------------------------------------------------------------------------ ALADDIN & CO. A ROMANCE OF YANKEE MAGIC BYHERBERT QUICK Author of"Virginia of the Air Lanes, " "Double Trouble, " etc. GROSSET & DUNLAPPublishers--New York ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 1904Henry Holt and Company Copyright 1907The Bobbs-Merrill Company ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Contents. PAGECHAPTER I. Which is of an Introductory Character 1 CHAPTER II. Still Introductory 13 CHAPTER III. Reminiscentially Autobiographical 20 CHAPTER IV. Jim Discovers his Coral Island 39 CHAPTER V. We Reach the Atoll 46 CHAPTER VI. I am Inducted into the Cave, and Enlist 55 CHAPTER VII. We Make our Landing 67 CHAPTER VIII. A Welcome to Wall Street and Us 77 CHAPTER IX. I Go Abroad and We Unfurl the Jolly Roger 86 CHAPTER X. We Dedicate Lynhurst Park 96 CHAPTER XI. The Empress and Sir John Meet Again 112 CHAPTER XII. In which the Burdens of Wealth Begin to Fall upon Us 120 CHAPTER XIII. A Sitting or Two in the Game with the World and Destiny 137 CHAPTER XIV. In which we Learn Something of Railroads, and AttendSome Remarkable Christenings 152 CHAPTER XV. Some Affairs of the Heart Considered in their Relationto Dollars and Cents 169 CHAPTER XVI. Some Things which Happened in our Halcyon Days 185 CHAPTER XVII. Relating to the Disposition of the Captives 201 CHAPTER XVIII. The Going Away of Laura and Clifford, and theDeparture of Mr. Trescott 214 CHAPTER XIX. In which Events Resume their Usual Course--at aSomewhat Accelerated Pace 231 CHAPTER XX. I Twice Explain the Condition of the Trescott Estate 248 CHAPTER XXI. Of Conflicts, Within and Without 260 CHAPTER XXII. In which I Win my Great Victory 270 CHAPTER XXIII. The "Dutchman's Mill" and What it Ground 281 CHAPTER XXIV. The Beginning of the End 291 CHAPTER XXV. That Last Weird Battle in the West 306 CHAPTER XXVI. The End--and a Beginning 320 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ALADDIN & CO ------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE PERSONS OF THE STORY. James Elkins, the "man who made Lattimore, " known as "Jim. " Albert Barslow, who tells the tale; the friend and partner of Jim. Alice Barslow, his wife; at first, his sweetheart. William Trescott, known as "Bill, " a farmer and capitalist. Josephine Trescott, his daughter. Mrs. Trescott, his wife. Mr. Hinckley, a banker of Lattimore. Mrs. Hinckley, his wife; devoted to the emancipation of woman. Antonia, their daughter. Aleck Macdonald, pioneer and capitalist. General Lattimore, pioneer, soldier, and godfather of Lattimore. Miss Addison, the general's niece. Captain Marion Tolliver, Confederate veteran and Lattimore boomer. Mrs. Tolliver, his wife. Will Lattimore, a lawyer. Mr. Ballard, a banker. J. Bedford Cornish, a speculator, who with Elkins, Barslow, and Hinckley make up the great Lattimore "Syndicate. " Clifford Giddings, editor and proprietor of the Lattimore Herald. De Forest Barr-Smith, an Englishman "representing capital. " Cecil Barr-Smith, his brother. Avery Pendleton, of New York, a railway magnate; headof the "Pendleton System. " Allen G. Wade, of New York; head of the Allen G. Wade Trust Co. Halliday, a railway magnate; head of the "Halliday System. " Watson, a reporter. Schwartz, a locomotive engineer on the Lattimore & Great Western. Hegvold, a fireman. Citizens of Lattimore, Politicians, Live-stock Merchants, Railway Clerks and Officials, etc. Scene: Principally in the Western town of Lattimore, but partly in New York and Chicago. Time: Not so very long ago. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ALADDIN & CO CHAPTER I. Which is of Introductory Character. Our National Convention met in Chicago that year, and I was one of thedelegates. I had looked forward to it with keen expectancy. I was now, at five o'clock of the first day, admitting to myself that it was abore. The special train, with its crowd of overstimulated enthusiasts, thethrongs at the stations, the brass bands, bunting, and buncombe alljarred upon me. After a while my treason was betrayed to the boys by thefact that I was not hoarse. They punished me by making me sing as a solothe air of each stanza of "Marching Through Georgia, " "Tenting To-nighton the Old Camp-ground, " and other patriotic songs, until my voice wasassimilated to theirs. But my gorge rose at it all, and now, at fiveo'clock of the first day, I was seeking a place of retirement where Icould be alone and think over the marvelous event which had suddenlyraised me from yesterday's parity with the fellows on the train to mypresent state of exaltation. I should have preferred a grotto in Vau Vau or some south-lookingmountain glen; but in the absence of any such retreat in Chicago, Iturned into the old art-gallery in Michigan Avenue. As I went floatingin space past its door, my eye caught through the window the gleam ofthe white limbs of statues, and my being responded to the soulvibrations they sent out. So I paid my fee, entered, and found thetender solitude for which my heart longed. I sat down and luxuriated inthoughts of the so recent marvelous experience. Need I explain that Iwas young and the experience was one of the heart? I was so young that my delegateship was regarded as a matter to excitewonder. I saw my picture in the papers next morning as a youth oftwenty-three who had become his party's leader in an importantagricultural county. Some, in the shameless laudation of a sensationalpress, compared me to the younger Pitt. As a matter of fact, I had sometalent for organization, and in any gathering of men, I somehow neverlacked a following. I was young enough to be an honest partisan, enthusiastic enough to be useful, strong enough to be respected, ignorant enough to believe my party my country's safeguard, and I wasprominent in my county before I was old enough to vote. At twenty-one Iconducted a convention fight which made a member of Congress. It wasquite natural, therefore, that I should be delegate to this convention, and that I had looked forward to it with keen expectancy. The remarkablething was my falling off from its work now by virtue of that recentmarvelous experience which as I have admitted was one of the heart. Donot smile. At three-and-twenty even delegates have hearts. My mental and sentimental state is of importance in this history, Ithink, or I should not make so much of it. I feel sure that I should nothave behaved just as I did had I not been at that moment in theiridescent cloudland of newly-reciprocated love. Alice had accepted menot an hour before my departure for Chicago. Hence my loathing for suchthings as nominating speeches and the report of the Committee onCredentials, and my yearning for the Vau Vau grotto. She had yieldedherself up to me with such manifold sweetnesses, uttered and unutterable(all of which had to be gone over in my mind constantly to make sure oftheir reality), that the contest in Indiana, and the cause of our ownState's Favorite Son, became sickening burdens to me, which rolled awayas I gazed upon the canvases in the gallery. I lay back upon a seat, half closed my eyes, and looked at the pictures. When one comes toconsider the matter, an art gallery is a wonderfully different thingfrom a national convention! As I looked on them, the still paintings became instinct with life. Yonder shepherdess shielding from the thorns the little white lamb wasAlice, and back behind the clump of elms was myself, responding to hersilvery call. The cottage on the mountain-side was ours. That ladywaving her handkerchief from the promontory was Alice, too; and I wasthe dim figure on the deck of the passing ship. I was the knight andshe the wood-nymph; I the gladiator in the circus, she the Roman ladywho agonized for me in the audience; I the troubadour who twanged theguitar, she the princess whose fair shoulder shone through the lace atthe balcony window. They lived and moved before my very eyes. I knew theunseen places beyond the painted mountains, and saw the secret thingsthe artists only dreamed of. Doves cooed for me from the clumps ofthorn; the clouds sailed in pearly serenity across the skies, theirshadows mottling mountain, hill, and plain; and out from behind everybole, and through every leafy screen, glimpsed white dryads and fleeingfays. Clearly the convention hall was no place for me. "Hang the speech of thetemporary chairman, anyhow!" thought I; "and as for the platform, let itpoint with pride, and view with apprehension, to its heart's content; itis sure to omit all reference to the overshadowing issue of theday--Alice!" All the world loves a lover, and a true lover loves all theworld, --especially that portion of it similarly blessed. So, when Iheard a girl's voice alternating in intimate converse with that of aman, my sympathies went out to them, and I turned silently to look. Theymust have come in during my reverie; for I had passed the place wherethey were sitting and had not seen them. There was a piece of grillworkbetween my station and theirs, through which I could see them plainly. The gallery had seemed deserted when I went in, and still seemed so, save for the two voices. Hers was low and calm, but very earnest; and there was in it someinflection or intonation which reminded me of the country girls I hadknown on the farm and at school. His was of a peculiarly sonorous andvibrant quality, its every tone so clear and distinct that it would havebeen worth a fortune to a public speaker. Such a voice and enunciationare never associated with any mind not strong in the qualities ofresolution and decision. On looking at her, I saw nothing countrified corresponding to the voice. She was dressed in something summery and cool, and wore a sort offlowered blouse, the presence of which was explained by the easel beforewhich she sat, and the palette through which her thumb protruded. Shehad laid down her brush, and the young man was using her mahlstick in abadly-directed effort to smear into a design some splotches of paint onthe unused portion of her canvas. He was by some years her senior, but both were young--she, very young. He was swarthy of complexion, and his smoothly-shaven, square-set jawand full red lips were bluish with the subcutaneous blackness of hisbeard. His dress was so distinctly late in style as to seem almostfoppish; but there was nothing of the exquisite in his erect andathletic form, or in his piercing eye. She was ruddily fair, with that luxuriant auburn-brown hair which goeswith eyes of amberish-brown and freckles. These latter she had, Iobserved with a renewal of the thought of the country girls and the olddistrict school. She was slender of waist, full of bust, and, after alissome, sylph-like fashion, altogether charming in form. With all herroundness, she was slight and a little undersized. So much of her as there was, the young fellow seemed ready to absorb, regarding her with avid eyes--a gaze which she seldom met. But wheneverhe gave his attention to the mahlstick, her eyes sought his countenancewith a look which was almost scrutiny. It was as if some extrinsic forcedrew her glance to his face, until the stronger compulsion of hermodesty drove it away at the return of his black orbs. My heartrecognized with a throb the freemasonry into which I had lately beeninitiated, and, all unknown to them, I hailed them as members of theorder. Their conversation came to me in shreds and fragments, which I did notat all care to hear. I recognized in it those inanities with which youthbusies the lips, leaving the mind at rest, that the interplay ofmagnetic discharges from heart to heart may go on uninterruptedly. It isa beautiful provision of nature, but I did not at that time admire it. Ipitied them. Alice and I had passed through that stage, and into thephase marked by long and eloquent silences. "I was brought up to think, " I remember to have heard the fair strangersay, following out, apparently, some subject under discussion betweenthem, "that the surest way to make a child steal jam is to spy upon him. I should feel ashamed. " "Quite right, " said he, "but in Europe and in the East, and even here inChicago, in some circles, it is looked upon as indispensable, youknow. " "In art, at least, " she went on, "there is no sex. Whoever can help mein my work is a companion that I don't need any chaperon to protect mefrom. If I wasn't perfectly sure of that, I should give up and go backhome. " "Now, don't draw the line so as to shut me out, " he protested. "How canI help you with your work?" She looked him steadily in the face now, her intent and questioningregard shading off into a somewhat arch smile. "I can't think of any way, " said she, "unless it would be by posing forme. " "There's another way, " he answered, "and the only one I'd care about. " She suddenly became absorbed in the contemplation of the paints on herpalette, at which she made little thrusts with a brush; and at last shequeried, doubtfully, "How?" "I've heard or read, " he answered, "that no artist ever rises to thehighest, you know, until after experiencing some great love. I--can'tyou think of any other way besides the posing?" She brought the brush close to her eyes, minutely inspecting its pointfor a moment, then seemed to take in his expression with a swiftsweeping glance, resumed the examination of the brush, and finallylooked him in the face again, a little red spot glowing in her cheek, and a glint of fire in her eye. I was too dense to understand it, but Ifelt that there was a trace of resentment in her mien. "Oh, I don't know about that!" she said. "There may be some other way. Ihaven't met all your friends, and you may be the means of introducing meto the very man. " I did not hear his reply, though I confess I tried to catch it. Sheresumed her work of copying one of the paintings. This she did in amechanical sort of way, slowly, and with crabbed touches, but with somesuccess. I thought her lacking in anything like control over the mediumin which she worked; but the results promised rather well. He seemedannoyed at her sudden accession of industry, and looked sometimesquizzically at her work, often hungrily at her. Once or twice he touchedher hand as she stepped near him; but she neither reproved him norallowed him to retain it. I felt that I had taken her measure by this time. She was some Westerncountry girl, well supplied with money, blindly groping toward thecareer of an artist. Her accent, her dress, and her occupation told ofher origin and station in life, and of her ambitions. The blindness Iguessed, --partly from the manner of her work, partly from the inherentprobabilities of the case. If the young man had been eliminated fromthis problem with which my love-sick imagination was busying itself, Icould have followed her back confidently to some rural neighborhood, andto a year or two of painting portraits from photographs, and landscapesfrom "studies, " and exhibiting them at the county fair; the teaching ofsome pupils, in an unnecessary but conscientiously thrifty effort to getback some of the money invested in an "art education" in Chicago; and afinal reversion to type after her marriage with the village lawyer, doctor or banker, or the owner of the adjoining farm. I was young; but Ihad studied people, and had already seen such things happen. But the young man could not be eliminated. He sat there idly, his everyword and look surcharged with passion. As I wondered how long it wouldbe until they were as happy as Alice and I, the thought grew upon methat, however familiar might be the type to which she belonged, he wasunclassified. His accent was Eastern--of New York, I judged. He lookedlike the young men in the magazine illustrations--interesting, butoutside my field of observation. And I could not fail to see that girlmust find herself similarly at odds with him. "But, " thought I, "lovelevels all!" And I freshly interrogated the pictures and statues fortransportation to my own private Elysium, forgetful of my unconsciousneighbors. My attention was recalled to them, however, by their arrangements fordeparture, and a concomitant slightly louder tone in their conversation. "It's just a spectacular show, " said he; "no plot or anything of thatsort, you know, but good music and dancing; and when we get tired of itwe can go. We'll have a little supper at Auriccio's afterward, if you'llbe so kind. It's only a step from McVicker's. " "Won't it be pretty late?" she queried. "Not for Chicago, " said he, "and you'll find material for a picture atAuriccio's about midnight. It's quite like the Latin Quarter, sometimes. " "I want to see the real Latin Quarter, and no imitation, " she answered. "Oh, I guess I'll go. It'll furnish me with material for a letter tomamma, however the picture may turn out. " "I'll order supper for the Empress, " said he, "and--" "And for the illustrious Sir John, " she added. "But you mustn't call methat any more. I've been reading her history, and I don't like it. I'mglad he died on St. Helena, now: I used to feel sorry for him. " "Transfer your pity to the downtrodden Sir John, " he replied, "and makea real living man happy. " They passed out and left me to my dreams. But visions did not return. Myidyl was spoiled. Old-fashioned ideas emerged, and took form in theplain light of every-day common-sense. I knew the wonderfully gorgeousspectacle these two young people were going to see at the play thatnight, with its lights, its music, its splendidly meretriciousOrientalism. And I knew Auriccio's, --not a disreputable place at all, perhaps; but free-and-easy, and distinctly Bohemian. I wished that thislittle girl, so arrogantly and ignorantly disdainful (as Alice wouldhave been under the same circumstances) of such European conventions asthe chaperon, so fresh, so young, so full of allurement, so under theinfluence of this smooth, dark, and passionate wooer with the vibrantvoice, could be otherwise accompanied on this night of pleasure than byhimself alone. "It's none of your business, " said the voice of that cold-hearted andslothful spirit which keeps us in our groove, "and you couldn't doanything, anyhow. Besides, he's abjectly in love with her: would therebe any danger if it were you and your Alice?" "I'm not at all sure about him or his abjectness, " replied my uneasyconscience. "He knows better than to do this. " "What do you know of either of them?" answered this same Spirit ofRoutine. "What signify a few sentences casually overheard? She may besomething quite different; there are strange things in Chicago. " "I'll wager anything, " said I hotly, "that she's a good American girl ofthe sort I live among and was brought up with! And she may be indanger. " "If she's that sort of girl, " said the Voice, "you may rely upon her totake care of herself. " "That's pretty nearly true, " I admitted. "Besides, " said the Voice illogically, "such things happen every nightin such a city. It's a part of the great tragedy. Don't be Quixotic!" Here was where the Voice lost its case: for my conscience was stirredafresh; and I went back to the convention-hall carrying on a jointdebate with myself. Once in the hall, however, I was conscripted into awar which was raging all through our delegation over the succession inour membership in the National Committee. I thought no more of the idylof the art-gallery until the adjournment for the night. CHAPTER II. Still Introductory. The great throng from the hall surged along the streets in an Amazoniannetwork of streams, gathering in boiling lakes in the great hotels, dribbling off into the boarding-house districts in the suburbs, seepingdown into the slimy fens of vice. Again I found myself out of touch withit all. I gave my companions the slip, and started for my hotel. All at once it occurred to me that I had not dined, and with the thoughtcame the remembrance of my pair of lovers, and their supper together. With a return of the feeling that these were the only people in Chicagopossessing spirits akin to mine, I shaped my course for Auriccio's. Mycountry dazedness led me astray once or twice, but I found the place, retreated into the farthest corner, sat down, and ordered supper. It was not one of the places where the out-of-town visitors were likelyto resort, and it was in fact rather quieter than usual. The few whowere at the tables went out before my meal was served, and for a fewminutes I was alone. Then the Empress and Sir John entered, followed byhalf a dozen other playgoers. The two on whom my sentimental interestwas fixed came far down toward my position, attracted by the quietudewhich had lured me, and seated themselves at a table in a sort ofalcove, cut off from the main room by columns and palms, secluded enoughfor privacy, public enough, perhaps, for propriety. So far as I wasconcerned I could see them quite plainly, looking, as I did, from mygloomy corner toward the light of the restaurant; and I was sufficientlyclose to be within easy earshot. I began to have the sensation ofshadowing them, until I recalled the fact that, so far, it had been acase of their following me. I thought his manner toward her had changed since the afternoon. Therewas now an openness of wooing, an abandonment of reserve in glance andattitude, which should have admonished her of an approaching crisis intheir affairs. Yet she seemed cooler and more self-possessed thanbefore. Save for a little flutter in her low laugh, I should havepronounced her entirely at ease. She looked very sweet and girlish inher high-necked dress, which helped make up a costume that she seemed tohave selected to subdue and conceal, rather than to display, her charms. If such was her plan, it went pitifully wrong: his advances went on fromapproach to approach, like the last manoeuvres of a successful siege. "No, " I heard her say, as I became conscious that we three were aloneagain; "not here! Not at all! Stop!" When I looked at them they were quietly sitting at the table; but herface was pale, his flushed. Pretty soon the waiter came and servedchampagne. I felt sure that she had never seen any before. "How funny it looks, " said she, "with the bubbles coming up in themiddle like a little fountain; and how pretty! Why, the stem is hollow, isn't it?" He laughed and made some foolish remark about love bubbling up in hisheart. When he set his glass down, I could see that his hands weretrembling as with palsy, --so much so that it was tipped over and broken. "I'll fill another, " said he. "Aren't you sorry you broke it?" "I?" she queried. "You're not going to lay that to me, are you?" "You're the only one to blame!" he replied. "You must hold it till it'ssteady. I'll hold your glass with the other. Why, you don't take any atall! Don't you like it, dear?" She shrank back, looked toward the door, and then took the hand in bothof hers, holding it close to her side, and drank the wine like a childtaking medicine. His arm, his hand still holding the glass, slippedabout her waist, but she turned swiftly and silently freed herself andsat down by the chair in which he had meant that both should sit, holding his hands. Then in a moment I saw her sitting on the other sideof the table, and he was filling the glasses again. The guests had alldeparted. The well-disciplined waiters had effaced themselves. Only wethree were there. I wondered if I ought to do anything. They sat and talked in low tones. He was drinking a good deal of thechampagne; she, little; and neither seemed to be eating anything. He satopposite to her, leaning over as if to consume her with his eyes. Shereturned his gaze often now, and often smiled; but her smile was drawnand tremulous, and, to my mind, pitifully appealing. I no longerwondered if I ought to do anything; for, once, when I partly rose to goand speak to them, the impossibility of the thing overcame my halfresolve, and I sat down. The anti-quixotic spirit won, after all. At last a waiter, returning with the change for the bill with which Ihad paid my score, was hailed by Sir John, and was paid for theirsupper. I looked to see them as they started for home. The girl rose andmade a movement toward her wrap. He reached it first and placed it abouther shoulders. In so doing, he drew her to him, and began speakingsoftly and passionately to her in words I could not hear. Her face wasturned upward and backward toward him, and all her resistance seemedgone. I should have been glad to believe this the safe and triumphantsurrender to an honest love; but here, after the dances and Stamboulspectacles, hidden by the palms, beside the table with its empty bottlesand its broken glass, how could I believe it such? I turned away, as ifto avoid the sight of the crushing of some innocent thing which I waspowerless to aid, and strode toward the door. Then I heard a little cry, and saw her come flying down the great hall, leaving him standing amazedly in the archway of the palm alcove. She passed me at the door, her face vividly white, went out into thestreet, like a dove from the trap at a shooting tournament, and spranglightly upon a passing street-car. I could act now, and I would see herto a place of safety; so I, too, swung on by the rail of the rear car. She never once turned her face; but I saw Sir John come to the door ofthe restaurant and look both ways for her, and as he stood perplexed andalarmed, our train turned the curve at the next corner, we were sweptoff toward the South Side, and the dark young man passed, as I supposed, "into my dreams forever. " I made my way forward a few seats and saw hersitting there with her head bowed upon the back of the seat in front ofher. I bitterly wished that he, if he had a heart, might see her there, bruised in spirit, her little ignorant white soul, searching itself forsmutches of the uncleanness it feared. I wished that Alice might bethere to go to her and comfort her without a word. I paid her fare, andthe conductor seemed to understand that she was not to be disturbed. Adrunken man in rough clothes came into the car, walked forward andlooked at her a moment, and as I was about to go to him and make him sitelsewhere, he turned away and came back to the rear, as if he had somesort of maudlin realization that the front of the train was sacredground. At last she looked about, signalled for the car to stop, and alighted. Ifollowed, rather suspecting that she did not know her way. She walkedsteadily on, however, to a big, dark house with a vine-covered porch, close to the sidewalk. A stout man, coatless, and in a white shirt, stood at the gate. He wore a slouch hat, and I knew him, even in thatdim light, for a farmer. She stopped for a moment, and without a word, sprang into his arms. "Wal, little gal, ain't yeh out purty late?" I heard him say, as Iwalked past. "Didn't expect yer dad to see yeh, did yeh? Why, yeh ain'ta-cryin', be yeh?" "O pa! O pa!" was all I heard her say; but it was enough. I walked tothe corner, and sat down on the curbstone, dead tired, but happy. In alittle while I went back toward the street-car line, and as I passed thevine-clad porch, heard the farmer's bass voice, and stopped to listen, frankly an eavesdropper, and feeling, somehow, that I had earned theright to hear. "Why, o' course, I'll take yeh away, ef yeh don't like it here, littlegal, " he was saying. "Yes, we'll go right in an' pack up now, if yeh sayso. Only it's a little suddent, and may hurt the Madame's feelin's, y'know--" * * * * * At the hotel I was forced by the crowded state of the city to share thebed of one of my fellow delegates. He was a judge from down the state, and awoke as I lay down. "That you, Barslow?" said he. "Do you know a fellow by the name ofElkins, of Cleveland?" "No, " said I, "why?" "He was here to see you, or rather to inquire if you were Al Barslow whoused to live in Pleasant Valley Township, " the Judge went on. "He's thefellow who organized the Ohio flambeau brigade. Seems smart. " "Pleasant Valley Township, did he say? Yes, I know him. It's JimmieElkins. " And I sank to sleep and to dreams, in which Jimmie Elkins, the Empress, Sir John, Alice, and myself acted in a spectacular drama, like that atMcVicker's. And yet there are those who say there is nothing in dreams! CHAPTER III. Reminiscentially Autobiographical. This Jimmie Elkins was several years older than I; but that did notprevent us, as boys, from being fast friends. At seventeen he had acoterie of followers among the smaller fry of ten and twelve, his tastesclinging long to the things of boyhood. He and I played together, afterthe darkening of his lip suggested the razor, and when the youths of hisage were most of them acquiring top buggies, and thinking of the longSunday-night drives with their girls. Jim preferred the boys, and thetrade of the fisher and huntsman. Why, in spite of parental opposition, I loved Jimmie, is not hard toguess. He had an odd and freakish humor, and talked more ofIndian-fighting, filibustering in gold-bearing regions, and of movingaccidents by flood and field, than of crops, live-stock, or bowerydances. He liked me just as did the older men who sent me to theNational Convention, --in spite of my youth. He was a ne'er-do-weel, saidmy father, but I snared gophers and hunted and fished with him, and weloved each other as brothers seldom do. At last, I began teaching school, and working my way to a bettereducation than our local standard accepted as either useful ornecessary, and Jim and I drifted apart. He had always kept up avoluminous correspondence with that class of advertisers whoseblack-letter "Agents Wanted" is so attractive to the farmer-boy; and hewas usually agent for some of their wares. Finally, I heard of him as acanvasser for a book sold by subscription, --a "Veterinarians' Guide, " Ibelieve it was, --and report said that he was "making money. " Again Ilearned that he had established a publishing business of some kind; and, later, that reverses had forced him to discontinue it, --the old farmerwho told me said he had "failed up. " Then I heard no more of him untilthat night of the convention, when I had the adventure with the Empressand Sir John, all unknown to them; and Jim made the ineffectual attemptto find me. His family had left the old neighborhood, and so had mine;and the chances of our ever meeting seemed very slight. In fact it wassome years later and after many of the brave dreams of the youthfulpublicist had passed away, that I casually stumbled upon him in thesmoking-room of a parlor-car, coming out of Chicago. I did not know him at first. He came forward, and, extending his hand, said, "How are you, Al?" and paused, holding the hand I gave him, evidently expecting to enjoy a period of perplexity on my part. But withone good look in his eyes I knew him. I made him sit down by me, and forhalf an hour we were too much engrossed in reminiscences to ask aftersuch small matters as business, residence, and general welfare. "Where all have you been, Jim, and what have you been doing, since youfollowed off the 'Veterinarians' Guide, ' and I lost you?" I inquired atlast. "I've been everywhere, and I've done everything, almost, " said he. "Putit in the 'negative case, ' and my history'll be briefer. " "I should regard organizing a flambeau brigade, " said I, "as about thelast thing you would engage in. " "Ah!" he replied, "His Whiskers at the hotel told you I called thattime, did he? Well, I didn't think he had the sense. And I doubted thememory on your part, and I wasn't at all sure you were the real Barslow. But about the flambeaux. The fact is, I had some stock in the flambeaufactory, and I was a rabid partisan of flambeaux. They seemed sopatriotic, you know, so sort of ennobling, and so convincing, as to themerits of the tariff controversy!" It was the same old Jim, I thought. "We used to have a scheme, " I remarked, "our favorite one, of occupyingan island in the Pacific, --or was it somewhere in the vicinity of theSpanish Main--" "If it was the place where we were to make slaves of all the natives, and I was to be king, and you Grand Vizier, " he answered, as if it werea weighty matter, and he on the witness-stand, "it was in thePacific--the South Pacific, where the whale-oil comes from. A coralatoll, with a crystal lagoon in the middle for our ships, and a fringeof palms along the margin--coco-palms, you remember; and the lagoon wasgreen, sometimes, and sometimes blue; and the sharks never came over thebar, but the porpoises came in and played for us, and made fireworks inthe phosphorescent waves. .. . " His eyes grew almost tender, as he gazed out of the window, and ceasedto speak without finishing the sentence, --which it took me some minutesto follow out to the end, in my mind. I was delighted and touched tofind these foolish things so green in his memory. "The plan involved, " said I soberly, "capturing a Spanish galleon filledwith treasure, finding two lovely ladies in the cabin, and offering themtheir liberty. And we sailed with them for a port; and, as I rememberit, their tears at parting conquered us, and we married them; and livedricher than oil magnates, and grander than Monte Cristos forever after:do you remember?" "Remember! Well, I should smile!"--he had been laughing like a boy, withhis old frank laugh. "Them's the things we don't forget. .. . Did you evergather any information as to what a galleon really was? I never did. " "I had no more idea than I now have of the Rosicrucian Mysteries; and Imust confess, " said I, "that I'm a little hazy on the galleon questionyet. As to piracy, now, and robbers and robbery, actual life fills outthe gaps in the imagination of boyhood, doesn't it, Jim?" "Apt to, " he assented, "but specifically? As to which, you know?" "Well, I've had my share of experience with them, " I answered, "thoughnot so much in the line of rob-or, as we planned, but more as rob-ee. " Jim looked at me quizzically. "Board of Trade, faro, or . .. What?" he ventured. "General business, " I responded, "and . .. Politics. " "Local, state, or national?" he went on, craftily ignoring the generalbusiness. "A little national, some state, but the bulk of it local. I've beenelected County Treasurer, down where I live, for four successive terms. " "Good for you!" he responded. "But I don't see how that can be made toharmonize with your remark about rob-or and rob-ee. It's been your ownfault, if you haven't been on the profitable side of the game, with thedear people on the other. And I judge from your looks that you eat threemeals a day, right along, anyhow. Come, now, b'lay this rob-ee business(as Sir Henry Morgan used to say) till you get back to Buncombe County. As a former partner in crime, I won't squeal; and the next election issome ways off, anyhow. No concealment among pals, now, Al, it's no fair, you know, and it destroys confidence and breeds discord. Many a good, honest, piratical enterprise has been busted up by concealment and lackof confidence. Always trust your fellow pirates, --especially in thingsthey know all about by extrinsic evidence, --and keep concealment for thegreat world of the unsophisticated and gullible, and to catch thesucker vote with. But among ourselves, my beloved, fidelity to truth, and openness of heart is the first rule, right out of Hoyle. With drypowder, mutual confidence, and sharp cutlasses, we are invincible; andas the poet saith, "'Far as the tum-te-tum the billows foam Survey our empire and behold our home, ' or words to that effect. And to think of your trying to deceive me, yourformer chieftain, who doesn't even vote in your county or state, andmoreover always forgets election! Rob-ee indeed! rats! Al, I'm ashamedof you, by George, I am!" This speech he delivered with a ridiculous imitation of the tricks ofthe elocutionist. It was worthy of the burlesque stage. The conductor, passing through, was attracted by it, and notified us that the solitudeof the smoking-room had been invaded, by a slight burst of applause atJim's peroration, followed by the vanishing of the audience. "No need for any further concealment on my part, so far as elections areconcerned, " said I, when we had finished our laugh, "for I go out ofoffice January first, next. " "Oh, well, that accounts for it, then, " said he. "I notice, say, threekinds of retirement from office: voluntary (very rare), post-convention, and post-election. Which is yours?" "Post-convention, I'm sorry to say. I wish it had been voluntary. " "It _is_ the cheapest; but you're in great luck not to get licked at thepolls. Altogether, you're in great luck. You've been betting on a gamein which the percentage is mighty big in favor of the house, and you'vewon three or four consecutive turns out of the box. You've got no kickcoming: you're in big luck. Don't you know you are?" I did not feel called upon to commit myself; and we smoked on for sometime in silence. "It strikes me, Jim, " said I, at last, "that you've done all thecross-examination, and that it is time to listen to your report. Howabout you and your conduct?" "As for my conduct, " was the prompt answer, "it's away up in theneighborhood of G. I've managed to hold the confounded world up for aliving, ever since I left Pleasant Valley Township. Some of the time thepicking has been better than at others; but my periods of starvationhave been brief. By practicing on the 'Veterinarians' Guide' and othersimilar fakes, I learned how to talk to people so as to make thembelieve what I said about things, with the result, usually, of wooingthe shrinking and cloistered dollar from its lair. When a fellow getsthis trick down fine, he can always find a market for his services. Ihandled hotel registers, city directories, and like literature, including county histories--" "Sh-h-h!" said I, "somebody might hear you. " "--and at last, after a conference with my present employers, the errorof my way presented itself to me, and I felt called to a higher andholier profession. I yielded to my good angel, turned my better natureloose, and became a missionary. " "A what!" I exclaimed. "A missionary, " he responded soberly. "That is, you understand, not oneof these theological, India's-coral-strand guys; but one who goes aboutthe United States of America in a modest and unassuming way, doing goodso far as in him lies. " "I see, " said I, punning horribly, "'in him lies. '" "Eh?. .. Yes. Have another cigar. Well, now, you can't defend thisforeign-mission business to me for a minute. The hills, right in thisvicinity, are even now white to the harvest. Folks here want the lightjust as bad as the foreign heathen; and so I took up my burden, and wentout to disseminate truth, as the soliciting agent of the Frugality andIndemnity Life Association, which presented itself to me as the capacityin which I could best combine repentance with its fruits. " "I perceive, " said I. "Perfectly plain, isn't it, to the seeing eye?" he went on. "You see itwas like this: Charley Harper and I had been together in the Garden CityLand Company, years ago, during the boom--by the way, I didn't mentionthat in my report, did I? Well, of course, that company went up just asthey all did, and neither Charley nor I got to be receiver, as we'd sortof laid out to do, and we separated. I went back to my literature--hotelregisters, with an advertising scheme, with headquarters at Cleveland. That's how I happened to be an Ohio man at that national convention. Charley always had a leaning toward insurance, and went down intoIllinois, and started a mutual-benefit organization, which he keptgoing a few years down on the farm--Springfield, or Jacksonville, orsomewhere down there; and when I ketched up with him again, he was justchanging it to the old-line plan, and bringing it to the metropolis. Well, I helped him some to enlist capital, and he offered me theposition of Superintendent of Agents. I accepted, and after servingawhile in the ranks to sort of get onto the ropes, here I am, juststarting out on a trip which will take me through a number of states. " "How does it agree with you?" I inquired. "Not well, " said he, "but the good I accomplish is a great comfort tome. On this trip, now, I expect to do much in the way of stimulating theboys up to their great work of spreading the light of the gospel of trueinsurance. Sometimes, in these days of apathy and error, I find myburden a heavy one; and notwithstanding the quiet of conscience I gain, if it weren't for the salary, I'd quit to-morrow, Al, danged if Iwouldn't. It makes me tired to have even you sort of hint that I'mactuated by some selfish motive, when, in truth and in fact, I live butto gather widows and orphans under my wing, so to speak, and give secondhusbands a good start, by means of policies written on the only trueplan, combining participation in profits with pure mutuality, and--" "Never mind!" said I with a silence-commanding gesture. "I've heard allthat before. You're onto the ropes thoroughly; but don't practice yourinfernal arts on me! I hope the salary is satisfactory?" "Fairish; but not high, considering what they get for it. " "You used to be more modest, " said I. "I remember that you once nearlybroke your heart because you couldn't summon up courage to ask CreeshyHammond to go to the 'Fourth' with you; d'ye remember?" "Well, I guess, yes!" he replied. "Wasn't I a miserable wretch for a fewdays! And I've never been able to ask any woman I cared about, thefateful question, yet. " We went into the parlor-car, and talked over old times and new for anhour. I told him of my marriage and my home, and I studied him. I sawthat he still preserved his humorous, mock-serious style ofconversation, and that his hand-to-hand battle with the world had madehim good-humoredly cynical. He evinced a knowledge of more things than Ishould have expected; and had somehow acquired an imposing manner, inspite of his rather slangy, if expressive, vocabulary. He had the powerof making statements of mere opinion, which, from some vibration ofvoice or trick of expression, struck the hearer as solid facts, thricebuttressed by evidence. He bore no marks of dissipation, unless theoccasional use of terms traceable to the turf or the gaming-table mightbe considered such; but these expressions, I considered, are soconstantly before every reader of the newspapers that the language ofthe pulpit, even, is infected by them. Their evidential value being thusdestroyed, they ought not to be weighed at all, as against firm, wholesome flesh, a good complexion, and a clear eye, all of which Mr. Elkins possessed. "It's funny, " said I, "how seldom I meet any of the old neighbor-boys. Do you see any of them in your travels?" "Not often, " he answered, "but you remember little Ed Smith, who livedon the Hayes place for a while, and brought the streaked snake into theschoolhouse while Julia Fanning was teaching? Well, he was an architectat Garden City, and lives in Chicago now. We sort of chum together: sawhim yesterday. He left Garden City when the land company went up. I tellyou, that was a hot town for a while! Railroads, and factories, andirrigation schemes, and prices scooting toward the zenith, till youcouldn't rest. If I'd got into that push soon enough, I shouldn't havemade a thing but money; as it was, I didn't lose only what I had. A goodmany of the boys lost a lot more. But I tell you, Al, a boom properlyboomed is a sure thing. " "You're a constant source of surprise to me, Jim, " said I. "I shouldhave thought them sure to lose. " "They're sure to win, " said he earnestly. I demurred. "I don't see how that can possibly be, " said I, "for of allthings, booms seem to me the most fickle and incalculable. " "They seem so, " said he, smiling, but still in earnest, "to your rusticand untaught mind, and to most others, because they haven't beenstudied. The comet, likewise, doesn't seem very stable or dependable;but to the eye of the astronomer its orbit is plain, and the time of itsreturn engagement pretty certain. It's the same with seventeen-yearlocusts--and booms; their visits are so far apart that the masses forgettheir birthmarks and the W's on their backs. But if you'll follow theirappearances from place to place, as I've done, putting up my ante rightalong for the privilege, you'll become an accomplished boomist; and fromthe first gentle stirrings of boom-sprouts in the soil, so to speak, youcan forecast their growth, maturity, and collapse. " "I must be permitted to doubt it, " said I. "It's easy, my son, " he resumed, "dead easy, and it's psychology on thehugest scale; and among the results of its study is constant improvementof the mind, going on coincidentally with the preparation of the way tothe ownership of steam-yachts and racing-stables, or any other similartrifles you hanker for. " "Great brain, Jim! Massive intellect!" said I, laughing at the fantasticabsurdity of his assertion. "Why, such knowledge as you possess isbetter than straight tips on all the races ever to be run. It's betterthan our tropical island and Spanish galleons. You get richer, and youdon't have to look out for men-of-war. Do I hold my job as GrandVizier?" "You hold any job you'll take: I'll make out the appointment with theposition and salary blank, and you can fill it up. And if you getdissatisfied with that, the old grand hailing-sign of distress willcatch the speaker's eye, any old time. But, I tell you, Al, in allseriousness, I'm right about this boom business. They're all alike, andthey all have the same history. With the conditions right, one can bestarted anywhere in a growing country. I've had my ear to the ground fora while back, and I've heard things. I'm sure I detect some of thepremonitory symptoms: money piling up in the financial centers; propertyaway down, but strengthening, in the newer regions; and, lately, alittle tendency to take chances in investments, forgetting the scorchingof ten or twelve years ago. A new generation of suckers is gettin' readyto bite. Look into this thing, Al, and don't be a chump. " "The same old Jim, " said I; "you were manipulating a corner intobacco-tags while I was learning my letters. " "Do you ever forget anything?" he inquired. "I have about forgotten thatmyself. How was that tobacco-tag business, Al?" Then with the painstaking circumstantiality of two old schoolmatesluxuriating in memories, we talked over the tobacco-tag craze whichswept through our school one winter. Everything in life takes place inschool, and the "tobacco-tag craze" has quite often recurred to me asshowing boys acting just as men act, and Jimmie Elkins as the bornstormy petrel of financial seas. It all came back to our minds, and we reconstructed this story. Themanufacturers of "Tomahawk Plug" had offered a dozen photographs ofactresses and dancers to any one sending in a certain number of the tinhatchets concealed in their tobacco. The makers of "Broad-axe Navy"offered something equally cheap and alluring for consignments of theirbrass broad-axes. The older boys began collecting photographs, and amarket for tobacco-tags of certain kinds was established. We littlefellows, though without knowledge of the mysterious forces which hadgiven value to these bits of metal, began to pick up stray tags fromsidewalk, foot-path, and floor. A marked upward tendency soon manifesteditself. Boys found their "Broad-axe" or "Door-key" tags, picked tip atnight, doubled in value by morning. The primary object in collectingtags was forgotten in the speculative mania which set in. Who wouldexchange "Tomahawk" tags for the counterfeit presentment of décolletédancers, when by holding them he could make cent-per-cent on hisinvestment of hazel-nuts and slate-pencils? The playground became a Board of Trade. We learned nothing but mentalarithmetic applied to deals in "Door-keys, " "Arrow-heads, " and other tagproperties. We went about with pockets full of tags. Jim, not yet old enough to admire the beauties of the photographs, cameforward in a week as the Napoleon of tobacco-tag finance. He acquiredtags in the slumps, and sold them in the bulges. He raided particularbrands with rumors of the vast supply with which the village boys werepreparing to flood us. He converted his holdings into marbles and tops. Finally, he planned his master-stroke. He dropped mysterious hintsregarding some tag considered worthless. He asked us in whispers if wehad any. Others followed his example, and "Door-key" tags went above allothers and were scarce at any price. Then Jimmie Elkins brought out thesupply which he had "cornered, " threw it on the market, and before ithad time to drop took in a large part of the playground currency. I lostto him a good drawing-slate and a figure-4 trap. Jimmie pocketed his winnings, but the trouble attracted the attention ofthe teacher, and under adverse legislation a period of liquidation setin. The distress was great. Many found themselves with property whichwas not convertible into photographs or anything else. To make mattersworse, the discovery was made that the big boys had left school to beginthe spring's work, and no one wanted the photographs. Bankrupt anddisillusioned, we returned to the realities of kites, marbles, andknives, most of which we had to obtain from Jimmie Elkins. "Yes, " said he, "it's a good deal the same with booms. But if youunderstand 'em . .. Eh, Al?" "Well, " said I, really impressed now, "I'll look into it. And when youget ready to sow your boom-seed, let me know. I change cars in a fewminutes, and you go on. Come down and see me sometimes, can't you? Wehaven't had our talk half out yet. Doesn't your business ever bring youdown our way?" "It hasn't yet, but I'm coming down into that neck of the woods withinsix weeks, and I guess I can fix it so's to stop off, --mingling pleasureand business. It's the only way the hustling philanthropist of my styleever gets any recreation. " "Do it, " said I; "I'll have plenty of time at my disposal; for I go outof office before that time; and I may want to go into yourboom-hatchery. " "On the theory that the great adversary of mankind runs an employmentagency for ex's? There's the whistle for your junction. By George, Al, Ican't tell you how glad I am to have ketched up with you again! I'vewondered about you a million times. Don't let's lose track of each otheragain. " "No, no, Jim, we won't!" The train was coming to a stop. "Don't allowanything to side-track you and prevent that visit. " "Well, I should say not, " he answered, following me out upon theplatform of the station. "We'll have a regular piratical reunion--a sortof buccaneers' camp-fire. I've a curiosity to see some of the fellowswho acted the part of rob-or to your rob-ee. I want to hear their sideof the story. Good-by, Al. Confound it, I wish you were going on withme!" He wrung my hand at parting, reminding me of the old Jim who studiedfrom the same geography with me, more than at any time since we met. Hestayed with me until after his train had started, caught hold of thehand-rail as the rear car went by, and passed out of view, waving hishand to me. I sat down on a baggage-truck waiting for my train, thinking of myencounter with Jim. All the way home I was busy pondering over athousand things thus suddenly recalled to me. I could see everyfence-corner and barn, every hill and stream of our old haunts; andafter I got home I told Alice all about it. "He seems quite a remarkable fellow, " said I, "and a perfect specimen ofthe pusher and hustler--a quick-witted man of affairs. If he is everput down, he can't be kept down. " "I think I prefer a more refined type of man, " said Alice. "In the sixteenth century, " I went on with that excessive perspicacitywhich our wives have to put up with, "he'd have been a Drake or aDampier; in the seventeenth, the commander of a privateer or slaver; inthis age, I shall not be at all surprised if he turns out a greatrailway or financial magnate. It's like a whiff of boyhood to talk withhim; though he's a greatly different sort of man from what I should haveexpected to find him. I think you'll like him. " She seemed dubious about this. Our wives instinctively disapprove ofpeople we used to know prior to that happy meeting which led tomarriage. This prejudice, for some reason, is stronger against ourfeminine acquaintances than the others. I am not analytical enough to domore than point out this feeling, which will, I think, be admitted byall husbands to exist. "That sort of man, " said she, "lacks the qualities of bravery andintrepidity which make up a Drake or a Dampier. They are so a-schemingand calculating!" "The last time I saw Jim until to-day, " said I, "he did something whichseems to show that he had those more admirable qualities. " Then I told her that story of Jim and the mad dog, which is rememberedin Pleasant Valley to this day. Some say the dog was not mad; but I, whosaw his terrible, insane look as he came snapping and frothing down theroad, believe that he was. Jim had left the school for a year or so, andI was a "big boy" ready to leave it. It was at four one afternoon, andas the children filed into the road, there met them the shouts of menand cries of "Run! Run! Mad dog!" The children scattered like a covey of quail; but a pair of littlefive-year-olds, forgotten by the others, walked on hand in hand, lookinginto each other's faces, right toward the poor crazed, hunted brute, which trotted slowly toward the children, gnashing its frothing jaws atsticks and weeds, at everything it met, ready to bury its teeth in thefirst baby to come within reach. A young man with a canvasser's portfolio stood behind a fence over whichhe had jumped to avoid the dog. Suddenly he saw the children, knew theirdanger, and leaped back into the road. It was like a bull-fightervaulting the barriers into the perils of the arena, --only it was tosave, not to destroy. The dog had passed him and was nearer the childrenthan he was. I