The Coolidge examiner., 1932-06-03

/ uOne. lie looked at MS Watcn ana
found 1t was six O'Clock. He'd have
to call it a day. He could face Edith.
now, at all events. He telephoned
| the office and Mariner. who hap
pened to be there, told him she had
gone home.
Mariner seemed TO want him to
come back that evening. There was
quite lot of mail, he said; and
then there was a matter ne want
ed 10 talk about. But Edward told
| him 1t would have to wait. He
didn't want 10 talk to Mariner to-
night. He didn't want to talk to
| anybody. He telephOned the house
and told Julia he wouldn't be home
to dinner; perhaps not till late, he
do anything but have quiet dinner
| by himself sOmewhere-at the club,
| perhaps-and think, get himself to-
gether, explore his discovery. He
had an idea that he might, perhaps,
have lifted the skyline of a new
| world.
Edward thought he knew what
| it was that Mariner wanted to talk
about The inventor was inventing
something else. He'd begun throw
| ing off mysterious hints about it
weeks ago. At first it was some
thing he wasn't yet ready to di-
vulge, even in the broadest way, the
nature of. except that If ii turned
out right it would be prodigious-
the most revolutionary advance in
automobile engineering that had
come along as yet.
Edwards emotional response to
this sort of thing had been an
almost uncomfortable impatience
with the man. There had been a
time when Mariner had talked that
way about the auto choke. He was,
Edward reflected. exactly like a cat
with her kittens, turning fercely
on the last lot as soon as the new
litter made its appearance.
SO. finding Mariner in the office
visibly waiting for him. when he ar
rived with Edith on the morning
after his selling adventure, he was
prepared to do battle against an
open proposal that they undertake
the manufacture of Mariners new
device. He was going TO smash il
fiat. Yesterdays experience had
made n new man of him.
"All right" Edward said, sitting
down and motioning Mariner TO
draw up chair. Let's have 1t
out. What's on your mind?"
Mariner surprised him. ''Pve been
thinking about the choke busi-
ness" he said. Il don't think
we've got the right policy. What
ever the thing amounts TO, It's
question Of selling It. and that's
what we aren't doing. Except for
few agencies in the South, it's
practically local business. Our
real markets in the West. and that
part of the country hasn't been
touched. st. Louis and Kansas
City and from there on, all the way
| to California
Edward pricked up his ears. He
| began TO see what was coming. He
switched his mind Off what Mar
iner was saying and began to
think. BY the time the inventor
wound up, That's how it looks to
me-" he had pretty well decided
upon his line.
That's not a bad idea" he said,
''if you can see any way to accom-
plilsh it. OF course our main preoc-
cupation just now is to keep afoat.
We couldn't afford to send mission
aries out TO convert the West. even
| if we had the man TO 90
"Of course ii would be essential" Z"
Mariner said. "to send the right
man. agree with you about that
I'd even thought it would be well il
| went myself; take my own car
and drive all the way. Go to ST.
| Louis first and get the work started
there. Then, across to Kansas
City. That's an enormous field.
When l got that organized I'd go on
west, TO the coast. That's the big
gest field of all"
How long" Edward asked thought
fully, do you figure the trip would
take?"
"Oh, not so very long" Mariner
told him. "Six weeks, perhaps"
Edward repressed an impulse to
smile. Had the man any idea how
transparent he was? "You couldn't
do the job very thoroughly in that
length of time" he commented
mildly.
"Oh. of course" Mariner admitted
81 wouldn't expect to stay in every
town and wait till the results came
in. I'd give them a chance to take
it if they wanted it, though"
Edward glanced around. Edith
had slipped into the shop.
Mariner" he said, "fOr just FIVE
J minutes, let's talk plainly. If
you're advocating this trip to the
coast as a selling program, you're
! talking nonsense. There's more buy