The Argosy for May — page 9: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

—— 196 the observation that Abe Dorsey, the conductor of the limited, ‘had said, if it was his boy who had played such a trick, he’d fairly skin the young whelp alive, Harry began to wax impatient. “Well,” he rejoined defiantly, “I guess I’d sooner stand in with Mr. Ram- sey than with old Abe Dorsey, even if he does act like he was lord of all crea- tion in that blue suit and brass buttons of his.” = The elder Rock glared at him with suddenly confirmed suspicions. “So,” ‘he snorted, ‘‘ you really did’ it on purpose, and to help out that stuck- up. New Yorker who was pitching into ~your own father for all he was worth. [I should think you'd be ashamed of yourself, Harry. “And now you think, I suppose, that he’s going to make it up to you some way?” he went on jeeringly. ‘ Well, you'll find. yourself good and mistaken, if I know anything. That kind is mighty free with their. promises and soft sawder, until they get what they want, and then, I’ve noticed, they’re always too busy to see you.” But his sneering croak failed to si- lence the song of elation in Harry’s heart, or to dispel the ambitious dreams aroused by the banker’s parting words, and the sequel showed that young Rock’s faith had not been misplaced. When Ramsey returned from New York, his enemies routed, and his control of the Thirty-Fourth National reestab- lished more firmly than ever, he sought an early interview with the lad who had rendered him such signal service, and, learning during the course of the conver- sation that the country boy’s chief yearn- ing was for a wider horizon and a chance to make something of himself in the world, ended by offering him a position in the bank. No small mark of Daniel Ramsey’s ap- preciation was this, either, if the Shunton Hills folk had only known it; for there were many sons of rich men waiting and eager to accept even the most minor post in the Thirty-Fourth National, in order to learn financiering under the tutelage of its capable president. Yet, so carefully were the qualifica- tions and characters of the various appli- cants scrutinized that to land a job there THE ARGOSY. = was in effect a certificate of exceptional merit and ability. Nor, for that matter, was Shunton Hills at all disposed to stick its tongue in its cheek. Hitherto, it must be con- fessed, the community had rather regard- ed Harry as a “Smart Aleck,’ because of his readiness to criticize their slow- going village ways; but when it became noised abroad that he was “ goin’ to Noo York with that there rich banker what’s took the old Sampson place,” public sen- timent showed .a marked reversal, and there were not wanting those who averred they had always prophesied ‘“somep’n good fer so spry a young fel- ler.”’ : Benjamin Rock, it is true, predicted disaster as he shuffled about in his run- down, old carpet slippers, and wondered fretfully why Harry couldn’t be content to let well enough alone. “Why, that boy is making eight dol- lars a month and his board,” he grumbled to his wife, “and I was calculating to give him a dollar more next year if busi- ness picks up. You'd think he ought to be satisfied with that, wouldn’t you, in- stead of chasing off to break himself down with the hard work they put on those fellows in the city banks? Besides, it’s going to be pretty rough on me, for I declare I don’t know where | can find a helper worth his salt among the worth- less cubs around here, and the result will be I’ll have to do the-work myself. ‘“* However,” with a shrewd nod, “I guess it’ll not be long before he comes sneaking back home again. He won't realize what a snap he’s had until after he’s left it for a while. The best way to deal with headstrong young colts like that is to give them their own way and let them run for a time. After a bit they're glad enough to settle down to a steady trot.” Harry, however, did not ‘‘ come sneak- ing back home,” except for an occasional brief visit, and neither did he break down under the strain of his new duties. On the contrary, he ‘made good”; for, although he speedily discovered that a position in a city bank is far from being a sinecure, he was working in an atmos- phere which suited him, intimate.in a way with large transactions, and having his imagination stimulated and _ inspired CORMICLOO© S vs CO