Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1920-03-25
VICTOR ROUSSEAU
Illustrations by Irwin Myers

him inside the room, and took q chair
beside him.
Hilary looked at him with a whim-
steal smile. "We're finished, LATE.
This affair, coming on top of the can
ceiling Of those jobbers' leases, has
ended me-"
LATE scratched his chin, but said
nothing to this.
you see" said Hilary, according to
my reckoning we shall have about for
ty thousand dollars on hand about
September first. That will last us till
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 LATE.
"Thirty-five thousand dollars-per-
haps less"
I'VE could get more out of thoss
river bottoms" suggested Late.
And shut down in the middle of
March,"
"As far as / can see" LATE blurted
out, you'll be about ten thousand shy,
Mr.. Askew, assuming things go fairly
well. That's why 1 came here. You
see, it's like this. I've got nearly eight
thousand in the First National bank
at Shoeburyport, Mass. Clarice-Mrs.
Cornell, that SHOULDN'T let me buy
her a house on the installment plan
as | wanted to. She said as I'd never
know when we'd need the money, and
If I couldn't pay up on time they'd get
it away from us somehow, nc 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. Cornell
have been saving up for a home, and
put it into this bankrupt ~concern?"
"Oh, shucksr" said LATE. "Why
that amt nothing. I guess I know a
good thing when ! see one. I'm loan
ing it to you, Mr.. Askew, at--any rate
you want to pay me-"
LATE, you're a fool" said Hilary,
trying to keep his voice steady: "Pm
tempted. But I'm not going to take
it,
"Then I guess I'll take the next boat
| hnDno ~ e,hnrrfnI Tnfo ar os-tA -
to work for a 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. 1t amt SO crazy
as you think. It'll give me an interest
in getting the last ounce out Of the
men-and I guess Clarice will ap-
prove. And when the concerns on it's
own legs, you-why, you can raise my
wages"
"Connell, you're a trump" said Hill
airy. sill take II. Yes, I'll take it, be-
cause I know now that / am going to
succeed. We can't fail, LATE, when
we're as much in earnest as we are.
Good Lord, what a respondent fool
I've been!"
Same here" said Late. II was just
hopeless, till you made me see
straight"
"Why, it was you made me see
straight" said Hilary. "Now, Con-
nell, Wen push things hard from this
very minute. Wen start in cutting
along the river, and wen float the
logs right down stream to the mill, and
we'll keep Dupont and his schooner
coming and going till navigation closes,
wen IL we make Riviere Rocheuse
look as bare as our bank account was
looking just now. Baptiste win be
worth a score when he understands"
He broke off suddenly. and the two
men, struck by the same thought,
looked at each other.
Il wonder why Baptiste went off as
soon as he'd dynamited the JAM" said
Hillary.
He felt ashamed Of his suspicious.
Yet, remembering that day when
Baptiste was comforting with Pierre,
he could not wholly rid himself of
them.
'Iafe," he said, "what was 1t you
heard those men saying after the ac-
cfdent? You started"
"Why, I 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 tinae the words OF
Madeleine Rosny came back to Hilary:
Look to your booml Look to your
boomt"
He hung his head and flushed with
shame. 1t seemed Impossible to assoc
ciate that act Of treachery with her. ,
Yet, struggle as he did, her last
haunted him.