wondered what he expected to do as I saw him runninglightly, swiftly, and yet quietly behind the terrible beast. As heneared the animal, he stooped, and my blood froze as I saw him seize thedog with both hands by the hinder legs. The head curled sidewise andunder, and the teeth almost grazed the young man's hands with a vicious, metallic snap. Then we saw what the contest was. The young man, with apowerful circling sweep of his arms, whirled the dog so swiftly abouthis head that the lank frame swung out in a straight line, and the snapcould not be repeated. But what of the end? No muscles could long standsuch a strain, and when they yielded, then what? Then we saw that as he swung his loathsome foe, the young man wasgradually approaching the schoolhouse. We saw the horrible snapping headwhirl nearer and nearer at every turn to the corner of the building. Then we saw the young man strike a terrible blow at the stone wall, using the dog as a club; and in a moment I saw the stones splashed withred, and the young man lying on the ground, where the violence of hiseffort had thrown him, and by him lay the quivering form of what we hadfled from. And the young man was James Elkins. Alice breathed hard as I finished, and stood straight with her chin heldhigh. "That was fine!" said she. "I want to see that man!" CHAPTER IV. Jim discovers his Coral Island. There has long been abroad in the world a belief that events which bearsome controlling relation to one's destiny are announced by premonition, some spiritual trepidation, some movement of that curtain which cuts offour view of the future. I believe this notion to be false, but feel thatit is true; and the manner in which that adventure of mine in the oldart gallery and at Auriccio's impressed my mind, and the way in which mymemory clung to it, seem to justify my feeling rather than my belief. Whenever I visited Chicago, I went to the gallery, more in the hope ofseeing the girl whose only name to me was "the Empress" than to gratifymy cravings for art. I felt a boundless pity for her--and laughed atmyself for taking so seriously an incident which, in all likelihood, sheherself dismissed with a few tears, a few retrospective burnings ofheart and cheek. But I never saw her. Once I loitered for an hour aboutthe boarding-house with the vine-clad porch, while the boarders (mostlystudents, I judged) came and went; but though I saw many young girls, the Empress was not among them. And all this time the years were rollingon, and I was permitting my once bright political career to blight andwither by my own neglect, as a growth not worth caring for. I became a private citizen in due time, but found no comfort in leisure. I was in those doldrums which beset the politician when rivals justlehim from his little eminence. One who, for years, is annually orbiennially complimented by the suffrages of even a few thousands of hisfellow citizens, and is invited into the penetralia of a great politicalparty, is apt to regard himself, after a while, as peculiarly deservingof the plaudits of the humble and the consideration of the powerful. Then comes the inevitable hour when pussy finds himself without acorner. The deep disgust for party and politics which then takespossession of him demands change of scene and new surroundings. Anyflagging in partisan enthusiasm is sure to be attributed tosore-headedness, and leads to charges of perfidy and thanklessness. Yet, for him, the choice lies between abated zeal and hypocrisy, inasmuch asno man can normally be as zealous for his party as the fanatic intowhich the candidate or incumbent converts himself. Underlying my whole frame of mind was the knowledge that, so far asmaking a career was concerned, I had wasted several years of my life, and had now to begin anew. Add to this a slight sense of having playedan unworthy part in life (although here I was unable to particularize), and a new sense of aloofness from the people with whom I had been forso long on terms of hearty and back-slapping familiarity, and no furtherreason need be sought for a desire which came mightily upon me to goaway and begin life over again in a new _milieu_. In spite of the mildopposition of my wife, this desire grew to a resolve; and I came to lookupon myself as a temporary sojourner in my own home. Such was the state of our affairs, when a letter came from Mr. Elkins(in lieu of the promised visit) urging me to remove to the then obscurebut since celebrated town of Lattimore. "I got to be too rich for Charley Harper's blood, " said the letter, among other things. "I wanted as much in the way of salary as I couldearn, working for myself, and Charley kicked--said the directorswouldn't consent, and that such a salary list would be a black eye forthe Frugality and Indemnity if it showed up in its statements. So Iquit. I am loan agent for the company here, which gives me a visiblemeans of support, and keeps me from being vagged. But, in confidence, Iwant to tell you that my main graft here is the putting in operation ofmy boom-hatching scheme. Come out, and I'll enroll you as a member ofthe band once more; for this is the coral atoll for me. You ought to getout of that stagnant pond of yours, and come where the natatory mediumis fresh, clean, and thickly peopled with suckers, and a new run of 'emcoming on right soon. In other words, get into the swim. " After reading this letter and considering it as a whole, I was so muchimpressed by it that Lattimore was added to the list of places I meantto visit, on a tour I had planned for myself. In the West, all roads run to or from Chicago. It is nearer to almostany place by the way of Chicago than by any other route: so Alice and Iwent to the city by the lake, as the beginning of our prospecting tour. I took her to the art gallery and showed her just where my two lovershad stood, --telling her the story for the first time. Then she wanted toeat a supper at Auriccio's; and after the play we went there, and I wasforced to describe the whole scene over again. "Didn't she see you at all?" she asked. "Not at all, " said I. "You are a good boy, " said my wife, judging me by one act which sheapproved. "Kiss me. " This occurred after we reached our lodgings. I suggested as a change ofsubject that my next day's engagements took me to the Stock Yards, and Iassumed that she would scarcely wish to accompany me. "I think I prefer the stores, " said she, "and the pictures. Maybe _I_shall have an adventure. " At the big Exchange Building, I found that the acquaintance whom Isought was absent from his office, and I roamed up and down thecorridors in search of him. As usual the gathering here was intenselyWestern. There were bronzed cattlemen from every range from Amarillo tothe Belle Fourche, sturdy buyers of swine from Iowa and Illinois, sombreroed sheepmen from New Mexico, and vikingesque Swedes from NorthDakota. Men there were wearing thousand-dollar diamonds in red flannelshirts, solid gold watch-chains made to imitate bridle-bits, and heavygolden bullocks sliding on horse-hair guards. It pleased me, as such acrowd always does. The laughter was loud but it was free, and the huntedlook one sees on State Street and Michigan Avenue was absent. "I wish Alice had come, " said I, noting the flutter of skirts in a groupof people in the corridor; and then, as I came near, the press divided, and I saw something which drew my eyes as to a sight in which laymystery to be unraveled. Facing me stood a stout farmer in a dark suit of common cut and texture. He seemed, somehow, not entirely strange; but the petite figure of thegirl whose back was turned to me was what fixed my attention. She wore a smart traveling-gown of some pretty gray fabric, and boreherself gracefully and with the air of dominating the group ofcommission men among whom she stood. I noted the incurved spine, thedeep curves of the waist, and the liberal slope of the hips belonging toa shapely little woman in whom slimness was mitigated in adorable ways, which in some remote future bade fair to convert it into matronliness. Under a broad hat there showed a wealth of red-brown hair, drawn up likea sunburst from a slender little neck. "I have provided a box at Hooley's, " said the head of a great commissionfirm. "Mrs. Johnson will be with us. We may count upon you?" "I think so, " said the girl, "if papa hasn't made any engagements. " The stout farmer blushed as he looked down at his daughter. "Engagements, eh? No, sir!" he replied. "She runs things after thesteers is unloaded. Whatever the little gal says goes with me. " They turned, and as they came on down the hall, still chatting, I sawher face, and knew it. It was the Empress! But even in that glimpse Isaw the change which years had brought. Now she ruled instead ofsubmitting; her voice, still soft and low, had lost its rusticinflections; and in spite of the change in the surroundings, --the leapfrom the art gallery to the Stock Yards, --there was more of the artistnow, and less of the farmer's lass. They turned into a suite of officesand disappeared. "Well, Mr. Barslow, " said my friend, coming up. "Glad to see you. I'vebeen hunting for you. " "Who is that girl and her father?" I asked. "One of the Johnson Commission Company's Shippers, " said he, "Prescott, from Lattimore; I wish I could get his shipments. " "No!" said I, "Not Lattimore!" "Prescott of Lattimore, " he repeated. "Know anything of him?" "N-no, " said I. "I have friends in that town. " "I wish I had, " was the reply; "I'd try to get old Prescott's business. " * * * * * "There's destiny in this, " said Alice, when I told her of my encounterwith the Empress and her father. "Her living in Lattimore is not anaccident. " "I doubt, " said I, "if anybody's is. " "She looked nice, did she?" Alice went on, "and dressed well?" andwithout waiting for an answer added: "Let's leave Chicago. I'm anxiousto get to Lattimore!" CHAPTER V. We Reach the Atoll. So we journeyed on to Duluth, to St. Paul and Minneapolis, and to thecities on the Missouri. It was at one of those recurrent periods whenthe fever of material and industrial change and development breaks outover the whole continent. The very earth seemed to send out tinglingshocks of some occult stimulus; the air was charged with the ozone ofhope; and subtle suggestions seemed to pass from mind to mind, impellingmen to dare all, to risk all, to achieve all. In every one of theseyoung cities we were astonished at the changes going on under our veryeyes. Streets were torn up for the building of railways, viaducts, andtunnels. Buildings were everywhere in course of demolition, to make roomfor larger edifices. Excavations yawned like craters at street-corners. Steel pillars, girders, and trusses towered skyward, --skeletons to beclothed in flesh of brick and stone. Suburbs were sprouting, almost daily, from the mould of themarket-gardens in the purlieus. Corporations were contending for thepossession of the natural highway approaches to each growing city. Street-railway companies pushed their charters to passage at midnightsessions of boards of aldermen, seized streets in the night-time, andextended their metallic tentacles out into the fields of dazed farmers. On the frontiers, counties were organized and populated in a season. Every one of them had its two or three villages, which aped in punyfashion the achievements of the cities. New pine houses dotted prairies, unbroken save for the mile-long score of the delimiting plow. Longtrains of emigrant-cars moved continually westward. The world seemeddrunk with hope and enthusiasm. The fulfillment of Jim's carelessprophecy had burst suddenly upon us. Such things as these were fresh in our memories when we reachedLattimore. I had wired Elkins of our coming, and he met us at thestation with a carriage. It was one sunny September afternoon when hedrove us through the streets of our future home to the principal hotel. "We have supper at six, dinner at twelve-thirty, breakfast from seven toten, " said Jim, as we alighted at the hotel. "That's the sort of bucolicmunicipality you've struck here; we'll shove all these meals severalhours down, when we get to doubling our population. You'll have an hourto get freshened up for supper. Afterwards, if Mrs. Barslow feels equalto the exertion, we'll take a drive about the town. " Lattimore was a pretty place then. Low, rounded hills topped with greensurrounded it. The river flowed in a broad, straight reach along itssouthern margin. A clear stream, Brushy Creek, ran in a miniaturecanyon of limestone, through the eastern edge of the town. On each sideof this brook, in lawns of vivid green, amid natural groves of oak andelm, interspersed with cultivated greenery, stood the houses of thewell-to-do. Trees made early twilight in most of the streets. People were out in numbers, driving in the cool autumnal evening. As ahandsome girl, a splendid blonde, drove past us, my wife spoke of theexcellent quality of the horseflesh we saw. Jim answered that Lattimorewas a center of equine culture, and its citizens wise in breeders' lore. The appearance of things impressed us favorably. There was an air ofquiet prosperity about the place, which is unusual in Western towns, where quietude and progress are apt to be thought incompatible. Jimpointed out the town's natural advantages as we drove along. "What do you think of that, now?" said he, waving his whip toward thewinding gorge of Brushy Creek. "It's simply lovely!" said Alice, "a little jewel of a place. " "A bit of mountain scenery on the prairie, " said Jim. "And more thanthat, or less than that, just as you look at it, it's the source fromwhich inexhaustible supplies of stone will be quarried when we begin tobuild things. " "But won't that spoil it?" said Alice. "Well, yes; and down on that bottom we've found as good clay forpottery, sewer-pipes, and paving-brick as exists anywhere. Back therewhere you saw that bluff along the river--looks as if it's sliding downinto the water--remember it? Well, there's probably the only place inthe world where there's just the juxtaposition of sand and clay andchalk to make Portland cement. Supply absolutely unlimited! Why, thereought to be a thousand men employed right now in those cement works. Oh, I tell you, things'll hum here when we get these schemes working!" We laughed at him: his visualization of the cement works was socomplete. "I suppose you know where all the capital is coming from, " said I, "todo all these things? For my part, I see no way of getting it except ourold plan of buccaneering. " "Exactly my idea!" said he. "Didn't I write you that I'd enroll you as amember of the band? Has Al ever told you, Mrs. Barslow, of our oldtimes, when we, as individuals, were passing through oursixteenth-century stage?" "Often, " Alice replied. "He looks back upon his pirate days as a time ofArcadian simplicity, 'Untouched by sorrow, and unsoiled by sin. '" "I can easily understand, " said Jim reflectively, "how piracy mightappear in that roseate light after a few years of practical politics. Now from the moral heights of a life-insurance man's point of view it'sdifferent. " So we rode on chatting and chaffing, now of the old time, now of thenew; and all the time I felt more and more impressed by the dissolvingviews which Jim gave us of different parts of his program for makingLattimore the metropolis of "the world's granary, " as he called thesurrounding country. As we topped a low hill on our way back, he pulledup, to give us a general view of the town and suburbs, and of the greatexpanse of farming country beyond. Between us and Lattimore was a milestretch of gently descending road, with grain-fields and farm-houses oneach side. "By the way, " said he, "do you see that white house and red barn in themaple grove off to the right? Well, you remember Bill Trescott?" Neither of us could call such a person to mind. "Well, it's all right, I suppose, " he went on in a tone implying injuryforgiven, "but you mustn't let Bill know you've forgotten him. TheTrescotts used to live over by the Whitney schoolhouse in GreenwoodTownship, --right on the Pleasant Valley line, you know. He remembers youfolks, Al. I'll drive over that way. " There were beds of petunias and four-o'clocks to be seen dimlyglimmering in the dusk, as we drove through the broad gate. Men andwomen were gathered in a group about the base of the windmill, as Jim'sloud "whoa" announced our arrival. The women melted away in thedirection of the house. The men stood at gaze. "Hello, Bill!" shouted Jim. "Come out here!" "Oh, it's you, is it, Mr. Elkins, " said a deep voice. "I didn't knowyeh. " "Thought it was the sheriff with a summons, eh? Well, I guess hardly!"said Jim. "Mr. Trescott, I want you to shake hands with our old friendMr. Barslow. " A heavy figure detached itself from the group, and, as it approached, developed indistinctly the features of a brawny farmer, with a short, heavy, dark beard. "Wal, I declare, I'm glad to see yeh!" said he, as he grasped my hand. "I'd a'most forgot yeh, till Mr. Elkins told me you remembered mywhalin' them Dutch boys at a scale onct. " I had had no recollection of him; yet form and voice seemed vaguelyfamiliar. I assured him that my memory for names and faces wasexcellent. After being duly presented to Mrs. Barslow, he urged us toalight and come in. We offered as an excuse the lateness of the hour. "Why, you hain't seen my family yet, Mr. Barslow, " said he. "They'll bedisappointed if yeh don't come in. " I suggested that we were staying for a few days at the Centropolis; andAlice added that we should be glad to see himself and Mrs. Trescottthere at any time during our stay. Elkins promised that we should alldrive out again. "Wal, now, you must, " said Mr. Trescott. "We must talk over ol' timesand--" "Fight over old battles, " replied Jim. "All the battles were yours, though, eh, Bill?" "Huh, huh!" chuckled Bill; "fightin's no credit to any man; but I 'sposeI fit my sheer when I was a boy--when I was a boy, y' know, Mrs. Barslow, and had more sand than sense. Here, Josie, here's Mr. Elkinsand some old friends of mine. Mr. And Mrs. Barslow, my daughter. " She was a little slim slip of a thing, in white, and emerged from theshrubbery at Mr. Trescott's call. She bowed to us, and said she wassorry that we could not stop. Her voice was sweet, and there wassomething unexpectedly cool and self-possessed in her intonation. It wasnot in the least the speech of the ordinary neat-handed Phyllis orNećra; nor was her attitude at all countrified as she stood with herhand on her father's arm. The increasing darkness kept us from seeingher features. "Josie's my right-hand man, " said her father. "Half the business of thefarm stops when Josie goes away. " My wife expressed her admiration for Lattimore and its environs, andespecially for so much of the Trescott farm as could be seen in thedeepening gloaming. The flowers, she said, took her back to herchildhood's home. "Let me give you these, " said the girl, handing Alice a great bunch ofblossoms which she had been cutting when her father called, and had heldin her hands as we talked. My wife thanked her, and buried her face inthem, as we bade the Trescotts good-night and drove home. "That girl, " said Jim, as we spun along the road in the light of therising moon, "is a crackerjack. Bill thinks the world of her, and shecertainly gives him a mother's care!" "She seems nice, " said Alice, "and so refined, apparently. " "Been well educated, " said Jim, "and got a head, besides. You'll likeher; she knows Europe better than some folks know their own frontyard. " "I was surprised at the vividness of my memory of Bill's youthfulcombats, " said I. Jim's laugh rang out heartily through the Brushy Creek gorge. "Well, I supposed you remembered those things, of course, " said he, "andso I insinuated some impression of the delight with which you dwell uponthe stories of his prowess. It made him feel good. .. . I'm spoiling Bill, I guess, with these tales. He'll claim to have a private graveyard next. As harmless a fellow as you ever saw, and the best cattle-feederhereabouts. Got a good farm out there, Bill has; we may need it forstock yards or something, later on. " "Why not hire a corps of landscape-gardeners, and make a park of it?" Iinquired sarcastically. "We'll certainly need breathing-spaces for thepopulace. " "Good idea!" he returned gravely. And as he halted the equipage at thehotel, he repeated meditatively: "A mighty good idea, Al; we must figureon that a little. " We were tired to silence when we reached our rooms; so much so thatnothing seemed to make a defined and sharp impression upon my mind. Ikept thinking all the time that I must have been mistaken in my firstthought that I had never known the Trescotts. "Their voices seem familiar to me, " said I, "and yet I can't associatethem with the old home at all. It's very odd!" As Alice stood before the mirror shaking down and brushing her hair, shesaid: "Do you suppose he thought you in earnest about that absurd park?" "No, " I answered, "he understood me well enough; but what puzzles me isthe question, was _he_ in earnest?" * * * * * In the middle of the night I woke with a perfectly clear idea as to theidentity of the Trescotts! Prescott, Trescott! Josie, Josephine the"Empress"! And then the voice and figure! "Why are you sitting up in bed?" inquired Alice. "I have made a discovery, " said I. "That man at the Stock Yards meantTrescott, not Prescott. " "I don't understand, " said she sleepily. "In a word, " said I, "the girl who gave you the flowers is the Empress!" "Albert Barslow!" said Alice. "Why--" My wife was silent for a long time. "I knew we'd meet her, " she said at last. "It is fate. " CHAPTER VI. I am Inducted into the Cave, and Enlist. "Here's the cave, " said Jim, at the door of his office, next morning. "As prospective joint-proprietor and co-malefactor, I bid you welcome. " The smiles with which the employees resumed their work indicated thatthe extraordinary character of this welcome was not lost upon them. Theoffice was on the ground-floor of one of the more pretentious buildingsof Lattimore's main street. The post-office was on one side of it, andthe First National Bank on the other. Over it were the offices oflawyers and physicians. It was quite expensively fitted up; and theplate-glass front glittered with gold-and-black sign-lettering. Thechairs and sofas were upholstered in black leather. On the walls hungseveral decorative advertisements of fire-insurance companies, and mapsof the town, county, and state. Rolls of tracing-paper and blueprintslay on the flat-topped tables, reminding one of the office of anarchitect or civil engineer. A thin young man worked at books, standingat a high desk; and a plump young woman busily clicked off typewrittenmatter with an up-to-date machine. "You'll find some books and papers on the table in the next room, " saidJim, as I finished my first look about. "I'll ask you to amuse yourselfwith 'em for a little while, until I can dispose of my morning's mail;after which we'll resume our hunt for resources. We haven't any morningpaper yet, and the evening _Herald_ is shipped in by freight and editedwith a saw. But it's the best we've got--yet. " He read his letters, ran his eyes over his newspapers and a magazine ortwo, and dictated some correspondence, interrupted occasionally bycallers, some of whom he brought into the room where I was whiling awaythe time, examining maps, and looking over out-of-date copies of thelocal papers. One of these callers was Mr. Hinckley, the cashier of thebank, who came to see about some insurance matters. He was spare, aquiline, and white-mustached; and very courteously wished Lattimore thegood fortune of securing so valuable an acquisition as ourselves. Itwould place Lattimore under additional obligations to Mr. Elkins, whowas proving himself such an effective worker in all public matters. "Mr. Elkins, " said he, "has to a wonderful degree identified himselfwith the material progress of the city. He is constantly bringing hereenterprising and energetic business men; and we could better afford tolose many an older citizen. " I asked Mr. Hinckley as to the length of his own residence in Lattimore. "I helped to plat the town, sir, " said he. "I carried the chain whenthese streets were surveyed, --a boy just out of Bowdoin College. Thatwas in '55. I staged it for four hundred miles to get here. AleckMacdonald and I came together, and we've both staid from that day. TheIndians were camped at the mouth of Brushy Creek; and except for oldPierre Lacroix, a squaw-man, we were for a month the only white men inthese parts. Then General Lattimore came with a party of surveyors, andby the fall there was quite a village here. " Jim came in with another gentleman, whom he introduced as CaptainTolliver. The Captain shook my hand with profuse politeness. "I am delighted to see you, suh, " said he. "Any friend of Mr. Elkins Ishall be proud to know. I heah that Mrs. Barslow is with you. I trust, suh, that she is well?" I informed him that my wife was in excellent health, being completelyrecovered from the fatigue of her journey. "Ah! this aiah, this aiah, Mr. Barslow! It is like wine in itsinvigorating qualities, like wine, suh. Look at Mr. Hinckley, hyah, doing the work of two men fo' a lifetime; and younge' now than any ofus. Come, suh, and make yo' home with us. You nevah can regret it. Delighted to have you call at my office, suh. I am proud to have metyou, and hope to become better acquainted with you. I hope Mrs. Tulliverand Mrs. Barslow may soon meet. Good-morning, gentlemen. " And he hurriedout, only to reappear as soon as Mr. Hinckley was gone. "By the way, Mr. Barslow, " he whispered, "should you come to Lattimore, as I have no doubt you will, I have some of the choicest residenceproperty in the city, which I shall be mo' than glad to show you. Titleperfect, no commissions to pay, city water, gas, and electric light inprospect. Cain't yo' come and look it ovah now, suh?" "Who is this Captain Tolliver, Jim, " I asked as we went out of theoffice together, "and what is he?" "In other words, 'Who and what art thou, execrable shape?' Well, now, don't ask me. I've known him for years; in fact, he suggested to me thepossibilities of this burg. In a way, the city is indebted to him for mypresence here. But don't ask me about him--study him. And don't buy lotsfrom him. The Captain has his failings, but he has also his strongpoints and his uses; and I'll be mistaken if he isn't cast for a fairlyprominent part in the drama we're about to put on here. But don't spoilyour enjoyment by having him described to you. Let him dawn on you bydegrees. " That day I met most of the prominent men of the town. Jim took me intothe banks, the shops, and the offices of the leading professionalgentlemen. He informed them that I was considering the matter of comingto live among them; and I found them very friendly, and much interestedin our proposed change of residence. They all treated Jim with respect, and his manner toward them had a dignity which I had not looked for. Evidently he was making himself felt in the community. When we returned to the Centropolis at noon, we found Mrs. Trescott andher daughter chatting with my wife. The elder woman was ill-groomed, asare all women of her class in comparison with their town sisters, andangular. I knew the type so well that I could read the traces of farmcares in her face and form. The serving of gangs of harvesters andthreshers, the ever-recurring problems of butter, eggs, and berries, theunflagging fight, without much domestic help, for neatness and orderabout the house, had impressed their stamp upon Mrs. Trescott. But shewas chatting vivaciously, and assuring Mrs. Barslow that such a thing asstaying longer in town that morning was impossible. "I can feel in my bones, " said she, "that there's something wrong at thefarm. " "You always have that feeling, " said her daughter, "as soon as you passoutside the gate. " "And I'm usually right about it, " said Mrs. Trescott. "It isn't any use. My system has got into that condition in which I'm in misery if I'm offthat farm. Josie drags me away from it sometimes; and I do enjoy meetingpeople! But I like to meet 'em out there the best; and I want to urgeyou to come often, Mrs. Barslow, while you're here. And in case you movehere, I hope you'll like us and the farm well enough so that we'll see agood deal of you. " I was presented to Mrs. Trescott, and reintroduced to the young lady, with whom Alice seemed already on friendly terms. I was surprised atthis, for she was not prone to sudden friendships. There was somethingso attractive in the girl, however, that it went far to explain thephenomenon. For one thing, there was in her manner that same steadinessand calm which I had noticed in her voice in the dusk last night. Itgave one the impression that she could not be surprised or startled, that she had seen or thought out all possible combinations of events, and knew of their sequences, or adjusted herself to things by someall-embracing rule, by which she attained that repose of hers. Thesurprising thing about it, to my mind, was to find this exterior in BillTrescott's daughter. I had seen the same thing once or twice in peopleto whom I thought it had come as the fruit of wide experience in theworld. While Miss Trescott was slim, and rather below the medium in height, shewas not at all thin; and had the great mass of ruddy dark hair and finebrown eyes which I remembered so well, and a face which would have beenpale had it not been for the tan--the only thing about her whichsuggested those occupations by which she became her father's "right-handman. " There was intelligence in her face, and a grave smile in her eyes, which rarely extended to her handsome mouth. If mature in face, form, and manner, she was young in years--some years younger than Alice. Ihoped that she might stay to dinner; but she went away with her mother. In her absence, I devoted some time to praising her. Jim failed to joinin my pćans further than to give a general assent; but he grewunaccountably mirthful, as if something good had happened to him ofwhich he had not yet told us. "I have invited a few people to my parlors this evening, " said he, "and, of course, you will be the guests of honor. " My wife demurred. She had nothing to wear, and even if she had, I waswithout evening dress. The thing seemed out of the question. "Oh, we can't let that stand in the way, " said he. "So far as your owntoilet is concerned, I have nothing to say except that you are known tobe making a hurried visit, and I have an abiding faith, based on yourmanner of stating your trouble, that it can be remedied. I saw your eyetake on a far-away look as you planned your costume, even while you weredeclaring that you couldn't do it. Didn't I, now?" "You certainly did not, " said Alice; and then I noticed the absorbedlook myself. "But even if I can manage it, how about Albert?" "I'll tell you about Albert. I'll bet two to one there won't be a suitof evening clothes worn. The dress suit may come in here with streetcars and passenger elevators, but it lacks a good deal of being hereyet, except in the most sporadic and infrequent way. And this thing isto be so absolutely informal that it would make the natives stare. Youwouldn't wear it if you had it, Al. " "Who will come?" said Mrs. Barslow. "Oh, a couple of dozen ladies and gentlemen, business men and doctorsand lawyers and their women-folks. They'll stray in from eight to tenand find something to eat on the sideboard. They'll have the happinessof meeting you, and you can see what the people you are thinking ofliving among and doing business with are like. It's a necessary part ofyour visit; and you can't get out of it now, for I've taken the libertyof making all the arrangements. And, as a matter of fact, you don'twant to do so, do you, now?" Thus appealed to, Alice consented. Nothing was said to me about it, mywillingness being presumed. The guests that evening were almost exclusively men whom I had metduring the day, and members of their families. In the absence of anymore engaging topic, we discussed Lattimore as our possible future home. "I have always felt, " said Mr. Hinckley, who was one of the guests, "that this is the natural site of a great city. These valleys, centeringhere like the spokes of a wheel, are ready-made railway-routes. In theEast there is a city of from fifty thousand to three times that, everyhundred miles or so. Why shouldn't it be so here?" "Suh, " said Captain Tolliver, "the thing is inevitable. Somewhah in thisregion will grow up a metropolis. Shall it be hyah, o' at Fairchild, o'Angus Falls? If the people of Lattimore sit supinely, suh, and let thesecountry villages steal from huh the queenship which God o'dained fo' huhwhen He placed huh in this commandin' site, then, suh, they ah too baseto be wo'thy of the suhvices of gentlemen. " "I've always been taught, " said Mrs. Trescott, "that the credit ofplacing her in this site belonged to either Mr. Hinckley or GeneralLattimore. " "Really, " said Miss Addison to me, "I don't see how they can laugh atsuch irreverence!" "I think, " said Miss Hinckley in my other ear, "that Mr. Elkinsexpressed the whole truth in the matter of the rivalry of these threetowns, when he said that when two ride on a horse, one must ride behind. Aren't his quotations so--so--illuminating?" I looked about at the company. There were Mr. Hinckley, Mrs. Hinckley, their daughter, whom I recognized as the splendid blonde whose pacershad passed us when we were out driving, Mrs. Trescott and her daughter, and Captain and Mrs. Tolliver. Those present were plainly of severaldifferent sets and cliques. Mrs. Hinckley hoped that my wife would jointhe Equal Rights Club, and labor for the enfranchisement of women. Shereferred, too, to the eloquence and piety of her pastor, thePresbyterian minister, while Mrs. Tolliver quoted Emerson, and invitedAlice to join, as soon as we removed, the Monday Club of the UnitarianChurch, devoted to the study of his works. Mr. Macdonald, red-whiskered, weather-beaten, and gigantic, fidgeted about the punch-bowl a good deal;and replying to some chance remark made by Alice, ventured the opinionthat the grass was gettin' mighty short on the ranges. Miss Addison, whocame with her cousins the Lattimores, looked with disapproval upon thepunch, and disclosed her devotion to the W. C. T. U. And the Ladies' AidSociety of the Methodist Church. The Lattimores were Will Lattimore andhis wife. I learned that he was the son of the General, and Jim'slawyer; and that they went rarely into society, being very exclusive. This was communicated to me by Mrs. Ballard, who brought Miss Ballardwith her. She asked in tones of the intensest interest if we playedwhist; while Miss Ballard suggested that about the only way we couldfind to enjoy ourselves in such a little place would be to identifyourselves with the dancing-party and card-club set. I began to suspectthat life in Lattimore would not be without its complexities. Mr. Trescott came in for a moment only, for his wife and daughter. MissTrescott was not to be found at first, but was discovered in thebay-window with Jim and Miss Hinckley, looking over some engravings. Mr. Elkins took her down to her carriage, and I thought him a long timegone, for the host. As soon as he returned, however, the conversationagain turned to the dominant thought of the gathering, municipalexpansion. And I noted that the points made were Jim's. He had alreadyimbued the town with his thoughts, and filled the mouths of its citizenswith his arguments. After they left, we sat with Jim and talked. "Well, how do you like 'em?" said he. "Why, " said Alice, "they're very cordial. " "Heterogeneous, eh?" he queried. "Yes, " said she, "but very cordial. I am surprised to feel how little Idislike them. " As for me, I began to look upon Lattimore with more favor. I began tocatch Jim's enthusiasm and share his confidence. As we smoked togetherin his rooms that evening, he made me the definite proposal that I gointo partnership with him. We talked about the business, and discussedits possibilities. "I don't ask you to believe all my prophecies, " said he; "but isn't thesituation fairly good, just as it is?" "I think well of it, " I answered, "and it's mighty kind of you to ask meto come. I'll go as far as to say that if it depends solely on me, weshall come. As for these prophecies of yours, I am in candor bound tosay that I half believe them. " "Now you _are_ shouting, " said he. "Never better prophecies anywhere. But consider the matter aside from them. Then all we clean up in theprophecy department will be velvet, absolute velvet!" "I can add something to the output of the prophecy department, " saidAlice, when I repeated the phrase; "and that is that there will be someaffairs of the heart mingled with the real estate and insurance beforelong. I can see them in embryo now. " "If it's Jim and Miss Trescott you mean, I wish the affair well, " saidI. "I'm quite charmed with her. " "Well, " said Alice, "from the standpoint of most men, Miss Hinckleyisn't to be left out of the reckoning in such matters. What a face andfigure she has! Miss Addison is too prudish and churchified; but I likeMiss Hinckley. " "Yes, " said I; "but Miss Trescott seems, somehow, to have been known toone, in some tender and touching relation. There's that about her whichappeals to one, like some embodiment of the abstract idea of woman. That's why one feels as if he had risked his life for her, and protectedher, and seen her suffer wrong, and all that--" "That's only because of that affair you told me of, " said my wife. "Since I've seen her, I've made up my mind that you misconstrued thematter utterly. There was really nothing to it. " In a week I wrote to Mr. Elkins, accepting his proposal, and promisingto close up my affairs, remove to Lattimore, and join with him. "I do not feel myself equal to playing the part of either Romulus orRemus in founding your new Rome, " I wrote; "but I think as a writer offire-insurance policies, and keeping the office work up, I may provemyself not entirely a deadhead. My wife asks how the breathing-spacesfor the populace are coming on?" And the die was cast! CHAPTER VII. We make our Landing. Had I known how cordially our neighbors would greet our return, or howmany of them would view our departure with apparently sincere regret, Imight have been slower in giving Jim my promise. I proceeded, however, to carry it out; but it was nearly six months before I could pull myselfand my little fortune out of the place into which we had grown. Mr. Elkins kept me well informed regarding Lattimore affairs; and the_Herald_ followed me home. Jim's letters were long typewrittencommunications, dictated at speed, and mailed, sometimes one a day, atother times at intervals of weeks. "This is a sure-enough 'winter of our discontent, '" one of these lettersruns, "but the scope of our operations will widen as the frost comes outof the ground. We're now confined to the psychical field. Subjectivelyspeaking, though, the plot thickens. Captain Tolliver is in thesecondary stages of real-estate dementia, and spreads the contagiondaily. There's no quarantine regulation to cover the case, and Lattimoreseems doomed to the acme of prosperity. This is the age of great cities, saith the Captain, and that Lattimore is not already a town of 150, 000people is one of the strangest, one of the most inexplicable things inthe world, in view of the distance we are lag of the country about us, so far as development is concerned. And as our beginning has been tardy, so will our progress be rapid, even as waters long dammed up rush out todevour the plains, etc. , etc. "In this we are all agreed. We want a good, steady, natural growth--andno boom. "When a boom recognizes itself as such, it's all over, and the stuffoff. The time for letting go of a great wheel is when it starts downhill. But our wheels are all going up--even if they are all in ourheads, as yet. "You will remember the railway connection of which I spoke to you? Well, that thing has assumed, all of a sudden, a concreteness as welcome as itis unexpected. Ballard showed me a telegram yesterday from lowerBroadway (the heart of Darkest N. Y. ) which tends to prove that peoplethere are ready to finance the deal. It would have amused you to see thehorizontality of the coat-tails of the management of the Lattimore &Great Western, as they flaxed round getting up a directors' meeting, soas to have a real, live directorate of this great transcontinental linefor the wolves of Wall Street to do business with! Things like this arewhat you miss by hibernating there, instead of dropping everything andapplying here for your pro rata share of the gayety of nations and theconcomitant scads. "I was elected president of the road, and as soon as we get a littletrack, and an engine, I expect to obtain an exchange of passes with allmy fellow monopolists in North America. I at once fired back an answerto Ballard's telegram, which must have produced an impression upon theGould and Vanderbilt interests--if they got wind of it. If the L. & G. W. Should pass the paper stage next summer, it will do a whole lottowards carrying this burg beyond the hypnotic period of development. "The Angus Falls branch is going to build in next summer, I amconfident, and that means another division headquarters and, probably, machine-shops. I'm working with some of the trilobites here to form apool, and offer the company grounds for additional yards and aroundhouse and shops. Captain Tolliver interviewed General Lattimoreabout it, and got turned down. "'He told me, suh, ' reported the Captain, in a fine white passion, 'thatif any railway system desiahs to come to Lattimore, it has hispuhmission! That the Injuns didn't give him any bonus when he came; andthat he had to build his own houses and yahds, by gad, at his ownexpense, and defend 'em, too, and that if any railroad was thinkin' ofcomin' hyah, it was doubtless because it was good business fo' 'em tocome; and that if they wanted any of his land, were willing to pay himhis price, there wouldn't be any difficulty about theiah getting it. Andthat if there should arise any difference, which he should deeplyregret, but would try to live through, the powah of eminent domain withwhich railways ah clothed will enable the company to get what land isnecessary by legal means. "'I could take these observations, ' said the Captain, 'as nothing excepta gratuitous insult to one who approached him, suh, in a spirit of purebenevolence and civic patriotism. It shows the kind of tyrants whocommanded the oppressors of the South, suh! Only his gray hairsprotected him, suh, only his gray hairs!'" "It's a little hard to separate the General from the Captain, in thisreport of the committee on railway extensions, " said my wife. "The only thing that's clear about it, " said I, "is that Jim is having agood deal of fun with the Captain. " This became clearer as the correspondence went on. "Tolliver thinks, " said he, in another letter, "that the Angus Fallsextension can be pulled through. However, I recall that only yesterdaythe Captain, in private, denounced the citizens of Lattimore as beneaththe contempt of gentlemen of breadth of view. 'I shall dispose of myholdin's hyah, ' said he, with a stately sweep indicative of theirextent, 'at any sacrifice, and depaht, cuhsin' the day I devoted myselfto the redemption of such cattle. ' "But, at that particular moment, he had just failed in an attempt tosell Bill Trescott a bunch of choice outlying gold bricks, and wassomewhat heated with wine. This to the haughty Southron was ampleexcuse for confiding to me the round, unvarnished truth about usmudsills. "Josie and I often talk of you and your wife. I don't know what I'd doout here if it weren't for Josie. She refuses to enthuse over our'natural, healthy growth, ' which we look for; but I guess that's becauseshe doesn't care for the things that the rest of us are striving for. But she's the only person here with whom one can really converse. You'dbe astonished to see how pretty she is in her furs, and set like a jewelin my new sleigh; but I'm becoming keenly aware of the fact. " We were afterwards told that the trilobites had shaken off theirfossilhood, and that the Angus Falls extension, with the engine-houseand machine-shops, had been "landed. " "This, " he wrote, "means enough new families to make a noticeableincrease in our population. Things will be popping here soon. Come onand help shake the popper; hurry up with your moving, or it will all beover, including the shouting. " We were not entirely dependent upon Jim's letters for Lattimore news. Mrs. Barslow kept up a desultory correspondence with Miss Trescott, begun upon some pretext and continued upon none at all. In one of theseletters Josie (for so we soon learned to call her) wrote: "Our little town is changing so that it no longer seems familiar. Notthat the change is visible. Beyond an unusual number of strangers orrecent comers, there is nothing new to strike the eye. But the talkeverywhere is of a new railroad and other improvements. One needs onlyto shut one's eyes and listen, to imagine that the town is already areal city. Mr. Elkins seems to be the center of this new civicself-esteem. The air is full of it, and I admit that I am affected byit. I have "'A feeling, as when eager crowds await, Before a palace gate, Some wondrous pageant. ' "You are indebted to Captain Tolliver for the quotation, and to Mr. Elkins for the idea. The Captain induced me to read the book in which Ifound the lines. He stigmatizes the preference given to the Northernpoets--Longfellow, for instance--over Timrod as 'the crowning infamy ofAmerican letters. ' He has taken the trouble to lay out a course of studyfor me, the object of which is to place me right in my appreciation ofthe literary men of the South. It includes Pollard's 'Lost Cause' andthe works of W. G. Simms. I have not fully promised to follow it to theend. Timrod, however, is a treat. " That last quiet winter will always be set apart in my memory, as a timelike no other. It was a sitting down on a milestone to rest. Back of uslay the busy past--busy with trivial things, it seemed to me, but fullof varied activity nevertheless. A boy will desire mightily to finish acob-house; and when it is done he will smilingly knock it about the barnfloor. So I was tearing down and leaving the fabric of relationshipwhich I had once prized so highly. The life upon which I expected to enter promised well. In fact, to a manof medium ability, only, and no training in large affairs, it promisedexceedingly well. I knew that Jim was strong, and that his old regardfor me had taken new life and a firm hold upon him. But when, removedfrom his immediate influence, I looked the situation in the face, thefuture loomed so mysteriously bizarre that I shrank from it. All hisskimble-skamble talk about psychology and hypnotism, and that otherrambling discourse of pirate caves and buccaneering cruises, made mefeel sometimes as if I were about to form a partnership with Aladdin, orthe King of the Golden Mountain. If he had asked me, merely, to come toLattimore and go into the real estate and insurance business with him, Iam sure I should have had none of this mental vertigo. Yet what more hadhe done? As to the boom, I had, as yet, not a particle of objective confidence init; but, subconsciously, I felt, as did the town "doomed to prosperity, "a sense of impending events. In spite of some presentiments and doubts, it was, on the whole, with high hopes that we, on an aguish spring day, reached Lattimore with our stuff (as the Scriptures term it), and knewthat, for weal or woe, it was our home. Jim was again at the station to meet us, and seemed delighted at ourarrival. I thought I saw some sort of absent-mindedness or absorbednessin his manner, so that he seemed hardly like himself. Josie was therewith him, and while she and Alice were greeting each other, I saw Jimscanning the little crowd at the station as if for some other arrival. At last, his eye told me that whatever it was for which he was looking, he had found it; and I followed his glance. It rested on the last personto alight from the train--a tall, sinewy, soldierly-built youngish man, who wore an overcoat of black, falling away in front, so as to reveal ablack frock coat tightly buttoned up and a snowy shirt-front with aglittering gem sparkling from the center of it. On his head was ashining silk hat--a thing so rare in that community as to be noticeable, and to stamp the wearer as an outsider. His beard was clipped close, andat the chin ran out into a pronounced Vandyke point. His mustaches wereblack, heavy, and waxed. His whole external appearance betokened wealth, and he exuded mystery. He had not taken two steps from the car beforethe people on the platform were standing on tiptoe to see him. "Bus to the Centropolis?" queried the driver of the omnibus. The stranger looked at the conveyance, filled as it was with a load oftraveling men and casuals; and, frowning darkly, turned to the negro whoaccompanied him, saying, "Haven't you any carriage here, Pearson?" "Yes, sah, " responded the servant, pointing to a closed vehicle. "Righthyah, sah. " My wife stood looking, with a little amused smile, at the picturesquegroup, so out of the ordinary at the time and place. Miss Trescott wasgazing intently at the stranger, and at the moment when he spoke sheclutched my wife's arm so tightly as to startle her. I heard Alice makesome inquiry as to the cause of her agitation, and as I looked at her, I could see in the one glance her face, gone suddenly white as death, and the dark visage of the tall stranger. And it seemed to me as if Ihad seen the same thing before. Then, the negro pointing the way to the closed carriage, the groupseparated to left and right, the stranger passed through to thecarriage, and the picture, and with it my odd mental impression, dissolved. The negro lifted two or three heavy bags to the coachman, gave the transfer man some baggage-checks, and the equipage moved awaytoward the hotel. All this took place in a moment, during which theusual transactions on the platform were suspended. The conductor failedto give the usual signal for the departure of the train. The engineerleaned from the cab and gazed. Jim's eye rested on the stranger and his servant for an instant only;but during that time he seemed to take an observation, come to aconclusion, and dismiss the whole matter. "Here, John, " said he to the drayman, "take these trunks to theCentropolis. We'd like 'em this week, too. None of that old trick ofyours of dumping 'em in the crick, you know!" "They'll be up there in five minutes all right, Mr. Elkins, " said John, grinning at Jim's allusion to some accident, the knowledge of whichappeared to be confined to himself and Mr. Elkins, and to constitute abond of sympathy between them. Jim turned to us with redoubledheartiness, all his absent-mindedness gone. "I'll drive you to the hotel, " said Jim. "You'll--" "Miss Trescott is ill--" said Alice. "Not at all, " said Josie; "it has passed entirely! Only, when you havetaken Mr. And Mrs. Barslow to the hotel, will you please take me home?Our little supper-party--I don't feel quite equal to it, if you willexcuse me!" CHAPTER VIII. A Welcome to Wall Street and Us. "Welcome!" intoned Captain Tolliver, with his hat in his hand, bowinglow to Mrs. Barslow. "Welcome, Madam and suh, in the capacity ofLattimoreans! That we shall be the bettah fo' yo' residence among usthe' can be no doubt. That you will be prospahed beyond yo' wildestdreams I believe equally cehtain. Welcome!" This address was delivered within thirty seconds of the time of ourarrival at our old rooms in the Centropolis. The Captain saluted us in amanner extravagantly polite, mysteriously enthusiastic. The air ofmystery was deepened when he called again to see Mr. Elkins in theevening and was invited in. "Did you-all notice that distinguished and opulent-looking gentleman whogot off the train this evening?" said he in a stage whisper. "Mahk mywords, the coming of such men, _his_ coming, is fraught with the deepestsignificance to us all. All my holdin's ah withdrawn from mahket untilfu'the' developments!" "Seems to travel in style, " said Jim; "all sorts of good clothes, colored body-servant, closed carriage ordered by wire--it does lookjuicy, don't it, now?" "He has the entiah second flo' front suite. The niggah has already sentout fo' a bahbah, " said the Captain. "Lattimore has at last attractedthe notice of adequate capital, and will now assume huh true place inthe bright galaxy of American cities. Mr. Barslow, I shall askpuhmission to call upon you in the mo'nin' with reference to a projectwhich will make the fo'tunes of a dozen men, and that within the nextninety days. Good evenin', suh; good evenin', Madam. I feel that youhave come among us at a propitious moment!" "The Captain merely hints at the truth which struggles in him forutterance, " said Jim. "I prove this by informing you that I couldn't getyou a house. This shows, too, that the census returns are a calumny uponLattimore. You'll have to stay at the Centropolis until something turnsup or you can build. " "Oh, dear!" said Alice. "Hotel life isn't living at all. I hope it won'tbe long. " "It will have its advantages for Al, " said Mr. Elkins. "This financialmaelstrom, which will draw everything to Lattimore, will have its coreright in this hotel--a mighty good place to be. Things of all kinds havebeen floating about in the air for months; the precipitation isbeginning now. The psychological moment