Scattergood Baines

on for frescoes and porticoes and didos, but he liked to reach them in the ordinary course of logical procedure. His completed structure, according to t

five years, now, Scattergood had moved along slowly and irresistibly, buying a bit of timber here, acquiring a dam site there, taking over the stage line to th

srs. Crane and Keith, lumbermen, who were beginning to experience a feeling of growing irritation toward the fat hardware merchant. They were irritated because, every now and then, they found themselves shut off from the water, or from a bit of timber, or from some other desirable property, by some small holdi

his partner. "The man hasn't a brain

way-and he does seem to know a w

im one time as another-and the time to settle is before his luck gives him a genuine st

ou're the outside man. But whe

's head was that sort of head he devised an enterprise which, if Scattergood could be made to

he city, stopped at Scattergood's store. Scattergood was sitting, as usual, on the piazza, in his especiall

e gentleman. "Is this M

ll right. Don't call to min

e is Bl

said Scattergo

ave a little talk wi

it, hain

e Scattergood. "I'm interested in the new Higgins's B

d Scattergo

most modern machinery. Now we're looking about for somebody to supply us spruce

have title to

to swing a rather big contract-to deliver us at the mi

" said Sc

her battered jackknife, and Scattergood noticed that one blade had been broken off. He stretched o

bit dil

ne line of jackknives. Only ca

Blossom, and Mr. Blossom looked at them gravely. He was smiling to himself. A man who could interrupt a deal involving upward of a

ed one," said Scattergood.

stuck his old knife in a post, replacin

od, and Mr. Blossom ha

said Scattergood, "how m

d a price, deliv

y w

deli

delivered, e

e May

?" said Scattergood,

ines and boilers, but we're going

ild a dam, e

es

Stock

a million and bonded for a quarter of a million.

k all

ry s

o t

small block

. Bond

es

bough

by the Commonwealth Se

hority? Vested with autho

tract, y

te to me

es

the street," sa

an swi

ulate

e capital to

ou? Wouldn't have com

ve to borr

n't it? Don't ne

n the

till acrost

attergood to deliver to the Higgins's Bridge Pulp Company twenty-five thousand cords of pulp, on or before May 1st, payment to be made on delivery. Mr. Blossom

s absent-mindedly. For an hour he sat there, twiddling his bare toes. Then he got up, jer

himself, "I'm figgered to make a profi

ps and directed the labor of cutting and piling pulpwood along the banks of Coldriver. Also, from time to time, he visited various banks to borrow the money necessary to carry on the operation,

at Higgins's Bridge, machinery had been installed, and the little hamlet was b

y were the meerest vapor of conjecture at first, apparently based upon no evidence whatever, but friends

Deacon Pettybone, one bitterly cold afternoon, when he came int

" said Sc

u if they was to go

bad,

't it? Clean you out? L

my brains. Have them left, Deacon. Don't fig

days. He scarcely put on his shoes except when he was going out to wallow through the drifts;

en seen that several large blocks of timber had been marked by Scattergood with red crosses, and that certain other limits had been blotted out in black. The black

to water approximated worthlessness. On the atlas, the largest pieces of Crane & Keith timber were back from the river-not too far back, but still separated from it by narrow strips which, for the most part, were farms. Some few pieces ran down to the river, but it was apparent that Crane & Keith were looking to the future-buying timber when it was at its lowest, and preparing to hold for a better day. Th

alculate that'll keep their minds off'n other things a spell. If they s

ttles by making feints at some vulnerable point in the enemy's line, and then str

farm belonging to Old Man Plumm. There was another road into the valley-a public road-but it was a fifteen-mile haul. Old Man Plumm was a non-assertive person, and good-natured. His farm was a ramshackle, down-at-heels, worthless plac

ross the road to La

eneck way perty

know of, S

d Man Plumm's g

that, of

gger to v

g to see that Scattergood ha

to buy the far

itated. "I

as

I supp

me, eh? Not in

h should

no more-no less. Immediate possession

N

u what's needed. Ought to be back

t en

y, No

with Old Man Plumm, who took the morning st

. Name of Crane and Keith. Haulin' logs acrost.

