There would be some little further delay, but the outcome seemed
practically certain, and the colonel did not wait longer to set in
motion his plans for the benefit of Clarendon.
"I'm told that Fetters says he'll get the mill anyway," said Caxton,
"and make more money buying it under foreclosure than by building a
new one. He's ready to lend on it now."
"Oh, damn Fetters!" exclaimed the colonel, elated with his victory. He
had never been a profane man, but strong language came so easy in
Clarendon that one dropped into it unconsciously. "The mill will be
running on full time when Fetters has been put out of business. We've
won our first fight, and I've never really seen the fellow yet."
As soon as the title was reasonably secure, the colonel began his
preparations for building the cotton mill. The first step was to send
for a New England architect who made a specialty of mills, to come
down and look the site over, and make plans for the dam, the mill
buildings and a number of model cottages for the operatives. As soon
as the estimates were prepared, he looked the ground over to see how
far he could draw upon local resources for material.
There was good brick clay on the outskirts of the town, where bricks
had once been made; but for most of the period since the war such as
were used in the town had been procured from the ruins of old
buildings--it was cheaper to clean bricks than to make them. Since the
construction of the railroad branch to Clarendon the few that were
needed from time to time were brought in by train.
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