has arrived--you have brought itwith you, Mrs. Barslow. The moon-flower of Lattimore's 'gradual, healthygrowth' is going to burst, and that right soon. " "Has Captain Tolliver infected you?" inquired Alice. "He told us thesame thing, with less of tropes and figures. " "On any still morning, " said Jim, "you can hear the wheels go round inthe Captain's head; but his instinct for real-estate conditions is asaccurate as a pocket-gopher's. The Captain, in a hysterical sort of way, is right: I consider that a cinch. Good-night, friends, and pleasantdreams. I expect to see you at breakfast; but if I shouldn't, Al, you'llcome aboard at nine, won't you, and help run up the Jolly Roger? I thinkI smell pieces-of-eight in the air! And, by the way, Miss Trescott saysfor me to assure you that her vertigo, which she had for the first timein her life, is gone, and she never felt better. " As Mr. Elkins passed from our parlor, he let in a bell-boy with the cardof Mr. Clifford Giddings, representing the Lattimore Morning _Herald_. "See him down in the lobby, " said Alice. "I want a story, " said he as we met, "on the city and its future. The_Herald_ readers will be glad of anything from Mr. Barslow, whose comingthey have so long looked forward to, as intimately connected with thecity's development. " "My dear sir, " I replied, somewhat astonished at the importance which hewas pleased to attach to my arrival, "abstractly, my removal toLattimore is my best testimony on that; concretely, I ought to askinformation of you. " We sat down in a corner of the lobby, our chairs side by side, facingopposite ways. He lighted a cigar, and gave me one. In looks he wasyoung; in behavior he had the self-possession and poise of maturity. Hewore a long mackintosh which sparkled with mist. His slouch hat lookednew and was carefully dinted. His dress was almost natty in anunconventional way, and his manners accorded with his garb. He acted asif for years we had casually met daily. His tone and attitude evincedrespect, was entirely free from presumption, equally devoid of reserve, carried with it no hint of familiarity, but assumed a perfectunderstanding. The barrier which usually keeps strangers apart heneither broke down, which must have been offensive, nor overleaped, which would have been presumptuous. He covered it with that demeanor ofhis, and together we sat down upon it. "I thought the _Herald_ was an evening paper, " said I. "It was, in the days of yore, " he replied; "but Mr. Elkins happened tosee me in Chicago one day, and advised me to come out and look the oldthing over with a view to purchasing the plant. You observe the result. As fellow immigrants, I hope there will be a bond of sympathy betweenus. You think, of course, that Lattimore is a coming city?" "Yes. " "Its geographical situation seems to render its development inevitable, doesn't it? And, " he went on, "the railway conditions seem peculiarlypromising just now?" "Yes, " said I, "but the natural resources of the city and thesurrounding country appeal most strongly to me. " "They are certainly very exceptional, aren't they?" said he, as if thematter had never occurred to him before. Then he went on telling methings, more than asking questions, about the jobbing trades, the brickand tile and associated industries, the cement factory, which he spokeof as if actually _in esse_, the projected elevators, theflouring-mills, and finally returned to railway matters. "What is your opinion of the Lattimore & Great Western, Mr. Barslow?" heasked. "I cannot say that I have any, " I answered, "except that itsconstruction would bring great good to Lattimore. " "It could scarcely fail, " said he, "to bring in two or three systemswhich we now lack, could it?" I very sincerely said that I did not know. After a few more questionsconcerning our plans for the future, Mr. Giddings vanished into thenight, silently, as an autumn leaf parting from its bough. I thought ofhim no more until I unfolded the _Herald_ in the morning as we sat atbreakfast, and saw that my interview was made a feature of the day'snews. "Mr. Albert F. Barslow, " it read, "of the firm of Elkins & Barslow, isstopping at the Centropolis. He arrived by the 6:15 train last evening, and with his family has taken a suite of rooms pending the erection of aresidence. They have not definitely decided as to the location of theirnew home; but it may confidently be stated that they will buildsomething which will be a notable addition to the architectural beautiesof Lattimore--already proud of her title, the City of Homes. " "I am very glad to know about this, " said Alice. "Your man Giddings has nerve, whatever else he may lack, " said I to thesmiling Elkins across the table. "Am I obliged to make good all theserepresentations? I ask, that I may know the rules of the game, merely. " "One rule is that you mustn't deny any accusations of futuremagnificence, for two reasons: they may come true, and they help thingson. You are supposed to have left your modesty in cold storagesomewhere. Read on. " "Mr. Barslow, " I read, "has long been a most potent political factor inhis native state, but is, first of all, a business man. He brings hischarming young wife--" "Really, a most discriminating journalist, " interjected Alice. "--and social circles, as well as the business world, will find them amost desirable accession to Lattimore's population. " "Why this is absolute, slavish devotion to facts, " said Jim; "where doesthe word-painting come in?" "Here it is, " said I. "Mr. Barslow is some years under middle age, and looks the intensemodern business man in every feature. His mind seems to have alreadybecome saturated with the conception of the enormous possibilities ofLattimore. He impresses those who have met him as one of the few mencapable of pulling his share in double harness with James R. Elkins. " "The fellow piles it on a little strong at times, doesn't he, Mrs. Barslow?" said Jim. "He brings to our city, " I read on, "his vigorous mind, his fortune, anda determination never to rest until the city passes the 100, 000 mark. Toa _Herald_ representative, last night, he spoke strongly and eloquentlyof our great natural resources. " Then followed a skillfully handled expansion of our _tęte-ŕ-tęte_ talkin the lobby. "Mr. Barslow, " the report went on, "very courteously declined to discussthe L. & G. W. Situation. It seems evident, however, from remarksdropped by him, that he regards the construction of this road asinevitable, and as a project which, successfully carried out, cannotfail to make Lattimore the point to which all the Western andSouthwestern systems of railways must converge. " "You're doing it like a veteran!" cried Jim. "Admirable! Just the properinfusion of mystery; I couldn't have done better myself. " "Credit it all to Giddings, " I protested. "And note that the center ofthe stage is reserved to our mysterious fellow lodger and co-arrival. " "Yes, I saw that, " said Jim. "Isn't Giddings a peach? Let Mrs. Barslowhear it. " "She ought to be able to hear these headlines, " said I, "without anyreading: 'J. Bedford Cornish arrives! Wall Street's Millions On theGround in the Person of One of Her Great Financiers! Bull Movement inReal Estate Noted Last Night! Does He Represent the Great RailwayInterests?'" "Real estate and financial circles, " ran the article under theseheadlines, "are thrown into something of a fever by the arrival, on the6:15 express last evening, of a gentleman of distinguished appearance, who took five rooms _en suite_ on the second floor of the Centropolis, and registered in a bold hand as J. Bedford Cornish, of New York. Mr. Cornish consented to see a _Herald_ representative last night, but wasvery reticent as to his plans and the objects of his visit. He simplysays that he represents capital seeking investment. He would not admitthat he is connected with any of the great railway interests, or thathis visit has any relation to the building of the Lattimore & GreatWestern. The _Herald_ is able to say, however, that its New Yorkcorrespondent informs it that Mr. Cornish is a member of the firm ofLusch, Carskaddan & Mayer, of Wall Street. This firm is well known asone of the concerns handling large amounts of European capital, and saidto be intimately associated with the Rothschilds. Financial journalshave recently noted the fact that these concerns are becomingembarrassed by the plethora of funds seeking investment, and are turningtheir attention to the development of railway systems and cities in theUnited States. Their South American and Australian investments have notproven satisfactory, especially the former, owing to the character ofthe people of Latin America. It has been pointed out that no real-estateinvestment can be more than moderately profitable in climates whichrender the people content with a mere living, and that the restless andunsatisfied vigor of the Anglo-Saxon alone can make lands and railwayspermanently remunerative. Mr. Cornish admitted these facts when theywere pointed out to him, and immediately changed the subject. "Mr. Cornish is a very handsome and opulent-looking gentleman, and seemsto live in a style somewhat luxurious for the Occident. He has a coloredbody-servant, who seems to reflect the mystery of his master; but if hehas any other reflections, the _Herald_ is none the wiser for them. Admittance to the suite of rooms was obtained by sending in thereporter's card, which vanished into a sybaritic gloom, borne on agolden salver. Mr. Cornish seems to be very exclusive, his meals beingserved in his rooms; and even his barber has instructions to call uponhim each morning. One wonders why the barber is called in so frequently, until one marks the smooth-shaven cheeks above the close-clipped, pointed, black, Vandyke beard. He is withal very cordial and courtly inhis manners. "James R. Elkins, when seen last evening, refused to talk, except to saythat, in financial circles, it has been known for some days thatimportant developments may be now momently expected, and that some suchthing as the visit of Mr. Cornish was imminent. Captain Marion Tolliverexpressed himself freely, and to the effect that this mysterious visitis of the utmost importance to Lattimore, and a thing of national if notworld-wide importance. " "Now, that justifies my confidence in Giddings, " said Mr. Elkins, "fulfilling at the same time the requirements of journalism andhypnotism. Come, Al, our bark is on the sea, our boat is on the shore. The Spanish galleons are even now hiding in the tall grass, inexpectation of our cruise. Let us hence to the office!" CHAPTER IX. I Go Aboard and We Unfurl the Jolly Roger. "We must act, and act at once!" said the Captain, his voice thrillingwith intensity. "This piece of property will be gone befo' night! All ittakes is a paltry three thousand dolla's, and within ninety days--no mancan say what its value will be. We can plat it, and within ten days wemay have ouah money back. Allow me to draw on you fo' three thou--" "But, " said I, "I can make no move in such a matter at this time withoutconference with Mr. --" "Very well, suh, very well!" said the Captain, regarding me with a lookthat showed how much better things he had expected of me. "Opportunity, suh, knocks once--By the way, excuse me, suh!" And he darted from the office, took the trail of Mr. Macdonald, whom hehad seen passing, brought him to bay in front of the post-office, anddragged him away to some doom, the nature of which I could only surmise. This took place on the morning of my first day with Elkins & Barslow. Iwas to take up the office work. "That will be easy for you from the first, " said Jim. "Your experienceas rob-ee down there in Posey County makes you a sort of specialist inthat sort of thing; and pretty soon all other things shall be added untoit. " The Captain's onslaught in the first half-hour admonished me that a gooddeal was already added to it. On that very day, too, we had our firstconference with Mr. Hinckley. We wanted to handle securities, said Mr. Elkins, and should have a great many of them, and that was quite in Mr. Hinckley's line. To carry them ourselves would soon absorb all ourcapital. We must liberate it by floating the commercial paper which wetook in. Mr. Hinckley's bank was known to be strong, his standing was ofthe highest, and a trust company in alliance with him could not fail tofind a good market for its paper. With an old banker's timidity, Hinckley seemed to hesitate; yet the prospects seemed so good that Ifelt that this consent was sure to be given. Jim courted himassiduously, and the intimacy between him and the Hinckley family becamenoticeable. "Jim, " said I, one day, "you have an unerring eye for the pleasantthings of life. I couldn't help thinking of this to-day when I saw youfor the twentieth time spinning along the street in Miss Hinckley'scarriage, beside its owner. She's one of the handsomest girls, in herflaxen-haired way, that I know of. " "Isn't she a study in curves and pink and white?" said Jim. "And sheunderstands this trust company business as well as her father. " The trust company's stock, he went on to explain, ignoring Antonia, seemed to be already oversubscribed. Our firm, Hinckley, and Jim'sChicago and New York friends, including Harper, all stood ready to takeblocks of it, and there was no reason for requiring Hinckley to put muchactual money in for this. He could pay for it out of his profits soon, and make a fortune without any outlay. Good credit was the primenecessity, and that Mr. Hinckley certainly had. So the celebrated GrainBelt Trust Company was begun--a name about which such mighty interestswere to cluster, that I know I should have shrunk from theresponsibility had I known what a gigantic thing we were creating. As the days wore on, Captain Tolliver's dementia spread and ragedvirulently. The dark-visaged Cornish, with his air of mystery, hishabits so at odds with the society of Lattimore, was in the very focusof attention. For a day or so, the effect which Mr. Giddings's report attributed tohis invasion failed to disclose itself to me. Then the delirium becamemanifest, and swept over the town like a were-wolf delusion through amedieval village. Its immediate occasion seemed to be a group of real-estate conveyances, announced in the _Herald_ one morning, surpassing in importance anythingin the history of the town. Some of the lands transferred were acreage;some were waste and vacant tracts along Brushy Creek and the river; onepiece was a suburban farm; but the mass of it was along Main Street andin the business district. The grantees were for the most part strangenames in Lattimore, some individuals, some corporations. All the saleswere at prices hitherto unknown. It was to be remarked, too, that inmost cases the property had been purchased not long before, by some ofthe group of newer comers and at the old modest prices. Our firm seemedto have profited heavily in these transactions, as had Captain Tolliveralso. We of the "new crowd" had begun our mock-trading to "establish themarket. " Prices were going up, up; and all one had to do was to buyto-day and sell to-morrow. Real values, for actual use, seemed to beforgotten. The most memorable moment in this first, acutest stage in ourdevelopment was one bright day, within a week or so of our coming. Thelawns were taking on their summer emerald, robins were piping in themaples, and down in the cottonwoods and lindens on the river front crowsand jays were jargoning their immemorial and cheery lingo. Surveyorswere running lines and making plats in the suburbs, peeped at bygophers, and greeted by the roundelays of meadow-larks. But on thestreet-corners, in the offices of lawyers and real-estate agents, and inthe lobbies of the hotels, the trading was lively. Then for the first time the influx of real buyers from the outsidebecame noticeable. The landlord of the Centropolis could scarcely carefor his guests. They talked of blocks, quarter-blocks, and the choiceacreage they had bought, and of the profits they had made in this andother cities and towns (where this same speculative fever was epidemic), until Alice fled to the Trescott farm--as she said, to avoid themixture of real estate with her meals. The telegraph offices were gorgedwith messages to non-resident property owners, begging for prices ongood inside lots. Staid, slow-going lot-owners, who had grown old inpatiently paying taxes on patches of dog-fennel and sand-burrs, dazedlyvacillated between acceptance and rejection of tempting propositions, dreading the missing of the chance so long awaited, fearing misjudgmentas to the height of the wave, dreading a future of regret at having soldtoo low. One of these, an old woman, toothless and bent, hobbled to our officeand asked for Mr. Elkins. He was busy, and so I received her. "It's about that quarter-block with the Donegal ruin on it, " said Jim;"the one I showed you yesterday. Offer her five thousand, one-fourthdown, balance in one, two, and three years, eight per cent. " "I wanted to ask Mr. Elkins about me home, " said she. "I tuk in washin'to buy it, an' me son, poor Patsy, God rist 'is soul, he helped wid th'bit of money from the Brotherhood, whin he was kilt betune the cars. Itwas sivin hundred an' fifty dollars, an' now Thronson offers me fourthousan'. I told him I'd sell, fer it's a fortune for a workin' woman;but befure I signed papers, I wanted to ask Mr. Elkins; he's such afair-spoken man, an' knowin' to me min-folks in Peoria. " "If you want to sell, Mrs. Collins, " said I, "we will take your propertyat five thousand dollars. " She started, and regarded me, first in amazement, then with distrust, shading off into hostility. "Thank ye kindly, sir, " said she; "I'll be goin' now. I've med up memoind, if that bit of land is wort all that money t' yees, it's wortmore to me. Thank ye kindly!" and she fled from the presence of thetempter. "The town is full of Biddy Collinses, " commented Jim. "Well, we can'tland everything, and couldn't handle the catch if we did. In fact, forpresent purposes, isn't it better to have her refuse?" This incident was the hint upon which our "Syndicate, " as it came to becalled, acted from time to time, in making fabulous offers to everyBiddy Collins in town. "Offer twenty thousand, " Jim would say. "The moreyou bid the less apt is he to accept; he's a Biddy Collins. " Andwhatever Mr. Elkins advised was done. There were eight or ten of us in the "Syndicate, " dubbed by Jim "TheCrew, " among whom were Tolliver, Macdonald, and Will Lattimore. But theinner circle, now drawing closer and closer together, were Elkins, ourruling spirit; Hinckley, our great force in the banking world; andmyself. Soon, I was given to understand, Mr. Cornish was to take hisplace as one of us. He and Jim had long known each other, and Mr. Elkinshad the utmost confidence in Mr. Cornish's usefulness in what he called"the thought-transference department. " Elkins & Barslow kept their offices open night and day, almost, and thenumber of typewriters and bookkeepers grew astoundingly. I became almosta stranger to my wife. I got hurried glimpses of Miss Trescott and hermother at the hotel, and knew that she and Alice were becoming fastfriends; but so far the social prominence which the _Herald_ hadpredicted for us had failed to arrive. This, to be sure, was our own fault. Miss Addison soon gave us up as notavailable for the church and Sunday-school functions to which shedevoted herself. Her family connections would have made her _the_ socialleader had it not been for the severity of her views and her assumptionof the character of the devotee--in spite of which she protestingly wentalmost everywhere. Antonia Hinckley, however, was frankly fond of a goodtime, and with her dashing and almost hoydenish character easily tookthe leadership from Miss Addison; and Miss Hinckley sought diligentlyfor means by which we could be properly launched. As I left the officeone day, a voice from the curb called my name. It was Miss Hinckley in asmart trap, to which was harnessed a beautiful horse, standard bred, onecould see at a glance. I obeyed the summons, and stepped beside theequipage. "I want to scold you, " said she. "Society is being defrauded of the goodthings which your coming promised. Have you taken a vow of seclusion, orwhat?" "I've been spinning about in the maelstrom of business, " I replied. "Butdo not be uneasy; some time we shall take up the matter of inflictingourselves, and pursue it as vigorously as we now follow our vocation. " "Wouldn't you like to get into the trap, and take a spin of anothersort?" said she. "I'll deposit you safely with Mrs. Barslow in time fortea. " I got in, glad of the drive, and for ten minutes her horse was sent atsuch a pace that conversation was difficult. Then he was slowed down toa walk, his head toward home. We chatted of casual things--the scenery, the horse, the splendid color of the sunset. I was becoming interestedin her. "I had almost forgotten that there were such things in Lattimore, " saidI, referring to the topics of our talk. "I have become so saturated withlands and lots. " "I don't know much about business, " said she, "and I think I'll improvemy opportunity by learning something. And, first, aren't men sometimeslosers by the dishonesty of those who act for them--agents, they arecalled, aren't they?" Such, I admitted, was unfortunately the case. "I should be sorry for--any one I liked--to be injured in such a way. .. . Now you must understand how the things you men are interested inpermeate the society of us women. Why, mamma has almost forgotten theenslavement of our sex, in these new things which have changed our oldtown so much; so you mustn't wonder if I have heard something of apurely business nature. I heard that Captain Tolliver was about to sellMr. Elkins the land where the old foundry is, over there, for twentythousand dollars. Now, papa says it isn't worth it; and I know--SadieAllen and I were in school together, and she comes over from Fairchildseveral times a year to see me, and I go there, you know; and that landis in her father's estate--I know that the executor has told CaptainTolliver to sell it for ever so much less than that. And it seemed sofunny, as the Captain was doing the business for both sides--isn't itodd, now?" "It does seem so, " said I, "and it is very kind of you. I'll talk withMr. Elkins about it. Please be careful, Miss Hinckley, or you'll dropthe wheel in that washout!" She reined up her horse and began speeding him again. I could see thatthis conversation had embarrassed her somehow. Her color was high, andher grip of the reins not so steady as at starting. This attempt to doJim a favor was something she considered as of a good deal ofconsequence. I began to note more and more what a really splendid womanshe was--tall, fair, her tailor-made gown rounding to the full, firmcurves of her figure, her fearless horsemanship hinting at thepossession of large and positive traits of character. "We women, " said she, "might as well abandon all the things commonlyknown as feminine. What good do they do us?" "They gratify your sense of the beautiful, " suggested I. "You know, Mr. Barslow, " said she, "that it's not our own sense of thebeautiful, mainly, that we seek to gratify; and if the eyes for whichthey are intended are looking into ledgers and blind to everythingexcept dollar-signs, what's the use?" "Go down to the seashore, " said I, "where the people congregate who havenothing to do. " "Not I, " said she; "I'll go into real estate, and become as blind as therest!" Jim paid no attention to my chaffing when I spoke of his conquest, as Icalled Antonia. In fact, he seemed annoyed, and for a long time saidnothing. "You can see how the Allen estate proposition stands, " said he, at last. "To let that sell for less than twenty thousand might cost us ten timesthat amount in lowering the prevailing standard of values. The old rulethat we should buy in the cheapest market and sell in the dearest issuspended. Base is the slave who pays--less than the necessary andproper increase. " CHAPTER X. We Dedicate Lynhurst Park. The Hindu adept sometimes suspends before the eyes of his subject abright ball of carnelian or crystal, in the steady contemplation ofwhich the sensitive swims off into the realms of subjectivity--thatmysterious bourn from whence no traveler brings anything back. J. Bedford Cornish was Mr. Elkins's glittering ball; his psychic subjectwas the world in general and Lattimore in particular. Scientificprinciples, confirmed by experience, led us to the conclusion that theattitude of fixed contemplation carried with it some nervous strain, ought to be of limited duration, and hence that Mr. Cornish shouldremove from our midst the glittering mystery of his presence, lestfamiliarity should breed contempt. So in about ten days he went away, giving to the _Herald_ a parting interview, in which he expressedunbounded delight with Lattimore, and hinted that he might return for alonger stay. Editorially, the _Herald_ expressed the hope that thischaracteristically veiled allusion to a longer sojourn might mean thatMr. Cornish had some idea of becoming a citizen of Lattimore. This woulddenote, the editorial continued, that men like Mr. Cornish, accustomedto the mighty world-pulse of New York, could find objects of pursuitequally worthy in Lattimore. "Which is mixed metaphor, " Mr. Giddings admitted in confidence; "but, "he continued, "if metaphors, like drinks, happen to be more potentmixed, the _Herald_ proposes to mix 'em. " All these things consumed time, and still our life was one devoted tobusiness exclusively. At last Mr. Elkins himself, urged, I feel sure, byAntonia Hinckley, gave evidence of weariness. "Al, " said he one day, "don't you think it's about time to go ashore fora carouse?" "Unless something in the way of a let-up comes soon, " said I, "theposition of lieutenant, or first mate, or whatever my job is piraticallytermed, will become vacant. The pace is pretty rapid. Last night Idreamed that the new Hotel Elkins was founded on my chest; and I havehad troubles enough of the same kind before to show me that my nervoussystem is slowly ravelling out. " "I have arrangements made, in my mind, for a sort of al fresco function, to come off about the time Cornish gets back with our London visitor, "he replied, "which ought to knit up the ravelled sleeve better than new. I'm going to dedicate Lynhurst Park to the nymphs and deities ofsport--which wrinkled care derides. " "I hadn't heard of Lynhurst Park, " I was forced to say. "I'm curious toknow, first, who named it, and, second, where it is. " "Didn't I show you those blueprints?" he asked. "An oversight I assureyou. As for the scheme, you suggested it yourself that night we firstdrove out to Trescott's. Don't you remember saying something about'breathing space for the populace'? Well, I had the surveys made atonce; contracted for the land, all but what Bill owns of it, which we'llhave to get later; and had a landscapist out from Chicago to direct usas to what we ought to admire in improving the place. As for the name, I'm indebted to kind nature, which planted the valley in basswood, andto Josie, who contributed the philological knowledge and the taste. That's the street-car line, " said he, unrolling an elaborate plat andpointing. "We may throw it over to the west to develop section seven, ifwe close for it. Otherwise, that line is the very thing. " Our street-railway franchise had been granted by the Lattimore citycouncil--they would have granted the public square, had we asked for itin the potent name of "progress"--and Cornish was even now makingarrangements for placing our bonds. The impossible of less than a yearago was now included in the next season's program, as an inconsiderablefeature of a great project for a street-railway system, and the"development" of hundreds of acres of land. The place so to be named Lynhurst Park was most agreeably reached by awalk up Brushy Creek from Lattimore. Such a stroll took one into thegorge, where the rocks shelved toward each other, until their crowningfringes of cedar almost interlocked, like the eyelashes of drowsiness. Down there in the twilight one felt a sense of being defrauded, incontemplation of the fact that the stream was troutless: it was such anideal place for trout. The quiet and mellow gloom made the gorge afavorite trysting-place, and perhaps the cool-blooded stream-folk hadfled from the presence of the more fervid dwellers on the banks. In thecrevices of the rocks were the nests of the village pigeons. Thecombined effects of all these causes was to make this a spot devoted tobilling and cooing. Farther up the stream the rock walls grew lower and parted wider, islanding a rich bottom of lush grass-plot, alternating with groves ofwalnut, linden, and elm. This was the Lynhurst Park of the blueprintsand plats. Trescott's farm lay on the right bank, and others on eitherside; but the houses were none of them near the stream, and the entirewalk was wild and woodsy-looking. None but nature-lovers came that way. Others drove out by the road past Trescott's, seeing more of corn andbarn, but less of rock, moss, and fern. Mr. Cornish was to return on Friday with the Honorable De ForestBarr-Smith, who lived in London and "represented English capital. " To usWesterners the very hyphen of his name spoke eloquently of Ł s. D. Through him we hoped to get the money to build that street railway. Cornish had written that Mr. Barr-Smith wanted to look the thing overpersonally; and that, given the element of safety, his people would muchprefer an investment of a million to one of ten thousand. Cornishfurther hinted that the London gentleman acted like a man who wanted aside interest in the construction company; as to which he would soundhim further by the way. "He'll expect something in the way of birds and bottles, " observedElkins; "but they won't mix with the general society of this town, wherethe worm of the still is popularly supposed to be the original Edenictempter. And he'll want to inspect Lynhurst Park. I want him to see ourbeauty and our chivalry, --meaning the ladies and Captain Tolliver, --andthe rest of our best people. I guess we'll have to make it a temperatesort of orgy, making up in the spectacular what it lacks inspirituousness. " Mr. Cornish came, gradually moulting his mystery; but still far abovethe Lattimore standard in dress and style of living. In truth, he alwayshad a good deal of the swell in his make-up, and can almost be acquittedof deceit in the impressions conveyed at his coming. The Honorable DeForest Barr-Smith fraternized with Cornish, as he could with no oneelse. No one looking at Mr. Cornish could harbor a doubt as to hismorning tub; and his evening dress was always correct. With Jim, Mr. Barr-Smith went into the discussion of business propositions freely andconfidentially. I feel sure that had he greatly desired a candidstatement of the very truth as to local views, or the exact judgment ofone on the spot, he would have come to me. But between him and Cornishthere was the stronger sympathy of a common understanding of the occultintricacies of clothes, and a view-point as to the surface of things, embracing manifold points of agreement. Cornish's unerring conformityof vogue in the manner and as to the occasion of wearing the tuxedo orthe claw-hammer coat was clearly restful to Mr. Barr-Smith, in this newand strange country, where, if danger was to be avoided, things had tobe approached with distended nostril and many preliminary snuffings ofthe wind. There came with these two a younger brother of Mr. Barr-Smith, Cecil--abig young civil engineer, just out of college, and as like his brotherin accent and dress as could be expected of one of his years; butnational characteristics are matters of growth, and college boys allover the world are a good deal alike. Cecil Barr-Smith, with his redmustache, his dark eyes, and his six feet of British brawn, was nearerin touch with our younger people that first day than his honorablebrother ever became. To Antonia, especially, he took kindly, andrespectfully devoted himself. "At this distance, " said Mr. Barr-Smith, as he saw his brother sittingon the grass at Miss Hinckley's feet, "I'd think them brother andsister. She resembles sister Gritty remarkably; the same complexion andthe same style, you know. Quite so!" The Lynhurst function was the real introduction of these three gentlemento Lattimore society. I knew nothing of the arrangements, except what Icould deduce from Jim's volume of business with caterers and otherhandicraftsmen; and I looked forward to the fęte with much curiosity. The weather, that afternoon, made an outing quite the natural thing; forit was hot. The ladies in their most summery gowns fluttered like whitedryads from shade to shade, uttering bird-like pipings of surprise atthe preparations made for their entertainment. The ravine had been transformed. At an available point in its bed Jimhad thrown a dam across the stream, and a beautiful little lake rippledin the breeze, bearing on its bosom a bright-colored boat, which in ourignorance of things Venetian we mistakenly dubbed a gondola. At theupper end of this water the canvas of a large pavilion gleamed whitelythrough the greenery, displaying from its top the British and Americanflags, their color reflected in a particolored streak on the wimplingface of the lake. The groves, in the tops of which the woodpeckers, warblers, and vireos disturbedly carried on the imperatively necessarywork of rearing their broods, were gay with festoons of Chinese lanternsin readiness for the evening. Hammocks were slung from tree to tree, cushions and seats were arranged in cosy nooks; and when my wife and Istepped from our carriage, all these appliances for the utilization ofshade and leisure were in full use. The "gondola" was making, trips fromthe cascade (as the dam was already called) to the pavilion, carryingloads of young people from whom came to our ears those peals ofmerriment which have everywhere but one meaning, and that a part of theworld-old mystery of the way of a man with a maid. Jim was on the ground early, to receive the guests and keep themanagement in hand. Josie Trescott and her mother walked down throughthe Trescott pasture, and joined Alice and me under one of the splendidlindens, where, as we lounged in the shade, the sound of the littlewaterfall filled the spaces in our talk. Long before any one else hadseen them coming through the trees, Mr. Elkins had spied them, and wentforward to meet them with something more than the hospitable solicitudewith which he had met the others. In fact, the principal guests of theday had alighted from their carriage before Jim, ensconced in a hammockwith Josie, was made aware of their arrival. I am not quick to see suchthings; but to my eyes, even, the affair had assumed interest as a sortof public flirtation. I had not thought that Josie would so easily fallinto deportment so distinctly encouraging. She was altogether in asurprising mood, --her eyes shining as with some stimulant, her cheeks alittle flushed, her lips scarlet, her whole appearance suggestingsuppressed excitement. And when Jim rose to meet his guests, shedismissed him with one of those charmingly inviting glances and gestureswith which such an adorable woman spins the thread by which the banishedone is drawn back, --and then she disappeared until the dinner wasserved. The green crown of the western hill was throwing its shadow across thevalley, when Mr. Hinckley came with Mr. Cornish and Mr. Barr-Smith in abarouche; followed by Antonia, who brought Mr. Cecil in her trap--and aconcomitant thrill to the company. Mr. Cornish, in his dress, had strucka happy medium between the habiliments of business and those of sylvanrecreation. Mr. Barr-Smith on the other hand, was garbed cap-a-pie foran outing, presenting an appearance with which the racket, the bat, oreven the alpenstock might have been conjoined in perfect harmony. As forthe men of Lattimore, any one of them would as soon have been seen inthe war-dress of a Sioux chief as in this entirely correct costume ofour British visitor. We walked about in the every-day vestments of theshops, banks, and offices, illustrating the difference between a stateof society in which apparel is regarded as an incident in life, and onerising to the height of realizing its true significance as a religion. Mr. Barr-Smith bowed not the knee to the Baal of westernclothes-monotone, but daily sent out his sartorial orisons, keeping hiswindows open toward the Jerusalem of his London tailor, in a mannerwhich would have delighted a Teufelsdröckh. He was a short man, with protruding cheeks, and a nose ending in anamorphous flare of purple and scarlet. His mustache, red like that ofhis brother, and constituting the only point of physical resemblancebetween them, grew down over a receding chin, being forced thereto bythe bulbous overhang of the nose. He had rufous side-whiskers, clippedmoderately close, and carroty hair mixed with gray. His erect shouldersand straight back were a little out of keeping with the rotundity of hisfigure in other respects; but the combination, hinting, as it did, ofaffairs both gastronomic and martial, taken with a manner at oncedignified, formal, and suave, constituted the most intensely respectableappearance I ever saw. To the imagination of Lattimore he representedeverything of which, Cornish fell short, piling Lombard upon WallStreet. The arrival of these gentlemen was the signal for gathering in thepavilion where dinner was served. The tables were arranged in a great L, at the apex of which sat Jim and the distinguished guests. On one sideof him sat Mr. Barr-Smith, who listened absorbedly to the conversationof Mrs. Hinckley, filling every pause with a husky "Quite so!" On theother sat Josie Trescott, who was smiling upon a very tall and spare oldman who wore a beautiful white mustache and imperial. I had never methim, but I knew him for General Lattimore. His fondness for Josie waswell known; and to him Jim attributed that young lady's lack ofenthusiasm over our schemes for city-building. His presence at thisgathering was somewhat of a surprise to me. Antonia and Cecil Barr-Smith, the Tollivers, Mr. Hinckley and Alice, myself, Mr. Giddings, and Miss Addison sat across the table from thehost. Mrs. Trescott, after expressing wonder at the changes wrought inthe ravine, and confiding to me her disapproval of the useless expense, had returned to the farm, impelled by that habitual feeling thatsomething was wrong there. Mr. Giddings was exceedingly attentive toMiss Addison. "I know why you're trying to look severe, " said he to her, as theconsommé was served; "and it's the only thing I can imagine you making afailure of, unless it would be looking anything but pretty. But you aretrying it, and I know why. You think they ought to have had some one saygrace before pulling this thing off. " "I'm not trying to look--anyhow, " she answered. "But you are right inthinking that I believe such duties should not be transgressed, for fearthat the world may call us provincial or old-fashioned. " And she shot a glance at Cornish and Barr-Smith as the visiblerepresentatives of the "world. " "Don't listen to that age-old clash between fervor and unregeneracy, "said Josie across the narrow table, her remarks made possible by themusic of the orchestra, "but tell us about Mr. Barr-Smith and--the othergentlemen. " "I wanted to ask you about the Britons, " said I; "are they goodspecimens of the men you saw in England?" "An art-student, with a consciousness of guilt in slowly eating up theyear's shipment of steers, isn't likely to know much more of theBarr-Smiths' London than she can see from the street. But I think themfine examples of not very rare types. I should like to try drawing theelder brother!" "Before he goes away, I predict--" I began, when my villainous pun wasarrested in mid-utterance by the voice of Captain Tolliver, suddenlybecoming the culminating peak in the table-talk. "The Anglo-Saxon, suh, " he was saying, "is found in his greatest purityof blood in ouah Southe'n states. It is thah, suh, that those qualitiesof virility and capacity fo' rulership which make the race what is ahfound in theiah highest development--on this side of the watah, suh, onthis side!" "Quite so! I dare say, quite so!" responded Mr. Barr-Smith. "I hope toknow the people of the South better. In fact, I may say, really, youknow, an occasion like this gives one the desire to become acquaintedwith the whole American people. " General Lattimore, whose nostrils flared as he leaned forward listening, like an opponent in a debate, to the remarks of Captain Tolliver, subsided as he heard the Englishman's diplomatic reply. "What's the use?" said he to Josie. "He may be nearer right than I canunderstand. " "We hope, " said Mr. Elkins, "that this desire may be focalized locally, and grow to anything short of a disease. I assure you, Lattimore willcongratulate herself. " Mr. Barr-Smith's fingers sought his glass, as if the impulse were on himto propose a toast; but the liquid facilities being absent, he relapsedinto a conversation with Mrs. Hinckley. "I'd say those things, too, if I were in his place, " came the words ofGiddings, overshooting their mark, the ear of Miss Addison; "but it'sall rot. He's disgusted with the whole barbarous outfit of us. " "I am becoming curious, " was the _sotto voce_ reply, "to know upon whatmodel you found your conduct, Mr. Giddings. " "I know what you mean, " said Mr. Giddings. "But I have adopted Iago. " "Why, Mr. Giddings! How shocking! Iago--" "Now, don't be horrified, " said Giddings, with an air of candor, "butlook at it from a practical standpoint. If Othello hadn't been such afool, Iago would have made his point all right. He had a right to besore at Othello for promoting Cassio over his head, and his scheme was agood one, if Othello hadn't gone crazy. Iago is dominated by reason andthe principle of the survival of the fittest. He is an agreeablefellow--" Miss Addison, with a charming mixture of tragedy and archness, suppressed this blasphemy by a gesture suggestive of placing her handover the editor's mouth. "Ah, Mrs. Hinckley, you shouldn't do us such an injustice!" It was Mr. Cornish, who took the center of the stage now. "You seem to fail torealize the fact that, in any given gathering, the influence of woman isdominant; and as the entire life of the nation is the sum total of suchgatherings, woman is already in control. Now how can you fail to admitthis?" I missed the rather extended reply of Mrs. Hinckley, in noting theevident impression made upon the company by this first utterance of themysterious Cornish. It was not what he said: that was not important. Itwas the dark, bearded face, the jetty eyes, and above all, I think, thevoice, with its clear, carrying quality, combining penetrativeness witha repression of force which gave one the feeling of being addressed inconfidence. Every man, and especially every woman, in the company, looked fixedly upon him, until he ceased to speak--all except Josie. She darted at him one look, a mere momentary scrutiny, and as hediscoursed of woman and her power, she seemed to lose herself incontemplation of her plate. The blush upon her cheek became more rosy, and a little smile, with something in it which was not of pleasure, played about the corners of her mouth. I was about to offer her thetraditional bargain-counter price for her thoughts, when my attentionwas commanded by Jim's voice, answering some remark of Antonia's. "This is the merest curtain-riser, just a sort of kick-off, " he wassaying. "In a year or two this valley will be _the_ pleasure-ground ofall the countryside, a hundred miles around. This tent will be replacedby a restaurant and auditorium. The conventions and public gatherings ofthe state will be held here--there is no other place for 'em; and ourrailway will bring the folks out from town. There will be baseballgrounds, and facilities for all sorts of sports; and outings and gameswill center here. I promise you the next regatta of the State RowingAssociation, and a street-car line landing passengers where we now sit. " "Hear, hear!" said Mr. Barr-Smith, and the company clapped hands inapplause. Mr. Hinckley was introduced by Jim as "one who had seen Lynhurst Parkwhen it was Indian hunting-ground"; and made a speech in which hewelcomed Mr. Cornish as a new citizen who was already prominent. Diningin this valley, he said, reminded him of the time when he and two otherguests now present had, on almost the identical spot, dined on venisondressed and cooked where it fell. Then Lattimore was a trading-post onthe frontier, surrounded by the tepees of Indians, and uncertain as toits lease of life. General Lattimore, who shot the deer, or Mr. Macdonald, who helped eat it, could either of them tell more about it. Mr. Barr-Smith and our other British guest might judge of the rapidityof development in this country, where a man may see in his lifetimeprogress which in the older states and countries could be discerned bythe student of history only. Mr. Cornish very briefly thanked Mr. Hinckley for his words of welcome;but begged to be excused from making any extended remarks. Deeds wererather more in his line than words. "Title-deeds, " said Giddings under his breath, "as the real-estatetransfers show!" General Lattimore verified Mr. Hinckley's statement concerning the mealof venison; and, politely expressing pleasure at being present at afunction which seemed to be regarded as of so much importance to thewelfare of the town in which he had always taken the pride of agodfather, resumed his seat without adding anything to the oratory ofthe boom. "In fact, " said Captain Tolliver to me, "I wahned Mr. Elkins againsthaving him hyah. In any mattah of progress he's a wet blanket, and hasproved himself such by these remahks. " Mr. Barr-Smith, in response to the allusions to him, assured us that thepresence of people such as he had had the pleasure of meeting inLattimore was sufficient in itself to account for the forward movementin the community, which the visitor could not fail to observe. "In a state of society where people are not averse to changing theirabodes, " he said, "and where the social atom, if I may so expressmyself, is in a state of mobility, the presence of such magnets as ourtoastmaster, and the other gentlemen to whose courteous remarks I amresponding, must draw 'em to themselves, you may be jolly well assuredof that! And if the gentlemen should fail, the thing which should resistthe attractive power of the American ladies must be more fixed in itshabits than even the conservative English gentleman, who prides himselfupon his stability, er--ah--his taking a position and sticking by it, inspite of the--of anything, you know. " As his only contribution to the speechmaking, Mr. Cecil Barr-Smithgreeted this sentiment with a hearty "Hear, hear!" He fell into stepwith Antonia as we left the pavilion. Then he went back as if to lookfor something; and I saw Antonia summon Mr. Elkins to her side so thatshe might congratulate him on the success of this "carouse. " Everything seemed going well. There was, however, in that gathering, asin the day, material for a storm, and I, of all those in attendance, ought to have seen it, had my memory been as unerring as I thought it. CHAPTER XI. The Empress and Sir John Meet Again. The company emerged from the tent into the enchanted outdoors of thestar-dotted valley. The moon rode high, and flooded the glades withsilvery effulgency. The heat of the day had bred a summer storm-cloud, which, all quivery with lightning, seemed sweeping around from thenorthwest to the north, giving us the delicious experience of enjoyingcalm, in view of storm. The music of the orchestra soon told that the pavilion had been clearedfor dancing. I heard Giddings urging upon Miss Addison that it would bemuch better for them to walk in the moonlight than to encourage by theirpresence such a worldly amusement, and one in which he had never beenable to do anything better than fail, anyhow. Sighing her pain at thefrivolity of the world, she took his arm and strolled away. I noticedthat she clung closely to him, frightened, I suppose, at the mysteriousrustlings in the trees, or something. They made up the dances in such a way as to leave me out. I ratherwanted to dance with Antonia; but Mr. Cecil was just leaving her indisappointment, in the possession of Mr. Elkins, when I went for her. Idecided that a cigar and solitude were rather to be chosen than anythingelse which presented itself, and accordingly I took possession of one ofthe hammocks, in which I lay and smoked, and watched the toweringthunder-head, as it stood like a mighty and marvelous mountain in thenorthern sky, its rounded and convoluted summits serenely white in themoonlight, its mysterious caves palpitant with incessant lightning. Thesoothing of the cigar; the new-made lake reflecting the gleam ofhundreds of lanterns; the illuminated pavilion, its whirling company ofdancers seen under the uprolled walls; the night, with its strangecontrast of a calm southern sky on the one hand pouring down its floodof moonlight, and in the north the great mother-of-pearl dome with itscore of vibrant fire; the dance-music throbbing through the lindens; andall this growing out of the unwonted and curious life of the past fewmonths, bore to me again that feeling of being yoked with somethaumaturge of wondrous power for the working of enchantments. Again Iseemed in a partnership with Aladdin; and fairy pavilions, sylvanparadises, bevies of dancing girls, and princes bearing gifts of goldand jewels, had all obeyed our conjuration. I could have walked down tothe naphtha pleasure-boat and bidden the engineer put me down atKhorassan, or some dreamful port of far Cathay, with no sense ofincongruity. Two figures came from the tent and walked toward me. As I looked atthem, myself in darkness, they in the light, I had again that feeling ofhaving seen them in some similar way before. That same old sensation, thought I, that the analytic novelist made trite ages ago. Then I sawthat it was Mr. Cornish and Miss Trescott. I could hear them talking;but lay still, because I was loth to have my reveries disturbed. Andbesides, to speak would seem an unwarranted assumption of confidentialrelations on their part. They stopped near me. "Your memory is not so good as mine, " said he. "I knew you at once. Knewyou! Why--" "I'm not very good at keeping names and faces in mind, " she replied, "unless they belong to people I have known very well. " "Indeed!" his voice dropped to the 'cello-like undertone now; "isn'tthat a little unkind? I fancied that _we_ knew each other very well! Myconceit is not to be pandered to, I perceive. " "Ye-e-s--does it seem that way?" said she, ignoring the last remark. "Well, you know it was only for a few days, and you kept callingyourself by some ridiculous alias, and scarcely used your surname atall, and I believe they called you Johnny--and you can't think what adisguise such a beard is! But I remember you now perfectly. It quitebrings back those short months, when I was so young--and was findingthings out! I can see the vine-covered porch, and Madame Lamoreaux'sboarding-house on the South Side--" "And the old art gallery?" "Why, there was one, wasn't there?" said she, "somewhere along the lakefront, wasn't it?. .. Such a pleasant meeting, and so odd!" I sat up in the hammock, and stared at them as they went on theirpromenade. The old art gallery, the vine-covered porch, the young manwith the smooth-shaven dark face and the thrilling, vibrant voice, andthe young, young girl with the ruddy hair, and the little, round form!She seemed taller now, and there was more of maturity in the figure; butit was the same lissome waist and petite gracefulness which had so fullyexplained to me the avid eyes of her lover on that day when I had fledfrom the report of the Committee on Permanent Organization. It was theEmpress Josephine, I had known that--and her Sir John! Then I thought of her flying from him into the street, and the littlebowed head on the street-car; and the old pity for her, the oldbitterness toward him, returned upon me. I wondered how he could speakto her in this nonchalant way; what they were saying to each other;whether they would ever refer to that night at Auriccio's; what Alicewould think of him if she ever found it out; whether he was a villain, or only erred passionately; what was actually said in that palm alcovethat night so long ago; whether this man, with the eyes and voice sofascinating to women, would renew his suit in this new life of ours;what Jim would think about it; and, more than all, how Josie herselfwould regard him. "She ought never to have spoken to him again!" I hear some one say. Ah, Madam, very true. But do you remember any authentic case of a womanwho failed to forgive the man whose error or offense had for its excusethe irresistible attraction of her own charms? They were coming back now, still talking. "You dropped out of sight, like a partridge into a thicket, " said he. "Some of them said you had gone back to--to--" "To the farm, " she prompted. "Well, yes, " he conceded; "and others said you had left Chicago for NewYork; and some, even Paris. " "I fail to see the warrant, " said Josie, as they approached the limit ofearshot, "for any of the people at Madame Lamoreux's giving themselvesthe trouble to investigate. " "So far as that is concerned, " said he, "I should think that I--" andhis voice quite lost intelligibility. My cigar had gone out, and the cessation of the music ought to