The Holly chieftain., 1924-01-24

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feeling queerly at ease for the mo-
ment with his companion. I've
worked for them. as you say. good
part of my life. but they've never
struck me as-enigmatic. especially.
OF course. theyre-my own people.
But you're quite right that I'm not one
Of them-Td have been a musician,
IL could" he added.
"There you are" said Greer; "that's
something. l suppose music's 5uS
form Of engineering, really. only 1t
happens to be one that a man can't
make living by-unless he's sort
Of freak. Well. then. you're musi-
clan; I'm an engineer. But what the
devil are they? What do they see?
What do they think they see? Oh,
money, of course, but moneys nothing
What Is it they're trying to get done?
II l had WiIliamson's money I'd do
something with 1t. So would you.
doubt If he even has fun with 1t. Not
as much as l have-on perhaps
twentieth as much. Round and round
he goes looking for safe Investments
for an income that's already five or
six times what he can spend-making
more work for himself all the time"
! II suppose" Henry put in. that it's
really power he wants rather than
money"
The other man snatched the word
away from him. Power! l under
stand power, or l think l do. Power
Is what can be used to move somei
thing. Well. now. see here Here's a
man who's got a hobby for buying
electric storage-cells and charging
them, and he goes on collecting more
and more of them and you go to him
and say. What are you going to do
with all this?' and he says. oh. I'm
going to run a motor-generator outfit
to charge more cells Couldn't you
conservator appointed on the strength
Of that? OF course you could. Well.
what's the difference? What does
Williamson want to rum The city7
He could. If he llked-Roger Sullivan
did. A railroad? steamship line?
An opera company? A harem? l
don't care what. But 1t ought to be
something"
He Illuminated this statement with
a dazzling grin, but went straight
on: Williamson gets a bound report
On me and reads 1t. or. for all know,
hires somebody else to read 1t for
him. and sends me word he'll 90 In.
But In all this time-three months,
mind you--he's never come out to our
laboratory on the West side, where he
could have seen the thing done. ac-
tually done under semi-commercial
conditions. He doesn't care about
how It's done. Nor, for that matter,
what we do. Any damn thing in the
world that would show the same profit
between raw material and finished
product, and the same demand. would
interest him just as much-it would
be. the same thing to him.
"Cellulose fiber Is one of the most
interesting things In the world. I've
been thinking about 1t. of and on, ever
since the first time found myself in
a tropical Jungle. And the things you
can do by dissolving it. or by mating
and compressing It, or by using 1t as
a binder in plastic substances-there's
no end. And we're Just at the begin
ming. back In the Old Testament. But
1t might be putty for all Williamson
cares-or prunes."
He Interrupted himself here to take
another drink, and Henry said:
| VII 1ph ~ h,,A
he knows more about that process Of
yours than you think. And he knows
he's not a technical man. 1t may be
caution as much as lack Of interest
that's kept him away"
Greer caught that instantly over the
edge Of his up-raised glass. Henry
found that glance Of his curIously
stimulating.
Anyhow" Henry went on, "he told
me himself quite little about tt
about the-bug. he called 1t. that you'd
discovered"
HI" said Greer, putting down his
glass, II didn't discover any bug. I'm
not bacteriologlst. l hired a fellow
"a young professor of botany at one
or the universities. and told him to
discover 1t. It. took him more than a
year, and II I hadn't been there to
speed him up 1t might have taken him
twenty. They're queer birds, too,
these pure scientists. when 1t comes
to that. They don't care what any
things for any more than the bank
ers care how 1t works II Isn't till a
man like me comes along and takes
one In one hand and another in the
other and cracks their heads together
that anything really happens In the
world"
The inward grimace Henry allowed
himself at this must have shown some
reflection in his face, perceptible to
Greer, for almost instantly, with
shrug and a smile, he went on:
THAT sounds like bras to you. Per
haps 1t is. But we're trying to get nc
0uaInted aren't we7 The sooner we