Gunnison news-champion., 1921-02-11
"Jol,n Smith"
., Ai,.A J. ca.sA

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ecsssrssss- isss. wsssn nsvssasss uassal
h was IKE . eolony q ants ~
6enly diseurSed b. an uph0val - -
family bill. u some one had Dropped
. bomb Into The ooe Industrial plant
ef Croftoo II could not have CAUSED
noes general disorder. For tWeaty.
Eve ysars manager for JeAn RelSa. .
city nillionaire. James Dustin had
Died. and there was net N employss
vho did not feel that he even. pseas-
ant tense of his life was about 70 b
disrupted
The Star Cefeal Mills repesseated
IN invsstDeat Of the Rolfe fanlly. -
which. amid multifasious hsadlnga.
they paid little atteatioa. Janes Duse-
IN was . relative Of the family. ed
the business was started primarily -
0nd Q place for hin. He had alleo Il
weal. he had poured liberal dividends
uninterruptedly Into the Rolfs coRee.
Possessed Of Q helpful. sympathetic
spirit he had built up about hin
homes that were happy. hearts tAst
loved and reverenced him
There had been some dissatiafac-
tion among the employees for Q year
preceding the death Of Dustin. He
had been failing for some time and
had 70 take long vacations. A dis
tant relative had appeared on the
scene. He was . man about thirty
hve. with . shrcwd. foxy face. shifty
eyes and . boastful. overbearing man
ner that awed the timid and irritated
those who saw deeper into the shall
low nature. Greg varney was able
. influence some big orders for the
concern. but outside Of that did little
but disturb the perfect system that
Dustin had inaugurated.
TOO slow. altogether too SLOW" Var.
ney had commented. This has got
to be q regular Rip Van winkle e.
tablishment. I'm the one that put
the 'fsh' Into efficiency In the biggest
Wholesale fur house IN Chicago. and
I'd like now to put man into
management here. You've got toe
many fossils on the payroll. I'd DO BIG
things II was In charge"
There was only one possible rival in
the race for promotion. and this was
Walter Barton. He was just Of age.
his father had been one Of the first
employees In the business. and the
son had hlied his place after his death.
Dustin had advanced him rapidly.
and but for his youth he would have
been selected as assistant. instead Of
varney. His sister. Gloria, a beautiful
girl Of eighteen. had been his guide
and genius In home life md In en-
cournging his lnudable ambitions to
get on In the world.
Gloria Barton had little interest In
those Of the opposite sex. One day,
however. there was a token of more
than ordinary interest In her eyes as
Walter came into the house. bidding
good-by to n young man whom she had
never seen before.
'who was thatT she inquired.
.John Smith, representing Mr.. Rolfe
through his lawyers" replied Walter.
"He has just come to look over the
mills. He has been asking about tho
business two hours with varney.
The information stirred up Gloria
more than she betrayed. Perhaps the
whole future business career Of her
beloved brother depended upon the de-
cision Of this very uncommon stranger
with very common name. She was
openly surprised and secretly glad
when there appeared mt the little cot
tage the next morning John Smith In
person.
He introduced himself In q friend-
ly. pleasant manner that impressed
her At once. She invited him into
the house and was almost dumbfound-
ed ~ he said at once:
'lflss Barton. ! feel that I can trust
you with q secret and I must impart
the same to you. in order to obtain
your counsel and cooperation. which
I very much need. am not Mr.. John
Smith, but Allen Rolfe. the son Of
the owner Of the mills here. Ny pur-
pose In coming under Q false name II
to learn Just how affairs stand here. a.
an outsider. must tell you that
Crofton has been q sort Of hobby with
my father. He loves to dream Of this
quiet, happy little community Of work.
err whom he has benefited, and pers
haps some day he may retire to It ~ .
sort Of Arcadia IN his old age.
The financial end II sutstantial; II has
always been %. His main thought ID
Of preserving the business with happy.
contented workers; 4 sort Of oasis In
the midst Of the usually arid business
desert. Your father was Q pioneer In
our service. Your brother and yourself
are probably more familiar with the
situation than any others. Please be
frank and open with me in advising
entirely on the side Of those in our
service"
II was three hours later when Allen
Rolfe left the Barton home. He had
been charmed BY the intelligence and
GtraightfOrwartness Of this lovely