haveapprised me of the breaking up of the dance, and still I lay looking atthe sky and filled with my thoughts. "Here he is, " said Alice, "asleep in the hammock! For shame, Albert!This would not have occurred, once!" "I am free to admit that, " said I, "but why am I now disturbed?" "We're going on a cruise in the gondola, " said Antonia, "and Mr. Elkinssays you are lieutenant, and we can't sail without you. Come, it'sperfectly beautiful out there. " "We're going to the head of navigation and back, " said Jim, "and thenour revels will be ended. --Hang it!" to me, "they left the skull andcrossbones off all the flags!" Mr. Barr-Smith at once engaged the engineer in conversation, and seemedworming from him all his knowledge of the construction of the boat. Therest of us lounged on cushions and seats. We threaded our way up the newpond, winding between clumps of trees, now in broad moonlight, now indeepest shade. The shower had swept over to the northeast, just one darkflounce of its skirt reaching to the zenith. A cool breeze suddenlysprang up from the west, stirred by the suction of the receding storm, and a roar came from the trees on the hilltops. "Better run for port, " said Jim; "I'd hate to have Mr. Barr-Smith suffershipwreck where the charts don't show any water!" As we ran down the open way, the remark seemed less and less of a joke. The gale poured over the hills, and struck the boat like the buffet of agreat hand. She heeled over alarmingly, bumped upon a submerged stump, righted, heeled again, this time shipping a little sea, and then thesharp end of a hidden oak-limb thrust up through the bottom, and rippedits way out again, leaving us afloat in the deepest part of the lake, with a spouting fountain in the middle of the vessel, and the choppingwaves breaking over the gunwale. All at once, I noticed CecilBarr-Smith, with his coat off, standing near Antonia, who sat as cool asif she had been out on some quiet road driving her pacers. The boat sanklower in the water, and I had no doubt that she was sinking. Antoniarose, and stretched her hands towards Jim. I do not see how he couldavoid seeing this; but he did, and, as if abandoning her to her fate, heleaped to Josie's side. Cornish had seized _her_ by the arm, and seemedabout to devote himself to her safety, when Jim, without a word, liftedher in his arms, and leaped lightly upon the forward deck, the highestand driest place on the sinking craft. Then, as everything pointed to aspeedy baptism in the lake for all of us, we saw that the very speed ofthe wind had saved us, and felt the gondola bump broadside upon the dam. Jim sprang to the abutment with Josie, and Cecil Barr-Smith half carriedand half led Antonia to the shore. Alice and I sat calmly on thewindward rail; and Barr-Smith, laughing with delight, helped us across, one at a time, to the masonry. "I'm glad it turned out no worse, " said Jim. "I hope you will all excuseme if I leave you now. I must see Miss Trescott to a safe and dry place. Here's the carriage, Josie!" "Are you quite uninjured?" said Cecil to Antonia, as Mr. Elkins andJosie drove away. "Oh, quite so!" said Antonia, unwittingly adopting Barr-Smith's phrase. "But for a moment I was awfully frightened!" "It looked a little damp, at one time, for farce-comedy, " said Cornish. "I wonder how deep it was out there!" "Miss Trescott was quite drenched, " said Mr. Barr-Smith, as we got intothe carriages. "Too bad, by Jove!" "You may write home, " said Antonia, "an account of being shipwrecked inthe top of a tree!" "Good, good!" said Cecil, and we all joined in the laugh, until we weresuddenly sobered by the fact that Antonia had bowed her head on Alice'slap, and was sobbing as if her heart was broken. CHAPTER XII. In which the Burdens of wealth begin to fall upon Us. If the town be considered as a quiescent body pursuing its unluminousway in space, Mr. Elkins may stand for the impinging planet whichshocked it into vibrant life. I suggested this nebular-hypothesis simileto Mr. Giddings, one day, as the germ of an editorial. "It's rather seductive, " said he, "but it won't do. Carry yourinterplanetary collision business to its logical end, and what do youcome to? Gaseousness. And that's just what the Angus Falls _Times_, theFairchild Star, and the other loathsome sheets printed in prairie-dogtowns around here accuse us of, now. No; much obliged; but as a fieldfor comparisons the tried old solar system is good enough for the_Herald_. " I couldn't help thinking, however, that the thing had some illustrativemerit. There was Jim's first impact, felt locally, and jarring thingsloose. Then came the atomic vivification, the heat and motion, whichappeared in the developments which we have seen taking form. After thevisit of the Barr-Smiths, and the immigration of Cornish, the new starLattimore began to blaze in the commercial firmament, the focus ofinnumerable monetary telescopes, pointed from the observatories ofcounting-rooms, banks, and offices, far and wide. There was a shifting of the investment and speculative equilibrium, andthings began coming to us spontaneously. The Angus Falls railwayextension was won only by strenuous endeavor. Captain Tolliver'sinterviews with General Lattimore, in which he was so ruthlessly "turneddown, " he always regarded as a sort of creative agony, marking theorigin of the roundhouse and machine-shops, and our connection with thegreat Halliday railway system of which it made us a part. The street-carproject went more easily; and, during the autumn, the geological andmanufacturing experts sent out to report on the cement-works enterprise, pronounced favorably, and gangs of men, during the winter, were to beseen at work on the foundations of the great buildings by the scarpedchalk-hill. The tension of my mind just after the Lynhurst Park affair was such asto attune it to no impulses but the financial vibrations which pulsatedthrough our atmosphere. True, I sometimes felt the wonder return upon meat the finding of the lovers of the art-gallery together once more, inJosie and Cornish; and at other times Antonia's agitation after ourescape from shipwreck recurred to me in contrast with her smilingself-possession while the boat was drifting and filling; but mostly Ithought of nothing, dreamed of nothing, but trust companies, additions, bonds and mortgages. Mr. Barr-Smith returned to London soon, giving a parting luncheon in hisrooms, where wine flowed freely, and toasts of many colors were pushedinto the atmosphere. There was one to the President and the Queen, proposed by the host and drunk in bumpers, and others to Mr. Barr-Smith, his brother, and the members of the "Syndicate. " The enthusiasm grewsteadily in intensity as the affair progressed. Finally Mr. Cecilsolemnly proposed "The American Woman. " In offering this toast, he said, he was taking long odds, as it was a sport for which he hadn't had theleast training; but he couldn't forego the pleasure of paying a tributewhere tribute was due. The ladies of America needed no encomiums fromhim, and yet he was sure that he should give no offense by saying thatthey were of a type unknown in history. They were up to anything, youknow, in the way of intellectuality, and he was sure that in a certainqueenly, blonde way they were-- "Hear, hear!" said his brother, and burst into a laugh in which we alljoined, while Cecil went on talking, in an uproar which drowned hiswords, though one could see that he was trying to explain something, andgrowing very hot in the process. Pearson announced that their train would soon arrive, and we all wentdown to see them off. Barr-Smith assured us at parting that thetram-road transaction might be considered settled. He believed, too, that his clients might come into the cement project. We were all themore hopeful of this, for the knowledge that he carried somewhere inhis luggage a bond for a deed to a considerable interest in the cementlands. Things were coming on beautifully; and it seemed as if Elkins andCornish, working together, were invincible. We still lived at the hotel, but our architect, "little Ed. Smith, wholived over on the Hayes place" when we were boys, and who was once atGarden City with Jim, was busy with plans for a mansion which we were tobuild in the new Lynhurst Park Addition the next spring. Mr. Elkins waspreparing to erect a splendid house in the same neighborhood. "Can I afford it?" said I, in discussing estimates. "Afford it!" he replied, turning on me in astonishment. "My dear boy, don't you see we are up against a situation that calls on us to bluff tothe limit, or lay down? In such a case, luxury becomes a duty, andlavishness the truest economy. Not to spend is to go broke. Lay yourPoor Richard on the shelf, and put a weight on him. Stimulate the outgo, and the income'll take care of itself. A thousand spent is five figuresto the good. No, while we've as many boom-irons in the fire as we'reheating now, to be modest is to be lost. " "Perhaps, " said I, "you may be right, and no doubt are. We'll talk itover again some time. And your remark about irons in the fire brings upanother matter which bothers me. It's something unusual when we don'topen up a set of books for some new corporation, during the working day. Aren't we getting too many?" "Do you remember Mule Jones, who lived down near Hickory Grove?" saidhe, after a long pause. "Well, you know, in our old neighborhood, themule was regarded with a mixture of contempt, suspicion, and fear, thefolks not understanding him very well, and being especially uninformedas to his merits. Therefore, Mule Jones, who dealt in mules, bought, sold, and broke 'em, was a man of mark, and identified in name with histrade, as most people used to be before our time. I was down there oneSunday, and asked him how he managed to break the brutes. 'It's easy, 'said he, 'when you know how. I never hook up less'n six of 'em at atime. Then they sort o' neutralize one another. Some on 'em'll ber'arin' an' pitchin', an' some tryin' to run; but they'll be enough of'em down an' a-draggin' all the time, to keep the enthusiastic ones kindo' suppressed, and give me the castin' vote. It's the only right way togit the bulge on mules. ' Whenever you get to worrying about our variouscompanies, think of the Mule Jones system and be calm. " "I'm a little shy of being ruled by one case, even though so exactly inpoint, " said I. "Well, it's all right, " he continued, "and about these houses. Why, we'dhave to build them, even if we preferred to live in tents. Put the costin the advertising account of Lynhurst Park Addition, if it worries you. Let me ask you, now, as a reasonable man, how can we expect the rest ofthe world to come out here and spring themselves for humble dwellingswith stationary washtubs, conservatories, and _porte cochčres_, if weourselves haven't any more confidence in the deal than to put up JimCrow wickiups costing not more than ten or fifteen thousand dollarsapiece? That addition has got to be the Nob Hill of Lattimore. Nothingin the 'poor but honest' line will do for Lynhurst; and we've got to setthe pace. When you see my modest bachelor quarters going up, you'llcease to think of yours in the light of an extravagance. By next fallyou'll be infested with money, anyhow, and that house will be the leastof your troubles. " Alice and I made up our minds that Jim was right, and went on with ourplans on a scale which sometimes brought back the Aladdin idea to mymind, accustomed as I was to rural simplicity. But Alice, notwithstanding that she was the daughter of a country physician of notvery lucrative practice, rose to the occasion, and spent money with aspontaneous largeness of execution which revealed a genius hithertounsuspected by either of us. Jim was thoroughly delighted with it. "The Republic, " he argued, "cannot be in any real danger when the modestmiddle classes produce characters of such strength in meeting greatemergencies!" Jim was at his best this summer. He revelled in the work of filling themorning paper with scare-heads detailing our operations. He enjoyedbeing It, he said. Cornish, after the first few days, during which, inspite of inside information as to his history, I felt that he would makegood the predictions of the _Herald_, ceased to be, in my mind, anythingmore than I was--a trusted aide of Jim, the general. Both men wentrather frequently out to the Trescott farm--Jim with the bluff freedomof a brother, Cornish with his rather ceremonious deference. Idistrusted the dark Sir John where women were concerned, noting how theyseemed charmed by him; but I could not see that he had made any headwayin regaining Josie's regard, though I had a lurking feeling that hemeant to do so. I saw at times in his eyes the old look which Iremembered so well. Josie, more than ever this season, was earning her father's commendationas his "right-hand man. " She insisted on driving the four horses whichdrew the binder in the harvest. In the haying she operated thehorse-rake, and helped man the hay-fork in filling the barns. She grewas tanned as if she had spent the time at the seashore or on the links;and with every month she added to her charm. The scarlet of her lips, the ruddy luxuriance of her hair, the arrowy straightness of hercarriage, the pulsing health which beamed from her eye, and dyed cheekand neck, made their appeal to the women, even. "How sweet she is!" said Alice, as she came to greet us one day when wedrove to the farm, and waited for her to come to us. "How sweet she is, Albert!" Her father came up, and explained to us that he didn't ask any of hiswomen folks to do any work except what there was in the house. He wasable to hire the outdoors work done, but Josie he couldn't keep out ofthe fields. "Why, pa, " said she, "don't you see you would spoil my chances ofmarrying a fairy prince? They absolutely never come into the house; andmy straw hat is the only really becoming thing I've got to wear!" "Don't give a dum if yeh never marry, " said Bill. "Hain't seen the manyit that was good enough fer yeh, from my standpoint. " Bill's reputation was pretty well known to me by this time. He had beenfor years a successful breeder and shipper of live-stock, in whichvocation he had become well-to-do. On his farm he was forceful andefficient, treading his fields like an admiral his quarter-deck. Abouttown he was given to talking horses and cattle with the groups whichfrequented the stables and blacksmith-shops, and sometimes grew a littlenoisy and boisterous with them. Whenever her father went with a shipmentof cattle to Chicago or other market, Josie went too, taking a regularpassenger train in time to be waiting when Bill's stock train arrived;and after the beeves were disposed of, Bill became her escort to operaand art-gallery; on such a visit I had seen her at the Stock Yards. Shewas fond of her father; but this alone did not explain her constantattendance upon him. I soon came to understand that his prompt returnfrom the city, in good condition, was apt to be dependent upon herinfluence. It was one of those cases of weakness, associated withstrength, the real mystery of which does not often occur to us becausethey are so common. He came into our office one day with a tremor in his hand and a huntedlook in his eye. He took a chair at my invitation, but rose at once, went to the door, and looked up and down the street, as if for pursuers. I saw Captain Tolliver across the street, and Bill's air of excitementwas explained. I was relieved, for at first I had thought himintoxicated. "What's the matter, Bill?" said I, after he had looked at me earnestly, almost pantingly, for a few moments. "You look nervous. " "They're after me, " he answered in repressed tones, "to sell; and I'llbe blasted if I know what to do! Wha' d'ye' 'spose they're offerin' mefor my land?" "The fact is, Bill, " said I, "that I know all about it. I'm interestedin the deal, somewhat. " "Then you know they've bid right around a thousand dollars an acre?" "Yes, " said I, "or at least that they intended to offer that. " "An' you're one o' the company, " he queried, "that's doin' it?" "Yes, " I admitted. "Wal, " said he, "I'm kinder sorry you're in it, becuz I've aboutconcluded to sell; an' it seems to me that any concern that buys at thatfigger is a-goin' to bust, sure. W'y, I bought that land fer two dollarsand a haff an acre. But, see here, now; I 'xpect you know your business, an' see some way of gittin' out in the deal, 'r you wouldn't pay that. But if I sell, I've got to have help with my folks. " "Ah, " said I, scenting the usual obstacle in such cases, "Mrs. Trescotta little unwilling to sign the deeds?" "No, " answered he, "strange as it may seem, ma's kinder stuck on comin'to town to live. How she'll feel after she's tried it fer a month 'r so, with no chickens 'r turkeys 'r milk to look after, I'm dubious; but jestnow she seems to be all right. " "Well, what's the matter then?" said I. "Wal, it's Josie, to tell the truth, " said he. "She's sort o' hangin'back. An' it's for her sake that I want to make the deal! I've told heran' told her that there's no dum sense in raisin' corn onthousand-dollar land; but it's no use, so fur; an' here's the onlychanst I'll ever hev, mebbe, a-slippin' by. She ortn't to live her lifeout on a farm, educated as she is. W'y, did you ever hear how she's beeneducated?" I told him that in a general way I knew, but not in detail. "W'l, I want yeh to know all about it, so's yeh c'n see this movin'business as it is, " said he. "You know I was allus a rough cuss. Herdedcattle over there by yer father's south place, an' never went to school. Ma, Josie's ma, y' know, kep' the Greenwood school, an' crossed theprairie there where I was a-herdin', an' I used to look at her mightylongin' as she went by, when the cattle happened to be clost along thetrack, which they right often done. You know how them things go. An'fin'ly one morning a blue racer chased her, as the little whelps will, an' got his dummed little teeth fastened in her dress, an' shea-hyperin' around haff crazy, and a-screamin' every jump, so's't I hedto just grab her, an' hold her till I could get the blasted snakeoff, --harmless, y' know, but got hooked teeth, an' not a lick o'sense, --an' he kinder quirled around my arm, an' I nacherally tore himto ribbins a-gittin' of him off. An' then she sort o' dropped off, an'when she come to, I was a-rubbin' her hands an' temples. Wa'n't that afunny interduction?" "It's very interesting, " said I; "go on. " "W'l you remember ol' Doc Maxfield?" said Bill, well started on areminiscence. "Wal, he come along, an' said it was the worst case ofcollapse, whatever that means, that he ever see--her lips an' hands an'chin all a-tremblin', an' flighty as a loon. Wal, after that I used totake her around some, an' her folks objected becuz I was ignorant, an'she learnt me some things, an' bein' strong an' a good dancer an' purtygood-lookin' she kind o' forgot about my failin's, an' we was married. Her folks said she'd throwed herself away; but I could buy an' sell thehull set of 'em now!" This seemed conclusive as to the merits of the case, and I told him asmuch. "W'l Josie was born an' growed up, " continued Bill, "an' it's her Istarted to tell about, wa'n't it? She was allus a cute little thing, an'early she got this art business in her head. She'd read about fellersthat had got to be great by paintin' an' carvin', an' it made her wildto do the same thing. Wa'n't there a feller that pulled hair outer thecat to paint Injuns with? Yes, I thought they was; I allus thought theycould paint theirselves good enough; but that story an' some others sheread an' read when she was a little gal, an' she was allus a-paintin'an' makin' things with clay. She took a prize at the county fair whenshe was fourteen, with a picter of Washin'ton crossin' theDelaware--three dollars, by gum! An' then we hed to give her lessons;an' they wasn't any one thet knew anything around here, she said, an'she went to Chicago. An' I went in to visit her when she hedn't benthere more'n six weeks, on an excursion one convention time, an' I foundher all tore up, a good deal as her ma was with the blue racer, --I don'tthink she's ever ben the same light-hearted little gal sence, --an' fromthere I took her to New York; an' there she fell in with a nice womanthat was awful good to her, an' they went to Europe, an' it cost a heap. An' you may've noticed thet Josie knows a pile more'n the other womenhere?" I admitted that this had occurred to me. "W'l, she was allus apt to take her head with her, " said Bill, "but thistravelin' has fixed her like a hoss thet's ben druv in Chicago: nothin'feazes her, street-cars, brass bands, circuses, overhead trains--it'sall the same to her, she's seen 'em all. Sometimes I git the notion thatshe'd enjoy things more if she hadn't seen so dum many of 'em an' somuch better ones, y' know! Wal, after she'd ben over there a long time, she wrote she was a-comin' home; an' we was tickled to death. Only I wassurprised by her writin' that she wanted us to take all them old pictersof hern, and put 'em out of sight! An' if you'll b'lieve it, she won'ttalk picters nor make any sence she got back--only, jest after she gotback, she said she didn't see any use o' her goin' on dobbin' goodcanvas up with good paint, an' makin' nothin' but poor picters; an' shecried some. .. . I thought it was sing'lar that this art business that shethought was the only thing thet'd ever make her happy was the only thingI ever see her cry about. " "It's the way, " said I, "with a great many of our cherished hopes. " "W'l, anyhow, you can see thet it's the wrong thing to put as much timean' money into fixin' a child up f'r a different kind o' life as we hev, an' then keep her on a farm out here. An' thet's why I want you to helpthis sale through, an' bring influence to bear on her. I give up; I'mall in. " To me Bill seemed entirely in the right. The new era made it absurd forthe Trescotts to use their land longer as a farm. Lattimore was changingdaily. The streets were gashed with trenches for gas- and water-mains;piled-up materials for curbing, paving, office buildings, new hotels, and all sorts of erections made locomotion a peril; but we were happy. The water company was organized in our office, the gas andelectric-light company in Cornish's; but every spout led into the samebin. Mr. Hinckley had induced some country dealers who owned a line of localgrain-houses to remove to Lattimore and put up a huge terminal elevatorfor the handling of their trade. Captain Tolliver had been for a longtime working upon a project for developing a great water-power, bytunneling across a bend in the river, and utilizing the fall. Thebuilding of the elevator attracted the attention of a company ofRochester millers, and almost before we knew it their forces had beenadded to ours, and the tunnel was begun, with the certainty that atwo-thousand-barrel mill would be ready to grind the wheat from theelevator as soon as the flume began carrying water. This tunnel cutthrough an isthmus between the Brushy Creek valley and the river, andbrought to bear on our turbines the head from a ten-mile loop of shoalsand riffles. It opened into the gorge near the southern edge of LynhurstPark, and crossed the Trescott farm. So it was that Bill awoke one dayto the fact that his farm was coveted by divers people, who saw in hisfields and feed-yards desirable sites for railway tracks, mills, factories, and the cottages of a manufacturing suburb. This it was thathad put the Captain, like a blood-hound, on his trial, to the end thathe was run to earth in my office, and made his appeal for help inmanaging Josie. "There she comes now, " said he. "Labor with her, won't yeh?" "Bring her with us to the hotel, " said I, "to take dinner. If my wifeand Elkins can't fix the thing, no one can. " So we five dined together, and after dinner discussed the Trescottcrisis. Bill put the case, with all a veteran dealer's logic, in itsfinancial aspects. "But we don't want to be rich, " said Josie. "What've we ben actin' all these years like we have for, then?" inquiredBill. "Seem's if I'd been lab'rin' under a mistake f'r some time past. When your ma an' me was a-roughin' it out there in the old log-house, an' she a-lookin' out at the Feb'uary stars through the holes in theroof, a-holdin' you, a little baby in bed, we reckoned we was a-doin' ofit to sort o' better ourselves in a property way. Wouldn't you'a'thought so, Jim?" "Well, " said Mr. Elkins, with an air of judicial perpension, "if you hadasked me about it, I should have said that, if you wanted to stay poor, you could have held your own better by staying in Pleasant ValleyTownship as a renter. This was no place to come to if you wanted toconserve your poverty. " "But, pa, we're not adapted to town life and towns, " urged Josie. "I'mnot, and you are not, and as for mamma, she'll never be contented. Oh, Mr. Elkins, why did you come out here, making us all fortunes which wehaven't earned, and upsetting everything?" "Now, don't blame me, Josie, " Jim protested. "You ought to consider thefallacy of the _post hoc, propter hoc_ argument. But to return to thepoint under discussion. If you could stay there, a rural Amaryllis, sporting in Arcadian shades, having seen you doing it once or twice, Icouldn't argue against it, it's so charmingly becoming. " "If that were all the argument--" began Josie. "It's the most important one--to my mind, " said Jim, resuming thediscussion, "and you fail on that point; for you can't live in that waylong. If you don't sell, the Development Company will condemn groundsfor railway tracks and switch-yards; you'll find your fields andmeadows all shot to pieces; and your house will be surrounded bywarehouses, elevators, and factories. Your larks and bobolinks will bescared off by engines and smokestacks, and your flowers spoiled withsoot. Don't parley with fate, but cash in and put your winnings in somesafe investment. " "Once I thought I couldn't stay on the old farm a day longer; but I feelotherwise now! What business has this 'progress' of yours to interfere?" "It pushes you out of the nest, " answered Jim. "It gives you the chanceof your lives. You can come out into Lynhurst Park Addition, and buildyour house near the Barslow and Elkins dwellings. We've got abouteverything there--city water, gas, electric light, sewers, steam heatfrom the traction plant, beautiful view, lots on an established grade--" "Don't, don't!" said Josie. "It sounds like the advertisements in the_Herald_. " "Well, I was just leading up to a statement of what we lack, " continuedJim. "It's the artistic atmosphere. We need a dash of the culture ofParis and Dresden and the place where they have the dinky littlewindmills which look so nice on cream-pitchers, but wouldn't do for oneof our farmers a minute. Come out and supply our lack. You owe it to thegreat cause of the amelioration of local savagery; and in view of mydeclaration of discipleship, and the effective way in which I havealways upheld the standard of our barbarism, I claim that you owe it tome. " "I've abandoned the brush. " "Take it up again. " "I have made a vow. " "Break it!" She refused to yield, but was clearly yielding. Alice and I showedTrescott, on a plat, the place for his new home. He was quite taken withthe idea, and said that ma would certainly be tickled with it. Josie sat apart with Mr. Elkins, in earnest converse, for a long time. She looked frequently at her father, Jim constantly at her. Mr. Cornishdropped in for a little while, and joined us in presenting the case forremoval. While he was there the girl seemed constrained, and not quiteso fully at her ease; and I could detect, I thought, the old tendency toscrutinize his face furtively. When he went away, she turned to Jim moreintimately than before, and almost promised that she would become hisneighbor in Lynhurst. After the Trescotts' carriage had come and takenthem away, Jim told us that it was for her father, and the temptationsof idleness in the town, that Miss Trescott feared. "This fairy-godmother business, " said he, "ain't what the prospectusmight lead one to expect. It has its drawbacks. Bill is going to cash inall right, and I think it's for the best; but, Al, we've got to takecare of the old man, and see that he doesn't go up in the air. " CHAPTER XIII. A Sitting or Two in the Game with the World and Destiny. Our game at Lattimore was one of those absorbing ones in which thesunlight of next morning sifts through the blinds before the players areaware that midnight is past. Day by day, deal by deal, it went on, cardfollowed card in fateful fall upon the table, and we who sat in, andplayed the World and Destiny with so pitifully small a pile of chips atthe outset, saw the World and Destiny losing to us, until our handscould scarcely hold, our eyes hardly estimate, the high-piled stacks ofcounters which were ours. We saw the yellowing groves and brown fields of our first autumn; weheard the long-drawn, wavering, mounting, falling, persistent howl ofthe thresher among the settings of hive-shaped stacks; we saw the loadsof red and yellow corn at the corn-cribs, --as men at the board of thegreen cloth hear the striking of the hours. And we heeded them aslittle. The cries of southing wild-fowl heralded the snow; winter camefor an hour or so, and melted into spring; and some of us looked up fromour hands for a moment, to note the fact that it was the anniversary ofthat aguish day when three of us had first taken our seats at the table:and before we knew it, the dust and heat and summer clouds, like thatwhich lightened over the fete in the park, admonished us that we werefar into our second year. And still shuffle, cut, deal, trick, and handfollowed each other, and with draw and bluff and showdown we played theWorld and Destiny, and playing won, and saw our stacks of chips growhigher and higher, as our great and absorbing game went on. Moreover, while we won and won, nobody seemed to lose. Josie spoke thatnight of fortunes which people had not earned; but surely they werecreated somehow; and as the universe, when the divine fiat had formedthe world, was richer, rather than poorer, so, we felt, must thesevalues so magically growing into our fortunes be good, rather than evil, and honestly ours, so far as we might be able to secure them toourselves. I said as much to Jim one day, at which he smiled, andremarked that if we got to monkeying with the ethics of the trade, piracy would soon be a ruined business. "Better, far better keep the lookout sweeping the horizon for sails, "said he, "and when one appears, serve out the rum and gunpowder to thecrew, and stand by to lower away the boats for a boarding-party!" I am afraid I have given the impression that our life at this time wassolely given over to cupidity and sordidness; and that idea I may not beable to remove. Yet I must try to do so. We were in the game to win; butour winnings, present and prospective, were not in wealth only. Tosurmount obstacles; to drive difficulties before us like scatteringsparrows; to see a town marching before us into cityhood; to feelourselves the forces working through human masses so mightily that, forhundreds of miles about us, social and industrial factors were compelledto readjust themselves with reference to us; to be masters; tocreate--all these things went into our beings in thrilling and dizzyingpulsations of a pleasure which was not ignoble. For instance, let us take the building of the Lattimore & Great WesternRailway. Before Mr. Elkins went to Lattimore this line had been surveyedby the coöperation of Mr. Hinckley, Mr. Ballard, the president of theopposition bank, and some others. It was felt that there was little realcompetition among the railways centering there, and the L. & G. W. Wasdesigned as a hint to them of a Lattimore-built connection with theHalliday system, then a free-lance in the transportation field, andready to make rates in an independent and competitive way. The AngusFalls extension brought this system in, but too late to do the goodexpected; for Mr. Halliday, in his dealings with us, convinced us of thetruth of the rumors that he had brought the other roads to terms, andwas a free-lance no longer. Month by month the need of real competitionin our carrying trade grew upon us. Rates accorded to other cities onour commercial fighting line we could not get, in spite of the mostpersistent efforts. In the offices of presidents and general managers, in St. Louis, Chicago, St. Paul and Minneapolis, Kansas City, Omaha andNew York we were received by suave princes of the highways, who eachblandly assured us that his road looked with especial favor upon ourtown, and that our representations should receive the most solicitousattention. But the word of promise was ever broken to the hope. After one of these embassies the syndicate held a meeting in Cornish'selegant offices on the ground-floor of the new "Hotel Elkins" building. We sent Giddings away to prepare an optimistic news-story forto-morrow's _Herald_, and an editorial leader based upon it, both ofwhich had been formulated among us before going into executive sessionon the state of the nation. Hinckley, who had an admirable power ofseeing the crux of a situation, was making a rather grave prognosis forus. "If we can't get rates which will let us into a broader territory, wemay as well prepare for reverses, " said he. "Foreign cement comes almostto our doors, in competition with ours. Wheat and live-stock go fromwithin twenty miles to points five hundred miles away. Who is furnishingthe brick and stone for the new Fairchild court-house and the bignormal-school buildings at Angus Falls? Not our quarries and kilns, butothers five times as far away. If you want to figure out the reason ofthis, you will find it in nothing else in the world but the freightrates. " "It's a confounded outrage, " said Cornish. "Can't we get help from thelegislature?" "I understand that some action is expected next winter, " said I;"Senator Conley had in here the other day a bill he has drawn; and itseems to me we should send a strong lobby down at the proper time insupport of it. " "Ye-e-s, " drawled Jim, "but I believe in still stronger measures; andrather than bother with the legislature, owned as it is by the roads, I'd favor writing cuss-words on the water-tanks, or going up the track apiece and makin' faces at one of their confounded whistling-posts orcattle-guards--or something real drastic like that!" Cornish, galled, as was I, by this irony, flushed crimson, and rose. "The situation, " said he, "instead of being a serious one, as I havebelieved, seems merely funny. This conference may as well end. Havingtaken on things here under the impression that this was to be a city; itseems that we are to stay a village. It occurs to me that it's time tostand from under! Good-evening!" "Wait!" said Hinckley. "Don't go, Cornish; it isn't as bad as that!" As he spoke he laid his hand on Cornish's arm, and I saw that he waspale. He felt more keenly than did I the danger of division and strifeamong us. "Yes, Mr. Hinckley, " said Jim, as Cornish sat down again, "it _is_ asbad as that! This thing amounts to a crisis. For one, I don't propose toadopt the 'stand-from-under' tactics. They make an unnecessary disasteras certain as death; but if we all stand under and lift, we can win morethan we've ever thought. In the legislature they hold the cards and canbeat us. It's no use fooling with that unless we seek martyrs' deaths inthe bankruptcy courts. But there is a way to meet these men, and that isby bringing to our aid their greatest rival. " "Do you mean--" said Hinckley. "I mean Avery Pendleton and the Pendleton system, " replied Elkins. "Imean that we've got to meet them on their own ground. Pendleton won'tdeclare war on the Halliday combination by building in here, but thereis no reason why we can't build to him, and that's what I propose to do. We'll take the L. & G. W. , swing it over to the east from the Elk Forkup, make a junction with Pendleton's Pacific Division, and, in one weekafter we get trains running, we'll have the freight combine here shot sofull of holes that it won't hold corn-stalks! That's what we'll do:we'll do a little rate-making ourselves; and we'll make this danger thebest thing that ever happened to us. Do you see?" Cornish saw, sooner than any one else. As he spoke, Jim had unrolled amap, and pointed out the places as he referred to them, like a general, as he was, outlining the plan of a battle. He began this speech in thatquiet, convincing way of his, only a little elevated above the sarcasmof a moment before. As he went on, his voice deepened, his eye gleamed, and in spite of his colloquialisms, which we could not notice, his wordsbegan to thrill us like potent oratory. We felt all that ecstasy ofbuoyant and auspicious rebellion which animated Hotspur the night hecould have plucked bright honor from the pale-faced moon. At Jim'sfinal question, Cornish, forgetting his pique, sprang to the map, swepthis finger along the line Elkins had described, followed the main ribsof Pendleton's great gridiron, on which the fat of half a dozen stateslay frying, on to terminals on lakes and rivers; and as he turned hisblack eyes upon us, we knew from the fire in them that he saw. "By heavens!" he cried, "you've hit it, Elkins! And it can be done! Fromto-night, no more paper railroads for us; it must be grading-gangs andties, and steel rails!" So, also, there was good fighting when Cornish wired from New York forElkins and me to come to his aid in placing our Lattimore & GreatWestern bonds. Of course, we never expected to build this railway withour own funds. For two reasons, at least: it is bad form to do eccentricthings, and we lacked a million or two of having the money. The linewith buildings and rolling stock would cost, say, twelve thousanddollars per mile. Before it could be built we must find some one whowould agree to take its bonds for at least that sum. As no one would payquite par for bonds of a new and independent road, we must add, say, three thousand dollars per mile for discount. Moreover, while thebuilding of the line was undertaken from motives of self-preservation, there seemed to be no good reason why we should not organize aconstruction company to do the actual work of building, and that at aprofit. That this profit might be assured, something like three thousanddollars per mile more must go in. Of course, whoever placed the bondswould be asked to guarantee the interest for two or three years; hence, with two thousand more for that and good measure, we made up ourproposed issue of twenty thousand dollars per mile of first-mortgagebonds, to dispose of which "the former member of the firm of Lusch, Carskaddan & Mayer" was revisiting the glimpses of Wall Street, andtesting the strength of that mighty influence which the _Herald_ hadattributed to him. "You've just _got_ to win, " said Giddings, who was admitted to thesecret of Cornish's embassy, "not only because Lattimore and all thecitizens thereof will be squashed in the event of your slipping up; but, what is of much more importance, the _Herald_ will be laid in a lieabout your Wall Street pull. Remember that when foes surround thee!" When we joined him, Cornish admitted that he was fairly well"surrounded. " He had failed to secure the aid of Barr-Smith's friends, who said that, with the street-car system and the cement works, they hadquite eggs enough in the Lattimore basket for their present purposes. Infact, he had felt out to blind ends nearly all the promising burrowssupposedly leading to the strong boxes of the investing public, of whichhe had told us. He accounted for this lack of success on the verynatural theory that the Halliday combination had found out about hismission, and was fighting him through its influence with the banks andtrust companies. So he had done at last what Jim had advised him to doat first--secured an appointment with the mighty Mr. Pendleton; and, somewhat humbled by unsuccess, had telegraphed for us to come on andhelp in presenting the thing to that magnate. Whom, being fenced off by all sorts of guards, messengers, clerks, andsecretaries, we saw after a pilgrimage through a maze of offices. He hadnot the usual features which make up an imposing appearance; but commandflowed from him, and authority covered him as with a mantle. We knewthat he possessed and exerted the power to send prosperity in thischannel, or inject adversity into that, as a gardener directs waterthrough his trenches, and this knowledge impressed us. He was ratherthin; but not so much so as his sharp, high nose, his deep-set eyes, andhis bony chin at first sight seemed to indicate. Whenever he spoke, hisnostrils dilated, and his gray eyes said more than his lips uttered. Hewas courteous, with a sort of condensed courtesy--the shorthand ofceremoniousness. He turned full upon us from his desk as we entered, rose and met us as his clerk introduced us. "Mr. Barslow, I'm happy to meet you; and you also, Mr. Cornish. Mr. Wilson 'phoned about your enterprise just now. Mr. Elkins, " as he tookJim's hand, "I have heard of you also. Be seated, gentlemen. I havegiven you a time appropriation of thirty minutes. I hope you will excuseme for mentioning that at the end of that period my time will be nolonger my own. Kindly explain what it is you desire of me, and why youthink that I can have any interest in your project. " And, with a judgment trained in the valuing of men, he turned to Jim asour leader. "If our enterprise doesn't commend itself to your judgment in twentyminutes, " said Jim, with a little smile, and in much the same tone thathe would have used in discussing a cigar, "there'll be no need ofwasting the other ten; for it's perfectly plain. I'll expedite mattersby skipping what we desire, for the most part, and telling you why wethink the Pendleton system ought to desire the same thing. Our plan, ina word, is to build a hundred and fifty miles of line, and from itdeliver two full train-loads of through east-bound freight per day toyour road, and take from you a like amount of west-bound tonnage, notone pound of which can be routed over your lines at present. " Mr. Pendleton smiled. "A very interesting proposition, Mr. Elkins, " said he; "my business israilroading, and I am always glad to perfect myself in the knowledge ofit. Make it plain just how this can be done, and I shall consider myhalf-hour well expended. " Then began the fateful conversation out of which grew the building ofthe Lattimore & Great Western Railway. Jim walked to the map whichcovered one wall of the room, and dropped statement after statement intothe mind of Pendleton like round, compact bullets of fact. It was thebest piece of expository art imaginable. Every foot of the road wasdescribed as to gradients, curves, cuts, fills, trestles, bridges, andlocal traffic. Then he began with Lattimore; and we who breathed innothing but knowledge of that city and its resources were given newlight as to its shipments and possibilities of growth. He showed how theproducts of our factories, the grain from our elevators, the live-stockfrom our yards, and the meats from our packing-houses could be sentstreaming over the new road and the lines of Pendleton. Then he turned to our Commercial Club, and showed that the merchants, both wholesale and retail, of Lattimore were welded together in itsmembership, in such wise that their merchandise might be routed from thegreat cities over the proposed track. He piled argument on argument. Hehammered down objection after objection before they could be suggested. He met Mr. Pendleton in the domain of railroad construction andmanagement, and showed himself familiar with the relative values ofPendleton's own lines. "Your Pacific Division, " said he, "must have disappointed some of theexpectations with which it was built. Its earnings cannot, in view ofthe distance they fall below those of your other lines, be quitesatisfactory to you. Give us the traffic agreement we ask; and your nextreport after we have finished our line will show the Pacific Divisiondoing more than its share in the great showing of revenue per mile whichthe Pendleton system always makes. I see that my twenty minutes is aboutup. I hope I have made good our promises as to showing cause for comingto you with our project. " Mr. Pendleton, after a moment's thought, said: "Have you made anengagement for lunch?" We had not. He turned to the telephone, and called for a number. "Is this Mr. Wade's office?. .. Yes, if you please. .. . Is this Mr. Wade?. .. This is Pendleton talking to you. .. . Yes, Pendleton. .. . Thereare some gentlemen in my office, Mr. Wade, whom I want you to meet, andI should be glad if you could join us at lunch at the club. .. . Well, can't you call that off, now?. .. Say, at one-thirty. .. . Yes. .. . Verykind of you. .. . Thanks! Good-by. " Having made his arrangements with Mr. Wade, he hung up the telephone, and pushed an electric button. A young man from an outer officeresponded. "Tell Mr. Moore, " said Pendleton to him, "that he will have to see thegentlemen who will call at twelve--on that lake terminal matter--he willunderstand. And see that I am not disturbed until after lunch. .. . And, say, Frank! See if Mr. Adams can come in here--at once, please. " Mr. Adams, who turned out to be some sort of a freight expert, came in, and the rest of the interview was a bombardment of questions, in whichwe all took turns as targets. When we went to lunch we felt that Mr. Pendleton had possessed himself of all we knew about our enterprise, andfiled the information away in some vast pigeon-hole case with his owngreat stock of knowledge. We met Mr. Wade over an elaborate lunch. He said, as he shook hands withCornish, that he believed they had met somewhere, to which Cornish boweda frigid assent. Mr. Wade was the head of The Allen G. Wade TrustCompany, and seemed in a semi-comatose condition, save when cates, wine, or securities were under discussion. He addressed me as "Mr. Corning, " and called Cornish "Atkins, " and once in a while opened hismouth to address Jim by name, but halted, with a distressful look, atthe realization of the fact that he could not remember names enough togo around. He made an appointment with me for the party for the nextmorning. "If you will come to my office before you call on Mr. Wade, " said Mr. Pendleton, "I will have a memorandum prepared of what we will do withyou in the way of a traffic agreement: it may be of some use indetermining the desirability of your bonds. I'm very glad to have metyou, gentlemen. When Lattimore gets into my world--by which I mean oursystem and connections--I hope to visit the little city which has sostrong a business community as to be able to send out such a committeeas yourselves; good-afternoon!" "Well, " said I, as we went toward our hotel, "this looks like progress, doesn't it?" "I sha'n't feel dead sure, " said Jim, "until the money is in bank, subject to the check of the construction company. But doesn't it lookjuicy, right now! Why, boys, with that traffic agreement we can get themoney anywhere--on the prairie, out at sea--anywhere under the shiningsun! They can't beat us. What do you say, Cornish? Will, your friendWade jar loose, or shall we have to seek further?" "He'll snap at your bonds now, " said Cornish, rather glumly, I thought, considering the circumstances; "but don't call him a friend of mine!Why, damn him, not a week ago he turned me out of his office, sayingthat he didn't want to look into any more Western railway schemes! Andnow he says he believes we've met before!" This seemed to strike Mr. Elkins as the best practical joke he had everheard of; and Cornish suggested that for a man to stop in Homericlaughter on Broadway might be pleasant for him, but was embarrassing tohis companions. By this time Cornish himself was better-natured. Jimtook charge of our movements, and commanded us to a dinner with him, inthe nature of a celebration, with a theater-party afterward. "Let us, " said he, "hear the chimes at midnight, or even after, if weget buncoed doing it. Who cares if we wind up in the police court! We'vedone the deed; we've made our bluff good with Halliday and his gang ofhighwaymen; and I feel like taking the limit off, if it lifts the roof!Al, hold your hand over my mouth or I shall yell!" "Come into my parlor, and yell for me, " said Cornish, "and you may do myturn in police court, too. Come in, and behave yourself!" I began writing a telegram to my wife, apprising her of our good luck. The women in our circle knew our hopes, ambitions, and troubles, as thecourt ladies know the politics of the realm, and there were anxioushearts in Lattimore. "I'm going down to the telegraph-office with this, " said I; "can I takeyours, too?" When I handed the messages in, the man who received them insisted on myreading them over with him to make sure of correct transmission. Therewas one to Mr. Hinckley, one to Mr. Ballard, and two to Miss JosephineTrescott. One ran thus, "Success seems assured. Rejoice with me. J. B. C. " The other was as follows: "In game between Railway Giants andCountry Jakes here to-day, visiting team wins. Score, 9 to 0. Barslow, catcher, disabled. Crick in neck looking at high buildings. Have Mrs. B. Prepare porous plaster for Saturday next. Sell Halliday stock short, andbuy L. & G. W. And in name all things good and holy don't tell Giddings!J. R. E. " CHAPTER XIV. In which we Learn Something of Railroads, and Attend Some RemarkableChristenings. And so, in due time, it came to pass that, our Aladdin having rubbed themagic ring with which his Genius had endowed him, there came, out ofsome thunderous and smoky realm, peopled with swart kobolds, and lit bythe white fire of gushing cupolas and dazzling billets, a train ofcarriages, drawn by a tamed volcanic demon, on a wonderful way of steel, armed strongly to deliver us from the Castle Perilous in which we werebesieged by the Giants. The way was marvelously prepared by theodoliteand level, by tented camps of men driving, with shouts and crackingwhips, straining teams in circling mazes, about dark pits on grassyhillsides, and building long, straight banks of earth across swales; byhuge machines with iron fists thrusting trunks of trees into the earth;by mighty creatures spinning great steel cobwebs over streams. At last, a short branch of steel shot off from Pendleton's PacificDivision, grew daily longer and longer, pushed across the levelearth-banks, the rows of driven tree-trunks, and the spun steel cobwebs, through the dark pits, nearer and nearer to Lattimore, and at lastentered the beleaguered city, amid rejoicings of the populace. Most ofwhom knew but vaguely the facts of either siege or deliverance; but whoshouted, and tossed their caps, and blew the horns and beat the drums, because the _Herald_ in a double-leaded editorial assured them that thiswas _the_ event for which Lattimore had waited to be raised to completeparity with her envious rivals. Furthermore, Captain Tolliver, magniloquently enthusiastic, took charge of the cheering, artillery, andband-music, and made a tumultuous success of it. "He told me, " said Giddings, "that when the people of the North can bebrought for a moment into that subjection which is proper for themasses, 'they make devilish good troops, suh, devilish good troops!'" And so it also happened that Mr. Elkins found himself the president of areal railway, with all the perquisites that go therewith. Among thesebeing the power to establish town-sites and give them names. The formerfunction was exercised according to the principles usually governingtown-site companies, and with ends purely financial in view. The latterwas elevated to the dignity of a ceremony. The rails were scarcely laid, when President Elkins invited a choice company to go with him over theline and attend the christening of the stations. He convinced the restof us of the wisdom of this, by showing us that it would awaken localinterest along the line, and prepare the way for the auction sales oflots the next week. "It's advertising of the choicest kind, " said he. "Giddings will sow itfar and wide in the press dispatches, and it will attract attention; andattention is what we want. We'll start early, run to the stationPendleton has called Elkins Junction, at the end of the line, lie overfor a couple of hours, and come home, bestowing names as we come. Helpme select the party, and we'll consider it settled. " As the train was to be a light one, consisting of a buffet-car and aparlor-car, the party could not be very large. The officers of the road, Mr. Adams, who was general traffic manager, and selected by thebondholders, and Mr. Kittrick, the general manager, who was found inKansas City by Jim, went down first as a matter of course. CaptainTolliver and his wife, the Trescotts, the Hinckleys, with Mr. Cornishand Giddings, were put down by Jim; and to these we added theinfluential new people, the Alexanders, who came with the cement-works, of which Mr. Alexander was president, Mr. Densmore, who controlled thelargest of the elevators, and Mr. Walling, whose mill was the first toutilize the waters of our power-tunnel, and who was the visiblerepresentative of millions made in the flouring trade. Smith, ourarchitect, was included, as was Cecil Barr-Smith, sent out by hisbrother to be superintendent of the street-railway, and looking upon thething in the light of an exile, comforted by the beautiful nativeprincess Antonia. We left Macdonald out, because he always called theyoung man "Smith, " and could not be brought to forget an earlyimpression that he and the architect were brothers; besides, said