Beadle's Dime Library No. 412 — page 7: what you’re looking at

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

= = : * _ =. i * .* vig +. ee > 3 : . ¢ : Larry Locke, the Man of Iron. ‘You're a fine businessman. I tell you we’ve poor, even in America. list. Give us our money.” F ah made up our minds and you can't budge us. | And Marcellus Skinner kept pacing up and | And Marcellus Skinner had to be helped into — You have your Unions and we have ours. If I | down behind the table, his diamond glinting at | his office-chair, where he sat panting and groan- “ed peng the old scale at mg a Sw to-morrow, | every motion, while the poor men outside, whom ing. Se shut the mill nextday. Now what to you say? he was cheating of their honest dues, huddled o of his ribs were broken. ‘tg I want an answer at once.” gloomily together in the piste 6 willing to re- pr eeree, Sg Larry Locke stepped out again. volt, but waiting to see ‘he would be the first to CHAPTER X oT ‘* Are we to understand that, if you shut the | dare. ; 4 mill day after to-morrow, you'll pay us on the At last came the ‘‘cranemen,” headed by TERROR JIM. aS old scale to-morrow?” | Larry Locke, who strode up to the table, looked As the sun set that evening Larry Locke as- sem S Skinner bit his lips. He was yet new to the | at the pay-roll, and exclaimed: cended the hill to his little cottage overlooking >. mills, and did not understand the men, but he ‘‘Hello, Tom Trainor, seems to me you're | Holesburg and said to bis wife: ~ 2 saw clearly that Larry was the shrewdest and getting up in the world, ain’t you?” ** Molly, old gal, the fight’s begun. I’ve had pa, boldest of the lot. He took refuge in his cigar, Tom had turned pale as soon as he saw Larry | to whip the boss.” oF before he answered; and it was several] seconds | coming. He well remembered the way in which Molly flushed slightly and looked at his sturdy ar ere he said: . the other had conquered him, six years before, | figure with some pride as she answered: =i ‘You're to understand no such thing. You’re | when they were boys, and he had been afraid of “Served him right. What did he do?” - not all fools surely. Half a loaf is be than | Larry ever since. ** He was fool enough to hit at me,” said Larr mn’ no bread—” His fortunes were altered since the return of | Jaconically. ‘* If he’d been any one else, I might an ‘* Yes,” interrupted La unceremoniously. | his reputed father, and Tom was used to hector- | have let him’go; but he thinks he’s a fighter, ) ‘“That’s just what I think, You can close the | ing and bullying every one he met; but some- | So I laid him out.” ‘ ae mill for all me, but I’m going to have my payin | how he could not face Larry. His eyes dropped Then he took his baby from his wife’s arms, or full if I never handle another lot of steel.” on the table, and he said: and no one would have thought, to see the way a Again Skinner looked at the bold young fel- | ‘“‘Do you want to take the old scale and go, | in which the strong man submitted to the ca- pe see 7 low with some uneasiness: | or the new scale and stay?” prices of the child, that he was the terrible fight- oe “Suppose I say the works don’t pay, and I | Larry laughed aloud and looked round him. er who had acquired the name of the ‘Man of Per haven’t got the money to pay in full.” “Why, what a question!” he cried. ‘The | Iron” by the single blow of that afternoon, as " A. ‘Then I'd tell all the boys to clapalienon old scale of course, Any man that knocks un- | he had that of the “ Boy of Iron” six years be- BAS the works so quick it’ll make your head swim,” der to the bosses deserves to be a slave all his | fore. ‘Va retorted Larry, and as he spoke he began to— life. I can take care of myself.” As for Molly, she was too much the old high- rt tike off his leather apron. ‘‘If the pay’s all | Some one in the rear of the crowd raised a | spirited, careless ‘‘ Red Moll” to think twice of ~~ right to-morrow, we'll talk about the reduction faint cheer, and Tom turned white as a sheet, | such a little thing asa fight in which her hus- ae afterward. Come, boss, which is it, so we'll while Marcellus Skinner flushed purple, and | band had won, and it was not until they were at is Inow what to do? I don’t mind a lock-out, came up tothe pay-table, wling: supper and the baby in its cradle, asleep, that Ct “if you don’t.” | “Pay the fellow the old scale, Tom, and put | she noticed that Larry had become rather silent, = _ But the other foremen at once began to re- | him down on the black list. I'll take care of | and asked: 1 ae monstrate in such a pleading way, that Skinner | you, my fine