The Holly chieftain., 1924-05-08

drink he wanted. But the thing that
frightened him was the realization,
brought home at last, thai this WAS
What had been the matter With him
for nentls. In IA way, he had known
Ii all along. His shame over the habit
gave him away; his careful conceal
nent from his associates OF the
amount vi whisky it took to see him
through The day.
He got up and took the empty bottle
and the glass into the bathroom,
washed thtm out thoroughly, and then
washed his hands The only way to
quit w;.s TO quit.
pcrlence that was comparable with the
tortures of the ensuing week.
He was starving, for food was some
thing he could hardly bring himself
to touch; he was consumed by what
seemed like thirst, except that no
he was dragged down by heavy lassi-
tude; his nervous irritability was that
of a man eXcoriated he was utterly
and terribly alone. Worst of all was
the obsession that one drink, even
small drink, of whisky would make
him instantly himself again He as
serted to himself that this was lie;
that at the worst he was a better man
than the muzzywitted fool lie had
been for the past six months; but this
was an assertion that he had con-
stantly to make anew.
The only thing that supported him
was the other fight he was engaged in,
the fight to keep himself and the en-
terprise which he had made part of
himself out of the waiting clutches of
John Williamson and his friends.
Jennie's letter when 1t came on Mon
day morning made 1t clenr that they
must have been waiting and ready for
good while There was no doubt
in Jennie's mind, nor in Joe's, that
the other crowd were completely un-
loaded
Joe got her at once on the telephone
and told her that he was going to keep
on trying to market the fax In New
York. He was going after new lot
of people Jennie should go to the
meeting and receive their terms. and
transmit them to him. Also she was
to avoid saying anything about his
plans or present whereabouts. He
ended the conversation by telling her
that she wasn't to feel discouraged.
He believed he was going to win out
yet.
He had begun, as he told Jennie he
meant TO do, with new crowd, none
of them AS big as the men in the
inner ring; but on Friday, when he
had talked to a dozen of them to-
gether at prearranged lunch, this
reaWakened sensitlveness of his told
him the tide had turned against him.
He tried to shout this instinct down,
but he knew he was beaten.
He went back to the hotel, and there
found Jennle's letter containing in full
the terms offered by Williamson, Cor
bett and Crawford. The mental effort
involved in reading the letter was an
agony in itself. In the broad outline,
first move had been on Monday morn
ing, when the three of them formally
rendered their designations as direc-
tors in the Greer company, the reason
being offered in each case that they
were no longer stockholders in the
company. They now proposed to or
ganize new corporation which would
enter into iive-year contract with the
Greer company to buy the entire out
put of raw flax which the Greer com
pany was committed to buy from the
subsidiaries, at the price which the
Greer company had paid the subsd-
iaries plus II brokers' commission of
one-eighth of one per cent. The Greer
company was given thirty days in
which 10 accept this offer
Joe grinned savagely over the neat
ness of the thing. He was to be left
undisturbed in control of the Greer
company. The Greer company was to
be saved from bankruptcy, allowed to
collect its meagef royalties, if it could,
and brokers' commission of one
eighth of one per cent upon its sales.
The subsidiaries, too, would be paid
the letter of their bond They'd get
their manufacturers proit--twenty
per cent over the cost of material and
labor for processing the flax. In
word, they and the Greer company
were to be left holding the bag. All
the real profits would go to the new
corporation.
And yet there was nothing, SO far
as Joe could see, illegal or even I'm.
ethical about the proposal. Well. they
hadn't got him yet. He still had thirty
days In which TO keep on trying to
find either more favorable market
for the flax, or credit that would en-
able him to carry it. When he went
10 the desk in his hotel to get his key
they handed him II telegram. He sup
posed 1t was from Jennie. He had
hardly the heart to open 1t. But the
woman's maine which was signed to
1t was not Jennies. 1t read