Jim, Macdonald was afraid of the cars as he was of the hyphen, being most ofthe time on the range with the cattle belonging to himself and Hinckley. Which, being interpreted, meant that Mr. Macdonald would not care to go. Mr. Ballard was invited on account of his early connection with the L. &G. W. Project, although he was holding himself more and more aloof fromthe new movements, and held forth often upon the value of conservatism. Miss Addison, who was related to the Lattimore family, was commissionedto invite the old General, who very unexpectedly consented. His sonWill, as solicitor for the railway company and one of the directors, wasto be one of us if he could. These with their wives and some invitedguests from near-by towns made up the party. We were well acquainted with each other by this time, so that it wasquite like a family party or a gathering of old friends. CaptainTolliver was austerely polite to General Lattimore, whose refusal toconcern himself with the question as to whether our city grew to ahundred thousand or shrunk to five he accounted for on the ground that aman who had led hired ruffians to trample out the liberty of a bravepeople must be morally warped. The General came, tall and spare as ever, wearing his beautiful whitemoustache and imperial as a Frenchman would wear the cross of the Legionof Honor. He was quite unable to sympathize with our lot-selling, ourplenitude of corporations, or our feverish pushing of "developments. "But the building of the railway attracted him. He looked back at thenew-made track as we flew along; and his eyes flashed under the bushywhite brows. He sat near Josie, and held her in conversation much of theoutward trip; but Jim he failed to appreciate, and treatedindifferently. "He is History incarnate, " said Mrs. Tolliver, "and cannot rejoice inthe passing of so much that is a part of himself. " Giddings said that this was probably true; and under the circumstanceshe couldn't blame him. He, Giddings, would feel a little sore to seethings which were a part of _himself_ going out of date. It was anatural feeling. Whereupon Mrs. Tolliver addressed her remarks verypointedly elsewhere; and Antonia Hinckley privately admonished Giddingsnot to be mean; and Giddings sought the buffet and smoked. Here I joinedhim, and over our cigars he confessed to me that life to him was anincreasing burden, rapidly becoming intolerable. We had noticed, I informed him, an occasional note of gloom in hiseditorials. This ought not to be, now that the real danger to ourinterests seemed to be over, and we were going forward so wonderfully. To which he replied that with the gauds of worldly success he had noconcern. The editorials I criticised were joyous and ebullientlyhilarious compared with those which might be expected in the future. Ifwe could find some blithesome ass to pay him for the _Herald_ enoughmoney to take him out of our scrambled Bedlam of a town, bring the idioton, and he (Giddings) would arrange things so we could have our toutingdone as we liked it! Now the _Herald_ had become a very valuable property, and of all menGiddings had the least reason to speak despitefully of Lattimore; andhis frame of mind was a mystery to me, until I remembered that there wassupposed to be something amiss between him and Laura Addison. Craftilyleading the conversation to the point where confidences were easy, I wasrewarded by a passionate disclosure on his part, which would haveamounted to an outburst, had it not been restrained by the presence ofCornish, Hinckley, and Trescott at the other end of the compartment. "Oh, pshaw!" said I, "you've no cause for despair. On your own showing, there's every reason for you to hope. " "You don't know the situation, Barslow, " he insisted, shaking his headgloomily, "and there's no use in trying to tell you. She's too exaltedin her ideals ever to accept me. She's told me things about thequalities she must have in the one who should be nearest to her thatjust simply shut me out; and I haven't called since. Oh, I tell you, Barslow, sometimes I feel as if I could--Yes, sir, it'll be accepted asthe best piece of railroad building for years!" I was surprised at the sudden transition, until I saw that our fellowpassengers were crowding to our end of the car in response to theconductor's announcement that we were coming into Elkins Junction. Imade a note of Giddings's state of mind, as the subject of a conferencewith Jim. The _Herald_ was of too much importance to us for this to beneglected. The disciple of Iago must in some way be restored to hisnormal view of things. I could not help smiling at the vast differencebetween his view of Laura and mine. I, wrongly perhaps, thought heraffectedly pietistic, with ideals likely to be yielding in spirit if theletter were preserved. Elkins Junction was a platform, a depot, an eating-house, and a Y; andit was nothing else. "We've come up here, " said Jim, "to show you probably the smallest townin the state, and the only one in the world named after me. We wanted toshow you the whole line, and Mr. Schwartz felt as if he'd prefer to turnhis engine around for the return trip. The last two towns we camethrough, and hence the first two going back, are old places. The thirdstation is a new town, and Conductor Corcoran will take us back there, where we'll unveil the name of the station, and permit the people toknow where they live. While we're doing the sponsorial act, lunch willbe prepared and ready for us to discuss during the next run. " On the way back there was a stir of suppressed excitement among thepassengers. "It's about this name, " said Miss Addison to her seat-mate. "The town ison the shore of Mirror Lake, and they say it will be an important one, and a summer resort; and no one knows what the name is to be but Mr. Elkins. " "Really, a very odd affair!" said Miss Allen, of Fairchild, Antonia'scollege friend. "It makes a social function of the naming of a town!" "Yes, " said Mr. Elkins, "and it is one of the really enduring things wecan do. Long after the memory of every one here is departed, thesevillages will still bear the names we give them to-day. If there's anytruth in the belief that some people have, that names have an influencefor good or evil, the naming of the towns may be important as buildingthe railroad. " I was sitting with Antonia. Miss Allen and Captain Tolliver were withus, our faces turned toward one another. General Lattimore, with Josieand her father, was on the opposite side of the car. Most of the companywere sitting or standing near, and the conversation was quite general. "Oh, it's like a romance!" half whispered Antonia to us. "I envy you menwho build roads and make towns. Look at Mr. Elkins, Sadie, as he standsthere! He is master of everything; to me he seems as great as Napoleon!" She neither blushed nor sought to conceal from us her adoration for Jim. It was the day of his triumph, and a fitting time to acknowledge hiskinghood; and her admission that she thought him the greatest, the mostexcellent of men did not surprise me. Yet, because he was older thanshe, and had never put himself in a really loverlike attitude towardher, I thought it was simply an exalted girlish regard, and not at allwhat we usually understand by an affair of the heart. Moreover, at thattime such praise as she gave him would not have been thoughtextravagant in almost any social gathering in Lattimore. Let me confessthat to me it does not now seem so . .. Cecil Barr-Smith walked out andstood on the platform. General Lattimore was apparently thinking of the features of thesituation which had struck Antonia as romantic. "You young men, " said he, "are among the last of the city-builders androad-makers. My generation did these things differently. We went outwith arms in our hands, and hewed out spaces in savagery for homes. Youdon't seem to see it; but you are straining every nerve merely to shiftpeople from many places to one, and there to exploit them. You wind yourcoils about an inert mass, you set the dynamo of your power oforganization at work, and the inert mass becomes a great magnet. Peoplecome flying to it from the four quarters of the earth, and thefirst-comers levy tribute upon them, as the price of standing-room onthe magnet!" "I nevah hea'd the real merit and strength and safety of ouahreal-estate propositions bettah stated, suh!" said Captain Tolliverecstatically. Jim stood looking at the General with sober regard. "Go on, General, " said he. "Not only that, " went on the General, "but people begin forestalling thestanding-room, so as to make it scarcer. They gamble on the power of themagnet, and the length of time it will draw. They buy to-day and sellto-morrow; or cast up what they imagine they might sell for, and callthe increase profit. Then comes the time when the magnet ceases to draw, or the forestallers, having, in their greed, grasped more than they cankeep, offer too much for the failing market, and all at once the thingstops, and the dervish-dance ends in coma, in cold forms and stillhands, in misery and extinction!" There was a pause, during which the old soldier sat looking out of thewidow, no one else finding aught to say. Elkins remained standing, andonce or twice gave that little movement of the head which precedesspeech, but said nothing. Cornish smiled sardonically. Josie lookedanxiously at Jim, apprehensive as to how he would take it. At last itwas Ballard the conservative who broke silence. "I hope, General, " said he, "that our little movement won't develop intoa dervish-dance. Anyhow, you will join in our congratulations upon thecompletion of the railroad. You know you once did some railroad-buildingyourself, down there in Tennessee--I know, for I was there. And I'vealways taken an interest in track-laying ever since. " "So have I, " said the General; "that's what brought me out to-day. " "Oh, tell us about it, " said Josie, evidently pleased at the change ofsubject; "tell us about it, please. " "No, no!" he protested, "you may read it better in the histories, written by young fellows who know more about it than we who were there. You'll find, when you read it, that it was something like this: Grant'shost was over around Chattanooga, starving for want of means forcarrying in provisions. We were marching eastward to join him, when amessage came telling us to stop at Decatur and rebuild the railroad toNashville. So, without a thought that there was such a thing as animpossibility, we stopped--we seven or eight thousand common Americans, volunteer soldiers, picked at random from the legions of heroes whosaved liberty to the world--and without an engineering corps, withouttools or implements, with nothing except what any like number of oursoldiers had, we stopped and built the road. That is all. The rails hadbeen heated, and wound about trees and stumps. The cross-ties wereburned to heat the rails. The cars had been destroyed by fire, and theirwarped ironwork thrown into ditches. The engines lay in scrap-heaps atthe bottoms of ravines and rivers. The bridges were gone. Out of thechaos to which the structure had been resolved, there was nothing leftbut the road-bed. "When I think of what we did, I know that with liberty and intelligencemen with their naked hands could, in short space, re-create thedestroyed wealth of the world. We made tools of the scraps of iron andsteel we found along the line. We felled trees. We impressed littlesawmills and sawed the logs into timbers for bridges and cars. Out ofthe battle-scarred and march-worn ranks came creative and constructivegenius in such profusion as to astound us, who thought we knew them sowell. Those blue-coated fellows, enlisted and serving as food forpowder, and used to destruction, rejoiced in once more feeling thethrill there is in making things. " "Out of the ranks came millers, and ground the grain the foragersbrought in; came woodmen, and cut the trees; came sawyers, and sawed thelumber. We asked for blacksmiths; and they stepped from the ranks, andmade their own tools and the tools of the machinists. We called formachinists; and out of the ranks they stepped, and rebuilt the engines, and made the cars ready for the carpenters. When we wanted carpenters, out of the same ranks of common soldiers they walked, and made the cars. From the ranks came other men, who took the twisted rails, unwound themfrom the stumps and unsnarled them from one another, as women unwindyarn, and laid them down fit to carry our trains. And in forty days ourmessage went back to Grant that we had 'stopped and built the road, ' andthat our engines were even then drawing supplies to his hungry army. Such was the incomparable army which was commanded by that silent geniusof war; and to have been one of such an army is to have lived!" The withered old hand trembled, as the great past surged back throughhis mind. We all sat in silence; and I looked at Captain Tolliver, doubtful as to how he would take the old Union general's speech. Whatthe Captain's history had been none of us knew, except that he was aSoutherner. When the general ceased, Tolliver was sitting still, with noindication of being conscious of anything special in the conversation, except that a red spot burned in each dark cheek. As the necessity forspeech grew with the lengthening silence, he rose and faced GeneralLattimore. "Suh, " said he, "puhmit a man who was with the victohs of Manasses; whochahged with mo' sand than sense at Franklin; and who cried like a childaftah Nashville, and isn't ashamed of it, by gad! to offah his hand, andto say that he agrees with you, suh, in youah tribute to the soldiers ofthe wah, and honahs you, suh, as a fohmah foe, and a worthy one, and hehopes, a future friend!" Somehow, the Captain's swelling phrases, his sonorous allusions tohimself in the third person, had for the moment ceased to be ridiculous. The environment fitted the expression. The general grasped his hand andshook it. Then Ballard claimed the right, as one of the survivors ofFranklin, to a share in the reunion, and they at once removed the strainwhich had fallen upon us with the General's first speech, by relatingstories and fraternizing soldierwise, until Conductor Corcoran called inat the door, "Mystery Number One! All out for the christening!" As we gathered on the platform, we saw that the signboard on thestation-building, for the name of the town, had been put up, but wasveiled by a banner draped over it. Tents were pitched near, in whichpeople lived waiting for the lot-auction, that they might buy sites forshops and homes. The waters of the lake shone through the trees a fewrods away; and in imagination I could see the village of the future, sprinkled about over the beautiful shore. The future villagers gatherednear the platform; and when Jim stepped forward to make the speech ofthe occasion, he had a considerable audience. "Ladies and gentlemen, " said he, "our visit is for the purpose ofshowing the interest which the Lattimore & Great Western takes and willcontinue to take in the towns on its line, and to add a name to what, Inotice, has already become a local habitation. In conferring that name, we are aware that the future citizens of the place have claims upon us. So one has been selected which, as time passes, will grow more and morepleasant to your ears; and one which the person bestowing it regards asan honor to the town as high as could be conferred in a name. No stationon our lines could have greater claims upon our regard than thepossession of this name. And now, gentlemen--" Mr. Elkins removed his hat, and we all followed his example. Some onepulled a cord, the banner fell away, and the name was revealed. It was"JOSEPHINE. " The women looked at it, and turned their eyes on Josie, whoblushed rosily, and shrank back behind her father, who burst into a loudlaugh of unalloyed pleasure. "I propose three cheers for the town of Josephine, " went on Mr. Elkins, "and for the lady for whom it is named!" They were real cheers--good hearty ones; followed by an address, in thename of the town, by a bright young man who pushed forward and withsurprising volubility thanked President Elkins for his selection of thename, and closed with flowery compliments to the blushing Miss Trescott, whose identity Jim had disclosed by a bow. He was afterwards a thorn inour flesh in his practice as a personal-injury lawyer. At the time, however, we warmed to him, as under his leadership the dwellers in thetents and round about the waters of Mirror Lake all shook hands with Jimand Josie. Cornish stood with a saturnine smile on his face, and glared at some ofthe more pointed hits of the young lawyer. Cecil Barr-Smith beamedradiant pleasure, as he saw the evident linking in this public way ofJim's name and Josie's. Antonia stood close to Cecil's side, and chattedvivaciously to him--not with him; for her words seemed to have nocorrelation with his. "Quite like the going away of a bridal party!" said she with exaggeratedgayety, and with a little spitefulness, I thought. "Has any one anyrice?" "All aboard!" said Corcoran; and the joyful and triumphant party, withtheir outward intimacy and their inward warfare of passions and desires, rolled on toward "Mystery Number Two, " which was duly christened"Cornish, " and celebrated in champagne furnished by its godfather. "Don't you ever drink champagne?" said Cornish, as Josie declined topartake. "Never, " said she. "What, _never_?" he went on, Pinaforically. "My God!" thought I, "the assurance of the man!" And the palm-encircledalcove at Auriccio's, as it was wont so often to do, came across myvision, and shut out everything but the Psyche face in its ruddy halo, speeding by me into the street, and the vexed young man in the faultlessattire slowly following. Mystery Number Three was "Antonia, " a lovely little place in embryo;"Barslow" came next, followed by "Giddings" and "Tolliver. " We weretired of it when we reached "Hinckley, " platted on a farm owned byAntonia's father, and where we ceased to perform the ceremony ofunveiling. It was a memorable trip, ending with sunset and home. CaptainTolliver assisted General Lattimore to alight from the train, and theywent arm in arm up to the old General's home. That night, according to his wont, Jim came to smoke with me in the lateevening. "Let's take a car, " said he, "and go up and have a look at thehouses. " These were our new mansions up in Lynhurst Park Addition, now in processof erection. In the moonlight we could see them dimly, and at a littledistance they looked like masses of ruins--the second childhood ofhouses. A stranger could have seen, from the polished columns and thepiles of carved stone, that they were to be expensive and probablybeautiful structures. "What do you think of the General in the rôle of Cassandra?" asked Jim, as we sat in the skeleton room which was to be his library. "It struck me, " said I, "as a particularly artistic bit of croaking!" "The Captain says frequently, " said Jim, his cigar glowing like avariable star, "that opportunity knocks once. The General, I'm afraid, knocks all the time. But if it should turn out that he's right aboutthe--the--dervish-dance . .. It would be . .. To put it mildly . .. Ahorse on us, Al, wouldn't it?" I had no answer to this fanciful speech, and made none. Instead, I toldhim of Giddings's love-sickness. "The philosophy of Iago has broken down, " said he, "and the boy is sortof short-circuited. Antonia can take him in hand, and turn him out fullof confidence; and with that, I'll answer for the lady. That can befixed easy, and ought to be. Let's walk back. " "What was it he said?" he asked, as we parted. "'Coma, cold forms, stillhands, and extinction. ' Well, if the dervish-dance does wind up in thatsort of thing, it's only a short-cut to the inevitable. Those are prettyhouses up there; we'd have been astounded over them when we used to fishtogether on Beaver Creek;--but suppose they are? "'They say the Lion and the Lizard keep The Courts where Jamshyd gloried and drank deep; And Bahram, that great hunter--the Wild Ass Stamps o'er his Head, but cannot break his Sleep!' Good-night, Al!" CHAPTER XV. Some Affairs of the Heart Considered in their Relation to Dollars andCents. Antonia was sitting in a hammock. Josie and Alice were not far awaywatching Cecil Barr-Smith, who was wading into the lake to getwater-lilies for them, contrary to the ordinances of the city ofLattimore in such cases made and provided. The six were dawdling awayour time one fine Sunday in Lynhurst Park. I forgot to say Mr. Elkinsand myself were discussing affairs of state with Miss Hinckley. "He's such a ninny, " said Antonia. "Aren't all people when in his forlorn condition?" asked Jim. Antonia looked away at the clouds, and did not reply. "But if he had a morsel of the cynical philosophy he boasts of, " saidshe, "he could see. " "I don't know about that, " said Jim lazily, looking over at the othergroup; "a woman can conceal her feelings in such a case prettycompletely. " "I don't know about that, " echoed Antonia. "I wish I did; it wouldsimplify things. " "I believe, " said I, "that it's a simple enough matter for you to solveand manage as it is. " "But it's so absurd to bother with!" said she; "and what's the use?" "Doesn't it seem that way?" said Jim. "And yet you know we brought himhere for a definite purpose; and in his present state he can't makegood. Just read his editorial this morning: it would add gloom to theproceedings, read at a funeral. We want things whooped up, and he wantsto whoop 'em; but long screeds on 'The Sacred Right of Self-destruction'hurt things, and bring the paper into disrepute, and crowd outoptimistic matter that we desire. And as long as both families want thething brought about, and there is good reason to think that Laura willnot prove eternally immovable, I take it to be an important enoughmatter, from the standpoint of dollars and cents, for the exercise ofour diplomacy. " "Well, then, " said Antonia, "get the people together on some socialoccasion, and we'll try. " "I've thought, " said Jim, "of having a house-warming--as soon as theweather gets so that the very name of the function won't keep folksaway. My house is practically done, you know. " "Just the thing, " said Antonia. "There are cosy nooks and deep retreatsenough to make it a sort of labyrinth for the ensnaring of our victims. " "Isn't it a queer thing in language, " said Jim, "that these retreats arethe places where advances are made!" "Not when you consider, " said Antonia, "that retreats follow repulses. " "We ought to have the Captain and the General here, if this militaryconversation is to continue, " said I. "And here comes Cecil. Stop beforehe comes, or we shall never get through with the explanation of thejokes. " This remark elicited the laughter which the puns failed to provoke; forCecil was color-blind in all things relating to the American joke. Thehumor of _Punch_ appealed to him, and the wit of Sterne and Dean Swift;but the funny column and the paragrapher's niche of our newspapers heregarded as purely pathological phenomena. I sometimes feel that Cecilwas right about this. Can the mind which continues to be charmed bythese paragraphic strainings be really sound?--but this is not adissertation. Cecil reconciled himself to his position as the localexemplification of the traditional Englishman whose trains of ideas runon the freight schedule--and was one of the most popular fellows inLattimore. He gloried in his slavery to Antonia, and seemed to gleanhope from the most sterile circumstances. It was easy to hope, in Lattimore, then. It was not many days after ourtalk in the park before I noticed a change for the better in Giddings, even. Just before Jim's house-warming, he came to me with something likeoptimism in his appearance. I started to cheer him up, and went wrong. "I'm glad to see by your cheerful looks, " said I, "that the philosophyof Iago--" "Say, now!" cried he, "don't remind me of that, for Heaven's sake!" "Why, certainly not, " said I, "if you object. " "I do object, " said he most earnestly; "why, that damned-fool philosophymay have ruined my life, you know. " "Of course I know what you mean, " said I; "but I'm convinced, and so areall your friends, that if you fail, it'll be your own lack of nerve, andnothing else, that you'll owe the disaster to. You should--" "I should have refrained from trampling under foot the dearest ideals ofthe only girl-- However, I can't talk of these things to any one, Barslow. But I have some hope now. Antonia and Josie have both been verykind lately--and say, Barslow, I see now how little foundation there isfor that old gag about the women hating each other!" "I've always felt, " said I, anxious to draw him out so that I might seewhat the conspirators had been doing, "that there's nothing in _that_idea. But what has changed your view?" "Antonia, and Josie, and even your wife, " said he, "have been keeping upa regular lobby in my behalf with Laura. They think they've got the dealplugged up now, so that she'll give me a show again, and--" "Why, surely, " said I; "in my opinion, there never was any need for youto feel downcast. " "Barslow, " he said, with the air of a man who has endured to the limit, "you are a good fellow, but you make me tired when you talk like that. Why, four weeks ago I had no more show than a snowball in--in thecrater of Vesuvius. But now I'm encouraged. These girls have been doingme good, as I just said, and I'm convinced that my series of editorialson 'The Influence of Christianity on Civilization, ' in which I've giventhe Church the credit of being the whole thing, has helped some. " "They ought to do good somewhere, " said I, "they certainly haven'tboomed Lattimore any. " "Damn Lattimore!" said he bitterly. "When a man's very life--But seehere, Barslow, I know you're not in earnest about this. And I'll be allright in a day or two, or I'll be eternally wrong. I'm going to make onefinal cast of the die. I may go down to bottomless perdition, or I maybe caught up to the battlements of heaven; but such a mass of doubts andmiseries as I've been lately, I'll no longer be! Pray for me, Barslow, pray for me!" This despairing condition of Giddings's was a sort of continuingsensation with us at that time. We discussed it quite freely in all itsaspects, humorous and tragic. It was so unexpected a development in theyoung man's character, and, with all due respect to the discretion andresisting powers of Miss Addison, so entirely gratuitous and factitious. "He has ability as a writer, " said the Captain; "but in such a mattahanybody but a fool ought to see that the thing to do is to chahge theintrenchments. I trust that I may not be misunde'stood when I say that, in my opinion, a good rattling chahge would not be a fo'lo'n hope!" "It bothers, " said Jim; "and if it weren't for that, I'd feelconscience-stricken at doing anything to rob the idiot of a mostdelicious grief. " The coolness of early autumn was in the air the night of Jim'shouse-warming. To describe his dwelling, in these days when fortunes arespent on the details of a stairway, and a king's ransom for thetapestries of a salon, all of which luxuries are spread before the eyesof the public in the columns of Sunday papers and magazines, would be tocourt an anticlimax. But this was before the multimillionaire had madethe need for an augmentative of the word "luxury"; and Jim's house wasnoteworthy for its beauty: its cunningly wrought iron and wood; andcolumned halls and stairways; and wide-throated fireplaces, each apicture in tile, wood, and metalwork; and vistas like little fairylandsthrough silken portičres; and carven chairs and couches, reminiscent ofroyal palaces; and chambers where lovely color-schemes were worked outin rug, and bed, and canopy. There were decorations made by men whosenames were known in London and Paris. From out-of-the-way places Mr. Elkins had brought collections of queer and interesting and prettythings which, all his life, he had been accumulating; and in his librarywere broad areas of well-worn book-backs. Somehow, people looked uponthe Mr. Elkins who was master of all these as a more important man thanthe Elkins who had blown into the town on some chance breeze ofspeculation, and taken rooms at the Centropolis. It was all light and color, that night. Even the formal flower-beds ofthe grounds and the fountain spouting on the lawn were like scenery inthe lime-light. Only, back in the shrubbery there were darker nooks insummer-houses and arbors for those who loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds, to the common mind, were likely to seem foolish. Iremember thinking that if Mr. Giddings really wanted a chance to takethe high dive of which he had spoken to me, the opportunity was beforehim. His Laura was there, her devotee-like expression striving with anexceedingly low-cut dress to sound the distinguishing note of herpersonality. Giddings was at the punch-bowl as on their arrival sheswept past with the General. When he saw the nun-like glance over theswelling bosom, the poor stricken cynic blushed, turned pale, andwheeled to flee. But Cecil, as if following orders, arrested him andbegan plying him with the punch--from which Giddings seemed to drawcourage: for I saw him, soon, gravitate to her whom he loved and somysteriously dreaded. "It's a pe'fect jewel-case of a house!" said the Captain, as he movedwith the trooping company through the mansion. "Indeed, indeed it is, " said Mrs. Tolliver to Alice; "the jewel, whoeverit may be, is to be envied. " "I hope, " said Jim to Josie, "that you agree with Mrs. Tolliver?" "Oh, yes, " said Josie, "but you attach far too much importance to myjudgment. If it is any comfort to you, however, I want topraise--everything--unreservedly. " "I won't know, for a while, " said Jim, "whether it is to be my houseonly, or home in the full sense of the word. " "One doesn't know about that, I fancy, " said Cecil; "for a long time--" "I mean to know soon, " said Jim. Josie was looking intently at the carving on one of the chairs, and paidno heed, though the remark seemed to be addressed to her. "What I mean, you know, " said Cecil, "is that, no matter how well thehouse may be built and furnished, it's the associations, the history ofthe place, the things that are in the air, that makes 'Ome!" There was in the manner of his capitalizing the word as he uttered it, and in the unwonted elision of the H, that tribute to his dear islandwhich the exiled Briton (even when soothed by the consolation offered bystreet-car systems to superintend, and rose-pink blondes to serve), always pays when he speaks of Home. "Associations, " said Jim, "may be historical or prophetic. In the formercase, we have to take them on trust; but as to those of the future, weare sure of them. " "Yahs, " said Cecil, using the locution which he always adopted whensomething subtle was said to him, "I dare say! I dare say!" "Well, then, " Jim went on, "I have this matter of the atmosphere orassociations under my own control. " "Just so, " said Cecil. "Clever conceit, Miss Trescott, isn't it, now?" But Miss Trescott had apparently heard nothing of Jim's speech, andbegged pardon; and wouldn't they go and show her the bronzes in thelibrary? "This mansion, General, " said the Captain, "takes one back, suh, to thehalcyon days of American history. I refeh, suh, to those times when theplantahs of the black prairie belt of Alabama lived like princes, in theheart of an enchanted empire!" "A very interesting period, Captain, " said the General. "It is a pitythat the industrial basis was one which could not endure!" "In the midst of fo'ests, suh, " went on the Captain, "we had ouahmansions, not inferio' to this--each a little kingdom with its completewo'ld of amusements, its cote, and its happy populace, goin' singin' tothe wo'k which supported the estate!" "Yes, " said the General, "I thought, when we were striking down thatstate of things, that we were doing a great thing for that populace. ButI now see that I was only helping the black into a new slavery, thefruits of which we see here, around us, to-night. " "I hahdly get youah meaning, suh--" "Well, " said the General, looking about at the little audience. (It wasin the smoking-room, and those present were smokers only. ) "Well, now, take my case. I have some pretty valuable grounds down there where Ilive. When I got them, they were worthless. I could build as good amansion as this or any of your ante-bellum Alabama houses for what I canget out of that little tract. What is that value? Merely the expressionin terms of money of the power of excluding the rest of mankind fromthat little piece of ground. I make people give me the fruits of theirlabor, myself doing nothing. That's what builds this house and all thesegreat houses, and breeds the luxury we are beginning to see around us;and the consciousness that this slavery exists, and is increasing, andbids fair to grow greatly, is what is making men crazy over these littlespots of ground out here in the West! It is this slavery--" "Suh, " exclaimed the Captain, rising and grasping the General's hand, "you have done me the favo' of making me wisah! I nevah saw so cleahlythe divine decree which has fo'eo'dained us to this opulence. Nothing sosatisfactory, suh, as a basis and reason foh investment, has beenadvanced in my hearing since I have been in the real-estate business!Let us wo'k this out a little mo' in detail, if you please, suh--" "Let us escape while there is yet time!" said Cornish; and we fled. After supper there was a cotillion. The spacious ballroom, with its roofso high that the lights up there were as stars, was a sight which couldscarcely be reconciled with the village community which he had found andchanged. The palms, and flowers, and lights which decorated the room;the orchestra's river of dance-music; the men, all in the black liverywhich--on the surface--marks the final conquest of civilization overbarbarism; the beautiful gowns, the sparkling jewels, and the whiteshoulders and arms of the ladies--all these made me wonder if I had notbeen transported to some Mayfair or Newport, so pictorial, sodecorative, so charged with art, it seemed to be. The young people, carrying on their courtships in these unfamiliar halls, theirdisappearances into the more remote and tenebrous outskirts of theassembly--all seemed to me to be taking place on the stage, or in someromance. I told Alice about this as we walked home--it was only across thestreet--to our own new house. "Don't tell any one about this feeling of yours, " said she. "It betraysyour provincialism, my dear. You should feel, for the first time in yourlife, perfectly at home. 'Armor, rusting on his walls, On the blood ofClifford calls, ' you know. " "Mine didn't hear the call, " said I; "I'm probably the first of my raceto wear this--But I enjoyed it. " "Well, I am too full of something that took place to discuss thematter, " said she, as we sat down at home. "I am perplexed. You knowabout Mr. Cornish and Josie, don't you?" She startled me, for I had never told her a word. "Know about them!" I cried, a little dramatically. "What do you mean?No, I don't!" "Why, what's the matter, Albert?" she queried. "I haven't charged themwith midnight assassination, or anything like that! Only, it seems thathe has been making love to her, for some time, in his cool andself-contained way. I've known it, and she's been perfectly conscious, that I knew; but never said anything to me of it, and seemed unwillingeven to approach the subject. But to-night Cecil and I found her out inthe canopied seat by the fountain, and I knew something was the matter, and sent Cecil away. Something told me that Mr. Cornish was concernedin it, and I asked her at once where he went. "'He is gone!' said she. 'I don't know where he is, and I don't care! Iwish I might never see him any more!' "You may imagine my surprise. When a young woman uses such languageabout a man, it is a certainty that she isn't voicing her true feelings, or that it isn't a normal love affair. So I wormed out of her that hehad made her an offer. " "'Well, ' said I, 'if, as I infer from your conversation, you haverefused him, there's an end of the matter; and you need not worry aboutseeing him any more. ' "'But, ' said she, 'Alice, I haven't refused him!' "That took me aback a little, " went on Alice, "for I had other plans forher; so I said: 'You haven't accepted the fellow, have you?' "'Oh, no, no!' said she, in a sort of quivery way, 'but what right haveyou to speak of him in that way?' And that is all I could get out ofher. She was so unreasonable and disconnected in her talk, and theothers came out, and I tell you what, Albert Barslow, that man Cornishwill do evil yet, among us! I have always thought so!" "I don't see any ground for any such prediction, " said I, "in anythingyou have told me. Her inability to make up her mind--" "Means that there's something wrong, " said my wife dogmatically. "Itmeans that he has some sinister influence over her, as he has overalmost everybody, with those coal-black eyes of his and his satanicways. And worse than all else, it means that he'll finally get her, inspite of herself!" "Pshaw!" said I. "Go away, Albert!" said she, "or we shall quarrel. Go back and find myfan--I left it on the mantel in the library. The house is lighted yet;and I was going to send you back anyhow. Kiss me, and go, please. " I felt that if Alice had had in her memory my vision of the supper atAuriccio's, she would have been confirmed in her fears; but to me, inspite of the memory, they seemed absurd. My only apprehension was thatshe might be right as to the final outcome, to the wreck of Jim's hopes. I did not take the matter at all seriously, in fact. I think we men mustusually have such an affair worked out to some conclusion, for weal orwoe, before we regard it otherwise than lightly. That was the reasonthat Giddings's distraught condition was only a matter of laughter toall of us. And as something like this passed through my mind, Giddingshimself collared me as I crossed the street. "Old man!" said he, "congratulate me! It's all right, Barslow, it's allright. " "Up on the battlements, are you?" said I. "Well, I congratulate you, Giddings; and don't make such an ass of yourself, please, any more. Inever noticed until this evening what a fine girl Laura is. You'rereally a very fortunate fellow indeed!" "You never noticed it!" said he with utter scorn. "Well, if--" "It's late, " said I. "Come and see me in the morning! Good-night. " I went in at the front door of the house. It stood wide open, as if thecurrent of guests passing out had removed its tendency to swing shut. Itseemed lonely now, inside, with all the decorations of the assemblystill in place in the empty hall. I passed into the library, and foundJim sitting idly in a great leather chair. He seemed not to see me; orif he did, he paid no attention. I went to the mantel, picked up Alice'sfan, and turned to Jim. "Sit down, " said he. "Having a sort of 'oft in the stilly night' experience, Jim, or a caseof William the Conqueror on the Field of Hastings?" "Yes, " said he. "Something like that. " "Well, your house-warming has been a success, Jim, " said I, "though afellow wouldn't think so to look at you. And the house is faultless. Ienvy you the house, but the ability to plan and furnish it still more. Ididn't think it was in you, old man! Where did you learn it all?" "You may have the house, if you want it, Al, " said he. "I don't thinkit's going to be of any use to me. " "Why, Jim, " said I, seeing that it was something more than a mere moodwith him, "what is it? Has anything gone wrong?" "Nothing that I've any right to complain of, " said he. "Of course, noman puts as much of his life into such a thing as I have intothis--without thinking of more than living in it--alone. I've never hadwhat you can really call a home--not since I was a little chap, when itwas home wherever there were trees and mother. I've filled this--withthose associations I spoke to Barr-Smith about--to-night--a little morethan I seem to have had any warrant to do. I tried to make sure aboutthe jewel for the jewel-case to-night, and it went wrong, Al; and that'sall there is of it. I don't think I shall need the house, and if youlike it you can have it. " "Do you mean that Josie has refused you?" said I. "She didn't put it that way, " said he, "but it amounts to that. " "Nothing that isn't a refusal, " said I, "ought to be accepted as such. What did she say?" "Nothing definite, " he answered wearily, "only that it couldn't be'yes, ' and when I urged her to make it 'yes' or 'no, ' she refused to sayeither; and asked me to forget that I had ever said anything to herabout the matter. There have been some things which--led me to hope--fora different answer; and I'm a good deal taken down, Al . .. I wouldn'tlike to talk this way--with any one else. " There seemed to be no reason for abandonment of hope, I urged upon him, and after a cigar or so I left him, evidently impressed with this viewof the case, but nevertheless bitterly disappointed. It meant delay anddanger to his hopes; and Jim was not a man to brook delay, or sufferdanger to go unchallenged. I dared not tell him of Cornish's offer, andof its fate, so similar to his. "I wonder if it is coquetry on her part, " thought I, as I went back withthe fan. "I wonder if it will cause things to go wrong in our businessaffairs. I wonder if it is possible for her to be sincerely unable tomake up her mind, or if there is anything in Alice's malign-influencetheory. Anyhow, in the department of Cupid business certainly is pickingup!" CHAPTER XVI. Some Things which Happened in Our Halcyon Days. If there was any tension among us just after the house-warming, it wasnot noticeable. Mr. Cornish and Mr. Elkins seemed unaware of theirrivalry. Had either of the two been successful, it might have mademischief; but as it was, neither felt that his rejection was more thantemporary. Neither knew much of the other's suit, and both seemed fullof hope and good spirits. Altogether, these were our halcyon days. It seemed to crew and captain atime for the putting off of armor, and the donning of the garlands ofcomplacent respite from struggle. The work we had undertaken seemedaccomplished--our village was a city. The great wheel we had setwhirling went spinning on with power. Long ago we had ceased to treatthe matter jocularly; and to regard our operations as applied psychologyonly, or as a piratical reunion, no longer occurred to us. There is sucha thing, I believe, as self-hypnotism; but if we knew it, we made noapplication of our knowledge to our own condition. This great, scattered, ebullient town, grown from the drowsy Lattimore of a fewyears ago, must surely be, even now, what we had willed it to be: andtherefore, could we not pause and take our ease? There was the General, of course. He, Jim said, "'knocked' so constantlyas to be sort of ex-officio President of the Boiler-makers' Union, " andtalked of the inevitable collapse. But who ever heard of a city built bypeople of his way of thinking? And there was Josie Trescott, with heragreement on broad lines with the General, and her deprecation of thegiving of fortunes to people who had not earned them; but Josie was onlya woman, who, to be sure, knew more of most matters than the rest of us, but could not have any very valuable knowledge of the prospects forcommercial prosperity. That we were in the midst of an era of the most wonderful commercialprosperity none denied. How could they? The streets, so lately borderedwith low stores, hotels, and banks, were now craggy with tall officebuildings and great hostelries, through which the darting elevators shothurrying passengers. Those trees which made early twilight in thestreets that night when Alice, Jim, and I first rode out to the Trescottfarm were now mostly cut down to make room for "improvements. " Brushy Creek gorge was no longer dark and cool, with its double sky-lineof trees drowsing toward one another, like eyelashes, from the friendlycliffs. The cooing of the pigeons was gone forever. The muddied waterfrom the great flume raced down through the ravine, turning many wheels, but nowhere gathering in any form or place which seemed good for trout. On either side stood shanties, and ramshackle buildings where suchthings as stonecutting and blacksmithing were done. Along the watersideran the tracks of our Terminal and Belt Line System, on which trains offlat-cars always stood, engaged in the work of carrying away the cliffs, in which they were aided and abetted by giant derricks and the fiends ofdynamite and nitro-glycerin. Limekilns burned all the time, turning thecompanionable gray ledges into something offensive and corrosive. Onemust now board a street-car, and ride away beyond Lynhurst Park beforeone could find the good and pure little Brushy Creek of yore. The dwellers in the houses which stood in their lawns of vivid green hadgone away into the new "additions, " to be in the fashion, and to escapefrom the smoke and clang of engine and factory. Their old houses weretorn away, or converted, by new and incongruous extensions, into cheapboarding-houses. Only the Lattimore house kept faith with the past, andstood as of old, in its five acres of trees and grass, untouched of thefever for platting and subdivision, its very skirts drawn up from theasphalt by austere retaining-walls. And here went on the preparation forthe time when Laura and Clifford were to stand up and declare theirpurposes and intentions with reference to each other. The first weddingthis was to be, in all our close-knit circle. "I am glad, " said I, "that they are all so sensible as not to permitrivalries to breed discord among us. It might be disastrous. " "There is time, " said Alice, "for that to develop yet. " Not that everything happened as we wished. Indeed, some things gave usmuch anxiety. Bill Trescott, for instance, began at last to show signsof that going up in the air which Jim had said we must keep him from. Even Captain Tolliver complained that Bill's habits were getting bad:and he was the last person in the world to censure excess in the viceswhich he deemed gentlemanly. His own idea of morning, for instance, wasthat period of the day when the bad taste in the mouth so natural to agentleman is removed by a stiff toddy, drunk just before prayers. Hewould, no doubt, have conceded to the inventor of the alphabet a higherplace among men than that of the discoverer of the mint julep, had thematter been presented to him in concrete form; but would have qualifiedthe admission by adding, with a seriousness incompatible with theaverage conception of a joke: "But the question is sutt'nly one notentiahly free from doubt, suh; not entiahly free from doubt!" However, the Captain had his standards, and prescribed for himselflimits of time, place, and degree, to which he faithfully conformed. Buthe had been for a long time doing business under a sort of partnershiparrangement with Bill, and their affairs had become very muchinterwoven. So he came to us, one day, in something like a panic, onfinding that Bill had become a frequenter of one of the localbucket-shops, and had been making maudlin boasts of the profitable dealshe had made. "This means, gentlemen, " said the Captain, "that influences entiahlyfo'eign to ouah investments hyah ah likely to bring a crash, which willnot only wipe out Mr. Trescott, but, owin' to ouah association in theadditions we have platted, cyah'y me down also! You can see that withsev'al hundred thousand dolla's of deferred payments on what we havesold, most of which have been rediscounted in the East by the G. B. T. , Mr. Trescott's condition becomes something of serious conce'n fo'you-all, as well as fo' me. Nothing else, I assuah you, gentlemen, couldfo'ce me to call attention to a mattah so puahly pussonal as a diffe'ncebetween gentlemen in theiah standahds of inebriety! Nothing else, believe me!" By the G. B. T. The Captain meant the Grain Belt Trust Company, andanything which affected its solvency or welfare was, as he said, amatter of serious concern for all of us. In fact, at that very momentthere were in Lattimore two officers of New England banks with whom wehad placed a rather heavy line of G. B. T. Securities, and who had madethe trip for the purpose of looking us up. Suppose that they found outthat the notes and mortgages of William S. Trescott & Co. Really hadback of them only some very desirable suburban additions, and thepersonal responsibility of a retired farmer, who was daily handing hismoney to board-of-trade gamblers, with whom he was getting an educationin the great strides we are making in the matter of mixed drinks? Thisthought occurred to all of us at once. "Well, " said Cornish, stating the point of agreement after the Captain'strouble had been fully discussed, "unfortunately 'the right to be acussed fool is safe from all devices human, ' and there doesn't seem tobe any remedy. " It all came, thought I, as Jim and I sat silent after Cornish and theCaptain went out, from the fact that Bill's present condition in lifegave those tendencies to which he had always been prone to yield, achance for unrestricted growth. He ought to have staid with his steers. Cattle and corn were the only things in which he could take an interestsufficiently keen to keep him from drink. These habits of his wereenacting the old story of the lop-eared rabbits inAustralia--overrunning the country. Bill had been as sober a citizen asone could desire, as long as his house-building occupied his time; andhe and Josie had worked together as companionably as they used to do inthe hay and wheat. But now he was drifting away from her. Her fathershould have staid on the farm. "Do you know, " said I, "that Giddings is making about as great a fool ofhimself as Bill?" "Yes, " said Jim, "but that's because he's in a terrible state of mindabout his marriage. If we can keep him from delirium tremens until afterthe wedding, he'll be all right. Some Italian brain-sharp has written upcases like his, and he'll be all right. But with Bill it's different. .. . Do you remember our old Shep?" "No, " I returned wonderingly, almost impatiently. "What about him?" "Well, " he mused, "I've been picking up knowledge of men for a whilealong back; and I've come to prize more highly the personal history ofdogs; and Shep was worth a biography for its own sake, to say nothing ofthe value of a typical case. He was a woolly collie, who wouldcheerfully have given up his life for the cows and sheep. Anything inhis line, that a dog could grasp, Shep knew, and he was busier than acranberry-merchant the year around, and the happiest thing on the farm. Then our folks moved to Mayville, and took him along. He wasn't fittedfor town life at all. He'd lie on the front piazza, and search thestreet for cows and sheep, and when one came along he'd stick his sharpnose through the fence, and whine as if some one was whipping him. Inless than six weeks he bit a baby; in two months he was the mostdepraved dog in Mayville, and in three . .. He died. " I had no answer for the apologue--not even for the self-condemnatorytone in which he told it. Presently he rose to go, and said that hewould not be back. "Don't forget our date at the club this evening, " said he, as he passedout. "Your style of diplomacy always seems to win with these down-Eastbankers. Your experience as rob-ee gives you the right handshake and thesubscribed-and-sworn-to look that does their business for 'em everytime. Good-by until then. " Our club was the terminal bud of our growth, and was housed in abuilding of which we were enormously proud. It was managed by a stewardimported from New York, whose salary was made large to harmonize withhis manners--that being the only way in which the majority of ourmembers felt equal to living up to them. So far as money could make aclub, ours was of high rank. There were meat-cooks and pastry-cooks inincredible numbers, under the command of a French chef, who ruled thehouse committee with a rod of iron. We were all members as a matter ofpublic duty. I have often wondered what the servants, brought fromEastern cities, thought of it all. To see Bill Trescott and AleckMacdonald going in through the great door, noiselessly swung open forthem by an attendant in livery, was a sight to be remembered. The chiefornament of the club was Cornish, who lived there. "I want to see Mr. Cornish, " said I to the servant who took my overcoat, that evening. "Right this way, sir, " said he. "Mr. Giddings is with him. He gaveorders for you to be shown up. " Cornish sat at a little round table on which there were some bottles andglasses. The tipple was evidently ale, and Mr. Giddings was standingopposite, lifting a glass in one hand and pointing at it with the other, in evident imitation of the attitude in which the late Mr. Gough lovedto have himself pictured; but the sentiments of the two speakers werequite different. "'Turn out more ale; turn up the light!'" Giddings glanced at the electric light-fixtures, and then looked aboutas if for a servant to turn them up. "'I will not go to bed to-night! For, of all foes that man should dread, The first and worst one is a bed! Friends I have had, both old and young; Ale have we drunk, and songs we've sung. Enough you know when this is said, That, one and all, they died in bed!'" Here Giddings's voice broke with grief, and he stopped to drink the restof the glassful, and went on: "'In bed they died, and I'll not go Where all my friends have perished so! Go, ye who fain would buried be; But not to-night a bed for me!'" "Do you often have these Horatian fits?" I inquired. "Base groveler!" said he, "if