The Ely miner., 1924-04-18

him Instantly himself again. He as
serted to himself that this was a lie
that at the worst he was better man
than the muzzy-witted fool he 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 II came on Mon
day morning made it clear 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 flax In New
York. He was going after new lot
of people. Jennie she III 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 dozen of them TO-
gether at prearrarged lunch, this
reawakened sensitiveness 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,
however, it was simple enough. The
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 recon
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 a five-year contract with the
Greer company to buy the entire out
put Of raw fax, which the Greer COM
pany was committed to buy from the
subsidiaries, at the price which the
Greer company had paid the subsid-
iarles plus brokers' commission of
one-eighth of one per cent. The Greer
company was given thirty days in
which to 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 wa to
be saved from bankruptcy, allowed to
collect its meager royalties, If 1t could,
and a 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 proft-twenty
per cent over the cost Of material and
labor for processing the fax. In a
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 un-
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 a more favorable market
for the fax, or credit that woult en-
able him to carry 1t. When he went
to the desk in his hotel to get his key
they handed him a telegram He sup
posed it was from Jennie. He had
hardly the heart to open it. But the
woman's name which was signed to
it was not Jennie's. 1t read:
Arriving Pennsylvania station tomor-
row morning nine forty-hve for few
hours only.-Violet.
He was still incredulous when he
saw her walking toward him, down
the platform. Frightened nd thrilled
at the same time with sense of great
adventure, as he could see she was,