rellow.” ‘* Anything the matter, Larry, boy?” aR saw they were yielding, and he cut short the in- | Tom, completely demoralized by the sudden Larry drew a long breath. ae terview at once, saying: | dispute, where everything had been going on| “Yes. [ve got to look out for something to “You hear what Pve said. 1 mean it, I like clockwork, nervously began to unroll two | do, next week, Molly. Thenew scale’s gone into oe ney the new scale to-morrow. Those men that ckages and try to count out the money, while | effect, and the cranemen are the only ones who’ve es, don’t like it can leave the works. And mark er answered Skinner: stood out against it.” rer a”. you this: they go on the black list. We've You'll take care of me, will you? Thank ye Molly smiled ope tm | agreed on that.” for nothing. I can take care of myself.” **Good for them! But I know who put them <nen } Larry Locke deliberately folded up his apron | Another cheer in the rear, and Skinner hastily | up to it. One bold man has to tell ’em what to ag | under his arm, saying: shoved Tom aside, counted out the money and | do, and they foller like sheep and think they’re ae | ‘* Very well, boss, then so do we agree on an- then said sternly: brave.” 3 | other list. I stick to the old scale; and, mark **Now sign your name and skip, or Pll puta Larry smiled at his wife’s enthusiasm. AS Paul left the office, and soon returned, fol- | lowed by five or six men, of whom Larr Locke was one. They were all stalwart, intelli- gent-looking people, and filed into the office, seeming surprised and a little uneasy at the summons, Marcellus Skinner was lighting a cigar when they came in, and took no notice of them till he had secured a good draw. Then he said, abruptly: ‘‘Men, business is bad. Never was worse. We've got a year’s stock on hand, and we iron- masters have about concluded to shut up the mills for a few months.” He stopped and puffed at his cigar, partly to gain time to think, partly to watch the men’s faces in a furtive way. They all looked disturbed. One man was as male as a ghost; others were scowling; only Laney Locke seemed tranquil, and it was he who answered: ‘‘We heard there was a contract with the Plains Railroad that would take two years to fill. Has that falien through?’ Marcellus wheeled round in his chair to look at Larry. ‘** ‘You know a heap, don’t you?” he said with a sneer. ‘*‘ 1 suppose you think ’'m lying to you. You’d better say so.’ Larry looked him in the eye, replying: ‘*Tf you want me todo it, ’m agreeable, but T don’t do such things unless I mean fight, Mr. Skinner.” Skinner looked at him hesitatingly for a mo- ment, and then said: ‘*T don’t fight my men. And look here, Mr. Smarty, ve been a captain at sea and handled just as bard nuts as you think yourself to be, Ive sent for you men to make a proposition to ou.” . ‘ ‘‘What is it?’ asked Larry, who seemed by common consent to act as spokesman for the others. ‘* There’s only one way we can keep the mills open,” returned Skinner, looking away as if he did not want to meet the eyes of his men. ‘*Kither I shut the works, or you must take twenty-five per cent. less than current wages, beginning the very next pay-day. Now?” ‘* Twenty-five per cent. ?’ echoed the pale fore- man withagroan. ‘‘ My God, Mr. Skinner, I’ve got seven children.” ‘*So much the worse for you,” returned the ironmaster brutally. ‘‘A man like you ought not to have children. You can take that or go without anything. I’ve got to cut down ex- penses or g° to the r-house.” And as he spoke, he arranged carefully a soli- taire diamond in his shirt-front. There was a short, ead silence among | | *“* You will? And who are you? Are there _— than one of you?’ asked Skinner sneer- ingly. chery shook his finger at him. ‘You'll find out who we are, boss. You've set a trap for us this time, but we'll show you et that the American workingmen are hard to ere. = t when it comes to a fight between labor and | capital. CHAPTER IX, THE PAY-TABLE, PAY-DAY arrived at the Skinner Mill, and the men came up in the evening after their work to draw their wages. Marcellus Skinner paced uneasily to and fro in the office behind the open door, and Tom Trainor sat at the pay-table, sullen and forbid- ding as usual, with the rolls before him and the money arranged in packages, while Paul Van | Beaver, at the desk in the rear, was making up and marking the packages, so that Tom had nothing to do with any counting. The men looked gloomy and downcast, for the news of the reduction had gone all over the mill, and every one of them was more or less in debt, while his means of paying 1t had been suddenly reduced without warning of