MUTT AND JEFF
THERE'S JEFF GETTING OUT OF A TAXI WITH
A DAME!
SAY, I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU! WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY STAYING OUT AT THIS HOUR OF THE NIGHT! YOU KNOW WE GOT A BIG GAME,
ON TOMORROW!
I GOT A GOOD MIND TO TELL THE COACH ON YOU-BREAKING RULES! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE IN BED
AT NINE O'CLOCK,NOT, OUT WITH WOMEN --
11-4
(Owright, £138, by 3, U'Fiber Du Bigtoo Kosorvol
THE CHINA MAIL, DECEMBER 9, 1938
By BUD FISHER
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THE DAILY SHORT STORY
TEST JOB
Buck in Jalpo young Ken Nicher-
son had been laughed at
"You want to see something funny?"
when he he asked-exeitedly.
out to
told them he had been sent
"It will have to be pretty funny to take charge of the preliminary Con-
Ken followed the struction work on the Cactus Valley make me laugh."
hill, Dam. Enoch Khor, the grizzled old foreman outside and down the district superintendent, had been kind On a narrow ledge Erik stopped and.
pointed. Below them was the dam shovels enough to explain.
Men with picks and "The fact is, son, you ain't dry site.
lives behind the ears.
That's a hard lot were working as though their
dam depended upon clearing away the sur- they've hired out there on the They're used to a rough, tough, fist- face soil in the shortest possible time. swinging task master."
"Ever see anything like it?" Ken didn't realise the full signi- asked. "Why, look, them guys is prac ficance of Old Enoch's warning
tically breaking their backs.
"Know the second day on the job. Then he looked at Ken triumpantly,
had why? understood why his Uncle Rufe handed him the responsibility. make good out in Cactus Valley," Un piece this morning.
the
until
"You
Erik
"He
One of 'em found a $20 gold
"What?" said Ken blankly.
1
It was
talk cle Rufe had said, "and we'll
Uncle
Erik chuckled. "Down there where about sending you to Egypt.' Rufe, like Enoch, was of
old the dam's going to be there used to be. school. He knew that the Cactus dam an old western frontier town. would be a test that would either washed away by a cloudburst in the Rufe mountains. Well, it looks as though make or break his nephew. 'didn't put much faith in college educa- some of them old time gamblers left If there's one tion and engineering degrees. He some souvenirs behind. leaned toward that mythical school gold piece there might be more.
:
of hard knocks.
at Uncle
Get
under-
he
it?" Ken had been amused
Ken's eyes grew wide as Rufe's admonitions; now there was standing came. "Holy smoke!”
no
By Vic Yardman
room
for
amusement
in
his, cried,
"It looks as though I might thoughts. The thirty odd men de- go to Egypt after all.” tailed to pick and shovel labour Followed by Erik, he went down the one look hill. There was no need to urge the under his supervision took
They worked at the youngster who was to be their men to hurry now.
About 11 o'clock one of boss, winked at one another and settled furiously.
the them emitted an exultant cry and held down to the business of making
Others the up
a dull piece of metal. job last as long as possible by
crowded around. It was a $10 gold simple expedient of stalling.
Ken went back to his shack and re-
Time was an element that Ken had piece. to consider. Uncle Rufe had given him until November first to finish up. laxed over his drawing board. He felt he triumphant. No need to worry and His young mouth grew hard as watched the men leaning on their fret and plead with the men now. The had shovels. They didn't respect him. The fact that the second gold piece
their been found some distance from the only way he could command respect would be to challenge a couple first was fine. If only they'd keep on of them to a physical combat and beat digging, the project would be completed them to a pulp. He couldn't do that. in record time.
The outlook- was He wasn't able.
It was. During the next week four disheartening.
of The futility
it more gold pieces were unearthed. The crushed his spirit. The task was be- men worked early and late and during When the clearing yond him, and that meant he'd miss their lunch hour. out on the Egyptian expedition. He was done, Ken was confronted by
The men didn't want wanted to go to Egypt in the worst new problem. way. Uncle Rufe had said he wasn't to quit. The young engineer frowned equal to it, and this would certainly over this for awhile; then he prove that he was right.
sumi-
moned Erik Jarvis.
"Erik, the job's done. I'm going back east and make my reservations for Egypt. Call the men off."
Not when "They won't quit, boss. they suspect there's more gold to bo dug up.'
Ken went back to the little tin-roof- ed shack that served as his field office and sat for a long time in thought. For want of something better to do he glanced over the specifications that he already knew by heart, and Information then read through the
"There isn't any more. I couldn't about they had provided him
the afford to invest more than a hundred dollars." He laughed. "I had quito geological nature of the country.
An hour later when Erik Jarvis, aa joh convincing the mint up at Den- gang foreman, came in he found Ken changing into his city clothes..
"Quittin'?".Erik asked. There was the barest hint of sarcasm in the fore- man's, tone.
Ken smiled. Ho had learned to smile at sarcasm.
ver I needed those gold pieces, Erik, you make a speech to the men and tell them about it, but wait until after I'm gone. This might teach them that a man who reads books does have some use in the world."
Erik watched the young engineer "I'm going in to Denver. You keep bump away in his old touring car. had things going, Erik. I'll be back Then he grinned. Seoretly ho to-night. I expect." -
always admired a man, with brains But it was close to midnight when rather than brawn, and this kid had He turned back Ken finally returned. He took a lan- brains all right. tern and went down to the job and towards tho valloy, Well, it was, up He car- looked around. As he expected, there to him to break the news.
That's what you was vory little evidence of a hard eased his knuckles. day's work by the thirty labourers.
Kon was eating his breakfast alone the next morning when Erik Jarvis burst into the shack.
get for being only a gang foreman, he thought philosophically.
(Copyright, 1988, By The Associated Newspapers).