Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1918-02-25
The Daily
Short Story
@PUsH, AND .PULLy
BY Guinevere Gordon.

~OA NVAAs
THAT words exactly expresses ~
sentiments observed Wallace NOR
in his usual Wanting, bombastlc w.
He and Mryce Alison stood IN ~.
Office Of the Aetna Machine vorha
where both were employed. and NOR
had pointed to swinging door bar.
ing the word, Pull"
Eyes, that seems to apply fully n
your case" replied Alison, with ou,at
smile, but l am not 50 fortunate
Having to rely solely upon my ovs
merits and exertions, the word on that
other door about fits my ease.~ ~.
the speaker indicated a second deo,
bearing The sole legend, Push.
have always worked on the 4puIp
theory" proceeded Morse boastfulIy
MY father had pull with the presi.
dent Of the company here and
worked the oracle to the queens nm
I'm in the swim right, and have ~
my eye on the secretaryship Of ~
COkAR0uy. INV 40 tA0b& q
"Famous!> II you can reach it,
The sentiments of the two younr
men clearly stated the situation. Il
followed that Morse was only tolefsf.
ed by the real executive officers Of IL
corporation, who saw through In
fimsy pretentions Of value and h
portance.
Alison went his way unpretentious.
ly. He was greatly pleased whea he
was made head Of department.
1T was offered to me-" declared
Nose on the occasion.
1T was advancement, why didn't you
take IT," asked Alison, but Nor,a
showed lofty disdain.
Not with the secretaryship N
sight? he retorted. Il make big jum1e
or none; see? My pull will carry n
through in another direction in whioh
I am considerably interested violn
Dale"
Alison gave a start Of disquietudA
He and Morse had been for some tint
regular weekly visitors at the DALI
home. Alison. however, never drean-
ed that Morse had any particular H.
/ terest in the young lady in question,
Likewise Morse did not suspect that
he had a rival.
"Pull, again, old fellow!" he laueh-
ed jubilantly. You see, my sister
Nell is a close friend of Viola. 4
strong influence in my favor. oh! By
the way. l suppose you/are going to
Viola's birthday party?"
| II feel honored thas Miss Dale has
invited me, yes" replied Alison.
Well have the day or" ratified On
Morse. "Conservation-fuelless day.
Going to shut down. Say, that's your
department-operating supplies. ID Il
really true that we are going to have
coal famine?"
''It is here already" declared Alison,
''and this snow blockade has made 1t
worse than ever"
1t was the morning Of Violas birth.
day, and "fuelless day." Alison went
down to the closed plant and spent an
hour at the telephone trying to figure
out the prospects of fuel. for the en-
gineer had told him that the coal bins
were nearly empty, and he would b
unable to keep up steam enough to
prevent the water pipes from freezing
and no chance of starting up the next
day unless supplies came In by noon.
ut will be a shutdown, l fear,"
Alison advised him. I'VE have 10 cars
Of coal somewhere on the tracks be-
tween here and the mines. but prac-
tically all of them are blocked. There's
one car sidetracked two miles up the
road, but no locomotive available to
move it. I've just got an idea. though.
and perhaps / can get it here within
the next two hours.
Alison went to the home Of the prin-
pical owner Of he.plant and reported
the situation. which caused the func-
tionary considerable uneasiness.
Il think l can get one car through
extraordinary exertion,"> Alison said.
nd-departed to carry out project be
had in mind. On his way he met VI
ola Dale.
ooh, Mr.. Alison" said Viola, Il am
in bad predicament l am afraid
will have to see all the invited guests
for tonight and postpone the party.
We, like everybody else, have run out
of furnace coal and the dealer WA
promised to provide for US says b
hasn't a pound in sight We are man-
aging to keep warm in two rooms
with the help of gas stove and z
crate wood Are, but we can't let our
guests freeze in the other rooms,
will you wait until noon before
canceling the party" inquired Alison.
thinking quickly. ~ have an idea
that time"
! "Oh, if you only could" cried Viola,
clasping her hands in hopeful delight,
and her eyes sparkled so. and sne
seemed so friendly and grateful, thai
he could have kissed her, had he
dared.
/ What happened was that at II
O'Clock that morning wagon ap-
peared at the Dale home, and deposit
ed in its cellar sufficient Of the precl-
ouscoal to last for week. Further.
more. the anxiety of the engineer q
the plant was relieved, and all danger
Of shutdown past.
/, How did you do it," asked Morse
\ ina disgruntled way. the next day. fof
Viola had devoted all her attention %
Alison at the party, and It was hinteo
that the well-matched couple were e.
gagged
PUSH" replied Alison laconicaliy'
Il located the coal car. hired dozen
husky fellows to help me push 1t dow
to the plant and the president OF inc
. company most generously allowed me
to provide for the needs Of the Dale
family"