you can't rise to the level of theoccasion, don't butt in. " "'For me to-night no bed prepare, But set me out my oaken chair, And bid me other guests beside The ghosts that shall around me glide!'" "You will, of course, " said Cornish, "permit us to withdraw for thepurpose of having our conference with our Eastern friends? If I takeyour meaning, you'll not be alone. " "Not by a jugful, I'll not be alone!" said Giddings, tossing off anotherglass: "'In curling smoke-wreaths I shall see A fair and gentle company. Though silent all, fair revelers they, Who leave you not till break of day! Go, ye who would not daylight see; But not to-night a bed for me! For I've been born, and I've been wed, And all man's troubles come of bed!'" Here Giddings sank down in his chair and began weeping. "The divinest attribute of poetry, " said he, "is that of bringing tears. Let me weep awhile, fellows, and then I'll give you the last stanza. Last stanza's the best--" And in the midst of his critique he went to sleep, thereby breaking hisrule adopted in "_Dum Vivemus Vigilemus_. " "Is he this way often?" said I to Cornish, as we went down to meet Jimand the bankers. "Pretty often, " said Cornish. "I don't know how I'd amuse my evenings ifit weren't for Giddings. He's too far gone to-night, though, to beentertaining. Gets worse, I think, as the wedding-day approaches. Tryingto drown his apprehensions, I suspect. Funny fellow, Giddings. But he'sall right from noon to nine P. M. " "I think we'll have to organize a dipsomaniacs' hospital for our crowd, "said I, "if things keep going on as they are tending now! I didn't thinkGiddings was so many kinds of an ass!" My complainings were cut short by our entrance into the presence of Mr. Elkins and the New England bankers. I asked to be excused from partakingof the refreshments which were served. I had seen and heard enough tospoil my appetite. I was agreeably surprised to find that theirindependent investigations of conditions in Lattimore had convinced themof the safety of their investments. Really, they said, were it not forthe pleasure of meeting us here at our home, they should feel that thetime and expense of looking us up were wasted. But, handling, as theydid, the moneys of estates and numerous savings accounts, theircustomers were of a class in whom timidity and nervousness reach theirmaximum, and they were obliged to keep themselves in position to giveassurances as to the safety of their investments from their personalinvestigations. Mr. Hinckley, who was with us, assured them that his life as a bankerenabled him fully to realize the necessity of their carefulness, whichwe, for our own parts, were pleased to know existed. We were only tooglad to exhibit our books to them, make a complete showing as to ourcondition generally, and even take them to see each individual piece ofproperty covered by our paper. Mr. Hinckley went with them to theirhotel, having proposed enough work in the way of investigation to keepthem with us for several months. They were to leave on the evening ofthe next day. "But, " said Jim, as we put on our overcoats to go home, "it shows ourgood will, you see. " At that moment the steward, with an anxious look, asked Mr. Elkins for aword in private. "Ask Mr. Barslow if he will kindly step over here, " I heard Jim say; andI joined them at once. "I was just saying, sir, to Mr. Elkins, " said the steward, "thatordinarily I'd not think of mentioning such a thing as a gentleman'sbeing indisposed but should see that he was cared for here. But Mr. Trescott being in such a state, I felt it was a case for his friends orthe hospital. He's been--a--seeing things this afternoon; and whilehe's better now in that regard, his--" "Have a closed carriage brought at once, " said Mr. Elkins. "Al, you'dbetter go up to the house, and let them know we're coming. I'll take himhome!" I shrank from the meeting with Mrs. Trescott and Josie, more, I think, than if it had been Bill's death which I was to announce. As Iapproached the house, I got from it, somehow, the impression that it wasa place of night-long watchfulness; and I was not surprised by the factthat before I had time to ring or knock at the door Mrs. Trescottherself opened it, with an expression on her face which spoke of longvigils, and of fear passing on to certainty. She peered past me for anexpected Something on the street. Her leisure and its new habits hadassimilated her in dress and make-up to the women of the wealthier sortin the city; but there was an immensity of trouble in the agonized eyeand the pitiful droop of her mouth, which I should have rejoiced to seeexchanged again for the ill-groomed exterior and the old fret of thefarm. Her first question ignored all reference to the things leading tomy being there, "in the dead vast and middle of the night, " but wentpast me to the core of her trouble, as her eye had gone on from me tothe street, in the search for the thing she dreaded. "Where is he, Mr. Barslow?" said she, in a hushing whisper; "where ishe?" "He is a little sick, " said I, "and Mr. Elkins is bringing him home. Icame on to tell you. " "Then he is not--" she went on, still in thathushed voice, and searching me with her gaze. "No, I assure you!" I answered. "He is in no immediate danger, even. " Josie came quietly forward from the dusk of the room beyond, where I sawshe had been listening, reminding me, in spite of the incongruity of theidea, of that time when she emerged from the obscurity of her garden, and stood at the foot of the windmill tower, leaning on her father'sarm, her hands filled with petunias, the night we first visited theTrescott farm. And then my mind ran back to that other night when shehad thrown herself into his arms and begged him to take her away; and hehad said, "W'y, yes, little gal, of course I'll take yeh away, if yehdon't like it here!" I think that I, perhaps, was more nearly able thanany one else in the world beside herself to gauge her grief at this longdeath in which she was losing him, and he himself. She took my hand, pressed it silently, and began caressing her motherand whispering to her things which I could not hear. Mrs. Trescott satupon a sort of divan, shaking with terrible, soundless sobs, andclasping and unclasping her hands, but making no other gesture. I stoodhelpless at the hidden abyss of woe so suddenly uncovered before me anduntil this very moment screened by the conventions which keep our soulsapart like prisoners in the cells in some great prison. These two womenhad been bearing this for a long time, and we, their nearest friends, had stood aloof from them. As I stood thinking of this, thecarriage-wheels ground upon the pavement in the _porte cochčre_; and amoment later Jim came in, his face graver than I had ever seen it. Hesat down by Mrs. Trescott, and gently took one of her hands. "Dr. Aylesbury has given him a morphia injection, " said he, "and he issound asleep. The doctor thinks it best for us to carry him right to hisroom. There is a man here from the hospital, who will stay and nursehim; and the doctor came, too. " Mrs. Trescott started up, saying that she must arrange his room. Soonthe four of us had placed him in bed, where he lay, puffy and purple, with a sort of pasty pallor overspreading his face. His limbsoccasionally jerked spasmodically; but otherwise he was still under thespell of the opiate. His wife, now that there was something definite todo, was self-possessed and efficient, taking the physician'sinstructions with ready apprehension. The fact that Bill had now assumedthe character of a patient rather than that of a portent seemed to makethe trouble, somehow, more normal and endurable. The wife and daughterinsisted upon assuming the care of him, but assented to the nurse'sremaining as a help in emergencies. It was nearing dawn when I took myleave. As I approached the door, I saw Jim and Josie in the hall, andheard him making some last tenders of aid and comfort before hisdeparture. He put out his hand, and she clasped it in both of hers. "I want to thank you, " said she, "for what you have done. " "I have done nothing, " he replied. "It is what I wish to do that I wantyou to think of. I do not know whether I shall ever be able to forgivemyself--" "No, no!" said she. "You must not talk--you must not allow yourself tofeel in that way. It is unjust--to yourself and to--me--for you to feelso!" I advanced to them, but she still stood looking into his face andholding his hand clasped in hers. There was something of appeal, of aneffort to express more than the words said, in her look and attitude. Heanswered her regard by a gaze so pathetically wistful that she avertedher face, pressed his hand, and turned to me. "Good-night to you both, and thank you both, a thousand times!" saidshe. * * * * * "I wonder if old Shep's relations and friends, " said Jim, as we stoodunder the arc light in front of my house, "ever came to forgive thepeople who took him away from his flocks and herds. " "After what I've seen in the last few minutes, " said I, "I haven't theleast doubt of it. " "Al, " said he, "these be troublous times, but if I believed all thatwhat you say implies, I'd go home happy, if not jolly. And I almostbelieve you're right. " "Well, " said I, assuming for once the rôle of the mentor, "I think thatyou are foolish to worry about it. We have enough actual, well-defined, surveyed and platted grief on our hands, without any mooning abouthunting for the speculative variety. Go home, sleep, and bring down aclear brain for to-morrow's business. " "To-day's, " said he gaily. "Tear off yesterday's leaf from the calendar, Al. For, look! the morn, dressed as usual, 'walks o'er the dew of yonhigh eastern hill. '" CHAPTER XVII. Relating to the Disposition of the Captives. It was not later than the next day but one, that I met Giddings, alert, ingratiating, and natty as ever. "When am I to have the third stanza?" I inquired, "the one that's 'thebest of all. '" This question he seemed to take as a rebuke; for he reddened, while hetried to laugh. "Barslow, " said he, "there isn't any use in our discussing this thing. You couldn't understand it. A man like you, who can calculate to a hairjust how far he is going and just where to turn back, and--Oh, damn!There's no use!" I sympathize with Giddings, at this present moment, in his despair ofmaking people understand; for I doubt, sometimes, whether it is possiblefor me to make the reader understand the conditions with us in Lattimoreat the time when poor Trescott lay there in his fine house, fighting forlife, and for many things more important, and while the weddingpreparations were going forward at the General's house. To the steady-going, stationary, passionless community these conditionsapproach the incomprehensible. No one seemed to doubt the city's futurenow. Sometimes the abnormal basis upon which our great new industrieshad been established struck the stranger with distrust, if he happenedto have the insight to notice it; but the concerns _were there_ mostundeniably, and had shifted population in their coming, and were turningout products for the markets of the world. That they had been evolved magically, and set in operation, not by anyslow process of meeting a felt want, but for this sole purpose ofshifting population, might be, and undoubtedly was, unusual; but giventhe natural facilities for carrying the business on, and how did thisforced genesis adversely affect their prospects? I, for one, could see no reason for apprehension. Yet when the story ofTrescott's maudlin plunging came to our ears, and the effect of hispossible failure received consideration, or I thought of the businessexplosion which would follow any open breach between Jim and Cornish(though this seemed too remote for serious consideration), I began toponder on the enormously complex system of credits we had built up. Besides the regular line of bonds and mortgages growing out of debts dueus on our real-estate sales, and against which we had issued thedebentures and the guaranteed rediscounts of the Grain Belt TrustCompany, the factories, stock yards, terminals, street-car system, andmost of our other properties were pretty heavily bonded. Some of themwere temporarily unproductive, and funds had from time to time to beprovided, from sources other than their own earnings, for the payment oftheir interest-charges. On the whole, however, we had been able to carrythe entire line forward from position to position with such success thatthe people were kept in a fever, and accessions to our population keptpouring in which, of their own force, added fuel to the fire ofexpectancy. This one thing began to make me uneasy--there was no place to stop. Afailure among us would quench this expectancy, and values would nolonger increase. And everything was organized on the basis of thecontinued crescendo. That was the reason why every uplift in prices hadbeen followed by a new and strenuous effort on our part to hoist themstill higher. For that reason, we, who had become richer than we hadever hoped to be, kept toiling on to rear to greater and greater heightsan edifice which the eternal forces of nature itself clutched, to dragdown. I was the first to suggest this feature in conference. The Trescottscare had made me more thoughtful. True, outwardly things were more thanever booming. The very signs on the streets spoke of the boom. It was"Lumber, Coal, and Real Estate"; "Burbank's Livery, Feed, and SaleStable. Office of Burbank Realty Co. "; or "Thronson & Larson, Grocers. Choice Lots in Thronson's Addition. " Even Giddings had platted the"_Herald_ Addition, " and was offering a choice quarter-block as a prizeto the person who could guess nearest to the average monthly increase invalues in the addition, as shown by the record of sales. Real estateappeared as a part of the business of hardware stores and milliners'shops, so that one was constantly reminded of the heterogeneousannouncements on the signboard of Mr. Wegg. But while all this went on, and transactions "in dirt" were larger than ever, one could seeindications that there was in them a larger and larger element ofcredit, and less and less cash. So one day, at a syndicate conference, Isought to ease my mind by asking where this thing was to stop, and whenwe could hope for a time when the town would not have to be held up bymain strength. "Why, that's a very remarkable question!" said Mr. Hinckley. "We surelyhaven't reached the point where we can think of stopping. Why, with thehistory before us of the cities of America which, without half ournatural advantages, have grown to so many times the size of this, I'msurprised that such a thing should be thought of! Just think of whatChicago was in '54 when I came through. A village without a harbor, built along the ditches of a frog-pond! And see it now; see it now!" There was a little quiver in Mr. Hinckley's voice, a little infirmity ofhis chin, which told of advancing years. His ideas were becoming morefixed. It was plain that the notion of Lattimore's continued anduninterrupted progress was one to which he would cling with the mild andunreasoning stubbornness of gentlemanly senility. But Cornish welcomedthe discussion with something like eagerness. "I'm glad the matter has come up, " said he. "We've had a few good yearshere; but, in the nature of things, won't the time come when thingswill be--slower? We've got our first plans pretty well worked out. Themills, factories, and live-stock industries are supporting population, and making tonnage which the railroad is carrying. But what next? Wecan't expect to build any more railroads soon. No line of less than fivehundred miles will do any good, strategically speaking, and sending outstubs just to annex territory for our shippers is too slow and expensivebusiness for this crowd. Things are booming along now; but the Easternbanks are getting finicky about paper, and--I think things are going tobe--slower--and that we ought to act accordingly. " There was a long silence, broken only by a dry laugh from Hinckley, andthe remark that Barslow and Cornish must be getting dyspeptic from highliving. "Well, " said Elkins at last, ignoring Hinckley and facing Cornish, "getdown to brass nails! What policy would you adopt?" "Oh, our present policy is all right, " answered he of the Van Dykebeard-- "Yes, yes!" interjected Hinckley. "My view exactly. A wonderfullysuccessful policy!" "--and, " Cornish continued, "I would only suggest that we ceasespreading out--not cease talking it, but only just sort of stop doingit--and begin to realize more rapidly on our holdings. Not so as tobreak the market, you understand; but so as to keep the demand fairlywell satisfied. " Mr. Elkins was slow in replying, and when the reply came it was of thesort which does not answer. "A most important, not to say momentous question, " said he. "Let'sfigure the thing over and take it up again soon. We'll not begin todisagree at this late day. Mr. Hinckley has warned us that he has anengagement in thirty minutes. It seems to me we ought to dispose of thematter of the appropriation for the interest on those Belt Lines bonds. Wade's mash on 'Atkins, Corning & Co. ' won't last long in the face of adefault. " Mr. Hinckley staid his thirty minutes and withdrew. Mr. Cornish went tothe telephone and ordered his dog-cart. "Immediately, " he instructed, "over here at the Grain Belt TrustBuilding. " "Make it in half an hour, can't you, Cornish?" said Jim. "There are somemore things we ought to go over. " "Say!" shouted Cornish into the transmitter. "Make that in half an hourinstead of at once. " He hung up the telephone, and turned to Elkins inquiringly. Jim waswalking up and down on the rug, his hands clasped behind him. "Since we've spread out into that string of banks, " said he, stillkeeping up his walk, "and made Mr. Hinckley the president of each of'em, he's reverting to his old banker's timidity. Which consists, in allcases, in an aversion to any change in conditions. To suggest anychange, even from an old, dangerous policy to a new safe one, startles a'conservative' banker. If we had gone on a little longer with our talkabout shutting off steam and taking the nigger off the safety-valve, you'd have seen him scared into a numbness. But, now that the questionhas been brought up, let's talk it over. What's your notion about it, anyhow, Al?" "I'm seeking light, " said I. "The people are rushing in, and the town'sdoing splendidly. But prices, there's no denying it, are beginning tosort of strangle things. They prevent doing, any more, what we did atfirst. Kreuger Brothers' failure yesterday was small; but it's a clearcase of a retailer's being eaten up with fixed charges--or so Macdonaldtold me this morning; and I know that frontage on Main Street isdemanding fully as much as the traffic will bear. And then our frightover Trescott's gambling gave me some bad dreams over our securities. Ithas bothered me to see how to adjust our affairs to a stationarycondition of things; that's all. " "Of course, " said Cornish, "we must keep boosting. Fortunately societyhere is now thoroughly organized on the principle of whooping it up forLattimore. I could get up a successful lynching-party any time to attendto the case of any miscreant who should suggest that property is toohigh, or rents unreasonable, or anything but a steady up-grade beforeus. But I think we ought to stop buying--except among ourselves, andkeep the transfers from falling off--and begin salting down. " "If you can suggest any way to do that, and still take care of ourpaper, " said Jim, "I shall be with you. " "I've never anticipated, " said Cornish, "that such a mass of businesscould be carried through without some losses. Investors can't expectit. " "The first loss in the East through our paper, " said Jim, "means ataking up of the Grain Belt securities everywhere, and no market formore. And you know what that spells. " "It mustn't be allowed to happen--yet awhile, " answered Cornish. "As Ijust now said, we must keep on boosting. " "You know where the Grain Belt debentures and other obligations aremostly held, of course?" asked Mr. Elkins. "When a bond or mortgage is sold, " was the answer, "my interest in itceases. I conclusively presume that the purchaser himself personallylooked to the security, or accepted the guaranty of the negotiatingtrust company. _Caveat emptor_ is my rule. " Mr. Elkins looked out of the window, as if he had forgotten us. "We should push the sale of the Lattimore & Great Western, " said he, "and the Belt Line System. " "I concur, " said Cornish. "Our interest in those properties is atwo-million-dollar cash item. " "It wouldn't be two million cents, " said Jim, "if our friends on WallStreet could hear this talk. They'd wait to buy at receiver's sale aftersome Black Friday. Of course, that's what Pendleton and Wade have beencounting on from the first. " "You ought to see Halliday and Pendleton at once, " said I. "Yes, I think so, too, " he rejoined. "Pendleton'll pay us more than ourprice, rather than see the Halliday system get the properties. They'redeep ones; but we ought to be able to play them off against each other, so long as we can keep strong at home. I'll begin the flirtation atonce. " Cornish, assuming that Jim had fully concurred in his views, bade us apleasant good-day, and went out. "My boy, " said Jim, "cheer up. If gloom takes hold of you like thiswhile we're still running before a favoring wind, it'll bother you tokeep feeling worse and worse, as you ought, as we approach the realthing. Cheer up!" "Oh, I'm all right!" said I. "I was just trying to make out Cornish'sposition. " "Let's make out our own, " he replied, "that's the first thing. Bear inmind that this is a buccaneering proposition, and you're first mate:remember? Well, Al, we've had the merriest cruise in the books. If anycrew ever had doubloons to throw to the birds, we've had 'em. But, youknow, we always draw the line somewhere, and I'm about to ask you tojoin me in drawing the line, and see just what moral level piracy hasrisen or sunk to. " He still walked back and forth, and, as he spoke of drawing the line, hedrew an imaginary one with his fingers on the green baize of theflat-topped desk. "You remember what those fellows, Dorr and Wickersham, said the othernight, about having invested the funds of estates, and savings accountsin our obligations?" he went on. "But I never told you what Wickershamsaid privately to me. The infernal fool has more of our paper than hisbank's whole capital stock, with the surplus added, amounts to! And hecalls himself a 'conservative New England banker'! It wouldn't be so badif the states back East weren't infested with the same sort ofidiots--I've had Hinckley make me a report on it since that night. Itmeans that women and children and sweaty breadwinners have furnished themoney for all these things we're so proud of having built, including theMt. Desert cottages and the Wyoming hunting-lodge. It means that we'vegot to be able to read our book of the Black Art backwards as well asforwards, or the Powers we've conjured up will tear piecemeal both themand us. God! it makes me crawl to think of what would happen!" He sat down on the flat-topped desk, and I saw the beaded pallor of afixed and digested anxiety on his brow. He went on, in a lighter way: "These poor people, scattered from the Missouri to the Atlantic, are ourprisoners, Al. I think Cornish is ready to make them walk the plank. But, Al, you know, in our bloodiest days, down on the Spanish Main, weused to spare the women and children! What do you say now, Al?" The way in which he repeated the old nickname had an irresistible appealin it; but I hope no appeal was needed. I said, and said truly, that Ishould never consent to any policy which was not mindful of theinterests of which he spoke; and that I knew Hinckley would be with us. So, if Cornish took any other view, there would be three to one againsthim. "I knew you'd be with me, " he continued. "It would have been asure-enough case of _et tu, Brute_, if you hadn't been. But don't letyourself think for a minute that we can't fight this thing to a finishand come off more than conquerors. We'll look back at this talk sometime, and laugh at our fears. The troublous times that come every sooften are nearer than they were five years ago, but they're some waysoff yet, and forewarned is insured. " "But the hard times always catch people unawares, " said I. "They do, " he admitted, "but they never tried to stalk a covey of boomspecialists before. .. . You remember all that rot I used to talk aboutthe mind-force method, and psychological booms? We've been false to thattheory, by coming to believe so implicitly in our own preaching. Why, Al, this work we've begun here has got to go on! It must go on! Theremustn't be any collapse or failure. When the hard times come, we must beprepared to go right on through, cutting a little narrower swath, butcutting all the same. Stand by the guns with me, and, in spite of all, we'll win, and save Lattimore--and spare the captives, too!" There was the fire of unconquerable resolution in his eye, and aresonance in his voice that thrilled me. After all he had done, afterthe victories we had won under his leadership, the admiration and love Ifelt for him rose to the idolatry of a soldier for his general, as Isaw him stiffening his limbs, knotting his muscles, and, with teeth setand nostrils dilated, rising to the load which seemed falling on himalone. "I'll make the turn with these railroad properties, " he went on. "Wemust make Pendleton and Halliday bid each other up to our figure. Andthere'll be no 'salting down' done, either--yet awhile. I hope thingswon't shrink too much in the washing; but the real-estate hot air of thepast few years must cause some trouble when the payments deferred beginto make the heart sick. The Trust Company will be called on to make goodsome of its guaranties--and must do it. The banks must be kept strong;and with two millions to sweeten the pot we shall be with 'em to thefinish. Why, they can't beat us! And don't forget that right now is themost prosperous time Lattimore ever saw; and put on a look that willcorroborate the statement when you go out of here!" "Bravo, bravo!" said a voice from near the door. "I don't understand anyof it, but the speech sounded awfully telling! Where's papa?" It was Antonia, who had come in unobserved. She wore a felt hat with onelittle feather on it, driving-gloves, and a dark cloth dress. She stood, rosy with driving, her blonde curls clustering in airy confusion abouther forehead, a tailor-gowned Brunhilde. "Why, hello, Antonia!" said Jim. "He went away some time ago. Wasn'tthat a corking good speech? Ah! You never know the value of an oldfriend until you use him as audience at the dress rehearsal of a speech!Pacers or trotters?" "Pacers, " said she, "Storm and The Friar. " "If you'll let me drive, " he stipulated, "I'd like to go home with you. " "Nobody but myself, " said she, "ever drives this team. You'd spoil TheFriar's temper with that unyielding wrist of yours; but if you are good, you may hold the ends of the lines, and say 'Dap!' occasionally. " And down to the street we went together, our cares dismissed. Jim handedAntonia into the trap, and they spun away toward Lynhurst, apparentlythe happiest people in Lattimore. CHAPTER XVIII. The Going Away of Laura and Clifford, and the Departure of Mr. Trescott. "Thet little quirly thing there, " said Mr. Trescott, spreading a map outon my library table and pointing with his trembling and knobbyforefinger, "is Wolf Nose Crick. It runs into the Cheyenne, down aboutthere, an' 's got worlds o' water fer any sized herds, an' carries yehback from the river fer twenty-five miles. There's a big spring at thehead of it, where the ranch buildin's is; an' there's a clump o' timberthere--box elders an' cottonwoods, y' know. Now see the advantage I'llhave. Other herds'll hev to traipse back an' forth from grass to wateran' from water to grass, a-runnin' theirselves poor; an' all the timeI'll hev livin' water right in the middle o' my range. " His wife and daughter had carefully nursed him through the fever, as Dr. Aylesbury called it, and for two weeks Mr. Trescott was seen by no oneelse. Then from our windows Alice and I could see him about his grounds, at work amongst his shrubbery, or busying himself with his horses andcarriages. Josie had transformed herself into a woman of business, andevery day she went to her father's office, opened his mail, and heldbusiness consultations. Whenever it was necessary for papers to beexecuted, Josie went with the lawyer and notary to the Trescott home forthe signing. The Trescott and Tolliver business brought her into daily contact withthe Captain. He used to open the doors between their offices, and havethe mail sorted for Josie when she came in. There was something ofhomage in the manner in which he received her into the office, and laidmatters of business before her. It was something larger and moreexpansive than can be denoted by the word courtesy or politeness. "Captain, " she would say, with the half-amused smile with which shealways rewarded him, "here is this notice from the Grain Belt TrustCompany about the interest on twenty-five thousand dollars of bondswhich they have advanced to us. Will you please explain it?" "Sutt'nly, Madam, sutt'nly, " replied he, using a form of address whichhe adopted the first time she appeared as Bill's representative in thebusiness, and which he never cheapened by use elsewhere. "Those bonds ahdebentures, which--" "But what _are_ debentures, Captain?" she inquired. "Pahdon me, my deah lady, " said he, "fo' not explaining that at fuhst!Those ah the debentures of the Trescott Development Company, fawmed tobuild up Trescott's Addition. We sold those lands on credit, except fo'a cash payment of one foath the purchase-price. This brought to us, asyou can see, Madam, a lahge amount of notes, secured by fuhst mortgageson the Trescott's Addition properties. These notes and mortgages wedeposited with the Grain Belt Trust Company, and issued against them thebonds of the Trescott Development Company--debentures--and the G. B. T. People floated these bonds in the East and elsewhah. This interestmattah was an ovahsight; I should have looked out fo' it, and not putthe G. B. T. To the trouble of advancing it; but as we have this mawnin'on deposit with them several thousand dollahs from the sale of theTolliver's Subdivision papah, the thing becomes a mattah of noimpo'tance whatevah!" "But, " went on Josie, "how shall we be able to pay the next installmentof interest, and the principal, when it falls due?" "Amply provided foh, my deah Madam, " said the Captain, waving his arm;"the defe'ed payments and the interest on them will create an amplesinking fund!" "But if they don't?" she inquired. "That such a contingency can possibly arise, Madam, " said the Captain inhis most impressive orotund, and with his hand thrust into the bosom ofhis Prince Albert coat, "is something which my loyalty to Lattimore, myfaith in my fellow citizens, my confidence in Mr. Elkins and Mr. Barslow, and my regahd fo' my own honah, pledged as it is to those towhom I have sold these properties on the representations I have made asto the prospects of the city, will not puhmit me to admit!" This seemed to him entirely conclusive, and cut off the investigation. Conversation like this, in which Josie questioned the Captain and seemedever convinced by his answers, gave her high rank in the Captain'sestimation. "Like most ladies, " said he, "Miss Trescott is a little inclined toovah-conservatism; but unlike most people of both sexes, she is quiteable to grasp the lahgest views when explained to huh, and huh mentalprocesses ah unerring. I have nevah failed to make the most complicatedsituation cleah to huh--nevah!" And all this time Mr. Trescott was safeguarded at home, looking afterhis horses, carriages, and grounds, and at last permitted to come overto our house and pass the evening with me occasionally. It was on one ofthese visits that he spread out the map on the table and explained to methe advantages of his ranch on Wolf Nose Creek. The very thought of theopen range and the roaming herds seemed to strengthen him. "You talk, " said I, "as if it were all settled. Are you really going outthere?" "Wal, " said he, after some hesitation, "it kind o' makes me feel good tolay plans f'r goin'. I've made the deal with Aleck Macdonald f'r thewater front--it's a good spec if I never go near it--an' I guess I'llsend a bunch o' steers out to please Josie an' her ma. They'repurtendin' to be stuck on goin', an' I've made the bargain to pacify'em; but, say, do you know what kind of a place it is out on one o' themranches?" "In a general way, yes, " said I. "W'l, a general way wun't do, " said he. "You've got to git right down top'ticklers t' know about it, so's to know. It's seventy-five miles froma post-office an' twenty-five to the nearest house. How would you liketo hev a girl o' yourn thet you'd sent t' Chicago an' New York and theol' country, an' spent all colors o' money on so's t' give her all thechanst in the world, go out to a place like that to spend her life?" "I don't know, " said I, for I was in doubt; "it might be all right. " "You wouldn't say that if it was up to you to decide the thing, " saidhe. "W'y it would mean that this girl o' mine, that's fit for tobe--wal, you know Josie--would hev to leave this home we've built--thatshe's built--here, an' go out where there hain't nobody to be seen fromweek's end to week's end but cowboys, an' once in a while one o' thegreasy women o' the dugouts. Do you know what happens to the nicestgirls when they don't see the right sort o' men--at all, y' know?" I nodded. I knew what he meant. Then I shook my head in denial of thedanger. "I don't b'lieve it nuther, " said he; "but is it any cinch, now? An'anyhow, she'll be where she wun't ever hear a bit o' music, 'r see apicter, 'r see a friend. She'll swelter in the burnin' sun an' parch inthe hot winds in the summer, an' in the winter she'll be shet in byblizzards an' cold weather. She'll see nothin' but kioats, prairie-dogs, sage-brush, an' cactus. An' what fer! Jest for nothin' but me! To git meaway from things she's afraid've got more of a pull with me than whatshe's got. An' I say, by the livin' Lord, I'll go under before I'll giveup, an' say I've got as fur down as that!" It is something rending and tearing to a man like Bill, totallyunaccustomed to the expression of sentiment, to give utterance to suchdepths of feeling. Weak and trembling as he was, the sight of hisagitation was painful. I hastened to say to him that I hoped there wasno necessity for such a step as the one he so strongly deprecated. "I d' know, " said he dubiously. "I thought one while that I'd never wantto go near town, 'r touch the stuff agin. But I'll tell yeh somethingthat happened yisterday!" He drew up his chair and looked behind him like a child preparing torelate some fearsome tale of goblin or fiend, and went on: "Josie had the team hitched up to go out ridin', an' I druv around theblock to git to the front step. An' somethin' seemed to pull the nighline when I got to the cawner! It wa'n't that I wanted to go--and don'tyou say anything about this thing, Mr. Barslow; but somethin' seemed topull the nigh line an' turn me toward Main Street; an' fust thing Iknew, I was a-drivin' hell-bent for O'Brien's place! Somethin' wasa-whisperin' to me, 'Go down an' see the boys, an' show 'em that yeh candrink 'r let it alone, jest as yeh see fit!' And the thought come overme o' Josie a-standin' there at the gate waitin' f'r me, an' I set myteeth, an' jerked the hosses' heads around, an' like to upset the buggya-turnin'. 'You look pale, pa, ' says Josie. 'Maybe we'd better not go. ''No, ' says I, 'I'm all right. ' But what . .. Gits me . .. Is thinkin'that, if I'll be hauled around like that when I'm two miles away, howlong would I last . .. If onst I was to git right down in the midst ofit!" I could not endure the subject any longer; it was so unutterably fearfulto see him making this despairing struggle against the foe so stronglylodged within his citadel. I talked to him of old times and places knownto us both, and incidentally called to his mind instances of therecovery of men afflicted as he was. Soon Josie came after him, and Jimdropped in, as he was quite in the habit of doing, making one of thosecasual and informal little companies which constituted a mostdistinctive feature of life in our compact little Belgravia. Josie insisted that life in the cow country was what she had beenlonging for. She had never shot any one, and had never painted a cowboy, an Indian, or a coyote--things she had always longed to do. "You must take me out there, pa, " said she. "It's the only way toutilize the capital we've foolishly tied up in the department of thefine arts!" "I reckon we'll hev to do it, then, little gal, " said Bill. "My mind, " said Jim, "is divided between your place up on the headwatersof Bitter Creek and Paris. Paris seems to promise pretty well, when thisfitful fever of business is over and we've cleaned up the mill run. " Art, he went on, seemed to be a career for which he was really fitted. In the foreground, as a cowboy, or in the middle distance, in hisproper person as a tenderfoot, it seemed as if there was a vocation forhim. Josie made no reply to this, and Jim went away downcast. The Addison-Giddings wedding drew on out of the future, and seemed toloom portentously like doom for the devoted Clifford. It may havesuggested itself to the reader that Mr. Giddings was an abnormally timidlover. The eternal feminine at this time seemed personified in Laura, and worked upon him like an obsession. I have never seen a case quitelike his. The manner in which the marriage was regarded, and the extentto which it was discussed, may have had something to do with this. The boom period anywhere is essentially an era in which public eventsdominate those of a private character, and publicity and promotion, handin hand, occupy the center of the stage. Giddings, as editor andproprietor of the _Herald_, was one of the actors on whom the lime-lightwas pretty constantly focussed. Miss Addison, belonging to the Lattimorefamily, and prominent in good works, was more widely known than he amongLattimoreans of the old days, sometimes referred to by Mr. Elkins as thetrilobites, who constituted a sort of ancient and exclusive caste amongus, priding themselves on having become rich by the only dignified andpurely automatic mode, that of sitting heroically still, and allowingtheir lands to rise in value. These regarded Laura as one of themselves, and her marriage as a sacrament of no ordinary character. Giddings, on the other hand, as the type of the new crowd who had donesuch wonders, and as the embodiment of its spirit, was dimly sensed byall classes as a sort of hero of obscure origin, who by strong blows hadhewed his way to the possession of a princess of the blood. So theinterest was really absorbing. Even the _Herald's_ rival, the _EveningTimes_, dropped for a time the normal acrimony of its references to the_Herald_, and sent a reporter to make a laudatory write-up of thewedding. On the night before the event, deep in the evening, Giddings and abibulous friend insisted on having refreshments served to them in theparlor of the clubhouse. This was a violation of rules. Moreover, theyhad involuntarily assumed sitting postures on the carpet, renderingwaiting upon them a breach of decorum as well. At least this was theview of Pearson, who was now attached to the club. "You must excuse me, gentlemen, " he said, "but Ah'm bound to obeyrules. " "Bring us, " said Giddings, "two cocktails. " "Can't do it, sah, " said Pearson, "not hyah, sah!" "Bring us paper to write resignations on!" said Giddings. "We won'tbelong to a club where we are bullied by niggers. " Pearson brought the paper. "They's no rule, suh, " said he, "again' suhvin' resignation papahanywhah in the house. But let me say, Mistah Giddings, that Ah wouldn'tbe hasty: it's a heap hahder to get inter this club now than what it waswhen you-all come in!" This suggestion of Pearson's was in every one's mouth as the mostamusing story of the time. Even Giddings laughed about it. But all hislaughter was hollow. Some bets were offered that one of two things would happen on thewedding-day: either Giddings (who had formerly been of abstemioushabits) would overdo the attempt to nerve himself up to the occasion andgo into a vinous collapse, or he would stay sober and take to his heels. Thus, in fear and trembling, did the inexplicable disciple of Iagoapproach his happiness; but, like most soldiers, when the battle wasactually on, he went to the fighting-line dazed into bravery. It was quite a spectacular affair. The church was a floral grotto, andthere were, in great abundance, the adjuncts of ribbon barriers, specialelectric illuminations, special music, full ritual, ushers, bridesmaids, and millinery. Antonia was chief bridesmaid, and Cornish best man. Thesevere conformity to vogue, and preservation of good form, weregenerally attributed to his management. It was a great success. There was an elaborate supper, of which Giddings partook in a mannerwhich tended to prove that his sense of taste was still in hispossession, whatever may have been the case with his other senses. Josiewas there, and Jim was her shadow. She was a little pale, but not at allsad; her figure, which had within the past year or so acquired somethingof the wealth commonly conceded to matronliness, had waned to theslenderness of the day I first saw her in the art-gallery, but now, asthen, she was slim, not thin. To two, at least, she was a vision ofdelight, as one might well see by the look of adoration which Jim pouredinto her eyes from time to time, and the hungry gaze with which Cornishtook in the ruddy halo of her hair, the pale and intellectual facebeneath it, and the sensuous curves of the compact little form. For myown part, my vote was for Antonia, for the belle of the gathering; butshe sailed through the evening, "like some full-breasted swan, "accepting no homage except the slavish devotion of Cecil, whose constantoffering of his neck to her tread gave him recognition as entitled tothe reward of those who are permitted only to stand and wait. Mr. Elkins had furnished a special train over the L. & G. W. To make therun with the bridal party to Elkins Junction, connecting there with theeast-bound limited on the Pendleton line, thence direct to Elysium. Laura, rosy as a bride should be, and actually attractive to me for thefirst time in her life, sat in her traveling-dress trying to lookmatter-of-fact, and discussing time-tables with her bridegroom, whoseemed to find less and less of dream and more of the actual in thesituation, --calm returning with the cutaway. Cecil and the coterie ofgilded youth who followed him did their share to bring Giddings back toearth by a series of practical jokes, hackneyed, but ever fresh. Thelargest trunk, after it reached the platform, blossomed out in a signreading: "The Property of the Bride and Groom. You can Identify theOwners by that Absorbed Expression!" Divers revelatory incidents werearranged to eventuate on the limited train. Precipitation of rice wasproduced, in modes known to sleight-of-hand only. So much of thisoccurred that Captain Tolliver showed, by a stately refusal to see thejoke, his disapproval of it--a feeling which he expressed in an aside tome. "Hoss-play of this so't, suh, " said he, "ought not to be tolerated amongcivilized people, and I believe is not! In the state of society in whichI was reahed such niggah-shines would mean pistols at ten paces, withinfo'ty-eight houahs, with the lady's neahest male relative! And propahlyso, too, suh; quite propahly!" "Shall we go to the train, Albert?" said Alice, as the party made readyto go. "No, " said I, "unless you particularly wish it; we shall go home. " "Mr. Barslow, " said one of the maids, "you are wanted at the telephone. " "Is this you, Al?" said Jim's voice over the wire. "I'm up here atJosie's, and I am afraid there's trouble with her father. When we gothere we found him gone. Hadn't you better go out and look around forhim?" "Have you any idea where I'm likely to find him?" I asked. I saw at oncethe significance of Bill's absence. He had taken advantage of the factof his wife and daughter's going to the wedding, and had yielded to thething which drew him away from them. "Try the Club, and then O'Brien's, " answered Jim. "If you don't findhim in one place or the other, call me up over the 'phone. Call me upanyhow; I'll wait here. " The _Times_ man heard my end of the conversation, saw me hastily giveAlice word as to the errand which kept me from going home with her, observed my preparations for leaving the company, and, scenting news, fell in with me as I was walking toward the Club. "Any story in this, Mr. Barslow?" he asked. "Oh, is that you, Watson?" I answered. "I was going on an errand whichconcerns myself. I was going alone. " "If you're looking for any one, " he said, trotting along beside me, "Ican find him a good deal quicker than you can, probably. And if there'snews in it, I'll get it anyhow; and I'll naturally know it more fromyour standpoint, and look at it more as you do, if we go together. Don'tyou think so?" "See here, Watson, " said I, "you may help if you wish. But if you printa word without my consent, I can and will scoop the _Times_ every day, from this on, with every item of business news coming through ouroffice. Do you understand, and do you promise?" "Why, certainly, " said he. "You've got the thing in your own hands. Whatis it, anyhow?" I told him, and found that Trescott's dipsomania was as well known tohim as myself. "He's been throwing money to the fowls for a year or two, " he remarked. "It's better than two to one you don't find him at the Club: theatmosphere won't be congenial for him there. " At the Club we found Watson's forecast verified. At O'Brien's ourknocking on the door aroused a sleepy bartender, who told us that no onewas there, but refused to let us in. Watson called him aside, and theytalked together for a few minutes. "All right, " said the reporter, turning away from him, "much obliged, Hank; I believe you've struck it. " Watson was leader now, and I followed him toward Front Street, near theriver. He said that Hank, the barkeeper, had told him that Trescott hadbeen in his saloon about nine o'clock, drinking heavily; and from thecompany he was in, it was to be suspected that he would be steered intoa joint down on the river front. We passed through an alley, and down aback basement stairway, came to a door, on which Watson confidentlyknocked, and which was opened by a negro who let us in as soon as he sawthe reporter. The air was sickening with an odor which I then perceivedfor the first time, and which Watson called the dope smell. There was anindefinable horror about the place, which so repelled me that nothingbut my obligation could have held me there. The lights were dim, and atfirst I could see nothing more than that the sides of the room weredivided into compartments by dull-colored draperies, in a mannersuggesting the sections of a sleeping-car. There were sounds of dreadfulbreathings and inarticulate voices, and over all that sickening smell. Isaw, flung aimlessly from the crepuscular and curtained recesses, herethe hairy brawn of a man's arm, there a woman's leg in scarlet silkstocking, the foot half withdrawn from a red slipper with a high Frenchheel. The Gate of a Hundred Sorrows had opened for me, and I stood as ifgazing, with eyes freshly unsealed to its horrors, into some diminferno, sibilant with hisses, and enwrapped in indeterminatedragon-folds--and I in quest of a lost soul. "He wouldn't go with his pal, boss, " I heard the negro say. "Ah tried tosend him home, but he said he had some medicine to take, an' he 'nsistedon stayin'. " As he ceased to speak, I knew that Watson had been interrogating him, and that he was referring to the man we sought. "Show me where he is, " I commanded. "Yes, boss! Right hyah, sah!" In an inner room, on a bed, not a pallet like those in the firstchamber, was Trescott, his head lying peacefully on a pillow, his handsclasped across his chest. Somehow, I was not surprised to see noevidence of life, no rise and fall of the breast, no sound of breathing. But Watson started forward in amazement, laid his hand for a moment onthe pallid forehead, lifted for an instant and then dropped the inerthand, turned and looked fixedly in my face, and whispered, "My God! He'sdead!" As if at some great distance, I heard the negro saying, "He done said hehed ter tek some medicine, boss. Ah hopes you-all won't make no troublefoh me, boss--!" "Send for a doctor!" said I. "Telephone Mr. Elkins, at Trescott's home!" Watson darted out, and for an eternity, as it seemed to me, I stoodthere alone. There was a scurrying of the vermin in the place to snatchup a few valuables and flee, as if they had been the crawling thingsunder some soon-to-be-lifted stone, to whom light was a calamity. I wasleft with the Stillness before me, and the dreadful breathings andinarticulate voices outside. Then came the clang and rattle of ambulanceand patrol, and in came a policeman or two, a physician, a _Herald_ manand Watson, who was bitterly complaining of Bill for having had the badtaste to die on the morning paper's time. And soon came Jim, in a carriage, whirled along the street like a racingchariot--with whom I rode home, silent, save for answering hisquestions. Now the wife, gazing out of her door, saw in the street theSomething for which she had peered past me the other night. The men carried it in at the door, and laid it on the divan. Josie, herarms and shoulders still bare in the dress she had worn to the wedding, broke away from Cornish, who was bending over her and saying things tocomfort her, and swept down the hall to the divan where Bill lay, whiteand still, and clothed with the mystic majesty of death. The shimmeringsilk and lace of her gown lay all along the rug and over the divan, likedrapery thrown there to conceal what lay before us. She threw her armsacross the still breast, and her head went down on his. "Oh, pa! Oh, pa!" she moaned, "you never did any one any harm!. .. Youwere always good and kind!. .. And always loving and forgiving. .. . Andwhy should they come to you, poor pa . .. And take you from the thingsyou loved . .. And . .. Murder you . .. Like this!" Jim fell back, as if staggering from a blow. Cornish came forward, andoffered to raise up the stricken girl, whose eyes shone in her grieflike the eyes of insanity. Alice stepped before Cornish, raised Josieup, and supported her from the room. * * * * * Again it was morning, when we--Alice, Jim, and I--sat face to face inour home. An untasted breakfast was spread before us. Jim's eyes were onthe cloth, and nothing served to rouse him. I knew that the blow fromwhich he had staggered still benumbed his faculties. "Come, " said I, "we shall need your best thought down at the Grain BeltBuilding in a couple of hours. This brings things to a crisis. We shallhave a terrible dilemma to face, it's likely. Eat and be ready to faceit!" "God!" said he, "it's the old tale over again, Al: throw the dead andwounded overboard to clear the decks, and on with the fight!" CHAPTER XIX. In Which Events Resume their Usual Course--at a Somewhat AcceleratedPace. The death of Mr. Trescott was treated with that consideration which theaffairs of the locally prominent always receive in towns where localpapers are in close financial touch with the circle affected. Nothingwas said of suicide, or of the place where the body was found; and infact I doubt if the family ever knew the real facts; but the propertymatters were looked upon as a legitimate subject for comment. "Yesterday, " said, in due time, the _Herald_, "the Trescott estatepassed into the hands of Will Lattimore, as administrator. He wasappointed upon the petition of Martha D. Trescott, the widow. His bond, in the sum of $500, 000, was signed by James R. Elkins, Albert F. Barslow, J. Bedford Cornish, and Marion Tolliver, as sureties, and issaid to be the largest in amount ever filed in our local Probate Court. "Mr. Lattimore is non-committal as to the value of the estate. The bondis not to be taken as altogether indicative of this value, as additionalbonds may be called for at any time, and the individual responsibilityof the administrator is very large. He will at once enter upon the workof settling up the estate, receiving and filing claims, and preparinghis report. He estimates the time necessary to a full understanding ofthe extent and condition of his trust at weeks and even months. "The petition states that the deceased died intestate, leaving survivinghim the petitioner and an only child, a daughter, Josephine. As MissTrescott has attained her majority, she will at once come into thepossession of the greater part of this estate, becoming thereby therichest heiress in this part of the West. This fact of itself wouldrender her an interesting person, an interest to which her charmingpersonality adds zest. She is a very beautiful girl, petite in figure, with splendid brown hair and eyes. She is possessed of a strongindividuality, has had the advantages of the best American andContinental schools, and is said to be an artist of much ability. Mrs. Trescott comes of the Dana family, prominent in central Illinois fromthe earliest settlement of the state. "President Elkins, of the L. & G. W. , who, perhaps, knows more than anyother person as to the