more than twenty- four hours, and after the work had been done. Of course it was unfair; they all knew that. They knew that they could put attachments on the property and compel payment of the old scale if they wished, as to this one amount. But then they also knew that, if they did so, the mills would be shut down; that their hard- fisted employer might refuse to pay at’al), and fight every claim in the courts. And in the mean time, they had no money to fight, none to pay lawyers; and nine-tenths of them had families at home, the mute eloquence of whose eyes said: ‘* Half a loaf is better than no bread.” So, one by one, up came the gangs of men to the pay-table to receive their money, and each was formally asked by Tom: ‘‘Do you want to take the old scale and | go, or the new one and stay?” And one by one the men gloomily said: ‘** What’s a man to do? Gimme the pen and I'll sign the roll.” And as each signed and drew back with his money in his hand, Marcellus Skinner’s face brightened, and he rubbed his hands, thinking how he had saved three thousand dollarsa week, by a single bold stroke. And the men; what were they thinking of? What does a workingman think of at sucha time, when he sees suffering and privation star- ing him in the face? ey were wondering what they should do | | | | ee Larry looked at him from head to foot with a provoking smile. “Thank ye. Dll sign my name when I’ve counted my money. en I’ll walk out of the door. You can bet your boots I don’t skip for any man, big or little.” “ We'll see about that in a moment,” returned Skinner, whitening to the lips. ‘*Count your money, and be quick about it.” Larry nodded and counted his cash aloud with ration | coolness, after which he tucked it into is pocket, and said to Tom: ‘*Give me the pen, Tommy. I can beat you all to pieces, writing or any other way.” So saying, he signed his name in such a bold beautiful hand that Marcellus Skinner himself looked surprised. But as soon as the young foreman laid down the pen, the boss, with the one idea in his head that it was necessary for him to overawe all his hands and check any disposition to mutiny, said to Larry: ** Now, get out of the works! Quick!” As he spoke, be passed the side of the pay- table and came up to Larry, while a silence fell on the workmen, who were watching to see what was coming. Larry kept his hands down, and his voice was low and quiet as he answered: ‘Keep cool, Mr. Skinner—keep cool. Don’t lay hands on me, if you please. [’m going, but I don’t allow any man to hurry me.” ‘Hurry you? Ill hurry you!” cried Marcel- lus, who, being a large, powerful man, who had been a ship captain, was used to deciding things by physical force, and saw in the short man be- fore him only a comparative dwarf. So saying, he aimed a tremendous blow at Larry, which the little man evaded by a duck and skip to one side, executed so neatly that it called forth a laugh and jeer from all the work- men, Then Larry called out in clear tones: “I call you all to witness he struck at me first. Now then, boss!” In a moment, as Skinner turned to deal an- other blow, Locke ducked his head again, closed in, and they saw him strike a single blow at the other’s side—a blow that fell with a thud like that of a pile driver, and under which Marcel- lus Skinner sunk down on the pavement with a hollow groan, his red face turning a dull gray. There he lay, all doubled up with pain, and | Larry, amid the dead silence of all round him, shook his finger at the prostrate man and said, ptt ‘You made a mistake that time, Mr. Skinner. You hit at the wrong man. It ain’t the only one you’ve made, as you'll find out afore we've the men, and then one said pleadingly: for the winter. Some were thinking of going | done. We cranemen all wants the old scale ‘* But you surely don’t mean to cut us down | toa beer saloon to drown their sorrow. Hardly | and we’re goin’ to have it. Go on, boys, and for what we have done already, sir? Give us a | one reasoned whether he could not help himself | draw your pay.” little time. Pay-day is only to-morrow. Let | and beat his rich employer. The hard experi- So saying he turned away to the table, and 7 the old scale begin after that. Give a man a/ ence of 1877 had taught him that threats and | one by one all the cranemen responded to Tom’s ia chance to live.” violence do not bring money, and that the law | question: oe Skinner curled his lip. -my words, we'll make you pay tt.” is always on the side of the rich against the head on you.” ; ‘*'We want the old scale. Darn your black- ** That’s true enough, Moll; but I ain’t so cere com JOO (S S . ‘ Pl ~~ ° - * C | | = <i rd ,