Prescott High School - Hassayamper Yearbook (Prescott, AZ)

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high hills and suddenly breaking out into a great plain. Roanoke was situated just at the point where the stream emerged from the mountains. As he sat there thinking, not so much of the scenery but of Marthina. her words of the night before again ran thru his mind and like a flash the thot “water power” came. He got up excitedly and whistling to the dog started on a fast walk up the river. He had not been up in this part of the country for several years and his recol- lections, tho hazy, yet brought to his mind the thot of a deep, narrow canyon, just after the meeting of the Tug River with its principal tributary. Clear Creek. The sight he beheld when he rounded a sudden turn made his heart leap. Here was a most ideal site for water power. Its very adaptability to the development of power made him fear that some one had been there before and he looked anxiously for some sign of a location notice, but he saw none. He had no means of estimating the power available, but from his visits to various hydro-electric plants he knew the possibilities were tremendous. He estimated that the capacity of a plant here would easily double that of his father’s and with the low cost of maintenance as compared with the steam plant in town, it was astounding. It was nearly noon when he finished his explorations and he hurried back home, answering his father’s query as to his whereabouts with “hunting.” Excited more than his wont, he called Marthina on the ’phone and asked to be excused that afternoon, but that he would se her in the evening, and ended by telling her that he couldn’t tell her why he wouldn’t be there. Immediately after lunch he hunted up his classmate, Albert Phillips, who had graduated the same year but in the law college, and found out from hi'm all about locating power sites. He found it necessary to post his notices and then re- ceive his grant from Congress. The Congressional part of it scared him somewhat, but remembering that Marthina’s father was expected home in a day or so and being on good terms with him he would ask for advice on that part of the proposition. The next morning Dan did not show up at the plant, and at noon asked his father for a few days off, giving as an excuse that he had some friends coming whom he wanted to show around. The consent was granted as Dan had worked faithfully all summer. That afternoon saw him with a surveyor staking off his damsite. The surveyor, too, was struck with the possibilities of the place and told Dan to hang onto it. The next afternoon Senator Sherman arrived and he had hardly gotten home when Dan came in excitedly, almost for- 24

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proposition was final and that the whole idea was to delay his happiness. He rapidly figured that it would be at least three years before he would have fulfilled the conditions. Three years: the time appalled him. Three years when all his plans had been laid for three months. His heart sank ; he tried to look cheerful and as he left the room he said, “All right. Dad.” As he had promised the night before he now went to tell Marthina the ultimatum. She had such a way of seeing the bright side of things that whenever he felt badly he always went to her for consolation and unfailingly he got it. Tonight he hardly expected it, but in the face of all their dis- appointment, that she felt as much as he, she managed to cheer him up. “Well,” he said, “here’s the proposition: it will he three years before I will have enough, unless I have a rich uncle leave me about fifteen thousand dollars, and I can’t think of any right now.” “Well. Dan.” said Marthina. “why don’t you form a company and build a plant of your own?” and she laughed a little at her own suggestion. Dan smiled, too. He knew that it was an impossibility. Their conversa- tion turned to that subject closest to their hearts, that of their union and its unavoidable delay. As he left that night his sweetheart’s last words, “Don’t you worry, Dan, I am willing to wait for you,” and her little smile and the love in her big brown eyes told Dan more than words could express. It seemed to stir him to his very depths and he went home re- solved to fulfill his father's demands in other and quicker ways than merely saving his salary. Sleep did not come very soon, and as he lay there think- ing, the words of his sweetheart, “Build a power plant of your own,” came and went thru his brain. He wondered where he would get capital for any such proposition and then the idea behind the Wallingford stories came into his mind. Dan had read every one of these stories and longed to per- form some of these wonderful financial exploits himself, and now more than ever. He thot of every plan possible but without satisfaction, and finally resigned himself to sleep to dream he had formed a power company along Wallingford’s line and sold it to his father with immense profit to himself. The voice of his mother calling him to breakfast woke him out of this. The day was Sunday and feeling his disappointment he took his rifle, called to his collie and together they set out for a walk. Unconsciously their steps led them up the river. When they were a mile or so out of town Dan sat down on a rock to contemplate the scenery. Here was the Tug River, a stream of considerable size, coming out from between two 23

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getting to say, “How do you do,” in his hurry to put the mat- ter of the patent for the damsite before Mr. Sherman. The Senator readily took the matter up and promised him that he would put it right thru, that it wasn’t such a hard matter, and he would be returning to Washington about Friday. “So far so good,” thot Dan, and now the next thing was to set about devising means whereby he could sell the site and fulfill his father’s proposition. And right here came the Wallingford idea again. He would see Albert Phillips, his lawyer friend, and see about forming a company, “a la Wal- lingford,” and then sell out to his father. He grinned to him- self as he imagined how sold his Dad would feel, and then sobered somewhat as he thot of how much there was yet to do. The next day he and Albert got together in the latter’s offices and the young lawyer was tickled at the prospect of forming the company. He liked the high-finance idea and besides he wanted to see Dan get his heart’s desire. All the details for the forming of the company were arranged and all they lacked was the patent from Congress. The days seemed to drag. Dan had regained his spirits, and his father congratulated him on his sensible attitude. Dan only mum- bled his thanks. His hardest job was keeping his secret from Marthina. She came very nearly getting angry, but he pre- vailed on her to be a little patient, that perhaps he would have a surprise for her before long. So she remained satis- fied ; something told her that Dan would have a great surprise, although she little suspected its real nature. On Monday morning of the next week Dan received a letter from Senator Sherman enclosing the title to his site and also word that if Dan needed any further help just to say so. After the seeming delay to their marriage nothing had been said to the Senator about it, so he was ignorant of how he was furthering the boy’s interests altho there would probably have been no hesitation on his part. With his title to his site in his possession Dan and Al- bert got together in earnest in the formation of the Tug River Power and Development Company with a list of stockholders gotten out of a popular magazine. Albert was a live member and he played the publicity part strongly. The painter was called in and the imposing title “Tug River Power and De- velopment Co.” was added to Albert’s door. He even went further and secured a franchise from the city for the privi- lege of stringing wires for power and light thru the city. Upon securing this, with Albert’s help, the newspapers started in to make a great ado about the new power company. Great headlines appeared in the papers heralding the birth of the 25