situation and value of the various Trescottproperties, could not be seen last night. He went to Chicago onWednesday, and yesterday wired his partner, Mr. Barslow, that businesshad called him on to New York, where he would remain for some time. " In another column of the same issue was a double-leaded news-story, based on certain rumors that Jim's trip to New York was taken for thepurpose of financing extensions of the L. & G. W. Which would develop itinto a system of more than a thousand miles of line. "Their past successes have shown, " said the _Herald_ in editorialcomment on this, "that Mr. Elkins and his associates are resourcefulenough to bring such an undertaking, gigantic as it is, quite withintheir abilities. The world has not seen the best that is in the power ofthis most remarkable group of men to accomplish. Lattimore, already ayoung giantess in stature and strength, has not begun to grow, incomparison with what is in the future for her, if she is to be made thecenter of such a vast railway system as is outlined in the news itemreferred to. " From which one gathers that the young men left by Mr. Giddings in chargeof his paper were entirely competent to carry forward his policy. Jim had gone to Chicago to see Halliday, hoping to rouse in him aninterest in the Belt Line and L. & G. W. Properties; but on arrivingthere had telegraphed to me that he must go to New York. This messagewas followed by a letter of explanation and instructions. "Halliday spends a good deal of his time in New York now, " the letterread, "and is there at present. His understudy here advised me to go onEast. I should rather see him there than here, on account of the greaterlikelihood that Pendleton may detect us: so I'm going. I shall stay aslong as I can do any good by it. Lattimore won't get the condition ofthe estate worked out for a month, and until we know about that, therewon't anything come up of the first magnitude, and even if there should, you can handle it. I don't really expect to come back with the twomillion dollars for the L. & G. W. , but I do hope to have it in sight! "In all your prayers let me be remembered; 'if it don't do no good, itwon't do no harm, ' and I'll need all the help I can get. I'm going wherethe lobster ŕ la Newburg and the Welsh rabbit hunt in couples in theinterest of the Sure-Thing game; where the bird-and-bottle combine isthe stalking-horse for the Frame-up; and where the Flim-flam (I use theword on the authority of Beaumont, Fletcher & Giddings) has its naturalhabitat. I go to foster the entente cordiale between our friendsPendleton and Halliday into what I may term a mutual cross-lift, ofwhich we shall be the beneficiaries--in trust, however, for the use andbehoof of the captives below decks. "Giddings and Laura are here. I had them out to a box party last night. They are most insufferably happy. Clifford is not sane yet, but israllying. He is rallying considerably; for he spoke of plans for pushingthe _Herald_ Addition harder than ever when he gets home. And you knowsuch a thing as business has never entered his mind for sixmonths--unless it was business to write that 'Apostrophe to the Heart, 'which he called a poem, and which, I don't mind admitting now, I hiredhis foreman to pi after the copy was lost. "Keep everything as near ship-shape as you can. Watch the papers, orthey may do us more harm in a single fool story than can be remedied bywise counter-mendacity in a year. Especially watch the _Times_, althoughthere's mighty little choice between them. You and Alice ought to spendas much time at the Trescotts' as you can spare. You'll hear from mealmost daily. Wire anything of importance fully. Keep the L. & G. W. Extension story before the people; it may make some impression even inthe East, but it's sure to do good in the local fake market. Don't missa chance to jolly our Eastern banks. I should declare a dividend--say4%--on Cement stock. At Atlas Power Company meeting ask Cornish to movepassing earnings to surplus in lieu of dividend, on the theory ofbuilding new factories--anyhow, consult with the fellows about it: thatmoney will be handy to have in the treasury before the year is out, unless I am mistaken. Sorry I can't be at these meetings. Will be backfor those of Rapid Transit and Belt Line Companies. "Yours, "Jim. "P. S. --Coming in, I saw a group of children dancing on a bridge, closeto a schoolhouse, down near the Mississippi. I guess no one but myselfknew what they were doing; but I recognized our old 'Weevilly Wheat'dance. I could imagine the ancient Scotch air, which the noise of thetrain kept me from hearing, and the old words you and I used to sing, dancing on the Elk Creek bridge: "'We want no more of your weevilly wheat, We want no more your barley; But we want some of your good old wheat, To make a cake for Charley!' "You remember it all! How we used to swing the little girls around, andwhen we remembered it afterwards, how we would float off into realms ofblissful companionship with freckled, short-skirted, bare-legged angels!Things were simpler then, Al, weren't they? And to emphasize that fact, my mind ran along the trail of the 'Weevilly Wheat' into the domain oftickers, margins, puts and calls, and all the cussedness of the Board ofTrade, and came bump against poor Bill's bucket-shop deals, and settleddown to the chronic wonder as to just how badly crippled he was when hedied. If Will gets it figured out soon, at all accurately, wire me. "J. " The wedding tour came to an end, and the bride and groom returned longbefore Mr. Elkins did. Giddings dropped into my office the day aftertheir return, and, quite in his old way, began to discuss affairs ingeneral. "I'm going to close out the _Herald_ Addition, " said he. "Real estateand newspaper work don't mix, and I shall unload the real estate. Whatdo you say to an auction?" "How can you be sure of anything like an adequate scale of prices?" saidI; "and won't you demoralize things?" "It'll strengthen prices, " he replied, "the way I'll manage it. This isthe age of the sensational--the yellow--and you people haven't beenyellow enough in your methods of selling dirt. If you say sensationalismis immoral, I won't dispute it, but just simply ask how the fact happensto be material?" I saw that he was going out of his way to say this, and avoideddiscussion by asking him to particularize as to his methods. "We shall pursue a progressively startling course of advertising, to theend that the interest shall just miss acute mania. I'll have the bestauctioneer in the world. On the day of the auction we'll have a seriesof doings which will leave the people absolutely no way out of buying. We'll have a scale of upset prices which will prevent loss. Why, I'llmake such a killing as never was known outside of the Fifteen DecisiveBattles. I sha'n't seem to do all this personally. I shall turn the workover to Tolliver; but I'll be the power behind the movement. Thegestures and stage business will be those of Esau, but the word-paintingwill be that of Jacob. " "Well, " said I, "I see nothing wrong about your plan; and it may bepracticable. " "There being nothing wrong about it is no objection from my standpoint, "said he. "In fact, I think I prefer to have it morally right rather thanotherwise, other things being equal, you know. As for itspracticability, you watch the Captain, and you'll see!" This talk with Giddings convinced me that he was entirely himself again;and also that the boom was going on apace. It had now long reached thestage where the efforts of our syndicate were reinforced by those ofhundreds of men, who, following the lines of their own interests, werepowerfully and effectively striving to accomplish the same ends. Ipointed this out in a letter to Mr. Elkins in New York. "I am glad to note, " said he in reply, "that affairs are going on socheerfully at home. Don't imagine, however, that because a horde ofvolunteers (most of them nine-spots) have taken hold, our old guard isof any less importance. Do you remember what a Prince Rupert's drop is?I absolutely know you don't, and to save you the trouble of looking itup, I'll explain that it is a glass pollywog which holds together allright until you snap off the tip of its tail. Then a job lot ofmolecular stresses are thrown out of balance, and the thing develops thesurprising faculty of flying into innumerable fragments, with a verypleasing explosion. Whether the name is a tribute of Prince Rupert'spropensity to fly off the handle, or whether he discovered the drop, orfirst noted its peculiarities, I leave for the historian of theCromwellian epoch to decide. The point I make is this. Our syndicate isthe tail of the Lattimore Rupert's drop; and the Grain Belt Trust Co. Isthe very slenderest and thinnest tip of the pollywog's propeller. Hencethe writer's tendency to count the strokes of the clock these nights. " Dating from the night of Trescott's death, and therefore covering theperiod of Jim's absence, I could not fail to notice the renewed ardorwith which Cornish devoted himself to the Trescott family. Alice and I, on our frequent visits, found him at their home so much that I wasforced to the conclusion that he must have had some encouragement. During this period of their mourning his treatment of both mother anddaughter was at once so solicitously friendly, and so delicate, that noone in their place could have failed to feel a sense of obligation. Hesent flowers to Mrs. Trescott, and found interesting things in books andmagazines for Josie. Having known him as a somewhat cold and formal man, Mrs. Trescott was greatly pleased with this new view of his character. He diverted her mind, and relieved the monotony of her grief. Cornishwas a diplomat (otherwise Jim would have had no use for him in the firstplace), and he skilfully chose this sad and tender moment to bring abouta closer intimacy than had existed between him and the afflicted family. It was clearly no affair of mine. Nevertheless, after severalexperiences in finding Cornish talking with Josie by the Trescott grate, I considered Jim's interests menaced. "Well, " said Alice, when I mentioned this feeling, "Mr. Cornish iscertainly a desirable match, and it can scarcely be expected that Josiewill remain permanently unattached. " There was a little resentment in her voice, for which I could see noreason, and therefore protested that, under all circumstances, it wasscarcely fair to blame me for the lady's unappropriated state. "Under other conditions, " said I, "I assure you that I should notpermit such an anomaly to exist--if I could help it. " The incident was then declared closed. During this absence of Jim's, which, I think, was the real cause ofAlice's displeasure, the _Herald_ Addition sale went forward, with allthe "yellow" features which the minds of Giddings and Tolliver couldinvent. It began with flaring advertisements in both papers. Then, on acertain day, the sale was declared open, and every bill-board and fencebore posters puffing it. A great screen was built on a vacant lot onMain Street, and across the street was placed, every night, the biggestmagic lantern procurable, from which pictures of all sorts wereprojected on the screen, interlarded with which were statements of the_Herald_ Addition sales for the day, and quotations showing the advancein prices since yesterday. And at all times the coming auction was criedabroad, until the interest grew to something wonderful. Every farmer andcountry merchant within a hundred miles of the city was talking of it. Tolliver was in his highest feather. On the day of the auction hesecured excursion rates on all of the railroads, and made it a holiday. Porter's great military band, then touring the country, was secured forthe afternoon and evening. Thousands of people came in on the excursionsand it seemed like a carnival. Out at the piece of land platted as the_Herald_ Addition, whither people were conveyed in street-cars andcarriages during the long afternoon the great band played about thestands erected for the auctioneer, who went from stand to stand, cryingoff the lots, the precise location of the particular parcel at anymoment under the hammer being indicated by the display of a flag, heldhigh by two strong fellows, who lowered the banner and walked to anothersite in obedience to signals wigwagged by the enthusiastic Captain. Thethrong bid excitedly, and the clerks who made out the papers workeddesperately to keep up with the demands for deeds. It was clear that thesale was a success. As the sun sank, handbills were scattered informingthe crowd that in the evening Tolliver & Company, as a slight evidenceof their appreciation of the splendid business of the day, would throwopen to their friends the new Cornish Opera House, where Porter'scelebrated band would give its regular high-class concert. Tolliver &Company, the bill went on, took pleasure in further informing the publicthat, in view of the great success of the day's sale, and the very smallamount to which their holdings in the _Herald_ Addition were reduced, the remainder of this choice piece of property would be sold from thestage to the highest bidder, absolutely without any reservation orrestriction as to the price! I had received a telegram from Jim saying that he would return on atrain arriving that evening, and asking that Cornish, Hinckley, andLattimore be at the office to meet him. I was on the street early in theevening, looking with wonder at the crowds making merry after the dizzyday of speculative delirium. At the opera house, filled to overflowingwith men admitted on tickets, the great band was discoursing its music, in alternation with the insinuating oratory of the auctioneer, underwhose skilful management the odds and ends of the _Herald_ Addition werechanging owners at a rate which was simply bewildering. "Don't you see, " said Giddings delightedly, "that this is the only wayto sell town lots?" Jim came into the office, fresh and buoyant after his long trip, hislaugh as hearty and mirth-provoking as ever. After shaking hands withall, he threw himself into his own chair. "Boys, " said he, "I feel like a mouse just returning from a visit to acat convention. But what's this crowd for? It's nearly as bad asBroadway. " We explained what Giddings and Tolliver had been doing. "But, " said he, "do you mean to tell me that he's sold that Addition tothis crowd of reubs?" "He most certainly has, " said Cornish. "Well, fellows, " replied Jim, "put away the accounts of this ascuriosities! You'll have some difficulty in making posterity believethat there was ever a time or place where town lots were sold with magiclanterns and a brass band! And don't advertise it too much with Dorr, Wickersham and those fellows. They think us a little crazy now. But abrass band! That comes pretty near being the limit. " "Gentlemen, " said Mr. Lattimore, "I shall have to leave you soon; andwill you kindly make use of me as soon as you conveniently can, and letme go?" "Have you got the condition of the Trescott estate figured out?" saidMr. Elkins. "Yes, " said the lawyer. We all leaned forward in absorbed interest; for this was news. "Have you told these gentlemen?" Jim went on. "I have told no one. " "Please give us your conclusions. " "Gentlemen, " said Mr. Lattimore, "I am sorry to report that the Trescottestate is absolutely insolvent! It lacks a hundred thousand dollars ofbeing worth anything!" There was a silence for some moments. "My God!" said Hinckley, "and our trust company is on all that paper ofTrescott's scattered over the East!" "What's become of the money he got on all his sales?" asked Jim. "From the looks of the check-stubs, and other indications, " said Mr. Lattimore, "I should say the most of it went into Board of Trade deals. " Cornish was swearing in a repressed way, and above his black beard hisface was pale. Elkins sat drumming idly on the desk with his fingers. "Gentlemen, " said he, "I take it to be conceded that unless the Trescottpaper is cared for, things will go to pieces here. That's the same assaying that it must be taken up at all hazards. " "Not exactly, " said Cornish, "at _all_ hazards. " "Well, " said Jim, "it amounts to that. Has any one any suggestions as tothe course to be followed?" Mr. Cornish asked whether it would not be best to take time, allow theprobate proceedings to drag along, and see what would turn up. "But the Trust Company's guaranties, " said Mr. Hinckley, with a banker'sscent for the complications of commercial paper, "must be made good onpresentation, or it may as well close its doors. " "The thing won't 'drag along' successfully, " said Jim. "Have you aschedule of the assets?" "Yes, " said Mr. Lattimore. "The life-insurance money and the home areexempt from liability for debts, and I've left them out; but the otherproperties you'll find listed here. " And he threw down on the desk a folded document in a legal wrapper. "The family, " said Jim gravely, "must be told of the condition ofthings. It is a hard thing to do, but it must be done. Then conveyancesmust be obtained of all the property, subject to debts; and we must takethe property and pay the debts. That also will be a hard thing to do--inseveral ways; but it must be done. It must be done--do you all agree?" "Let me first ask, " said Mr. Cornish, turning to Mr. Hinckley, "how longwould it be before there would have to be trouble on this paper?" "It couldn't possibly be postponed more than sixty days, " was theanswer. "Is there any prospect, " Cornish went on, addressing Mr. Elkins, "ofclosing out the railway properties within sixty days?" "A prospect, yes, " said Jim. "Anything like a certainty?" "No, not in sixty days. " "Then, " said Cornish reluctantly, "there seems to be no way out of it, and I agree. But I feel as if I were being held up, and I assent on thisground only: that Halliday and Pendleton will never deal on equal termswith a set of financial cripples, and that any trouble here will sealthe fate of the railway transaction. But, lest this be taken as aprecedent, I wish it to be understood that I'm not jeopardizing myfortune, or any part of it, out of any sentimental consideration forthese supposed claims of any one who holds Lattimore paper, in the Eastor elsewhere!" Jim sat drumming on the desk. "As we are all agreed on what to do, " said he drawlingly, "we can skipthe question why we do it. Prepare the necessary papers, Mr. Lattimore. And perhaps you are the proper person to apprise the family as to thetrue condition of things. We'll have to get together to-morrow and beginto dig for the funds. I think we can do no more to-night. " We walked down the street and dropped into the opera house in time tohear the grand finale of the last piece by the band. As the greatoutburst of music died away, Captain Tolliver radiantly stepped to thefootlights, dividing the applause with the musicians. "Ladies and gentlemen, " said he, "puhmit me to say, in bidding you-allgood-night, that I congratulate the republic on the possession of acitizenship so awake to theiah true interests as you have shownyou'selves to-day! I congratulate the puhchasers of propahty in the_Herald_ Addition upon the bahgains they have secuahed. Only fiveminutes' walk from the cyahs, and well within the three-mile limit, thetime must soon come when these lots will be covahed with the mansions ofouah richah citizens. Even since the sales of this afternoon, I aminfawmed that many of the pieces have been resold at an advance, nettingthe puhchasers a nice profit without putting up a cent. Upon all this Icongratulate you. Lattimore, ladies and gentlemen, has nevah been cuhsedby a boom, and I pray God she nevah may! This rathah brisk growth ofouahs, based as it is on crying needs of ouah trade territory, is reallyunaccountably slow, all things considered. But I may say right hyah thatthings ah known to be in sto' foh us which will soon give ouah city animpetus which will cyahy us fo'ward by leaps and bounds--by leaps andbounds, ladies and gentlemen--to that highah and still mo' commandin'place in the galaxy of American cities which is ouahs by right! And nowas you-all take youah leave, I propose that we rise and give threecheers fo' Lattimore and prosperity. " The cheers were given thunderously, and the crowd bustled out, fillingthe street. "Well, wouldn't that jar you!" said Jim. "This is a case of 'Gaze firstupon this picture, then on that' sure enough, isn't it, Al?" Captain Tolliver joined us, so full of excitement of the evening that heforgot to give Mr. Elkins the greeting his return otherwise would haveevoked. "Gentlemen, " said he, "it was glorious! Nevah until this moment have Ifelt true fawgiveness in my breast faw the crime of Appomattox! Butto-night we ah truly a reunited people!" "Glad to know it, " said Jim, "mighty glad, Captain. The news'll sendstocks up a-whooping, if it gets to New York!" CHAPTER XX. I Twice Explain the Condition of the Trescott Estate. Nothing had remained unchanged in Lattimore, and our old offices in theFirst National Bank edifice had long since been vacated by us. The verybuilding had been demolished, and another and many-storied structurestood in its place. Now we were in the big Grain Belt Trust Company'sbuilding, the ground-floor of which was shared between the Trust Companyand the general offices of the Lattimore and Great Western. In onecorner, and next to the private room of President Elkins, was the officeof Barslow & Elkins, where I commanded. Into which entered Mrs. Trescottand her daughter one day, soon after Mr. Lattimore had been given hisinstructions concerning the offer of our syndicate to pay the debts oftheir estate and take over its properties. "Josie and I have called, " said the widow, "to talk with you about theestate matters. Mr. Lattimore came to see us last night and--told us. " She seemed a little agitated, but in nowise so much cast down as mightbe expected of one who, considering herself rich, learns that she ispoor. She had in her manner that mixture of dignity and constraintwhich marks the bearing of people whose relations with their friendshave been affected by some great grief. A calamity not only changes ourown feelings, but it makes us uncertain as to what our friends expect ofus. "What we wish explained, " said Josie, "is just how it comes that ourproperty must be deeded away. " "I can see, " said I, "that that is a matter which demands investigationon your part. Your request is a natural and a proper one. " "It is not that, " said she, evidently objecting to the wordinvestigation; "we are not so very much surprised, and we have no doubtas to the necessity of doing it. But we want to know as much as possibleabout it before we act. " "Quite right, " said I. "Mr. Elkins is in the next office; let us callhim in. He sees and can explain these things as clearly as any one. " Jim came in response to a summons by one of his clerks. He shook handsgravely with my visitors. "We are told, " said Mrs. Trescott, "that our debts are a good deal morethan we can pay--that we really have nothing. " "Not quite that, " said Jim; "the law gives to the widow the home and thelife insurance. That is a good deal more than nothing. " "As to whether we can keep that, " said Josie, "we are not discussingnow; but there are some other things we should like cleared up. " "We don't understand Mr. Cornish's offer to take the property and paythe debts, " said Mrs. Trescott. Jim's glance sought mine in a momentary and questioning astonishment;then he calmly returned the widow's look. Josie's eyes were turnedtoward the carpet, and a slight blush tinged her cheeks. "Ah, " said Jim, "yes; Mr. Cornish's offer. How did you learn of it?" "I got my understanding of it from Mr. Lattimore, " said Mrs. Trescott, "and told Josie about it. " "Before we consent to carry out this plan, " said Josie, "we . .. I wantto know all about the motives and considerations back of it. I want toknow whether it is based on purely business considerations, or on somefancied obligation . .. Or . .. Or . .. On merely friendly sentiments. " "As to motives, " said Mr. Elkins, "if the purely business requirementsof the situation fully account for the proposition, we may waive thediscussion of motives, can't we, Josie?" "I imagine, " said Mrs. Trescott, finding that Jim's question remainedunanswered, "that none of us will claim to be able to judge Mr. Cornish's motives. " "Certainly not, " acquiesced Mr. Elkins. "None of us. " "This is not what we came to ask about, " said Josie. "Please tell uswhether our house and the insurance money would be mamma's if this planwere not adopted--if the courts went on and settled the estate in theusual way?" "Yes, " said I, "the law gives her that, and justly. For the creditorsknew all about the law when they took those bonds. So you need have noqualms of conscience on that. " "As none of it belongs to me, " said Josie, "I shall leave all that tomamma. I avoid the necessity of settling it by ceasing to be 'therichest heiress in this part of the West'--one of the uses of adversity. But to proceed. Mamma says that there is a corporation, or something, forming to pay our debts and take our property, and that it will take ahundred thousand dollars more to pay the debts than the estate is worth. I must understand why this corporation should do this. I can see that itwill save pa's good name in the business world, and save us from publicbankruptcy; but ought we to be saved these things at such a cost? Andcan we permit--a corporation--or any one, to do this for us?" Mr. Elkins nodded to me to speak. "My dear, " said I, "it's another illustration of the truth that no manliveth unto himself alone--" She shrank, as if she feared some fresh hurt was about to be touched, and I saw that it was the second part of the text the anticipation ofwhich gave her pain. Quotation is sometimes ill for a green wound. "The fact is, " I went on, "that things in Lattimore are not in conditionto bear a shock--general money conditions, I mean, you know. " "I know, " she said, nodding assent; "I can see that. " "Your father did a very large business for a time, " I continued; "andwhen he sold lands he took some cash in payment, and for the balancenotes of the various purchasers, secured by mortgages on the properties. Many of these persons are mere adventurers, who bought on speculation, and when their first notes came due failed to pay. Now if you had thesenotes, you could hold them, or foreclose the mortgages, and, beyondbeing disappointed in getting the money, no harm would be done. " "I understand, " said Josie. "I knew something of this before. " "But if we haven't the notes, " inquired her mother, "where are they?" "Well, " I went on, "you know how we have all handled these matters here. Mr. Trescott did as we all did: he negotiated them. The Grain Belt TrustCompany placed them for him, and his are the only securities it hashandled except those of our syndicate. He took them to the Trust Companyand signed them on the back, and thus promised to pay them if the firstsigner failed. Then the trust company attached its guaranty to them, andthey were resold all over the East, wherever people had money to put outat interest. " "I see, " said Josie; "we have already had the money on these notes. " "Yes, " said I, "and now we find that a great many of these notes, whichare being sent on for payment, will not be paid. Your father's estate isnot able to pay them, and our trust company must either take them up orfail. If it fails, everyone will think that values in Lattimore areunstable and fictitious, and so many people will try to sell out that weshall have a smashing of values, and possibly a panic. Prices willdrop, so that none of our mortgages will be good for their face. Thousands of people will be broken, the city will be ruined, and therewill be hard and distressful times, both here and where our paper isheld. But if we can keep things as they are until we can do some largethings we have in view, we are not afraid of anything serious happening. So we form this new corporation, and have it advance the funds on thenotes, so as not to weaken the trust company--and because we can'tafford to do it otherwise--and we know you would not permit it anyhow;and we ask you to give to the new corporation all the property which thecreditors could reach, which will be held, and sold as opportunityoffers, so as to make the loss as small as possible. But we must keepoff this panic to save ourselves. " "I must think about this, " said Josie. "I don't see any way out of it;but to have one's affairs so wrapped up in such a great tangle that oneloses control of them seems wrong, somehow. And so far as I amconcerned, I think I should prefer to turn everything over to thecreditors--house and all--than to have even so good friends as yourselftake on such a load for us. It seems as if we were saying to you, 'Payour debts or we'll ruin you!' I must think about it. " "You understand it now?" said Jim. "Yes, in a way. " "Let me come over this evening, " said he, "and I think I can remove thisfeeling from your mind. And by the way, the new corporation is not goingto have the ranch out on the Cheyenne Range. The syndicate says itisn't worth anything. And I'm going to take it. I still believe in theheadwaters of Bitter Creek as an art country. " "Thank you, " said she vaguely. Somehow, the explanation of the estate affairs seemed to hurt her. Hercolor was still high, but her eyes were suffused, her voice grew chokedat times, and she showed the distress of her recent trials, in somethinglike a loss of self-control. Her pretty head and slender figure, theflexile white hands clasped together in nervous strain to discuss theseso vital matters, and, more than all, the departure from her habitualcool and self-possessed manner, was touching, and appealed powerfully toJim. He walked up to her, as she stood ready to leave, and laid his handlightly on her arm. "The way Barslow puts these property matters, " said he, "you are calledupon to think that all arrangements have been made upon a cold cashbasis; and, actually, that's the fact. But you mustn't either of youthink that in dealing with you we have forgotten that you are dear tous--friends. We should have had to act in the same way if you had beenenemies, perhaps, but if there had been any way in which our--regardcould have shown itself, that way would have been followed. " "Yes, " said Mrs. Trescott, "we understand that. Mr. Lattimore saidalmost the same thing, and we know that in what he did Mr. Cornish--" "We must go now, mamma, " said Josie. "Thank you both very much. It won'tdo any harm for me to take a day or so for considering this in all itsphases; but I know now what I shall do. The thought of the distress thatmight come to people here and elsewhere as a result of these mistakeshere is a new one, and a little big for me, at first. " Jim sat by the desk, after they went away, folding insurance blottersand savagely tearing them in pieces. "I wish to God, " said he, "that I could throw my hand into the deck andquit!" "What's the matter?" said I. "Oh--nothing, " he returned. "Only, look at the situation. She comes in, filled with the idea that it was Cornish who proposed this plan, andthat he did it for her sake. I couldn't very well say, like a boy, ''Twasn't Cornish; 'twas me!', could I? And in showing her the purelymercenary character of the deal, I'm put in the position of backcappingCornish, and she goes away with that impression! Oh, Al, what's the goodof being able to convince and control every one else, if you are alwaysfurther off than Kamschatka with the only one for whose feelings youreally care?" "I don't think it struck her in that way at all, " said I. "She could seehow it was, and did, whatever her mother may think. But what possessedLattimore to tell Mrs. Trescott that Cornish story?" "Oh, Lattimore never said anything like that!" he returned disgustedly. "He told her that it was proposed by a friend, or one of the syndicate, or something like that; and they are so saturated with the Cornish ideaup there lately, that they filled up the blank out of their own minds. Another mighty encouraging symptom, isn't it?" Not more than a day or two after this, and after the news of the"purchase" of the Trescott estate was being whispered about, mytelephone rang, just before my time for leaving the office, and, onanswering, I found that Antonia was at the other end of the wire. "Is this Mr. Barslow?" said she. "How do you do? Alice is with us thisafternoon, and she and mamma have given me authority to bring you hometo dinner with us. Do you surrender?" "Always, " said I, "at such a summons. " "Then I'll come for you in ten minutes, if you'll wait for me. It's everso good of you. " From her way of finishing the conversation, I knew she was coming to theoffice. So I waited in pleasurable anticipation of her coming, thinkingof the perversity of the scheme of things which turned the eyes of bothJim and Cornish to Josie, while this girl coming to fetch me yearned sostrongly toward one of them that her sorrow--borne lightly andcheerfully as it was--was an open secret. When she came she made her waypast the clerks in the first room and into my private den. Not until thedoor closed behind her, and we were alone, did I see that she was not inher usual spirits. Then I saw that unmistakable quiver in her lips, solike a smile, so far from mirth, which my acquaintance with the girl, sosensitive and free from secretiveness, had made me familiar with. "I want to know about some things, " said she, "that papa hints about ina blind sort of a way, but doesn't tell clearly. Is it true that Josieand her mother are poor?" "That is something which ought not to be known yet, " said I, "but it istrue. " "Oh, " said she tearfully, "I am so sorry, so sorry!" "Antonia, " said I, as she hastily brushed her eyes, "these tears do yourkind heart credit!" "Oh, don't, don't talk to me like that!" she exclaimed passionately. "Mykind heart! Why, sometimes I hate her; and I would be glad if she wasout of the world! Don't look like that at me! And don't pretend to besurprised, or say you don't understand me. I think every one understandsme, and has for a long time. I think everybody on the street says, afterI pass, 'Poor Antonia!' I _must_ talk to somebody! And I'd rather talkto you because, even though you are a man and can't possibly know how Ifeel, you understand _him_ better than any one else I know--and _you_love him too!" I started to say something, but the situation did not lend itself towords. Neither could I pat her on the shoulders, or press her hand, as Imight have done with a man. Pale and beautiful, her jaunty hat a littleawry, her blonde ringlets in some disorder, she sat unapproachable inher grief. "You look at me, " said she, with a little gasping laugh, "as if I were adrowning girl, and you chained to the bank. If you haven't pitied me inthe past, Albert, don't pity me now; for the mere saying openly to somehuman being that I love him seems almost to make me happy!" I lamely murmured some inanity, of which she took not the slightestnotice. "Is it true, " she asked, "that Mr. Elkins is to pay their debts, andthat they are to be--married?" "No, " said I, glad, for some reason which is not very clear, to findsomething to deny. "Nothing of the sort, I assure you. " And again, this time something wearily, for it was the second time overit in so short a time, I explained the disposition of the Trescottestate. "But he urged it?" she said. "He insisted upon it?" "Yes. " She arose, buttoned her jacket about her, and stood quietly as if totest her mastery of herself, once or twice moving as if to speak, butstopping short, with a long, quivering sigh. I longed to take her in myarms and comfort her; for, in a way, she attracted me strongly. "Mr. Barslow, " said she at last, "I have no apology to make to you; foryou are my friend. And I have no feeling toward Mr. Elkins of which, inmy secret heart, and so long as he knows nothing of it, I am not proud. To know him . .. And love him may be death . .. But it is honor!. .. I amsorry Josie is poor, because it is a hard thing for her; but morebecause I know he will be drawn to her in a stronger way by her poverty. Shake hands with me, Albert, and be jolly, I'm jollier, away down deep, than I've been for a long, long time; and I thank you for that!" We shook hands warmly, like comrades, and passed down to her carriagetogether. At dinner she was vivacious as ever; but I was downcast. Somuch so that Mrs. Hinckley devoted herself to me, cheering me with adissertation on "Sex in Mind. " I asked myself if the atmosphere in whichshe had been reared had not in some degree contributed to the attitudeof Antonia toward the expression to me of her regard for Jim. So the Trescott estate matter was arranged. In a few days the boom wasstrengthened by newspaper stories of the purchase, by heavy financialinterests, of the entire list of assets in the hands of theadministrator. "This immense deal, " said the _Herald_, "is new proof of thedesirability of Lattimore property. The Acme Investment Company, whichwill handle the properties, has bought for investment, and will hold forincreased prices. It may be taken as certain that in no other city inthe country could so large and varied a list of holdings be so quicklyand advantageously realized upon. " This was cheering--to the masses. But to us it was like praise for thehigh color of a fever patient. Even while the rehabilitated Giddingsthus lifted his voice in pćans of rejoicing, the lurid signals of dangerappeared in our sky. CHAPTER XXI. Of Conflicts, Within and Without. I have often wished that some sort of a business weather-chart might beperiodically got out, showing conditions all over the world. It seems tome that with such a map one could forecast financial storms and squallswith an accuracy quite up to the weather-bureau standard. Had we at Lattimore been provided with such a chart, and been remindedof the wisdom of referring to it occasionally, we might have savedourselves some surprises. We should have known of certain areas ofspeculative high pressure in Australasia, Argentina, and South Africa, which existed even prior to my meeting with Jim that day in the Pullmansmoking-room coming out of Chicago. These we should have seen changingmonth by month, until at the time when we were most gloriously carryingthings before us in Lattimore, each of these spots on the other side ofthe little old world showed financial disturbances--pronounced "lows. "We should have seen symptoms of storm on the European bourses; and weshould have thought of the natural progress of the moving areas, andderived much benefit from such consideration. We should certainly havepaid some attention to it, if we could have seen the black isobarsdrawn about London, when the great banking house of Fleischmann Brotherswent down in the wreck of their South African and Argentine investments. But having no such chart, and being much engrossed in the game againstthe World and Destiny, we glanced for a moment at the dispatches, seeingnothing in them of interest to us, congratulated ourselves that we werenot as other investors and speculators, and played on. Once in a while we found some over-cautious banker or broker who hadinexplicable fears for the future. "Here is an idiot, " said Cornish, while we were placing the paper tofloat the Trescott deal, "who is calling his loans; and why, do youthink?" "Can't guess, " said Jim, "unless he needs the money. How does _he_account for it?" "Read his letter, " said Cornish. "Says the Fleischmann failure in Londonis making his directors cautious. I'm calling his attention to the nowprevailing sun-spots, as bearing on Lattimore property. " Mr. Elkins read the letter carefully, turned it over, and read it again. "Don't, " said he; "he may be one of those asses who fail to see thebusiness value of the _reductio ad absurdum_. .. . Fellows, we must pushthis L. & G. W. Business with Pendleton. Some of us ought to be downthere now. " "That is wise counsel, " I agreed, "and you're the man. " "No, " said he positively, "I'm not the man. Cornish, can't you go, starting, say, to-morrow?" "No indeed, " said Cornish with equal positiveness; "since my turn-downby Wade on that bond deal, I'm out of touch with the lower Broadway andWall Street element. It seems clear to me that you are the only one tocarry this negotiation forward. " "I can't go, absolutely, " insisted Jim. "Al, it seems to be up to you. " I knew that Jim ought to do this work, and could not understand thereasons for both himself and Cornish declining the mission. Privately, Itold him that it was nonsense to send me; but he found reasons in plentyfor the course he had determined upon. He had better control of the hotair, he said, but as a matter of fact I was more in Pendleton's classthan he was, I was more careful in my statements, and I saw further intomen's minds. "And if, as you say, " said he, "Pendleton thinks me the whole workshere, it will show a self-possession and freedom from anxiety on ourpart to accredit a subordinate (as you call yourself) as envoy to thecourt of St. Scads. Again, affairs here are likely to need me at anytime; and if we go wrong here, it's all off. I don't dare leave. Anyhow, down deep in your subconsciousness, you know that in diplomacy youreally have us all beaten to a pulp: and this is a matter as purelydiplomatic as draw-poker. You'll do all right. " My wife was skeptical as to the necessity of my going. "Why doesn't Mr. Cornish go, then?" she inquired, after I had explainedto her the position of Mr. Elkins. "He is a native of Wall Street, Ibelieve. " "Well, " I repeated, "they both say positively that they can't go. " "Your natural specialty may be diplomacy, " said she pityingly, "but ifyou take the reasons they give as the real ones, I must be permitted todoubt it. It's perfectly obvious that if Josie were transferred to NewYork, the demands of business would take them both there at once. " This remark struck me as very subtle, and as having a good deal in it. Josie had never permitted the rivalry between Jim and Cornish to becomepublicly apparent; but in spite of the mourning which kept theTrescott's in semi-retirement, it was daily growing more keen. Elkinswas plainly anxious at the progress Cornish had seemed to make duringhis last long absence, and still doubtful of his relations with Josieafter that utterance over her father's body. But he was not one to giveup, and so, whenever she came over for an evening with Alice, Jim wassure to drop in casually and see us. I believe Alice telephoned him. Onthe other hand, Cornish was calling at the Trescott house withincreasing frequency. Mrs. Trescott was decidedly favorable to him, Alice a pronounced partisan of Elkins; and Josie vibrated between thetwo oppositely charged atmospheres, calmly non-committal, and apparentlypleased with both. But the affair was affecting our relations. There wasa new feeling, still unexpressed, of strain and stress, in spite of thefamiliarity and comradeship of long and intimate intercourse. Moreover, I felt that Mr. Hinckley was not on the same terms with Jim as formerly, and I wondered if he was possessed of Antonia's secret. It was with a prevision of something out of the ordinary, therefore, that I received through Alice a request from Josie for a privateinterview with me. She would come to us at any time when I wouldtelephone that I was at home and would see her. Of course I at oncedecided I would go to her. Which, that evening, my last in Lattimorebefore starting for the East, I did. There was a side door to my house, and a corresponding one in theTrescott home across the street. We were all quite in the habit, in ourconstant visiting between the households, of making a short cut bycrossing the road from one of these doors to the other. This I did thatevening, rapped at the door, and imagining I heard a voice bid me comein, opened it, and stepping into the library, found no one. The doorbetween the library and the front hall stood open, and through it Iheard the voice of Miss Trescott and the clear, carrying tones of Mr. Cornish, in low but earnest conversation. "Yes, " I heard him say, "perhaps. And if I am, haven't I abundantreason?" "I have told you often, " said she pleadingly, "that I would give you adefinite answer whenever you definitely demand it--" "And that it would in that case be 'No, '" he added, completing thesentence. "Oh, Josie, my darling, haven't you punished me enough for mybad conduct toward you in that old time? I was a young fool, and you astrange country girl; but as soon as you left us, I began to feel yoursweetness. And I was seeking for you everywhere I went until I found youthat night up there by the lake. Does that seem like slighting you? Why, I hope you don't deem me capable of being satisfied in this holeLattimore, under any circumstances, if it hadn't been for the hope andcomfort your being here has given me!" "I thought we were to say no more about that old time, " said she; "Ithought the doings of Johnny Cornish were not to be remembered by or ofBedford. " "The name I've asked you to call me by!" said he passionately. "Doesthat mean--" "It means nothing, " said she. "Oh, please, please!--Good-night!" I retired to the porch, and rapped again. She came to the door blushingredly, and so fluttered by their leave-taking that I thanked God thatJim was not in my place. There would have been division in our ranks atonce; for it seemed to me that her conduct to Cornish was toocomplaisant by far. "I came over, " said I, "because Alice said you wanted to see me. " I think there must have been in my tone something of the reproach in mythoughts; for she timidly said she was sorry to have given me so muchtrouble. "Oh, don't, Josie!" said I. "You know I'd not miss the chance of doingyou a favor for anything. Tell me what it is, my dear girl, and don'tspeak of trouble. " "If you forbid reference to trouble, " said she, smiling, "it will stopthis conference. For my troubles are what I want to talk to you about. May I go on?