Evening star., 1924-06-29
Mighty light Money


How about it--as man to Ynan--
are you insolvent? Ape YOU busted,
Henry?'
mo-" said Mr.. Bipps. NE, 7 amt,
Caggerty. Not If I can pull through ;
not IL they don't crowd me into the
| ditch. You know how it is II any man
| is crowded and has to chuck every
| thing he owns into the ditch. No
body gets anything. much. If they
don't crowd me into the ditch, and
give me time to work out, I'm not
busted. I'm worth, we'll, on paper,
Caggerty, I'm worthy quite a lot
Second mortgages. But If have to
| chuck my second mortgages into the
| market. with money so mighty tight
won't get much for them. I'm
busted then, l guess, Caggerty."
We'll" said Caggerty, well, I'll
| tell you, Henry. The thing for you to
do is not to go along like this, wor-
rying yourself into a breakdown. The
| thing for you to do Is to let me call
| a meeting of your creditors. You
| let me get them all here, in this
| offics. and you give them a clean
straight showdown. Wen have
them all In. and lay our. cards nat
on the table. Wen say Gentlemen,
here 1t Is! Here's what I've got, Do
you want to bust me and get 10 cents
on the dollar-"
But I can pay more than 10 cents
on the dollar, no matter how bad"
Never mind that! We won't have
all our cards on the table," said Gag
gerty. Well have something up our
sleeve Well have an ace in the hole.
If it looks too much like so cents
| on the dollar, or 30, they may say
Well take it and be happy Henry.
but il it locks more like 10 cents they
may say Well. let's let him try to
work cut; 10 cents amt much to get
You let me call them together and
you let me talk to them. HUH"
well, maybe" said Mr.. Bipps.
Would you buy another of these Sec
onds. caggerty?"
Yes. 1 can handle another; have
a man will take another"
Then that ought to tide me over a
couple of weeks" said Mr.. Bipps;
that and what 1 can collect in ad-
vance from my buyers.
You never did collect up very
close, did your
mo; but I am new," said Mr. Bipps.
II have to. with every one pressing
me so hard for money"
'How's the bank treating your
asked Caggerty.
"All right. guess" said Mr.. Bipps.
''Ive got the bank almost cleaned up.
I've been paying off on my notes.
I've got to keep my credit good there,
70 hull
Yes, that's right" Caggerty said.
"I only thought il I said something
to Hammerhaugh it might make it
easier for you"
GO, the next day, Mr.. Bipps went to
sold another Of his second mortgages.
1t was for $4,000 and he had to sell
it for $500. which left him a profit
of only $500 on that house, but it
had to be done. And he hated to
have Caggerty call the creditors to-
gether. A man hates to sit and face
thirty or forty men who can ask
questions that make one squirm and
turn red and sputter.
So January dragged into February,
and February dragged into March.
Mr.. Bipps paid a little here and a
little there, begged his buyers to pay
q little this month and little next
month, sold second mortgage now
and second mortgage a little later,
and the three houses he was build
ing neared completion. BY mid
March the frost was entirely out of
the ground and it was time to begin
cellar excavations If a man meant to
remain in the building business, but
Mr.. Bipps had no excavating under
way. He went to see Caggerty and
put the three new houses in his hands
for sale. For one Caggerty said he
ought to get $4,000, for the other
two $4,000 each, If there were any
buyers: spring might bring buyers.
II know them outside" Caggerty
said. you bring around the floor
plans, and I'll look them over inside
tomorrow"
1t was late in the afternoon and
Mr.. Bipps was very tired. He knew
he ought to run out to the Barmin-
ster street house, but he felt too
heavy and worn out to do it. He
drove his jangling truck toward his
Office and as he turned into Willow
street something separated itself
from the truck and fell with a clang.
Just what it was 1 do not know; it
may have been the trucks diferen-
tial calculus or its Einstein theory,
but the truck stopped short, the en-
gine wheesed once, and Mr.. Bipps got
out, cursed once, and started for his
Office afeet. AS he passed the win
dow of his Office he glanced in and
stopped short. The man from the
Glen Hutter Lumber Company was
there, waiting for him. A sudden
rage at the injustice of fate flooded
Mr. Bipps' soul and he wrenched the
knob of the door and stormed into the
Office.
by heavenw he cried. ''By, heaven,
count down to next to nothing, and I
paid you two hundred last week, and
you're back here bounding me again
already! For dime I'd throw you
out Of"
The lumber cempany's man got to
his feet and backed toward the door.
Now, that's all right, MS. Bipps,"
the young man said. "If it's not con-
venient to make q payment to-
day"
"It amt" shouted Mr.. Bipps. "And
I won't make one! I won't Pay You
another dollar for q month. You can
go back and tell old Granger that"
The lumber company's young man
n |