Western Kansas world., 1918-06-06
But Bill was bIandly undis


fret. William will be himself again
the horizon. Let US avoid recrimina-
ton. Good night"
A week or so later he became sud-
denly and unexpectedly active. He
left the house as soon as his break
fast was eaten, and he did not come
home to luncheon-a circumstance
which irritated Hazel, since it was one
of those rare days when she herself
1unched at home. Late in the after
noon he telephoned briefly that he
would dine downtown. And when he
did return, at nine or thereabouts in
the evening, he clamped a cigar be-
tween his teeth, and fell to work COW
ering a sheet of paper with intermin-
able rows of figures.
"What is all the clerical work
about?" she inquired "Reckoning
your assets and liabilities?"
Bill smiled and pushed aside the
paper.
I'm going to promote mining COM
pany," he told her, quite casually. cit
has been put up to me as a business
proposition I've got to the stage
where 1 have to do something, or I'll
sure have the Willies.''
She overlooked the latter statement !;
1t conveyed no special significance at
the time. But his first statement
opened up possibilities such as of late
she had sincerely hoped would come
to pass, and she was all interest.
Promote a mining company?" she
repeated. ''That sounds extremely
businesslike. How-when-where
Now-here IN Granville he re-
Piled 'You see," he continued, warm
ing up a bit to the subject, "when I
was prospecting that creek where we
made the cleanup last summer. I
ran across a well-defined quartz lead.
1 packed out q few samples in my
pockets, and happened to show them
as well as one or two of the mug
gets to some of these fellows at the
club while back. Lorimer took a
piece of the quartz and had it assayed.
1t looms up as something pretty big.
So he and Brooks and a couple of
other fellows want me to go ahead
and organize and locate group of
claims in there. Twenty or thirty
thousand dollars capital might make
'em all rich. OF course, the placer
end of it will be the big thing while
the lode is being developed. Getting
tiiC SteiAl 10 CdSy 1hcSc 1cllOWS We
talked to are dead anxious to get in"
'sBut"-her knowledge of business
methods suggested a dffficulty-'.you
can't sell stock in a business that has
no real foundation-yet. Don't you
have to locate those claims first?'
''Wise old head; you have the idea.
all right" He smiled. But this is
not a stock-jobbing proposition.
1r,st IlN tn, = - @1I;4
me. It's to be a corporation, where
not to exceed six men will own all the
stock that's issued. And so far as
the claims are concerned, I've got
Whitley Lewis located in Fort George,
and I've been burning the wires and
spending a bundle of real money get
ting him grub-staked. He has got four
men besides himself all ready to hit
the trail as soon as 1 give the word"
You won't have to go?" she put in
quickly.
''No,'' he murmured. SIT isn't neces-
sary, at this particular stage of the
game But I wouldn't mind popping
just the same"
''B-r-r-r," she shivered involuntar-
lily. -Four hundred miles across that
deep snow. through that steady, flesh
soaring cold. 1 don't envy them the
journey"
She came over and stood by him,
playfully rumpling his brown hair with
her fingers.
I'm glad you've found something
to loose that pent-up energy of yours
on, Biliy-boy," she said you'll make
success of it, 1 know. 1 don't see
why you shouldn't make a success of
any kind of business. But 1 didn't
think you'd ever tackle business. You
have such peculiar views about busi-
ness and business practice"
Il despise the ordinary business
ethic." he returned sharply. But 1
can exploit the resources of nature.
And that is my plan. If we make
money it won't be filched by u COM
plex process from the other fellows
pockets; it won't be wealth created by
Shearing lambs in the market by
Sweatshop labor, or adulterated food,
or exorbitant rental of filthy dealing
with. I'm not overly anxious to get
into it with them. But it promises
action of some sort-and 1 have to
do something till spring"
In the springl That brief phrase
set Hazel to sober thinking With
April or May Bill would spread his
wings for the North. There would be
no more staying him than the flight
of the wild goose to the reedy nesting
grounds could be stayed. Well, sum-
NOR in, he North xz-o,ld MT b., 90, t1,<5