The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1921-01-06
PAGE NINE

tomobile and a chauffeur, and you can
come to town whenever you please,
provided you don't neglect the COM
pany'S intereStS-and | know you're
not that kind Of an engineer"
do l have to put some money into
it, NeddyT"
Not necessarily. although | should
advise II. l can let you in on the
ground floor for that hundred thou
sane Of yours, guarantee you a hand
some profit and in all probability a big
cleanup"
II feel myself slipping, Needy. New.
~ertheleSs, the tail goes with the hide.
I'm not In the habit Of asking my
friends to guarantee my investments,
and If you say It's right, I'll spread
what | have left of the hundred thou
sand when l report for duty"
"It's been q tremendous job get
ting this consolidation over, Jack.
When"
"In PHYS namel Spare me. I've
heard all l want to hear about your
COMPOUNDED consolidation. Newsl
News! Give me news! l have to
beg for q drink Nose, you black
sinner, how dare you appear before
me without bringing a drink"
Nose, the aged colored porter Of
the Engineers club, flashed a row Of
worries and respectfully returned the
democratic greeting.
Letter for you. sub. The secre-
IN 49, fold mo 30 aix-N t. 90 x-An Aficfnh
Webster"
THANK you. Nose. Speak up, Ned
dy, and tell me something. Ever hear
anything of Billy GearyT
He vas tearing the edge OF the en-
velope the while he gazed at Jerome,
who was rubbing his fat hands to-
gether after the fashion of elderly men
who are well pleased with themselves.
you have n chance to become one
of the greatest and richest mining en-
gineers In the world, jack" he an
swered, "now that you've cut loose
from that young crook Geary. l don't
know what's become Of him, and
neither does anybody else. For that
matter, nobody cares"
81 do-and you can take the brief
end Of that bet for your last white
chip. Don't let me hear you or my
body else say anything against Billy
Geary. That boy goes for my money.
every turn In the box. Don't make
any mistakes about that, oldtimer."
Webster's face suddenly was seri-
Gus; the bantering %intOnation In his
voice was gone, and a new, slightly
strident note had crept into 1t. But
Jerome waved his hand so%othingly.
"All right, old Johnny Pepper-box,
have 1t your WI way. Nevertheless,
I'm a little mystifed. The last I
knew of you two, you had testified
against him in the h%igh-grader trials
Mt Cripple Creek, and he had pulled
out under a cloud. even after his ac-
quittal."
"Give n dog a bad name. and it will
stick to him." Webster retorted. "Of
course I testified against him. As en-
gineer for the Mine Owners associa-
ton, / had to. The high-grade ore
was found In his assay Office, and the
circumstantial evidence was complete,
and l admit Billy was acquitted
merely because I and others could not
swear positively that the ore came
from any certain mine. 1t was the
same old story, Neddy. You can be
morally certain that high-grade ore
has been stolen from your mine, but
unless you catch the ore thief In the
act, how can you prove it2 I suppose
you read the newspaper reports and
believed them, just as everybody else
does"
well, forget 1t, Jack. It's all over
long ago. and forgotten"
ut wasn't all over so long ago as
you to think. 1 suppose you
knew the Holman gang was after
ward sent to the penitentiary for
those same high-grade operations?
Billy Gsary's acQuittal didn't end my
interest In the case-nOt by a jugful!
/ fought the case against the friends
OF the Holman crew among the mine
owners themselves; and 1t cost me my
good job, my prestige as a mining en-
gineer, and thirty thousand dollars Of
money that I'd shaved to get together.
OF course you never knew this, Neddy,
and for that matter, neither does
Geary. I wish he did. We were good
friends once. l certainly was mighty
fond of that boy"
He drew the letter from the en-
velope and slowly opened II.
"And you new heard what became
Of GearyY"
"NOt a word. I was too busy won
dering what was to become Of me. I
couldn't get a Job anywhere In Colo
RADIO, and I moved to Nevada. Made
a million In Goldfeld, dropped it in
the panic Of 1907. and had to start
again."
"What have you been doing lately2'
"Borax. Staked a group of claims
down In Death valley. Bully ground,
Neddy, and / was busted when I To-
Gated them. Had to borrow money to
pay the filing fees and Incorporation,
and did my own assessment work.
r - ~ yIyIA.- l-1 1890