The Dolores star., 1924-03-28
CHAPTER vI-Continued.

X
"All right" she went on; be as
shocked as you likel | mean you to
he. I'm trying TO wake you up. In
nocence Is good thing to have, but
1t isn't the only thing in the world.
You'd lost yours long before you were
as old as she is. In more ways than
you mean about her. You'd -un
amuck. You'd got down. you've often
told me. to the edge OF the gutter.
You're proud of it. too! Because of
the way you built yourself up from
there. BY yourself. Without any help
from anybody.
We'll. she's like you. You've said
that yourself. but told you you'd
never be able to remember it. She's
got to find things out for herself. even
IL she gets hurt, now and then. doing
1t. Nobody can help her unless they
begin by trusting her to find her own
way. And II she sees that you don't
finds you watching her and spying on
her-it'll do her more harm than any
drunken lover could do her at the
end of a joyride. l mean that, Joe
literally"
l.
was to say that he wouldn't have be-
lieved a wOman-a good woman
could have talked like that.
She uttered mirthless laugh. 81
don't believe you know much about
good women. l doubt if you know
one when you see one
I'm not going North again" he
said after heavy silence There
were 4 few things | wanted to finish
up, but they can stand over. I've
got a job here: | can see that |
couldn't expect anybody else to do 1t
for me. She's my daughter; That's
the difference I'm going to look after
her my own way. don't mean to spy
on her. She won't know I'm watching
or asking questions But I'm going to
know ~
With Joe home there was no longer
any need for Jennie to remain with
the girl and so she returned to her
own home. The first night she was
miserably lonely. She wanted Trix.
ranging in. hugging her at haphazard,
sprawling on the chair arm or the
rug, talking neither very wisely nor
very wittily, at random, yawEing,
fondllng her shoulder or her knee for
moment with a careless hand, and
saying she was going to bed. Naive,
pathetic. lovely, young, just beginning
to find herself! What right had Joe
to come trampling into this little gar
den. just because a momentary casual
act of his. forgotten for twenty years,
had besotten her? His daughter, was
shel
Their conferences over the patent
situation endured for days. II was
sense of the directors that an arrange
ment should be made. Crawford
made formal motion that the set
tiement be made. when it was made,
in stock
This put Joe In a corner Real dan
ger always quieted him, and his argu-
ment, though forcibIe, was low-voiced
and conciiatOry. The fundamental
difficulty about organizing this com
pany. he pointed out. has been over
the question of control. He had felt
at first that since he was putting his
whole fortune into the company and
was to be its technical head he was
entitled to full control. II had been
with the greatest reluctance that he
had consented to a divided control.
an even fifty per cent in his hands
and fifty in the hands of the asso-
ciates. He had relied upon a gentle
mems agreement that this balance
should not be disturbed by the issu-
ance Of treasury stock. He felt that
the payment of the inventor in this
iun To IA IL ir,tn SEC
as likely to disturb that balance 1t
would be a much easier matter for
Williamson, Corbett and Crawford. or
their friends, to possess themselves of
that stock than 1t would be for him
He urged, therefore, in the interest Of
fair play. that the cash price. or, rath-
er. the best compromise they could
make on a cash basis, be accepted
Question" Corbett murmured when
they had heard him in silence to the
end. But Frank Crawford, after a
glance down the table at Henry Crav-
ems troubled face, made little speech
Of reinsurance. The agreement was
still gent!emens agreement, and
there was no disposition on the part
of any one to violate 1t. The control
had from the first been ambiguous,
and it would be no more so after the
stock sale had been made. There was
no reason to believe that the inventor
was not entirely disinterested. Craw-
ford was voting for a stock payment
both because he did not wish the com
puny's financial resources depleted
and because he did wish the person
mel strpngthpnel as he believed II
would be by the enlistment of man
whose talents, as an inventor, had
been so highly praised by their pres
ident.
The vote was then taken and the