Sudden Jim

ry idle, employees pouring out of the entrances. He walked past them and into the building in a

rking over a pair of big gears. They only nodded curtly at his approach,

at?" Ji

pped the wooden

ow

' not ten feet from here when I seen that solid gear lift up into the air, it looked like two foot, and c

m out," supple

g does t

ught to get to runnin' by

blame?" Ji

trifle sullenly. "Nelson went over those gears last nigh

He recognized it, expected himself to do something decisive-and was surprised that he did not.

e said. "Speed up and get her goi

tional ability, whose sales mounted to many car-loads a year, and whose customers were his customers, not those of the Ashe Clothespin Company. Winkleman could take them with him to whatever firm he

his man handled the product of Jim's mills as a part of his brokerage business. He was able;

offers me an extra two and a half per cent. commission. Says you started this clothespin rumpus. Had a contract

. The attack had commenced in earnest and Jim was on the defensive. He had declared war, but had

you can't stick by us in fight don't want you

alled in

usiness is in New York an

rter,

s heavies

and Ma

has hired awa

g sound with his lips. It indic

orders in the West. But we're going to. We're going after all we can get anywhere we can get it. It's three o'clock. I want you to catch the

Mr.

m. It was Sudden

son was back, du

. Then hit for New York. There'll be soreness somewhere over this Winkleman business. It must have cut into somebody's territory. You know who to go to. We want the biggest-somebody with a sales organization. Offer them all New York and all New England outside of Boston. If they hang out for Boston, give it to them, too. If t

'iled," said he; "but for suddenness, and for landing a hard punch,

mills, and Jim was determined to hit as many heads as he could. Any woodenware man worthy of

whole line Pennsylvania

is work, which occupied him until six o'clock was near. Just

ely, and Jim knew that he had f

identify an individual by his legs, and this one's face was concealed by the climbing vine. If Jim had been a native of the village he would have experienced no such difficulty, for Diversity's male inhabitants were as easy to distinguish by their pants

hing whatever to do with the visitor. It was Michael Moran, and Ji

ust learned you were boarding here. Glad to hear it. Makes it more interes

as to Moran's sincerity. Indeed, without any adequate reason for his be

walking boss for me. I always take supper with her w

irst encountered Marie, on the top of a knoll from which a view might be had of far countries. Her reckless mood, re

arting off wel

, indeed,"

been getting cars as you wanted them. If yo

that Moran was first seen in company with Welliver. But since then Jim had been led to suspect him as an active enemy. Stories-gossip, perhaps-that came to his ears led him to set Moran down as a shifty individual, a man who looked to the right and un

e taken over the control of th

d hea

ought to hit on some sort of basis so we can work together for the benef

," Jim thought, but he smiled and agre

an after puffing briefly on his cigar. "You and I-with the influe

ally curious to know wh

e. As it is now-well, we haven't much of anything to say. Zaanan Frame says it all, and he's a stiff-backed, hard-headed old scoundrel if t

ong politic

o vote for his horse Tiffany for President of the United States, that horse would come close to carrying the county unanimously. That's how strong he is. The circuit j

ll till you t

is to get rid of him. If he could be beaten out of his own job I g

to meddle with

read his hands in a gesture of helplessness. "Any Tom, Dick, and Harry that wants to goes ahead and sues-and Zaanan sees to it we get the worst of it. Anywhere else we could appeal

hemselves on the men his power put in office. Theoretically a boss is bad, Jim thought, but this case seemed to demonstrate there might be exceptions. Suppose Zaanan were absolute monarch of Diversity, what had made him so and what kept him in his place? Apparently i

suits right there. Let a couple of dozen of these fellows find out they were going to get beat

ought. "It means much to the poor man to know that his court-the justice's court-is honest

se there are a dozen votes cast against him in the whole county. But that's quite a while off. I jus

than we could separately,

sted on a surer foundation-the man was not honest. He was the sort of business man who has brought stigma on his kind by bribery, by conniving at injustice, by seducing officers of justice. He was ruthless.

s seat at the table he was more cheerful than he had been for many a day; his face was lighter, his eyes brighter. The widow noticed his changed expression and was deeply curious to account for it. The widow was a motherly