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Show I: How the Contract : : Was Tilled j S (A CHEMICAL, WOHK8STOIIY.) By B. F. STEARNS. Author of "The dlrl from Jopson'a. ,t (Copyright, by Joseph 11. Howies.) As tho clock struck ten, Cowles Junior of Caxton & Cowles, tho manufacturing manu-facturing choinlsts aont up hla card. Cowlcs wns bidden to go up and enter tho nick-room, "Well, what In It?" Caxton nBkod, not too cordially. "It's that Infernal contract oh?" "Yep." "I know It! I know ltl I know wo woro In for n ihiihs, Boonor or latsr. 1 It wbb a fool thlnR from tho very start. You never should have rnado It." "Well, It was a pretty broad contract," con-tract," Cowlc3 confessed. "I'm not denying that part but It was tho only thins they'd sign, and wo need all tho business wo can grab this year. Let mo bco. Wo woro to furnish thorn with something like two thousand barrels of sul-soda during tho twolvo months, tho dcllveiles to bo made when tlioy callod for them. That's tho substance, sub-stance, hast wook thoy wanted ono hundred barrels nt ono delivery. It was nil nonsense, of course. Thuy couldn't possibly uso It nil at onco mid It nearly wlpod out our slock of ual-soda ual-soda but I gave It to them." Cowlcs avoided tho oyo of tho Invalid In-valid and stnrcd across tho bed, falling Into coutomplatlon of tho bottles on tho medicine tnblo. "Now," ho said softly, "they want two hundred and Ilfty barrols more, before noon to-morrow!" "Two hundred and llfty!" Caxton Cax-ton shouted. "Urn m." "Why, hang It!" Caxton cried, testily. test-ily. "I don't bollovo thoy'vo ovon got storngo facilities for another two hundred hun-dred and flfty barrels there! It's a put-up Job." I "Of rourso It Is. It's simply a bluff, to worm out of that contract. Howes Is mornlly certain .that wo won't mako tho dellvory and. 'not having kept to ouo end of tho agreement It lei's thorn out as well. Do you suppose I can't sco through that? I oven know tholr reason for tho move. Day boforo yos-tcrday, yos-tcrday, tho comblno changed Its mind and offered Hewoa nil tho soda ho wants, whenovor ho wnnts It, for no pnd less than bo's paying us." "Yos, I Imaglno that somothlng of tho sort may havo occurred," said tho senior partner, drily. "I guess Howes is open to It, bo far ns wo'ro concerned." con-cerned." "Well, I don't!" Bald Cowlcs. and tho glitter of war nwakonod In his black oyes. "Howes Isn't freed from tbnt contract until noon to-morrow, and not then If wo should happon to dollvor his two hundred nnd flfty bar- Irols." Heddlng, superintendent of. tho Caxton Cax-ton & Cowlcs factory, staring out upon tho unplcaslng landscapo of Brooklyn's uttormost end ns he ato his lunch, was startled by tho abrupt Intrusion of tho Junior partnor. "Heddlng," said that gontloman, "thore's tho dovll to pay again with thoso Howes people." "Moro soda? Torror appeared In tho superintendent's oyo. Slnco tho signing sign-ing of tho Howes contract, sal-soda had absorbed an unduo nmount of his tlmo and attention. "Two hundrod and flfty barrels bo-fore bo-fore noon to-morrow! How does that etrlko you?" "Wo enn't glvo It to thorn, Mr. Cowles that's all. Thcro's only a hundred nnd two or throo barrels In the placo." "I know It. How much soda Is crystnlllzlng now In tho coolers?" "Wo may tako out 33 bnrrcls this afternoon." "Good. You have 20 coolers for Glauber's salt, haven't you, and 10 moro for Epsom's?" "Yes." "All right. Empty thorn overy ono and start more soda crystallizing." "That won't glvo us tho balance boforo bo-foro noon to-morrow." "Nover you mind noon to-morrow," said Cowlcs. "If you push ovorythlng to tho limit you can turn out tho stuff by noon on Thursday tho day nftor to-morrow can't you?" "I suppose so." BBBBBB "All right. That's what I wanted to ! BBBBBJ BBBBBfl "Hut will IIuvc3 glvo us the day of BBBBBfl graco necessary fur that, Mr. Cowlcs?" ! BflBBBBJ "I'm not going to nsk for It you BBBBBfl can gamble on that, Heddlng. Now, BflBBBBJ titoy want ono hundred barrels with BBBBBB our brand on that's what thoy mean BBBBBB to uso Uiomsolves; and tho othor hun- BBBBBfl dred and flfty aro to bo dollvorod with Bflflflflfl no brand that's what thoy intend to Bflflflflfl resell, of course think wo'll ordor flBflBflBj brand-now sugar barrels for that lot. BflBflBH Thoy look nicer, nnd Howes'U bo Just iflBHBflB that much moro likely to save tbem flflBflBH for his customers. Can your barrol Bflflflflfl man glvo us many to-night?" BflBflflfl "I'll ask him." Heddlng turned to 'BHBHflB tho telephone. "Yes," ho said, aftor n jvflflHBHJ moment, "wo can .IftBflflflJ "All rlgtu. Order 'em. Tell him isBflflBBJ they positively must bo here before six ttH o'clock. And, by tho way, boforo I tSflVflflYa started over hero, Heddlng, I callod JiyaBfllflJ up that arandford concorn that Is iBflYaflVtH putting down tho