The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1919-12-04
Copyright by Doubleday. Page q Compap'
CHAPTER xxiI-continued.

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At this he laughed. but not very
heartily, and walked slowly to the
house, leaving her bending over a rose
bush, and q shade more pensive than
the most pensive garden lady in any
Victorian engraving. Next day,
II happened that this same "Vendo-
nah" or Everything" be-
came the subject of a chance coKver.
sation between Eugene and his old
friend Kinney, father Of the fire-topped
Fred. The two gentlemen found them
selves smoking in neighboring leather
chairs beside a broad window at the
club, after lunch.
Mr.. Kinney had remarked that he
expected to get his family established
at the seashore by the Fourth of July,
and, following a train of thought, he
paused and chuckled. Fourth of July
reminds me-" he said. "Have you heard
what that George Minafer is doing?"
mo, haven't" said Eugene, and his
friend failed to notice the crispness of
the utterance.
swell, sir" Kinney chuckled again,
lit beats the devil My boy Fred told
me about 1t yesterday. He's friend
of this young Henry Akers, son Of f.
p. Akers of the Akers Chemical COM
pany. 1t seems this young Akers asked
Fred If he knew fellow named Nina
fer, because he knew Fred had always
lived here, and young Akers had heard
some way that Minafer used to be an
old family name here, and was sort of
curious about 1t. Well, sir, you re-
member this young George sort of dis
appeared, after his grandfather's
death, and nobody seemed to know
much what had become of him
though l did hear, once or twice, that
he was still around somewhere. Well,
sir, he's working for the Akers Chem
zeal company, out at their plant on the
Townsville road"
He paused. seeming to reserve some
thing to be delivered only upon inquiry,
and Eugene offered him the expected
question, but only after a cold glance
through the nose-glasses he had lately
found it necessary to adopt. "What
does he dor"
Kinney laughed and slapped the arm
of his chair. Hes a nitro-glycerin ex-
pert"
He was gratified to see that Eugene
was surprised, if not, indeed, little
startled.
Hes what?"
Hes an expert on nitro-glyeerin.
Doesn't that beat the devil Yes, sir !
Young Akers told Fred that this
George Minafer had worked like a
houn'-dog ever since he got started
out at the works. They have special
plant for nitro-glycerin, way off from
the main plant, o. course-ip the
woods somewhere-and Georgs Nina
fer's been working there, and lately
they put him in charge of IT, He over
sees shooting oil wells, too, and shoots
'em himself, sometimes. They aren't
allowed to carry 1t ON the railroads,
you know-have to team 1t. Young
Akers says George rides around over
the bumpy roads, sitting on as much as
three hundred quartz of nitrO-glycerin
My Lord Talk about romantic tum-
bles If he gets blown sky-high some
day he won't have bigger drop, when
Don't II beat the devil Young Akers
said he's got all the nerve there Is In
the world. Says he gets fair salary.
and should think he ought to Seems
TO me I've heard the average life in
that sort of work is somewhere around
four years. and agents don't write any
insurance at all for nitro-glycerin ex-
perts. Hardly"
"No," said Eugene. II suppose not"
Kinney rose to go. swell, It's a
pretty funny thing-pretty odd, / mean
and / suppose 1t would be pass
around-the-hat for old Fanny Minafer
II he blew up. Fred told me that
they're living in some apartment house
and said George supports her. He was
going to study law, but couldn't earn
enough that way to take care OF
Fanny, so he gave 1t up. Fred's wife
told him all this. Says Fanny doesn't
do anything but play bridge these
days. Got to playing too high fol
awhile and lost more than she wanted
to tell George about. and borrowed
Little from old Frank Bronson. Paid
him back, though. Don't know how
Fred's wife heard II. Women do hear
the darndest thingsp
"They do" Eugene agreed.
"We'l, I'm off to the store" said Mr.
KinneP briskly; yet he fingered. 81
suppose Wen all have to club In and
keep old Fanny out of the poorhouse
II he does blow up. From all hear
fits usually only question of time
They say she hasn't got anything else
10 depend on"
Il suppose not"
"Well--I wondered" Kinney hesi
tsted. II was wondering why you
hadn't thought of finding something
g. -