The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1919-12-03
By AUGUSTUS C. SEIERWR

1 have not got. Wayneville down tho
line offered a starvation salary In its
legal department. Rushton rendered
an opening in the law department Of
a big harvester concern, which meant
burying oneself. In Plympton I am
known. Old Judge Barnes, the only
other attorney this side OF the county
seat, is about to retire. I have do
cided to put out my single In Plymp-
ton"
Good for you'll We want you !" en-
Enthusiastically hailed the leading local
grocer.
provided"
There was hush and an eager 60
ries OF glances. The proviso held In
suspense somehow put a damper ON
proceedings.
Provided" continued Roscoe. ST
can earn a living In my native town.
/ have figured 1t out. Lem Dole, as
SCISSOR and collector. is about to move
away. That leaves those positions
vacant. Elect me as Doles successor
and there Is q surety Of ave hundred
dollars a year"
"We'n do that, don't doubt IL, RIOS
coe," observed the governor Of the
association.
THAT" continued Roscoe steadily,
sis not enough. I shall have to have
thousand. Here 10 nay proposition:
You ten people have more or less Hti-
cation each year. will make to each
one Of you a minimum annual fee
fifty dollars apiece. That makes up
the thousand dollars. For the fifty
/ will cover all local suits, give all
necessary verbal advice and attend to
collections on a fifteen per cent COM
mission basis. All this will enable
me to have spare time to work up
general business, and shall stay
with you and grow up with you, and
later on il n judgeship comes along,
count me in as a candidate IL I de-
serve It"
The proposition was unanimously
accepted and everybody seemed
pleased with the arrangement. Ros-
coe took out a part of the ten sub
scriptiOns In trade. Thus: from the
tailor suit of clothes; from the gen.
eral store his footwear, neckwear and
hosiery; from the grocer and the
butcher supplies for the larder, for he
lived at the home Of his aged mother
A few htigious farmers came In to
secure his services, and while his
progress was slow he was financed
for the year and did not worry.
Six months had passed by and RoU-
coe had accumulated q small store
OF money, when one day there entered
his Office an old man who seemed to
be confirmed invalid He intro
duced himself as Mr.. Award Trude,
and stated that he and his daughter
had just arrived in Plympton, had ar
ranged for rooms with Widow Lar
kfns and Intended to remain until a
suit they designed bringing In Boyd
county was decided.
'It's the Tarleton estate" soberly
announced Mr.. Trude, and Roscoe be-
gan to smile. 81 see you are familiar
with IT and don't think much Of it~
merits" went on Mr.. Trude. ct sup
pose there have been twenty litiRantS
Ia the matter during the past ten
years, and every one Of them losers.
For all that, I should feel 1 had not
done my duty IL I did not try to pros
ecute the claim OF my dead wife. Il
offer you the case on contingency
fifty per cent If you win. II lose
L will give you what I can afford,
which may not be much. Think II
over, and I will call again In the
morning"
That night Roscoe went over ell
that he had read and heard of the
TarletOn case. It was an instance
where powerful moneyed interests
were able to tire out poor and obscure
htigants. Roscoe had about made ND
his mind to refuse an apparently
hopeless mission when Mr.. Truds
CHANGED to bring his daughter with
him to the Office. An hour in that
sweet presence and Roscoe was VIII
ling to devote time and money both,
If the sacrifice might further increase
their mountaineering.
Roscoe discovered some strong
points in the claim Of the Trudes, but |
the case went against them. 1t took |
his last dollar to appeal to q higher |
court. No other litigant had ever
gone that far. The unsettled suit
hampered the defense. They began
to fear the resolute, persistent young |
lawyer. He might annoy them for |
years with an expensive crop of new |
prosecutions. They settled with Mr..
Trude for ten thousand dollars.
Il am now able TO settle your fee"
announced Mr.. Trude one day.
Cant we treat it as q sort of bulk |
family fund.-" propounded Roscoe |
with a smile.
"Why, what do you meanP' inquired
Mr.. Trude.
THAT your daughter Lille has just |
accepted me, and, if you don't object, |