,
sprung from nothing, as did Gabriel
purcell. My wife. however. as you
know, draws the line at social dis
tinctions, or rather those of wealth.
She has fatty told young Purcell that
Elsinore must never marry a man who
has not as large a fortune as her
own"
And Arnold Purcell2"
ASKS time to make good the condi-
ton"
"Great for himl He'll make It,"
declared the lawyer with confidence.
"The young man has not advised his
father or others of his love AFFAIRS
said wynne. 'He and Elslnore seem
to have settled down to sensible. dig
nifed patience and mutual fidelity. He
does not intrude himself upon her
company. He is pursuing the even
n of his way, and she is content.
1t is the father / worry about. 1