"
"There, there, dear; don't be angry. Only I think if your brother
knew--"
"He will know in a very few weeks; he is coming to visit the
Cresswells." And Miss Taylor sailed triumphantly up the stairs.
But John Taylor was not the man to wait weeks when a purpose could be
accomplished in days or hours. No sooner was Harry Cresswell's telegram
at hand than he hastened back from Savannah, struck across country, and
the week after his sister's ride found him striding up the carriage-way
of the Cresswell home.
John Taylor had prospered since summer. The cotton manufacturers'
combine was all but a fact; Mr. Easterly had discovered that his chief
clerk's sense and executive ability were invaluable, and John Taylor was
slated for a salary in five figures when things should be finally
settled, not to mention a generous slice of stock--watery at present,
but warranted to ripen early.
While Mr. Easterly still regarded Taylor's larger trust as chimerical,
some occurrences of the fall made him take a respectful attitude toward
it. Just as the final clauses of the combine agreement were to be
signed, there appeared a shortage in the cotton-crop, and prices began
to soar. The cause was obviously the unexpected success of the new
Farmers' League among the cotton-growers. Mr. Easterly found it
comparatively easy to overthrow the corner, but the flurry made some of
the manufacturers timid, and the trust agreement was postponed until a
year later.
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