The Belding banner-news. (Belding, Mich.) 1918-1973, 1920-07-14

~VS2
Two days before Hilary would have
jumped at the bait. would have shown
his resentment of the lie, declared hos
tility. and given Morris his cue. Now
he only smiled pleasantly.
'Yes. saw him." he answered. HE
tried to dissuade me from colling up
here. but wanted to see the proper
ty."
IF you had let me know" said Nor
ris, ~ could have made arrangements.
of the year. There Is very little to
show You. But shall arrange to take
you all over the concession. / sup
pose you'll be staying long enough to
do some fishing, Mr.. Askew? There
are some fine trout lakes a few miles
to the north. We might make days
trip of It,"
His sentences were not continuous.
There was considerable pause after
each, long enough to allow Hilary to
reply. If Hilary's silences had
aroused respect In the mind of Lamar
tine, they aroused positive fear in
that of Morris.
Hilary came to the point. 81 have
come here to assume charge, Mr.. Nor
ris," he said. please let me see the
map and books"
Morris wiped his forehead with
handkerchief which he took from his
desk. '"That's-that's a sudden deci-
sion, Mr.. Askew," he said, trying to
smile.
my decisions are always sudden"
Morris laid one finger upon the edge
of the desk. "Of course know moth
ing of your affairs or circumstances,
Mr.. Askew," he said, with tone of
aggrievement, shut If you intend to
take charge Immediately, in this i'm
pulsive way, that means that l must
step out. The concession is not pay
ing proposition, as you are probably
aware. but your uncle was satisfied
with my management"
II have not expressed dissatisfac-
ton yet" answered Hilary. "Please
let me see"
my suggestion" interrupted Nor
ris, sis merely that you hold over your
decision until we can go into the
books together Frankly, If were
you / should try to sell. 1t was my
advice to your uncle, but he was lit
tie obstinate about confessing to an
error in Judgment, Mr.. Askew."
3 Before l see the books" said Hill
AIRY, 81 have a question to ask you.
Are you not associated with the Ste.
Marie companyT
Morris wiped his forehead again.
He hated directness as much as Lam
artine. 81 certainly am" he said,
but"
another question. How do you
reconcile that with your duties as man.
ager of my concession"
Nov, my dear sir" protested Nor
ris, raising his finger, ''if that is your
grievance 1t is an unjustifiable one.
There Is nothing in my duties here In
compatible with my having other In
terests. / think you will find that
have not neglected my obligations to
your late uncle. AS for the Ste. Marie
company, the fact that 1t is adjacent
makes 1t easy for me to devote little
time to 1t, so far as l can spare 1t
from my duty here. The two COM
panies are not In conflict, Mr.. Askew.
Quite the contrary. What helps one,
helps the other"
"Quite So" said Hilary. 81 don't dis
pute that you have had a right to en-
gage in other interests. But how about
their use of our MILF"
"At a sum, Mr.. Askew, which makes
quite little showing on the credit side
OF our ledgers. We can't afford to
throw money away, and our cuttings
are not large enough for the one to
interfere with the other"
"You mean the timber is bad"
'Damn bad" said Morris. Dummy
fir, Mr.. Askew. What little spruce
there is I've been holding to make a
show In case we decide to SELL"
THAT sounds plausible said Hill
airy; and then he shot his bolt. "Why
does the Ste. Marie company wish to
purchase this gummy FIR Of ours7" he
asked.
Morris rose up, trembling with anger
that was only half feigned.
Il see you have suspicious of my
good fi'h Mr.. Askew," he said indig-
nantly. ~Ihat is the only possible In
depreciation I can put upon your ques-
tion."
IF you viii answer II. we can inter-
pref Ii together later"
II am not prepared to answer II Off
hand. Many companies would like to
get our property. The Ste. Marie
company may or may not have that In
tention. should no more think Of
disclosing the Ste. Marie's plans to
you than I should think OF disclosing
your plans to the Ste. Marie"
May have the books and map of
the seIgniory limits and leased tracts,
Mr.. Morris7" asked Hilary.
IF you think my services are worth
less have no desire to retain my POI