The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1933-06-23
CHAPTER /
Copyright. 1892.
WNU Service

In his young days Tom Belknap may
have Squirmed now and then; most
men who have undergone the vicissi-
tudeS of fortune building in the lum-
Der industry have. But this much is
had occasionally felt discontinue, he
kept ii well to himself, concealed be-
hind that brusk, gruff front.
Now, however, he put on a first-rate
exhibition of a. man In an uncomfort-
able corner as Harrington, small and
gray and amazed. stood in that spa
cious chamber and stared at him.
The old fellow had made his asser-
ton with a growl, as he always did
when at variance with his aids. and
ordinarily that tone ended argument
abruptly. Not today.
But" said Harrington, after that
long pause occasioned by incredulity.
whats the boy going to say to that?"
He'll do as he's told!'
Twice? You'll disappoint him
twice. TOm2 A boy with with
as much spirit as you have yourself"
He scratched his thin hair absently
and frowned. and old Tom. skunk In
the depths of that great chair, rolled
an uneasy eye at him, an eye which
had in ii defiance and determination
and, perhaps. a hint of appeal "Why.
he took II standing a year ago in
June when you sent him from college
to Witch Hill instead of to Kampfest
That was a body-blow. after all the
talk and planning, but you told him TO
go and show what he could do and he
did. Now. he's coming here In
few minutes to claim the reward you
held out to him, and instead of send
ing him to Kampfest. you're shunting
him off on Belknap Sevenl 1t beats
mel"
The other fidgeted with his watch
chain and cleared his throat irritably
We'll" he said. "John amt going to
Kampfest yet. Not yet !" He
shook his head. "No, sirl Not to
Kampfest!"
Harrington's gray eyes were prying
now, suspicion rife in them as he
studied the averted face of the man
he knew so well.
Are you in trouble at Kampfest?"
he asked quietly, and the old face
flashed up at him.
IF am, it's my own troubled"
watcher might not have noticed
that Harrington had tensed on his
query, but the sudden relaxing of his
body was obvious.
81 thought as much" he said grimly,
meeting the challenge in those eyes,
81 was afraid trouble might follow
when you took Gorbel in on this thing
I've suspected matters weren't right
there for two years now: last month
when you came hack from Kampfest
you had the look Of beaten man, and
/ was pretty sure. Now, | know"
"You know a lot !"-grumpily as he
hitched closer to the massive desk
The other did not respond With
pursed lips he pondered moment and
then burst out:
Look here. Toni Why don't you
let US help you up there? Why don't
you come down off your high horse
and let the office straighten things
out>while you're away?
Belknap gave a mirthless laugh.
You're dom lot of guessingl" he
snorted. you're guessing at things,
Harrington" He swung in his chair
to confront his inquisitor and slapped
the mahogany with his palm Guess
work I'll admit nothing; I'll deny
most. But I'll go this far: If I'm In
bad. whose business is It? If guessed
wrong on man. whose funeral Is IT =?
If I've got dirty clothes to wash. whose
Job is it? Eli?
From the beginning you've all been
against me on my opinion of G0rbel.
from you on down through this or
ganiZation TO to John himself.
You didn't like him; you didn't like
the idea of a partnership. John. my
boy. warned me after he'd talked to
the man twenty minutes. Warned me
A cub!
"But | bet on Gorbel. He had the
layout I've wanted all my life, had II
tied up. | took him on and listened
to all of you yelp and predict trouble,
and made up my mind that the Belk.
nap Lumber company offices never
would have to bother with a line of
Belknap & Gorbel business. | put IL
under my hat and it's been there
since. That's where it's goin' to stay,
Harrington. and you can stuff that in
your pipe!"
His face was flushed now.
The other shrugged. THAT ought
to be final." he said glumly. But what
frets me- Tom, is where John comes
In (. or isn't let in."
Old Tom sank back in his chair and
stared bleakly through one of the
great windows against which a savage
December gale hurled itself in across
sullen Lake Michigan.
THAT'S somethin' else" he growled.
Harrington persistently eyed him.
and the old man squirmed again.
There's only one thing that really
matters, when all's said and DONE" he
said finally. That's a mans reputa.
ton. And mans reputation narrows
down to his reputation with certain
folks. I've got rating as an honest
man, which is something everybody
with self-respect's got to have: and
I'm rated as rich, but don't give a
boot about how much money the Belk
nap Lumber company's worth, or the
value of any of the outfits ii controls
under other names. I'm glad I've got
a name for bein' hard fighter; glad
der that men must concede I'm fail
fighter. But there's only one thing
that matters much. that gets In close