The Holly chieftain., 1924-04-24

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manifold.
1t troubled them both, too. that they
couldn't arouse Joe to the seriousness
of :he situation.
After fruitlessly urging Henry to
run up and see Joe at the mills and
talk to him about the seriousness OF
the situation, Jennie finally agreed to
make the trip herself. On her return
she refused to talk to Henry at the
Office and they went out to dinner to-
getller. When the waiter had dIsap-
peared she came right TO the point
Henry. Joe's drinking too much,"
Jennie said, bIuntly. Henry made a
grimace at that. The picture her
words formed in his mind was of
nightly buc0lic carOusals.
How did you find out about II ?" he
asked after moment of unhappy medi-
tatIon. "Did they talk to you about it,"
They don't know" she said NO
body knows. He doesn't get drunk.
Henry. You wouldn't know, unless
you'd always known him. that there
was anything wrong. He just drinks.
He's ashamed about 1t. But he needs
II. After he's been around with you
while. he makes an excuse for going
away by himself to get 1t, because he
can't stand 1t any longer without it.
1t just happened that 1 found it out.
and when did 1t made me-sick. No,
l didn't say anything to him about 1t.
What would be the use? It's been
going on long while. l guess. Since
before he went North this spring."
Henry remembered the drink he'd
seen Joe take after the April meeting.
Something ought to he done about
It," he said. "Its-ghastly. II it's
really as bad as 1t seemed to you"
ut is" she asserted. Il am not mis-
taken about that But ne's the only
person who can do anything about 1t.
When he gets around to 1t. suppose
he will. When he's got over the thing
that drives him to it. 1t Is ghastly, of
course. but don't believe anything
like that will ever get Joe perma-
nently."
These revelations were so appalling
to Henry that he quite forgot what
'1ennie's original errand to the North
had been. along with the apprehen-
sions which had caused her to under
take it. Not so. Jennie, however She
came back to flax.
"They aren't as happy up there as
they were when Joe was organizing
those subsidiaries" she told Henry.
They're furious over the way wheats
gone down. They think it's all the
doings Of the spectators. They're
worried over tight money and the way
the banks are shutting down on new
credits. They think that's part of a
conspiracy, too. You see. practically
all those little flax companies bor-
rowed the money that they bought the
straw with. 1t was easy enough to
get then. But now the local banks
are wanting those notes paid up, and
that means that the subsidiaries won't
be able to give us any time at all.
We're all right for while. of course,
but this Is going to run into millions,
Henry. And the stuff we're going to
buy, until we've established market
for 1t, isn't anything the banks will
take for collateral, either.
A prediction of John Wiliamson's
stabbed through Henry's memory like
neuralgia. Sooner or later, this
man Greer will bite off more than he
can chew Had he already done 1t?
Henry wondered. And then Jennie
startled him by mentioning John, her
self. She had suggested that Henry
go and talk to him.
Henry didn't much want to do this.
He'd been avoiding John Of late, on in
stinct rather than from any formidable
reason. but this wasn't fact he cared