cont

right to do

N

" said Scattergood. "G'-by, Norton. Goin't

e in Coldriver, storming up to Lawyer Norton's o

ane, displaying to Norton the notic

it s

op us hauling

shoulders. "You can

e've got millions of feet on our rollways.

your l

do you

thi

hold-up. What'll yo

for s

cost us to hau

Not for money, marbles,

sieged him for a week, though they consulted lawyers, though they made

on. His first visit had been to Linderman, pr

ment with Mr. Linder

heard

you can't see him

office?

es

Right in

es

interposed. Scattergood picked him up, tucked him und

. Linderma

p and frowned, the

u? What hav

cked him up to save him. You can run along now, sonny," he said t

s your

rgood B

good was surprised, but

t d

ness with you. Interested in pulp, hai

y mu

gins's Bridge

rstand they're i

to be in more. Tha

barreled," he said. "Crane and Keith owns them bonds. Figger on freezin' out the stockholders and buyin' 'em out for a song. Figger on bustin' me. Ne

ou are up against it. You can't borrow any more

. Figger to start to-day. T

do nothin

, hain't it? Logical payin' p

es

o own i

cour

nt to sell, I hear ... if anybody's fool enough to buy. Then want to buy back for dum

s your

t. Easy.... What happens when a m

get it so

n't get i

expensiv

eft orders to sell. They won't be takin' notice. Got 'em worried some pla

attergood intently and nodde

he stock. Lemme handle i

st

'late

"I'll go you. Crane and Ke

dy n

es

an. Have money when

t two days in interviewing a dozen of them, and found little difficulty optioning their stock

at the offices

the boss ma

at

for sale. Pulp com

d him, could see the delight of his employers, and his own profi

ock in the pulp com

es

w m

uch yo

n sell you a

' propositio

cour

' to sell? Kind of

ave so many

ger to make money on this sto

ow many

kin'?" said

ar

Give yo

price of sixty was agreed upon, and Mr. M

ow many

fifty-one per cent

new where he could get the rest for less than 60. There would be an additional profit and addi

ll you'

or cash." This was an even 60 per cent, but

k. Come now. Giv

shares to-day, but I can give you

Gimme what you got and a receipt

d check for the full amount, gave Scattergood in return a thousand shares of stock, and a receipt which

tock he had thought to pick up so readily was not to be had. Everybody seemed to have disposed of it and nobody seemed to know exactly who had

e stock," he told Scattergood, and there was cold moisture

good. "G'-by. Better be movin' aro

ces would carry them. They did so, and in no happy mood, for Lawyer Norton ha

y you sold to?"

y the name

s busted. Ha

d ca

looked at Crane. Just then the t

ak to Mr. Cr

y. "What's this about your

led up to see why your young man w

you get t

re it come from before you kin make

"I want to see you-got to have

er it's a mite longer from here to there than it is

he

office address and h

aggerating greatly as to the time required to bring the gentlemen to him.

ith pulp company st

ugh, I'll paper the parlor. Lack five hunde

re not going

r 'em, didn't I

derman doin

ess. I came into it to make a profit, but mostly to teach you fellows a lesson in decent business methods. I don't like you. I don't like your way

u know we hav

d

n't de

market and buy. Now, I own a few s

it had been Scattergood alone they might have wriggled out of it, they thought, for they h

ch?" sa

th mine for three hundred. First, last, and only offer. In ten minutes the

rane spluttered, and mad

er fellow has been feelin

s sped before th

Linderman. "My messenger w

and fifty thousand dollars, and Cr

. It will, of course, go ahead under my direction," said Linderman. "I guess I can iron out the difficulties you gentlemen have arranged for

he Plumm farm. Kind of exercised about that, hain't you? Stayed up in the country

was no

d you can't haul a log acrost it. My price is fifteen thousand. Bo

t, and a second check was sen

Keith took their departure in no dignified manner, but with

Scattergood. "Like to k

hirty thousand dollars and we sold them for a hundred and fifty thousand. Profit on that part of the deal is a hundred and twenty thousand dollars. That made the total capital stock in the mil

on twenty-five thousand cords of pulpwood-which is goin' to be paid, I jedge. That'll be anyhow another twenty-five thousand. Ca

Mr. Baines. M

est takin' out reasonable

ent insurance policy again

tory to leaving, "difficulty about that kind of insurance is that mo