The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1919-12-26
epyright By Doubleday. Page 4 compan
CHAPTER xxII-continued.


CHAPTER xxII-continued
IT.
At this he laughed, but not very
heartily, and walked slowly to the
house, leaving her bending over a rose
push, and a shade more pensive than
he most pensive garden lady in any
Victorian engraving. :. Next day,
happened that this same "Vendo-
,ah" or des-Down-Everything" be-
.ame the subject of chance conver-
sation between Eugene and his old
friend Kinney, father of the fire-topped
Fred. The two gentlemen found them
'elves smoking in neighboring leather
hairs beside a broad window at the
.lub. after lunch.
Mr.. Kinney had remarked that he
expected to get his family established
1t the seashore by the Fourth Of July,
ind, following a train of thought. he
,aused and chuckled. Fourth of July
reminds me-" he said. "Have you heard
what that Georgie Ninafer is doing?"
"No, I haven't" said Eugene, and his
.riend failed to notice the crispness Of
he utterance.
"Well, SIR" Kinney chuckled again.
1t beats the devil! My boy Fred told
ne about 1t yesterday. He's friend
# this young Henry Akers, son Of F.
?. Akers of the Akers Chemical COM
,any. 1t seems this young Akers asked
fred If he knew a fellow named Nina
'er, because he knew Fred had always
ived here, and young Akers had heard
Iome way that Minafer used to be an
I'D family name here, and was sort Of
furious about it. Well, sir. You re-
member this young George sort Of dis
appeared. after his grandfather's
ieath, and nobody seemed to know
much what had become Of him
though did hear, once or twice, that
ie was still around somewhere. Well,
hr, he's working for the Akers Chem
cal company, out at their plant on the
rhomasville road"
He paused, seeming to reserve some
hing to be delivered only upon inquiry.
Ind Eugene offered him the expected
question, but only after cold glance
through the nose-glasses he had lately
found it necessary to adopt. "What
foes he do2"
Kinney laughed and slapped the arm
pf his chair. "He's nitro-glycerin ex-
pert I"
He was gratified to see that Eugene
was surprised. If not. indeed. little
startled.
Hes whatf"
He's an expert on nitro-glycerin.
Doesn't that beat the devili Yes, sir !
Young Akers told Fred that this
George Minafer had worked like a
houn'-dog ever since he got started
put at the works. They have special
plant for nitro-glycerin. way off from
the main plant, O. course-in the
woods somewhere-and George Nina
ter's been working there, and lately
they put him in charge Of 1t. He over
sees shooting oil wells, too, and shoots
EN- himself, sometimes. They aren't
allowed to carry 1t on the railroads,
you know-have to team it. Young
Akers says George rides around over
the bumpy roads, sitting on as much as
three hundred quarts of nitro-glycerin
My Lord! Talk about romantic tum-
blesi If he gets blown sky-high some
day he won't have bigger drop. when
he comes down. than he's already had
Don't 1t beat the DEVIL Young Akers
said he's got all the nerve there is in
the world. Says he gets a 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
2erts. Hardly"
mo" said Eugene. 81 suppose not
Kinney rose to go. "Well, it's Z
pretty funny thing-pretty odd, meaI
and I suppose 1t would be pass
around-the-hat for old Fanny Minafel
If he blew up. Fred told me tina
they're living in some apartment house
and said George supports her. He wa.
going to study law, but couldn't carr
enough that way to take care o.
Fanny. SO he gave it up. Fred's wifi,
told him all this. Says Fanny doesn'
do anything but play bridge these
days. Got to playing too high fol
awhile and lost more than she wanted
20 tell Georgie about, and borrowed
little from old Frank Bronson. Pait
him back, though. Don't know how
Fred's wife heard 1t. Women do heal
the darndest thingsr'
''They do" Eugene agreed.
"Well, I'm of to the store" said Mr.
Kinney briSkly: vet he fingered sr
suppose we'll all have to club In ant
keep old Fanny out Of the poorhous,
II he does blow up. From all heal
it's usually only a question of time
They say she hasn't got anything else
to depend on"
II suppose not"
well wondered" Kinney hest
tated. II was wondering why yor
hadn't thought Of finding something