Sudden Jim

oved to be disquieting. The facts were that the mills had cost upward of two hundred thousand dollars; there was still owing for machinery an

ught this sum up to five thousand dollars a week-and as yet not a p

aid to Mr. Grierson, "we c

d rattling like one of the leaves of his le

l, where'll we get it? Supposing we are able to begin shipm

days at

h we haven't got. I have heard of working capital before, but I never comprehe

the

ess. That fifty thousand of his would make a fine plug to put in this hole. But that's gone. If I know father,

ortuous channel to thread, he felt he ought to toot the whistle frantically and signal for a pilot. But there was no pilot to be had. There was nothing for it but to slow down and dodge through the reefs, taking

m. The first was to borrow-if possible; the second, to sell stock. Without hesitation he eliminated the latter. H

shook hands with him in the manner that cashiers shake hands with individua

I was wondering when you'd fi

ey, now that I am here," said

e vault," said Mr. Wills. "Anything

"you could lend

ring, and we stand ready to do what we can for you. We're a small bank, you know. Some of our directors were against making a loan of a

cting the cashier to jump to his feet and call

de the limit. Nee

es

in a pigeonhole an

y, and put your personal indorsement on the back. It

money he needed-without an effort. It was a shock to him. Were money matters arranged thus easily? Was money in considera

n recollection stopped him. Mr. Wills had said Zaanan Frame and Mr. Moran had favored the loan. Did you ever eat cher

n is on your b

ed his ast

Moran, of co

ll lot, a man two inches shorter than h

he, ain't you?

muscles played beneath, was an individual whose life had not fallen in places of ease. Work, hard work, had made him. He had t

ce for a can

e one in the log-y

e Moran was goin' to run the Divers

wa

as good a crew as ever stuck their legs under a cook-shanty table, and filled up the woods with Polacks and Italians and Hunkies. Just critters with arms and laigs like folks. Grub was rotten-rotten! Them poor foreigners got it comin' and goin'. Knocked round, fed spoiled meat-and then cheated out of

ow," sa

an Irishman or a Norwegian or a Nova-Scotian-and then somethin' busts. But with them lingo-talkin' foreigners, why there hain't no fight to 'em. And he'll do the same here. 'Fore another spring the camps'll be full of 'em-and him robbin' 'em. I've heard ugly things of Mike Moran. Not dealin's with men, I mean. I'

endent. Tell him I sent

Ben

girl is to be afraid of me. If anything goes wrong, tell me. Once I wanted to do something besides run a clothespin-mill. I wanted to see if I couldn't turn in and do something for these Polacks and Hunkies and Italians-somethi

y, but to find difficulty saying it. Finally he blurted out

e compliment; it

so, Tim,

reatening, possessed of destructive potentialities. They had met, conferred with Morton Welliver after that gentlemen had delivered his ultimatum. Had that conference concerned him? Jim believed it had. Just what harm Zaanan Frame was potent to

pins from his own logs! Jim believed that in Moran's place he would covet the Ashe Clothespin Company. And Moran's various activities showed him to be an acquisitive individual. But nowhere had Moran manifested an unfriendly spirit; indee

ecorded the daily history of business transactions, always affected Jim with a feeling of awe, and secretly he had for Grierson and his young man a profound admiration. Anybody who could ma

ver made the acquaintance of the

thank Heaven," Grie

know it

was not to be tolerated when it touched a thing so

you tell me of the habits and per

te period. It differs from a time note in that it may be presented and payment demanded"-he accented th

d note he may drop in on you casually whenever the notion seizes him and make y

is ledger as if he feared a figure or two might sne

cheerful about one o

Mr. Ashe, is to know you are able to pay it wh

n observation made from

ou have not been mak

is suspended over my head. I am now speculating on the poss

wander. It skipped offishly away from demand notes and speculations regarding Michael Moran; was drawn again and again where Jim did not want it

decrease the ill will she felt toward him. Doubtless she would regard it as an impertinent intrusion. What did it matter how