now floor nnd talked IwflVflvBfJ with tho' manager of tholr placo In '.BHflMflfl hong island City. Thoy say, Hod- BflYflYflS Hne JSt c,oso t,mt l,oor wl" vou? lVflflflVflB I can do without an audience." lH On Wednesday morning, John IffflVflYflYJ Howes settlod down to work, abeam flVflfflYBI with quiet B As he termed It, Caxton & Cowles BHBHBHi woro, "treod. They nnd their con- IH tract were of tho way or would ba at noon and the Comblno haying conceded tho desired cut In prices, Howes would henceforth buy his sal-soda sal-soda much more cheaply. The nppearanco In his prlvnta offlco of thu elderly receiving clerk from Washington street Interrupted his thought. "What's that, Uurrell?" "Tho bureau of encumbrances rnd n mnn down below, Just now, to clear tho street. Wo'vo got barrols of sal-soda sal-soda down thero to burn." "What!" Howos'b desk chair spun around nnd he fneed tho receiving clerk In amazement. "Caxton & Cowles?" "Yes, sir. Lldn't yoj order It?" "Well yes, I did order It, llurrell, but" "It got there all right. Say, wo'vo got s: l-soCa on t:io strcot, Hal-soda on tho ground floor, sal-soda up.itnln; I thero's moro of It out on tho p'.utf irm , that'll havo to go on tho roof, I guois. I You know that storehouse ain't any great shakes for slzo, anyway, nnd It was near full boforo," protested tho old man; "but thosa blamed trucki havo been blocking trnllle slnco nlno o'clock, and dumping sal-soda till" "What tlmo did they stop?" "I guess It was about quarter to twelve. John." "That's right. I I'll BWear I nover thought they'd deliver It," sighed Howes. "Well put It wherever you can, llurrell.'' The painful superfluity of soda upon his hands pursued John Hcwcs through Thursday morning; nnd when nfter lunch Cowlcs' card was brought him, ho folt no proper cordiality. What tho dovll hud ho como for, nny-way7 nny-way7 Was It to enjoy n brief scanco of politely veiled gloating?" Hut tho Junior partnor of Caxton & Cowles woro n frown of nnnoynnco as ho cntorou. "I suppose you'vo got It in for mo, Mr. Howes?" "Hoy? Wny?" Howos asked abruptly. ab-ruptly. "What! Hadn't your people put In a klcK nbout It, down at the warehouse ware-house ?" "No. Why? Didn't you sond tho full lot?" Wns thoro, aftor all, a ray of hopo? "Tho two hundred nnd llfty barrols? Why, of course. Tho wholo ordor was tilled on time." Cowles' tono suggestod mild horror at tho Imputation. "But you have nlways wanted your sal-soda In flour barrols sugar barrols nro pretty big for some of tho retail people. peo-ple. Wo sent you HUgars yesterday, you know, through an orror ono hundred and flfty of them thoso without the brand." "Oh?" Howos grunted. "Woll nover mind. Lot It go nt that, Mr. Cowlos. It It makes no particular dlfferenco, I suppose." "Uut it does mako a dlfferenco," Cowles Insisted. "You know, It is a, good deal of a point with us to flit our orders to the very loiter. This morning I discovered whnt had happened; hap-pened; nnd rather than put you to any Inconvenience, I'vo had thorn send over another hundred and flfty barrelsflours, bar-relsflours, this time. Thoy'ro rolling thorn Into your wnrehouso now, and removing the others." So? After filling his big order, Caxton Cax-ton & Cowlcs still had enough sal-soda In reserve to mako up an extra hundred hun-dred and llfty barrels! Tho benoflts ol tho Comblno prices woro not for Howes thnt year. Ho turned to Cowlei with a fmllo that hold something of resignation. "Woll, wo do prefer tho Bluff In flour barrols, as a rulo; but I don't know that you neod havo bothered making tho exchange." "Wo never stop nt bothering, whon It's a question of satisfying n customer, custom-er, Mr. Howes," Cowles returned pleas antly, as ho rose. When night had fallen and whlst'.03 woro blowing tho hour of six, Cowio got tho factory on tho wlro onco more and callod for Heddlng. "Aro they back. Heddlng?" "All of them." "Sure?" "Cock-sure. I counted them personally. person-ally. Ono hundred nnd flfty." "And none of thorn had been opened?" "No, sir. Not one. I oxamlnod oach head as it wns rolled off the truck, nnd thoro Isn't a slnglo scar. Thoy'ro Just nB thoy left tho factory yosterdaj morning." Later, over tho dlnnor tablo, Cowlos was spinning tho tale to his wife. "Ilut I don t understand," Bho Inter rupted. "ou say that you couldn't possibly hnve delivered the soda boforo bo-foro noon to-day, yet yestorday you sent the full order." "I also said that I cabed up tho Orandford Paving peoplo yestorday. They're laying tho now macadnm floor In tho sulphuric shop, you know. I hurried them up on tho materials thoy wero sending nnd well, wo used some of thorn for thnt first ono hundred nnd flfty unbrandbd barrels," "Hut" "Mary," said Cowles, In a stage whisper, loaning across tho tablo, "thoro wasn't nn earthly thing In u ono of thoso sugar barrels but crushed Btono!" |