Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1920-01-30
BY VICTOR ROUSSEAU
Illustrations by Irsvfn Myers

az ms elbow when he went in, followed
him inside the room, and took chair
beside him.
Hilary looked at him with whim-
steal smile. We're finished. LATE.
This affair, coming on top of the cam
ceiling Of those jobbers' leases, has
ended me-
Lafe scratched his chin, but said
nothing to this
You see, said Hilary, according to
my reckoning we shall have about for.
~ thousand dollars on hand about
September first. That win last us tin
Christmas. On the first of the year
we shall be up against it. We need
another sixty thousand to carry us
through the winter. till navigation
opens and we call sell our cutting. No
banks going to lend us anything with
our record"
I'VE can ship six thousand cords by
December first said Lafe
"fhirtg-tive thousand dollars-per.
haps less
I'VE could get more out Of those
river bottoms suggested LATE.
And shut down in the middle OF
March"
AS far as ! can see" LATE hlurted
out, ''you'll be about ten thousand shy,
Mr. Askew, assuming things 20 fairly
we'll. That's why / came here. You
see, it's like this. I've got nearly eight
thousand in the First National bank
ut Shoehuryport. Mass. Clarice--Mrs.
Connell that is--wouldnt let me buy
her a house on the installment plan
as | wanted 10. She said as I'd never
know when we'd need the money and
If couldn't pay up on time they'd get
II away from us somehow, no matter
what the contract said II seemed
mighty unreasonable TO me, Mr. AS
kew. but I'm glad now--I sure am
glad"
"Lafe," said Hilary, "are you crazy
enough to suppose I'm going TO take
the money that you and Mrs. Connell
have been saving up for home, and
put II into this bankrupt concern
"Oh, shucks p said LATE. "Why
that amt nothing. / guess know a
good thing when / see one. I'm loan
ing it to you, Mr. Askew, at--any rate
you want 10 pay me-"
'Lafe, you're fool" said Hilary,
trying to keep his voice steady: "I'm
tempted. But I'm not going to take
IT."
"Thel guess III take the next boat
home !" shouted LATE. 81 amt going
to work for busted concern what's
going to leave me stranded up here in
midwinter, not drawing a cent, and
Clarice--my wife-and The kids in
Shoeburyport No, sir You take
that or I'll leave. IT amt so crazy
as you think Itn give me an interest
in getting the last ounce out of the
men--and | guess Clarlce will APP
prove. And when the coucern's on its
own legs, you-why, you can raise my
wages"
Council, you're trump said Hill
airy. 'I'll take IL. Yes. I'll take it, be-
cause know now that am going to
succeed. We can't fall, LATE. when
we're as much in earnest as we are.
Good Lord. what a respondent fool
I've been p
''Same here" said Lafe. II was just
hopeless, till you made me see
straight"
"Why, II was you made me see
straight said Hilary. NOW. Con-
nell wen push things hard from this
very minute Wen start in cutting
along Inc river, and wen float the
logs right down stream to the mill, and
wen keep Dupont and his schooner
coming and going tin navigation closes,
even IL we make Rivlere Rocheuse
look as bare as our bank account was
looking Just now. Baptiste will be
worth score when he understands"
He broke off suddenly, and the two
men. struck by the same thought,
looked at each other.
II wonder why Baptlste went off as
soon as he'd dynamited the JAM" said
Hilary.
lie felt ashamed of his suspicious.
let, remembering that day when
Baptiste was comforting with Pierre,
he could not wholly rid himself of
them.
"Lafe," he said, "what was 1t you
heard those men saying after the ac-
cident2 You started"
"Why, / guess that wasn't nothing,
Mr. Askew. You know how excited
these people get over trifles. They're
just like a flock Of geese Cabling
around"
''What was IT, LATER
"Just nonsense, sir. Not worth re-
peating, but--well, you see, it's this
way. Some darned fool said that some
body had sawed part way through the
logs of the BOOM"
Then for the first time the words Of
Madeleine Rosny came back TO Hilary:
Look to your booml Look to your
boomn
He hung HIS head and flushed with
shame. II seemed impossible to asso-
clate that act OF treachery with her.
Yet, struggle as he did, her last
words haunted him.