NOTEBOOK

December 20, 1890. About three weeks ago the machine
was pronounced "finished" by Paige, for certainly the
half-dozenth time in the past twelve months. Then it
transpired—I mean it was discovered—that North had
failed to inspect the period, and it sometimes refused to
perform properly. But to correct that error would take
just one day, and only one day—the "merest trifie in the
world." I said this sort of mere trifle had interfered often
before and had always cost ten times as much time and
money as their loose calculations promised. Paige and
Davis knew (they always know, never guess) that this
correction would cost but one single day. Well, the best
part of two weeks went by. I dropped in (last Monday
noon) and they were still tinkering. Still tinkering, but
just one hour, now, would see the machine at work, blem-
ishless, and never stop again for a generation; the hoary
old song that has been sung to weariness in my ears by
these frauds and liars!

December 29. The "one hour" lasted till last Thursday;
it was reported to me by Whitmore that it got to work
again that day. The next day I sent down a new (pro-
posed) contract prepared by Robinson.

The machine broke down again that day \ Remains so
still.

February 7, 1891 Saturday night, 10 o'clock. Wrote a
note to Paige saying I now hold myself as released from
any further effort or expense in behalf of the machine.
I told him today that this was going to be my last negotia-
tion, and then I was done; that I should not renew the
insurance or pay out any more money!

But this was open mutiny, not only as to
Paige, but himself. He had got to a point where
he did not own the machine—the machine owned
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