--You see, our financial condition is awfully queer. Mammahas some money, but not much. And we have this big house. It's absurdfor us to live in it, and I want to ask you first, can you sell it forus?" It was doubtful, I told her. A year or so ago, I went on, it would havebeen easy; but somehow the market for fine houses was dull now. We wouldtry, though, and hoped to succeed. We talked at length, and I tookcopious memoranda for my clerks. "There is another thing, " said she when we had finished the subject ofthe house, "upon which I want light, something upon which depends mystaying here or going away. You know General Lattimore and I arefriends, and that I place great trust in his conclusions. He says thatthe most terrible hard times here would result from anything happeningto your syndicate. You have said almost the same thing once or twice, and the other day you said something about great operations which youhave in view which will, somehow, do away with any danger of that kind. Is it true that you would all be--ruined by a--breaking up--or anythingof that sort?" "Just now, " I confessed, "such a thing would be dangerous; but I hope weshall soon be past all that. " I told her, as well as I could, about our hopes, and of my mission toNew York. "You must suspect, " said she, "that my presence here is danger to yourharmony; and through you, to all these people whose names even we havenever heard. Shall I go away? I can go almost anywhere with mamma, andwe can get along nicely. Now that pa is gone, my work here is over, andI want to get into the world. " I thought of the parallelism between her discontent and the speech Mr. Cornish had made, referring so contemptuously to Lattimore. I began tosee the many things in common between them, and I grew anxious for Jim. "Of all things, " said she, "I want to avoid the rôle of Helen setting acity in flames. It would be so absurd--and so terrible; and rather thando such a hackneyed and harmful thing, I want to go away. " "Do you really mean that?" I asked, "Haven't you a desire to make yourchoice, and stay?" "You mustn't ask that question, Albert, " said she. "The answer is asecret--from every one. But I will say--that if you succeed in thismission, so as to put people here quite out of danger--I may not goaway--not for some time!" She was blushing again, just as she blushed when she admitted me. Ithought once more of the fluttering cry, "Oh, please--please!" and thepause before she added the good-night, and my jealousy for Jim roseagain. "Well, " said I, rising, "all I can say is that I hope all will be safewhen I return, and that you will find it quite possible to--remain. Myadvice is: do nothing looking toward leaving until I return. " "Don't be cross with me, Mr. Barslow, " said she, "for really, really--Iam in great perplexity. " "I am not cross, " said I, "but don't you see how hard it is for me toadvise? Things conflict so, and all among your friends!" "They do conflict, " she assented, "they do conflict, every way, and allthe time--and do, do give me a little credit for keeping the conflictfrom getting beyond control for so long; for there are conflicts within, as well as without! Don't blame Helen altogether, or me, whateverhappens!" She hung on my arm, as she took me to the door, and seemed deeplytroubled. I left her, and walked several times around the block, ruminating upon the extraordinary way in which these dissolving views ofpassion were displaying themselves to me. Not that the mere matter ofoutburst of confidences surprised me; for people all my life have boredme with their secret woes. I think it is because I early formed a habitof looking sympathetic. But these concerned me so nearly that theirgradual focussing to some sort of climax filled me with anxiousinterest. The next day I spent in the sleeping-car, running into Chicago. As theclickety-_clack_, clickety-_clack_, clickety-_clack_ of the wheelsvibrated through my couch, I pondered on the ridiculous position of thatcautious Eastern bank as to the Fleischmann Brothers' failure; then onthe Lattimore & Great Western and Belt Line sale; and finally workedaround through the Straits of Sunda, in a suspicious lateen-riggedcraft manned by Malays and Portuguese. Finally, I was horrified atdiscovering Cornish, in a slashed doublet, carrying Josie away in one ofthe boats, having scuttled the vessel and left Jim bound to the mast. "Chicago in fifteen minutes, suh, " said the porter, at this criticalpoint. "Just in time to dress, suh. " And as I awoke, my approach toward New York brought to me a sickeningconsciousness of the struggle which awaited me there, and the fatalresults of failure. CHAPTER XXII. In which I Win my Great Victory. My plan was our old one--to see both Pendleton and Halliday, and, ifpossible, to allow both to know of the fact that we had two strings toour bow, playing the one off against the other. Whether or not there wasany likelihood of this course doing any good was dependent on theexistence of the strained personal relations, as well as the businessrivalry, generally supposed to prevail between the two Titans of thehighways. As conditions have since become, plans like mine are quitesure to come to naught; but in those days the community of interests inthe railway world had not reached its present perfection oforganization. Men like Pendleton and Halliday were preparing the way forit, but the personal equation was then a powerful factor in the problem, and these builders of their own systems still carried on their privatewars with their own forces. In such a war our properties were important. The Lattimore & Great Western with the Belt Line terminals would makethe Pendleton system dominant in Lattimore. In the possession ofHalliday it would render him the arbiter of the city's fortunes, andwould cut off from his rival's lines the rich business from this feeder. Both men were playing with the patience of Muscovite diplomacy the oldand tried game of permitting the little road to run until it got intodifficulties, and then swooping down upon it; but either, we thought, and especially Pendleton, would pay full value for the properties ratherthan see them fall into his opponent's net. I wired Pendleton's office from home that I was coming. At Chicago Ireceived from his private secretary a telegram reading: "Mr. Pendletonwill see you at any time after the 9th inst. SMITH. " We had been having some correspondence with Mr. Halliday's office onmatters of disputed switching and trackage dues. The controversy hadgone up from subordinate to subordinate to the fountain of power itself. A contract had been sent on for examination, embodying a _modus vivendi_governing future relations. I had wired notice of my coming to him also, and his answer, which lay alongside Pendleton's in the same box, wasevidently based on the supposition that it was this contract which wasbringing me East, and was worded so as to relieve me of the journey ifpossible. "Will be in New York on evening of 11th, " it read, "not before. Withslight modifications, contract submitted as to L. & G. W. And Belt Linematter will be executed. HALLIDAY. " I spent no time in Chicago, but pushed on, in the respectable isolationof a through sleeper on a limited train. Once in a while I went forwardinto the day coach, to give myself the experience of the completechange in the social atmosphere. On arrival, I began killing time byrunning down every scrap of our business in New York. My gorge rose atall forms of amusement; but I had a sensation of doing something whileon the cars, and went to Boston, and down to Philadelphia, all the timefeeling the pulse of business. There was a lack of that confidenthopefulness which greeted us on our former visits. I heard theFleischmann failure spoken of rather frequently. One or two financialestablishments on this side of the water were looked at askance becauseof their supposed connections with the Fleischmanns. Mr. Wade, in hushedtones, advised me to prepare for some little stringency after theholidays. "Nothing serious, you know, Mr. Borlish, " said he, still paying hismnemonic tribute to the other names of our syndicate; "nothing to bespoken of as hard times; and as for panic, the financial world is toowell organized for _that_ ever to happen again! But a little tighteningof things, Mr. Cornings, to sort of clear the decks for action on linesof conservatism for the year's business. " I talked with Mr. Smith, Mr. Pendleton's private secretary, and with Mr. Carson, who spoke for Mr. Halliday. In fact I went over the L. & G. W. Proposition pretty fully with each of them, and each office had awell-digested and succinct statement of the matter for the examinationof the magnates when they came back. Once while Mr. Carson and I were onour way to take luncheon together, we met Mr. Smith, and I was glad tonote the glance of marked interest which he bestowed upon us. Themeeting was a piece of unexpected good fortune. On the 10th I had my audience with Mr. Pendleton. He had the typewrittenstatement of the proposition before him, and was ready to discuss itwith his usual incisiveness. "I am willing to say to you, Mr. Barslow, " said he, "that we are willingto take over your line when the propitious time comes. We don't thinkthat now is such a time. Why not run along as we are?" "Because we are not satisfied with the railroad business as a side line, Mr. Pendleton, " said I. "We must have more mileage or none at all, andif we begin extensions, we shall be drawn into railroading as anexclusive vocation. We prefer to close out that department, and to putin all our energies to the development of our city. " "When must you know about this?" he asked. "I came East to close it up, if possible, " I answered. "You are familiarwith the situation, and we thought must be ready to decide. " "Two and a quarter millions, " he objected, "is out of the question. Ican't expect my directors to view half the price with any favor. How canI?" "Show them our earnings, " I suggested. "Yes, " said he, "that will do very well to talk to people who can bemade to forget the fact that you've been building a city there from acountry village, and your line has been pulling in everything to buildit with. The next five years will be different. Again, while I feel surethe business men of your town will still throw things our way, as theyhave your way--tonnage I mean--there might be a tendency to divide it upmore than when your own people were working for the trade. And the nextfive years will be different anyhow. " "Do you remember, " said I, "how skeptical you were as to the past five?" "I acknowledge it, " said he, laughing. "The fact is I didn't give youcredit for being as big men as you are. But even a big man, or a bigtown, can reach only as high as it can. But we can't settle thatquestion. I shouldn't expect a Lattimore boomer ever to adopt my view ofit. I shall give this matter some attention to-day, and while I feelsure we are too far apart ever to come together, come in in the morning, and we will look at it again. " "I hope we may come together, " said I, rising; "we built the line tobring you into Lattimore, and we want to keep you there. It has made ourtown, and we prize the connection highly. " "Ah, yes, " he answered, countering. "Well, we are spread out a good dealnow, you know; and some of our directors look with suspicion upon yoursudden growth, and would not feel sorry to withdraw. I don't agree with'em, you know, but I must defer to others sometimes. Good-morning. " I passed the evening with Carson at the theatre, and supped with himafterward. He gave me every opportunity to indulge in champagne, andevinced a desire to know all about business conditions in Lattimore, andthe affairs of the L. & G. W. I suspected that the former fact had someconnection with the latter. I went to my hotel, however, in my usualstate of ebriety, while Mr. Carson had attained a degree of friendlinesstoward me bordering on affection, as a direct result of setting the pacein the consumption of wine. I listened patiently to his complaints ofHalliday's ungratefulness toward him in not giving him the GeneralManagership of one of the associated roads; but when he began to confideto me the various pathological conditions of his family, including Mrs. Carson, I drew the line, and broke up the party. I retired, feeling alittle resentful toward Carson. His device seemed rather cheap to try ona full-grown man. Yet his entertainment had been undeniably good. Next morning I was admitted to the presence of the great man with lessthan half an hour's delay. He turned to me, and plunged at once into themidst of the subject. Evidently some old misunderstanding of thequestion came up in his mind by association of ideas, as a rejectedpaper will be drawn with its related files from a pigeon-hole. "That terminal charge, " said he, "has not counted for much against thesuccess of your road, yet; but the contract provides for increasingrentals, and it is already too much. The trackage and depots aren'tworth it. It will be a millstone about your necks!" "Well, " said I, "you can understand the reason for making the rentalshigh. We had to show revenue for the Belt Line system in order to floatthe bonds, but the rentals become of no consequence when once you ownboth properties--and that's our proposal to you. " "Oh, yes!" said he, and at once changed the subject. This was the only instance, in all my observation of him, in which heforgot anything, or failed correctly to see the very core of thesituation. I felt somehow elated at being for a moment his superior inany respect. We began discussing rates and tonnage, and he sent for his freightexpert again. I took from my pocket some letters and telegrams and madecomputations on the backs of them. Some of these figures he wanted tokeep for further reference. "Please let me have those figures until this afternoon, " said he. "Imust ask you to excuse me now. At two I'll give the matter anotherhalf-hour. Come back, Mr. Barslow, prepared to name a reasonable sum, and I will accept or reject, and finish the matter. " I left the envelopes on his desk and went out. At the hotel I sat downto think out my program and began arranging things for my departure. Wasit the 11th or the 12th that Mr. Halliday was to return? I would look athis message. I turned over all my telegrams, but it was gone. Then I thought. That was the telegram I had left with Pendleton! Wouldhe suspect that I had left it as a trick, and resent the act? No, thiswas scarcely likely, for he himself had asked for it. Suddenly theconstruction of which it was susceptible flashed into my mind. "Withslight modifications contract submitted as to L. & G. W. And Belt Linematter will be executed. HALLIDAY. " I was feverish until two o'clock; for I could not guess the effect ofthis telegram, should it be read by Pendleton. I found him impassive andkeen-eyed, and I waited longer than usual for that aquiline swoop ofhis, as he turned in his revolving chair. I felt sure then that he hadnot read the message. I think differently now. "Well, Mr. Barslow, " said he smilingly, "how far down in the millionsare we to-day?" "Mr. Pendleton, " I replied, steady as to tone, but with a quiver in mylegs, "I can say nothing less than an even two millions. " "It's too much, " said he cheerfully, and my heart sank, "but I likeLattimore, and you men who live there, and I want to stay in the town. I'll have the legal department prepare a contract covering the wholematter of transfers and future relations, and providing for the priceyou mention. You can submit it to your people, and in a short time Ishall be in Chicago, and, if convenient to you, we can meet there andclose the transaction. As a matter of form, I shall submit it to ourdirectors; but you may consider it settled, I think. " "One of our number, " said I, as calmly as if a two-million-dollartransaction were common at Lattimore, "can meet you in Chicago at anytime. When will this contract be drawn?" "Call to-morrow morning--say at ten. Show them in, " this last to hisclerk, "Good-morning, Mr. Barslow. " One doesn't get as hilarious over a victory won alone as when he goesover the ramparts touching elbows with his charging fellows. The hurrahis a collective interjection. So I went in a sober frame of mind andtelegraphed Jim and Alice of my success, cautioning my wife to saynothing about it. Then I wandered about New York, contrasting my way ofrejoicing with the demonstration when we three had financed theLattimore & Great Western bonds. I went to a vaudeville show andafterward walked miles and miles through the mysteries of the night inthat wilderness. I was unutterably alone. The strain of my solitarymission in the great city was telling upon me. "Telegram for you, Mr. Barslow, " said the night clerk, as I applied formy key. It was a long message from Jim, and in cipher. I slowly deciphered it, my initial anxiety growing, as I progressed, to an agony. "Come home at once, " it read. "Cornish deserting. Must take care of thehound's interest somehow. Threatens litigation. A hold-up, but he hasthe drop. Am in doubt whether to shoot him now or later. Stop atChicago, and bring Harper. Bring him, understand? Unless Pendleton dealis made, this means worse things than we ever dreamed of; but don'twait. Leave Pendleton for later, and come home. If I follow myinclinations, you will find me in jail for murder. ELKINS. " All night I sat, turning this over in my mind. Was it ruin, or would mysuccess here carry us through? Without a moment's sleep I ate mybreakfast, braced myself with coffee, engaged a berth for the returnjourney, and promptly presented myself at Pendleton's office at ten. Wearily we went over the precious contract, and I took my copy andleft. All that day I rode in a sort of trance, in which I could see before myeyes the forms of the hosts of those whom Jim had called "the captivesbelow decks, " whose fortunes were dependent upon whether we striving, foolish, scheming, passionate men went to the wall. A hundred times Iread in Jim's telegram the acuteness of our crisis; and a sense of ourdanger swept dauntingly over my spirit. A hundred times I wished that Imight awake and find that the whole thing--Aladdin and his ring, thepalaces, gnomes, genies, and all--could pass away like a tale that istold, and leave me back in the rusty little town where it found me. I slept heavily that night, and was very much much more myself when Iwent to see Harper in Chicago. He had received a message from Jim, andwas ready to go. He also had one for me, sent in his care, and justarrived. "You have saved the fight, " said the message; "your success came just asthey were counting nine on us. With what you have done we can beat thegame yet. Bring Harper, and come on. " Harper, cool and collected, big and blonde, with a hail-fellow-well-metmanner which spoke eloquently of the West, was a great comfort to me. Hemade light of the trouble. "Cornish is no fool, " said he, "and he isn't going to saw off the limbhe stands on. " I tried to take this view of it; but I knew, as he did not, the realsource of the enmity between Elkins and Cornish, and my fears returned. Business differences might be smoothed over; but with two such men, thequarrel of rivals in love meant nothing but the end of things betweenthem. CHAPTER XXIII. The "Dutchman's Mill" and What It Ground. We sat in conclave about the table. I saw by the lined faces of Elkinsand Hinckley that I had come back to a closely-beleaguered camp, whereheavy watching had robbed the couch of sleep, and care pressed down thespirit. I had returned successful, but not to receive a triumph: rather, Harper and myself constituted a relief force, thrown in by stratagem, too weak to raise the siege, but bearing glad tidings of strong succoron the way. It was our first full meeting without Cornish; and Harper sat in hisplace. He was unruffled and buoyant in manner, in spite of the stock inthe Grain Belt Trust Company which he held, and the loans placed withhis insurance company by Mr. Hinckley. "I believe, " said he, "that we are here to consider a communication fromMr. Cornish. It seems that we ought to hear the letter. " "I'll read it in a minute, " said Jim, "but first let me say that thisgrows out of a talk between Mr. Cornish and myself. Hinckley and Barslowknow that there have been differences between us here for some time. " "Quite natural, " said Harper; "according to all the experience-tables, you ought to have had a fight somewhere in the crowd long before this. " "Mr. Cornish, " went on Mr. Elkins, "has favored the policy of convertingour holdings into cash, and letting the obligations we have floatedstand solely on the assets by which they are secured. The rest of ushave foreseen such rapid liquidation, as a certain result of such apolicy, that not only would our town receive a blow from which it couldnever recover, but the investment world would suffer in the collapse. " "I should say so, " said Harper; "we'll have to look closely to thesuicide clause in our policies held in New England, if that takesplace!" "Well, " said Jim, continuing, "last Tuesday the matter came to an issuebetween us, and some plain talk was indulged in; perhaps the languagewas a little strong on my part, and Mr. Cornish considered himselfaggrieved, and said, among other things, that he, for one, would notsubmit to extinguishment, and he would show me that I could not go on inopposition to his wishes. " "What did you say to that?" asked Hinckley. "I informed him, " said Jim, "that I was from Missouri, or words to thateffect; and that my own impression was, the majority of the stock in ourconcerns would control. My present view is that he's showing me. " A ghost of a smile went round at this, and Jim began reading Cornish'sletter. "Events of the recent past convince me, " the secessionist had written, "that no good can come from the further continuance of our syndicate. Itherefore propose to sell all my interest in our various properties tothe other members, and to retire. Should you care to consider such athing, I am prepared to make you an alternative offer, to buy yourinterests. As the purchase of three shares by one is a heavier load thanthe taking over of one share by three, I should expect to buy at a lowerproportional price than I should be willing to sell for. As themanagement of our enterprises seems to have abandoned the triedprinciples of business, for some considerations the precise nature ofwhich I am not acute enough to discern, and as a sale to me would balkthe very benevolent purposes recently avowed by you, I assume that Ishall not be called upon to make an offer. "There is at least one person among those to whom this is addressed whoknows that in beginning our operations in Lattimore it was understoodthat we should so manage affairs as to promote and take advantage of abulge in values, and then pull out with a profit. Just what may be hispolicy when this reaches him I cannot, after my experience with hisability as a lightning change artist, venture to predict; but my lastinformation leads me to believe that he is championing the utopian planof running the business, not only past the bulge, but into the slump. I, for one, will not permit my fortune to be jeopardized by so palpable apiece of perfidy. "I may be allowed to add that I am prepared to take such measures as mayseem to my legal advisers best to protect my interests. I am assuredthat the funds of one corporation will not be permitted by the courtsto be donated to the bolstering up of another, over the protest of aminority stockholder. You may confidently assume that this advice willbe tested to the utmost before the acts now threatened are permitted tobe actually done. "I attach hereto a schedule of our holdings, with the amount of myinterest in each, and the price I will take. I trust that I may have ananswer to this at your earliest convenience. I beg to add that any greatdelay in answering will be taken by me as a refusal on your part to doanything, and I shall act accordingly. "Very respectfully, "J. Bedford Cornish. " "Huh!" ejaculated Harper, "would he do it, d'ye think?" "He's a very resolute man, " said Hinckley. "He calculates, " said Jim, "that if he begins operations, he can havereceiverships and things of that kind in his interest, and in that wayswipe the salvage. On the other hand, he must know that his loss wouldbe proportioned to ours, and would be great. He's sore, and that countsfor something. I figure that the chances are seven out of ten that he'lldo it--and that's too strong a game for us to go up against. " "What would be the worst that could happen if he began proceedings?"said I. "The worst, " answered Jim laconically. "I don't say, you know, " he wenton after a pause, "that Cornish hasn't some reason for his position. From a cur's standpoint he's entirely right. We didn't anticipate thebig way in which things have worked out here, nor how deep our rootswould strike; and we did intend to cash in when the wave came. And a curcan't understand our position in the light of these developments. Hecan't see that in view of the number of people sucked down with her whena great ship like ours sinks, nobody but a murderer would needlessly seeher wrecked. What he proposes is to scuttle her. Sell to him! I'd assoon sell Vassar College to Brigham Young!" This tragic humorousness had the double effect of showing us thedilemma, and taking the edge off the horror of it. "If it were my case, " said Harper, "I'd call him. I don't believe he'llsmash things; but you fellows know each other best, and I'm here to givewhat aid and comfort I can, and not to direct. I accept your judgment asto the danger. Now let's do business. I've got to get back to Chicago bythe next train, and I want to go feeling that my stock in the Grain BeltTrust Company is an asset and not a liability. Let's do business. " "As for going back on the next train, " said Mr. Elkins, "you've gotanother guess coming: this one was wrong. As for doing business, thefirst thing in my opinion is to examine the items of this bill oflarceny, and see about scaling them down. " "We might be able, " said I, "to turn over properties instead of cash, for some of it. " Elkins appointed Harper and Hinckley to do the negotiating withCornish. It was clear, he said, that neither he nor I was the properperson to act. They soon went out on their mission and left me with Jim. "Do you see what a snowfall we've had?" he asked. "It fell deeper anddeeper, until I thought it would never stop. No such sleighing foryears. And funny as it may seem, it was that that brought on thiscrisis. Josie and I went sleighing, and the hound was furious. Next timewe met he started this business going. " I was studying the schedule, and said nothing. After a while he begantalking again, in a slow manner, as if the words came lagging behind alabored train of thought. "Remember the mill the Dutchman had?. .. Ground salt, and nothing butsalt . .. Ours won't grind anything but mortgages . .. Well, the hair ofthe dog must cure the bite . .. Fight fire with fire . .. _Similiasimilibus curantur_ . .. We can't trade horses, nor methods, in themiddle of the ford. .. . The mill has got to go on grinding mortgagesuntil we're carried over; and Hinckley and the Grain Belt Trust mustfloat 'em. Of course the infernal mill ground salt until it sent thewhole shooting-match to the bottom of the sea; but you mustn't be misledby analogies. The Dutchman hadn't any good old Al to lose telegrams inan absent-minded way where they would do the most good, and sellrailroads to old man Pendleton . .. As for us, it's the time-worn case ofelecting between the old sheep and the lamb. We'll take the adultmutton, and go the whole hog . .. And if we lose, the tail'll have to gowith the hide. .. . But we won't lose, Al, we won't lose. There isn'ttreason enough in all the storehouses of hell to balk or defeat us. It'sa question of courage and resolution and confidence, and imparting allthose feelings to every one else. There isn't malice enough, even if itwere a whole pack, instead of one lone hyena, to put out the fires inthose furnaces over there, or stop the wheels in that flume, or make ourstreets grow grass. The things we've built are going to stay built, andthe word of Lattimore will stand!" "My hand on that!" said I. * * * * * There was little in the way of higgling: for Cornish proudly refusedmuch to discuss matters; and when we found what we must pay to preventthe explosion, it sickened us. Jim strongly urged upon Harper the takingof Cornish's shares. "No, " said Harper, "the Frugality and Indemnity is too good a thing todrop; and I can't carry both. But if you can show me how, within a shorttime, you can pay it back, I'll find you the cash you lack. " We could not wait for the two millions from Pendleton; and the interimmust be bridged over by any desperate means. We took, for the momentonly, the funds advanced through Harper; and Cornish took his price. The day after Harper went away we were busy all day long, drawing notesand mortgages. Every unincumbered piece of our property, the orts, dregs, and offcast of our operations, were made the subjects oftransfers to the rag-tag and bobtail of Lattimore society. A lot worthlittle or nothing was conveyed to Tom, Dick, or Harry for a greatnominal price, and a mortgage for from two-thirds to three-fourths ofthe sum given back by this straw-man purchaser. Our mill was grindingmortgages. I do not expect that any one will say that this course was justified orjustifiable; but, if anything can excuse it, the terrible difficulty ofour position ought to be considered in mitigation, if not excuse. Pressed upon from without, and wounded by blows dealt in the dark fromwithin; with dreadful failure threatening, and with brilliant success, and the averting of wide-spread calamity as the reward of only a littledelay, we used the only expedient at hand, and fought the battlethrough. We were caught in the mighty swirl of a modern businessmaelstrom, and, with unreasoning reflexes, clutched at man or logindifferently, as we felt the waters rising over us; and broadcast allover the East were sown the slips of paper ground out by our mill, through the spout of the Grain Belt Trust Company; and wherever theyfell they were seized upon by the banks, which had through years ofexperience learned to look upon our notes and bonds as good. "Past the bulge, " quoted Jim, "and into the slump! We'll see what thewhelp says when he finds that, in spite of all his attempts to scuttle, there isn't going to be any slump!" By which observation it will appear that, as our operations began tobring in returns in almost their old abundance, our courage rose. At thevery last, some bank failures in New York, and a bad day on 'Change inChicago, cut off the stream, and we had to ask Harper to carry over apart of the Frugality and Indemnity loan until we could settle withPendleton; but this was a small matter running into only five figures. Perhaps it was because we saw only a part of the situation that ourcourage rose. We saw things at Lattimore with vivid clearness. But wefailed to see that like centers of stress were sprinkled all over themap, from ocean to ocean; that in the mountains of the South were theLattimores of iron, steel, coal, and the winter-resort boom; and in thecentral valleys were other Lattimores like ours; that among the peaksand canyons further west were the Lattimores of mines; that along thePacific were the Lattimores of harbors and deep-water terminals; thatevery one of these Lattimores had in the East and in Europe itsclientage of Barr-Smiths, Wickershams, and Dorrs, feeding the flames ofthe fever with other people's money; and that in every village andfactory, town and city, where wealth had piled up, seeking investment, were the "captives below decks, " who, in the complex machinery of thisend-of-the-century life, were made or marred by the same influenceswhich made or marred us. The low area had swept across the seas, and now rested on us. The cloudswere charged with the thunder and lightning of disaster. Almost anyaccidental disturbance might precipitate a crash. Had we known all this, as we now know it, the consciousness of the tragical race we wererunning to reach the harbor of a consummated sale to Pendleton mighthave paralyzed our efforts. Sometimes one may cross in the dark, onnarrow footing, a chasm the abyss of which, if seen, would dizzily drawone down to destruction. CHAPTER XXIV. The Beginning of the End. Court parties and court factions are always known to the populace, evendown to the groom and scullions. So the defection of Cornish soon becamea matter of gossip at bars, in stables, and especially about the desksof real-estate offices. Had it been a matter of armed internecinestrife, the Elkins faction would have mustered an overwhelming majority;for Jim's bluff democratic ways, and his apparent identity of fibre withthe mass of the people, would have made him a popular idol, had he beena thousand times a railroad president. While these rumors of a feud were floating about, Captain Tolliver wentto Jim's office several times, dressed with great care, and sat insilence, and in stiff and formal dignity, for a matter of five minutesor so, and then retired, with the suggestion that if there was any wayin which he could serve Mr. Elkins he should be happy. "Do you know, " said Jim to me, "that I'm afraid Hamlet's 'bugs andgoblins' are troubling Tolliver; in other words, that he's gettingbughouse?" "No, " said I; "while I haven't the slightest idea what ails him, you'llfind that it's something quite natural for him when you get a full viewof his case. " Finally, Jim, in thanking him for his proffered assistance, inquireddiplomatically after the thing which weighed upon the Captain's mind. "I may be mistaken, suh, " said he, drawing himself up, and thrusting onehand into the tightly-buttoned breast of his black Prince Albert, "entiahly mistaken in the premises; but I have the impression thatdiffe'ences of a pussonal nature ah in existence between youahself and agentleman whose name in this connection I prefuh to leave unmentioned. Such being the case, I assume that occasion may and naturally will arisefoh the use of a friend, suh, who unde'stands the code--the code, suh--and is not without experience in affaiahs of honah. I recognize thefact that in cehtain exigencies nothing, by Gad, but pistols, ovah ameasu'ed distance, meets the case. In such an event, suh, I shall be mo'than happy to suhve you; mo' than happy, by the Lord!" "Captain, " said Jim feelingly, "you're a good fellow and a true friend, and I promise you I shall have no other second. " "In that promise, " replied the Captain gravely, "you confeh an honah, suh!" After this it was thought wise to permit the papers to print the storyof Cornish's retirement; otherwise the Captain might have fomented aninsurrection. "The reasons for this step on the part of Mr. Cornish are purelypersonal, " said the _Herald_. "While retaining his feeling of interestin Lattimore, his desire to engage in certain broader fields ofpromotion and development in the tropics had made it seem to himnecessary to lay down the work here which up to this time he has so welldone. He will still remain a citizen of our city. On the other hand, while we shall not lose Mr. Cornish, we shall gain the active andpowerful influence of Mr. Charles Harper, the president of the Frugalityand Indemnity Life Insurance Company. It is thus that Lattimore risesconstantly to higher prosperity, and wields greater and greater power. The remarkable activity lately noted in the local real-estate market, especially in the sales of unconsidered trifles of land at high prices, is to be attributed to the strengthening of conditions by these steps inthe ascent of the ladder of progress. " Cornish, however, was not without his partisans. Cecil Barr-Smith almostquarreled with Antonia because she struck Cornish off her books, Cecilinsisting that he was an entirely decent chap. In this position Cecilwas in accord with the clubmen of the younger sort, who had much incommon with Cornish, and little with the overworked and busy railwaypresident. Even Giddings, to me, seemed to remain unduly intimate withCornish; but this did not affect the utterances of his paper, whichstill maintained what he called the policy of boost. The behavior of Josie, however, was enigmatical. Cornish's attentions toher redoubled, while Jim seemed dropped out of the race--and thereforemy wife's relations with Miss Trescott were subjected to a severestrain. Naturally, being a matron, and of the age of thirty-odd years, she put on some airs with her younger friend, still in the chrysalis ofmaidenhood. Sometimes, in a sweet sort of a way, she almost domineeredover her. On this Elkins-Cornish matter, however, Josie held her atarms' length, and refused to make her position plain; and Alice nursedthat simulated resentment which one dear friend sometimes feels towardanother, because of a real or imagined breach of the obligations ofreciprocity. One night, as we sat about the grate in the Trescott library, someveiled insinuations on Alice's part caused a turning of the worm. "If there is anything you want to say, Alice, " said Josie, "there seemsto be no good reason why you shouldn't speak out. I have asked youradvice--yours and Albert's--frequently, having really no one else totrust; and therefore I am willing to hear your reproof, if you have itfor me. What is it?" "Oh, Josie, " said I, seeking cover. "You are too sensitive. There isn'tanything, is there, Alice?" Here I scowled violently, and shook my head at my wife; but all to noeffect. "Yes, there is, " said Alice. "We have a dear friend, the best in theworld, and he has an enemy. The whole town is divided in allegiancebetween them, about nine on one side to one on the other--" "Which proves nothing, " said Josie. "And now, " Alice went on, "you, who have had every opportunity ofseeing, and ought to know, that one of them is, in every look, andthought, and act, a _man_, while the other is--" "A friend of mine and of my mother's, " said Josie; "please omit thecharacter-sketch. And remember that I refuse even to consider thesebusiness differences. Each claims to be right; and I shall judge them byother things. " "Business differences, indeed!" scoffed Alice, albeit a little impressedby the girl's dignity. "As if you did not know what these differencescame from! But it isn't because you remain neutral that we com--" "_You_ complain, Alice, " said I; "I am distinctly out of this. " "That I complain, then, " amended Alice reproachfully. "It is because youdismiss the _man_ and keep the--other! You may say I have no right to beheard in this, but I'm going to complain Josie Trescott, just the same!" This seemed to approach actual conflict, and I was frightened. Had itbeen two men, I should have thought nothing of it, but with women suchdifferences cut deeper than with us. Josie stepped to her writing-deskand took from it a letter. "We may as well clear this matter up, " said she, "for it has stoodbetween us for a long time. I think that Mr. Elkins will not feel thatany confidences are violated by my showing you this--you who have beenmy dearest friends--" She stopped for no reason, unless it was agitation. "Are, " said I, "I hope, not 'have been. '" "Well, " said she, "read the letter, and then tell me who has been'dismissed. '" I shrank from reading it; but Alice was determined to know all. It wasdated the day before I left New York. "Dear Josie, " it read, "I have told you so many times that I love youthat it is an old story to you; yet I must say it once more. Until thatnight when we brought your father home, I was never able to understandwhy you would never say definitely yes or no to me; but I felt that youcould not be expected to understand my feeling that the best years ofour lives were wasting--you are so much younger than I--and so I hopedon. Sometimes I feared that somebody else stood in the way, and do fearit now, but that alone would have been a much simpler thing, and of thatI could not complain. But on that fearful night you said something whichhurt me more than anything else could, because it was an accusation ofwhich I could not clear myself in the court of my own conscience--exceptso far as to say that I never dreamed of doing your father anything butgood. Surely, surely you must feel this! "Since that time, however, you have been so kind to me that I havebecome sure that you see that terrible tragedy as I do, and acquit me ofall blame, except that of blindly setting in motion the machinery whichdid the awful deed. This is enough for you to forgive, God knows; but Ihave thought lately that you had forgiven it. You have been very kindand good to me, and your presence and influence have made me look atthings in a different way from that of years ago, and I am now doingthings which ought to be credited to you, so far as they are good. Asfor the bad, I must bear the blame myself!" Thus far Alice had read aloud. "Don't, don't, " said Josie, hiding her face. "Don't read it aloud, please!" "But now I am writing, not to explain anything which has taken place, but to set me right as to the future. You gave me reason to think, whenwe met, that I might have my answer. Things which I cannot explain haveoccurred, which may turn out very evilly for me, and for any oneconnected with me. Therefore, until this state of things passes, I shallnot see you. I write this, not that I think you will care much, but thatyou may not believe that I have changed in my feelings toward you. If mytime ever comes, and I believe it will, and that before very long, youwill find me harder to dispose of without an answer than I have been inthe past. I shall claim you in spite of every foe that may rise up tokeep you from me. You may change, but I shall not. "'Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds. ' And mine will not alter. J. R. E. " "My dear, " said Alice very humbly, "I beg your pardon. I have misjudgedyou. Will you forgive me?" Josie came to take her letter, and, in lieu of other answer, stood withher arm about Alice's waist. "And now, " said Alice, "have you no other confidences for us?" "No!" she cried, "no! there is nothing more! Nothing, absolutelynothing, believe me! But, now, confidence for confidence, Albert, whatis this great danger? Is it anything for which any one here--for which Iam to blame? Does it threaten any one else? Can't something be doneabout it? Tell me, tell me!" "I think, " said I, "that the letter was written before my telegram fromNew York came, and after--some great difficulties came upon us. I don'tbelieve he would have written it five hours later; and I don't believehe would have written it to any one in anything but the depressionof--the feeling he has for you. " "If that is true, " said she, "why does he still avoid me? Why does hestill avoid me? You have not told me all; or there is something you donot know. " As we went home, Alice kept referring to Jim's letter, and was as muchtroubled by it as was Josie. "How do you explain it?" she asked. "I explain it, " said I, "by ranging it with the well-known phenomenon ofthe love-sick youth of all lands and in every time, who revels in thethought of incurring danger or death, and heralding the fact to hisloved one. Even Jim is not exempt from the feelings of the boy whorejoices in delicious tears at the thought of being found cold and deadon the doorstep of the cruel maiden of his dreams. And that letter, witha slight substratum of fact, is the result. Don't bother about it for amoment. " This answer may not have been completely frank, or quite expressive ofmy views; but I was tired of the subject. It was hardly a time to playwith mammets or to tilt with lips, and it seemed that the matter mightwait. There was a good deal of the pettishness of nervousness among usat that time, and I had my full share of it. Insomnia was prevalent, andgray hairs increased and multiplied. The time was drawing near for ourmeeting with Pendleton in Chicago. We had advices that he was coming infrom the West, on his return from a long journey of inspection, andwould pass over his Pacific Division. We asked him to run down toLattimore over our road, but Smith answered that the running schedulecould not be altered. There seemed to be no reason for doubting that the proposed contractwould be ratified; for the last desperate rally on our part appeared tohave put a crash out of the question, for some time at least. To himthat hath shall be given; and so long as we were supposed to possesspower, we felt that we were safe. Yet the blow dealt by Cornish hadmaimed us, no matter how well we hid our hurt; and we were all tookeenly conscious of the law of the hunt, by which it is the woundedbuffalo which is singled out and dragged down by the wolves. On Wednesday Jim and I were to start for Chicago, where Mr. Pendletonwould be found awaiting us. On Sunday the weather, which had been coldand snowy for weeks, changed; and it blew from the southeast, raw andchill, but thawy. All day Monday the warmth increased; and the farmerscoming into town reported great ponds of water dammed up in the swalesand hollows against the enormous snow-drifts. Another warm day, andthese waters would break through, and the streams would go free infreshets. Tuesday dawned without a trace of frost, and still the strongwarm wind blew; but now it was from the east, and as I left the carriageto enter my office I was wet by a scattering fall of rain. In a fewmoments, as I dictated my morning's letters, my stenographer calledattention to the beating on the window of a strong and persistentdownpour. Elkins, too much engrossed in his thoughts to be able to confine himselfto the details of his business, came into my office, where, sometimessitting and sometimes walking uneasily about, he seemed to get some sortof comfort from my presence. He watched the rain, as one seeing visions. "By morning, " said he, "there ought to be ducks in Alderson's pond. Can't we do our chores early and get into the blind before daylight, andlay for 'em?" "I heard Canada geese honking overhead last night, " said I. "What time last night?" "Two o'clock. " "Well, that lets us out on the Alderson's pond project, " said he; "theboys who hunted there weren't out walking at two. In those days theyslept. It can't be that we're the fellows. .. . Why, there's Antonia, coming in through the rain!" "I wonder, " said I, "if la grippe isn't taking a bad turn with herfather. " She came in, shedding the rain from her mackintosh like a water-fowl, radiant with health and the air of outdoors. "Gentlemen, " said she gaily, "who but myself would come out in anythingbut a diving-suit to-day!" "It's almost an even thing, " said Jim, "between a calamity, which bringsyou, and good fortune, which keeps you away. I hope it's only yourordinary defiance of the elements. " "The fact is, " said she, "that it's a very funny errand. But don't laughat me if it's absurd, please. It's about Mr. Cornish. " "Yes!" said Jim, "what of him?" "You know papa has been kept in by la grippe for a day or so, " she wenton, "and we haven't been allowing people to see him very much; but Mr. Cornish has been in two or three times, and every time when he went awaypapa was nervous and feverish. To-day, after he left, papa asked--" hereshe looked at Mr. Elkins, as he stood gravely regarding her, and went onwith redder cheeks--"asked me some questions, which led to a long talkbetween us, in which I found out that he has almost persuaded papato--to change his business connections completely. " "Yes!" said Jim. "Change, how?" "Why, that I didn't quite understand, " said Antonia, "except that therewas logwood and mahogany and Mexico in it, and--and that he had madepapa feel very differently toward you. After what has taken placerecently I knew that was wrong--you know papa is not as firm in hisideas as he used to be; and I felt that he--and you, were in danger, somehow. At first I was afraid of being laughed at--why, I'd ratheryou'd laugh at me than to look like _that_!" "You're a good girl, Antonia, " said Jim, "and have done the right thing, and a great favor to us. Thank you very much; and please excuse me amoment while I send a telegram. Please wait until I come back. " "No, I'm going, Albert, " said she, when he was gone to his own office. "But first you ought to know that man told papa something--about me. " "How do you know about this?" said I. "Papa asked me--if I had--any complaints to make--of Mr. Elkins'streatment of me! What do you suppose he dared to tell him?" "What did you tell your father?" I asked. "What could I tell him but 'No'?" she exclaimed. "And I just had aheart-to-heart talk with papa about Mr. Cornish and the way he hasacted; and if his fever hadn't begun to run up so, I'd have got therubber, or Peruvian-bark idea, or whatever it was, entirely out of hismind. Poor papa! It breaks my heart to see him changing so! And so Igave him a sleeping-capsule, and came down through this splendid rain;and now I'm going! But, mind, this last is a secret. " And so she went away. "Where's Antonia?" asked Jim, returning. "Gone, " said I. "I wanted to talk further about this matter. " "I don't like it, Jim. It means that the cruel war is not over. " "Wait until we pass Wednesday, " said Jim, "and we'll wring his neck. What a poisonous devil, to try and wean from us, to his ruin, an old manin his dotage!--I wish Antonia had stayed. I went out to set the boyswiring for news of washouts between here and Chicago. We mustn't missthat trip, if we have to start to-night. This rain will make troublewith the track. --No, I don't like it, either. Wasn't it thoughtful ofAntonia to come down! We can line Hinckley up all right, now we know it;but if it had gone on--we can't stand a third solar-plexus blow. .. . " The sky darkened, until we had to turn on the lights, and the rain fellmore and more heavily. Once or twice there were jarring rolls of distantthunder. To me there was something boding and ominous in the weather. The day wore on interminably in the quiet of a business office undersuch a sky. Elkins sent in a telegram which he had received that notrouble with water was looked for along our way to Chicago, which was bythe Halliday line. As the dark day was lowering down to its darkerclose, I went into President Elkins's office to take him home with me. As I entered through my private door, I saw Giddings coming in throughthe outer entrance. "Say, " said he, "I wanted to see you two together. I know you have somebusiness with Pendleton, and you've promised the boys a story forThursday or Friday. Now, you've been a little sore on me because Ihaven't absolutely cut Cornish. " "Not at all, " said Jim. "You must have a poor opinion of ourintelligence. " "Well, you had no cause to feel that way, " he went on, "because, as anewspaperman, I'm supposed to have few friends and no enemies. Besides, you can't tell what a man might sink to, deprived all at once of thefriendship of three such men as you fellows!" "Quite right, " said I; "but get to the point. " "I'm getting to it, " said he. "I violate no confidence when I say thatCornish has got it in for your crowd in great shape. The point isinvolved in that. I don't know what your little game is with oldPendleton, but whatever it is, Cornish thinks he can queer it, and atthe same time reap some advantages from the old man, if he can have afew minutes' talk with Pen before you do. And he's going to do it, if hecan. Now, I figure, with my usual correctness of ratiocination, thatyour scheme is going to be better for the town, and therefore for the_Herald_, than his, and hence this disclosure, which I freely admit hassome of the ear-marks of bad form. Not that I blame Cornish, or amsaying anything against him, you know. His course is ideally Iagoan: hestands in with Pendleton, benefits himself, and gets even with you allat one fell--" "Stop this chatter!" cried Jim, flying at him and seizing him by thecollar. "Tell me how you know this, and how much you know!" "My God!" said Giddings, his lightness all departed, "is it as vital asthat? He told me himself. Said it was something he wouldn't put on paperand must tell Pendleton by word of mouth, and he's on the train thatjust pulled out for Chicago. " "He'll beat us there by twelve hours, " said I, "and he can do all hethreatens! Jim, we're gone!" Elkins leaped to the telephone and rang it furiously. There was the ringof command sounding through the clamor of desperate and dubious conflictin his voice. "Give me the L. & G. W. Dispatcher's office, quick!" said he. "I can'tremember the number . .. It's 420, four, two, naught. Is this Agnew? Thisis Elkins talking. Listen! Without a moment's delay, I want you to findout when President Pendleton's special, east-bound on his PacificDivision, passes Elkins Junction. I'm at my office, and will wait forthe information here. .. . Don't let me wait long, please, understand?And, say! Call Solan to the 'phone. .. . Is this Solan? Mr. Solan, get outthe best engine you've got in the yards, couple to it a caboose, and puton a crew to make a run to Elkins Junction, as quick as God'll let you!Do you understand? Give me Schwartz and his fireman. .. . Yes, andCorcoran, too. Andy, this is a case of life and death--of life anddeath, do you understand? See that the line's clear, and no stops. I'vegot to connect east at Elkins Junction with a special on that line. .. . _Got to_, d'ye see? Have the special wait at the State Street crossinguntil we come aboard!" CHAPTER XXV. That Last Weird Battle in the West. There was still some remnant of daylight left when we stepped from aclosed carriage at the State Street crossing and walked to the trainprepared for us. The rain had all but ceased, and what there was cameout of some northern quarter of the heavens mingled with stingingpellets of sleet, driven by a fierce gale. The turn of the storm hadcome, and I was wise enough in weather-lore to see that its rearguardwas sweeping down upon us in all the bitterness of a winter's tempest. Beyond the tracks I could see the murky water of Brushy Creek racingtoward the river under the State Street bridge. "I believe, " said I, "that the surface-water from above is showing theflow from the flume. " "Yes, " said Jim absently, "it must be about ready to break up. I hope wecan get out of the valley before dark. " The engine stood ready, the superabundant power popping off in adeafening hiss. The fireman threw open the furnace-door and stoked thefire as we approached. Engineer Schwartz, the same who had pulled usover the road that first trip, was standing by his engine, talking withour old conductor, Corcoran. "Here's a message for you, Mr. Elkins, " said Corcoran, handing Jim ayellow paper, "from Agnew. " We read it by Corcoran's lantern, for it was getting dusky for thereading of telegraph operator's script. "Water out over bottoms from Hinckley to the Hills, " so went themessage. "Flood coming down valley. Snow and drifting wind reported fromElkins Junction and Josephine. Look out for washouts, and culverts andbridges damaged by running ice and water. Pendleton special fully up torunning schedule, at Willow Springs. " "Who've you got up there, Schwartz? Oh, is that you, Ole?" said Mr. Elkins. "Good! Boys, to-night our work has got to be done in time, or wemight as well go to bed. It's a case of four aces or a four-flush, andno intermediate stations. Mr. Pendleton's special will pass the Junctionright around nine--not ten minutes either way. Get us there before that. If you can do it safely, all right; but get us there. And remember thatthe regular rule in railroading is reversed to-night, and we are readyto take any chance rather than miss--_any_ chances, mind!" "We're ready and waiting, Mr. Elkins, " said Schwartz, "but you'll haveto get on, you know. Looks like there was time enough if we keep thewheels turning, but this snow and flood business may cut some figure. _Any_ chances, I believe you said, sir. All right! Ready when you are, Jack. " "All aboard!" sang out Corcoran, and with a commonplace ding-dong ofthe bell, and an every-day hiss of steam, which seemed, somehow, out ofkeeping with the fearful and unprecedented exigency now upon us, wemoved out through the yards, jolting over the frogs, out upon the mainline; and soon began to feel a cheering acceleration in the recurrentsounds and shocks of our flight, as Schwartz began rolling back themiles under his flying wheels. We sat in silence on the oil-cloth cushions of the seats which ran alongthe sides of the caboose. Corcoran, the only person who shared the carwith us, seemed to have some psychical consciousness of the peril whichweighed down upon us, and moved quietly about the car, or sat in thecupola, as mute as we. There was no need for speech between my friend and me. Our minds, strenuously awake, found a common conclusion in the very nature of thecase. Both doubtless had considered and rejected the idea oftelegraphing Pendleton to wait for us at the Junction. No king upon histhrone was more absolute than Avery Pendleton, and to ask him to waste asingle quarter-hour of his time might give great offense to him whom wedesired to find serene and complaisant. Again, any apparent anxiety forhaste, any symptom of an attempt to rush his line of defenses, wouldsurely defeat its object. No, we must quietly and casually board histrain, and secure the signing of the contract before we reached Chicago, if possible. "You brought that paper, Al?" said Jim, as if my thoughts had beenaudible to him. "Yes, " said I, "it's here. " "I think we'd better be on our way to St. Louis, " said he. "He canhardly refuse to oblige us by going through the form of signing, so asto let us turn south at the river. " "Very well, " said I, "St. Louis--yes. " Out past the old Trescott farm, now covered with factories, cottages, and railway tracks, leaving Lynhurst Park off to our left, curving withthe turnings of Brushy Creek Valley, through which our engineers hadfound such easy grades, dropping the straggling suburbs of the citybehind us, we flew along the rails in the waning twilight of thisgrewsome day. On the windward windows and the roof rattled fierceflights of sleet and showers of cinders from the engine. Occasionally wefelt the car sway in the howling gusts of wind, as we passed someopening in the hills and neared the more level prairie. Stories of carsblown from the rails flitted through my mind; and in contemplating suchan accident my thoughts busied themselves with the details of plans forgetting free from the wrecked car, and pushing on with the engine, thederailing of which somehow never occurred to me. "We're slowing down!" cried Jim, after a half-hour's run. "I wonderwhat's the matter!" "For God's sake, look ahead!" yelled Corcoran, leaping down from thecupola and springing to the door. We followed him to the platform, andeach of us ran down on the step and, swinging out by the hand-rail, peered ahead into the dusk, the sleet stinging our cheeks like shot. We were running along the right bank of the stream, at a point where thevalley narrowed down to perhaps sixty rods of bottom. At the first dimlook before us we could see nothing unusual, except that the backgroundof the scene looked somehow as if lifted by a mirage. Then I noticedthat up the valley, instead of the ghostly suggestions of trees andhills which bounded the vista in other directions, there was anappearance like that seen on looking out to sea. "The flood!" said Jim. "He's not going to stop, is he Corcoran?" At this moment came at once the explanation of Schwartz's hesitation andthe answer to Jim's question. We saw, reaching clear across the narrowbottom, a great wave of water, coming down the valley like a liquidwall, stretching across the track and seeming to forbid our furtherprogress, while it advanced deliberately upon us, as if to drown engineand crew. Driven on by the terrific gale, it boiled at its base, andcurled forward at its foamy and wind-whipped crest, as if the upperwaters were impatient of the slow speed of those below. Beyond the wave, the valley, from bluff to bluff, was a sea, rolling white-capped waves. Logs, planks, and the other flotsam of a freshet moved on in the van ofthe flood. It looked like the end of our run. What engineer would dare to dash onat such speed over a submerged track--possibly floated from its bed, possibly barricaded by driftwood? Was not the wave high enough to putout the fires and kill the engine? As we met the roaring eagre we feltthe engine leap, as Schwartz's hesitation left him and he opened thethrottle. Like knight tilting against knight, wave and engine met. Therewas a hissing as of the plunging of a great red-hot bar into a vat. Aroaring sheet of water, thrown into the air by our momentum, washed caband tender and car, as a billow pours over a laboring ship; and we stoodon the steps, drenched to the skin, the water swirling about our anklesas we rushed forward. Then we heard the scream of triumph from thewhistle, with which Schwartz cheered us as the dripping train ran onthrough shallower and shallower water, and turning, after a mile or so, began climbing, dry-shod, the grade which led from the flooded valleyand out upon the uplands. "Come in, Mr. Elkins, " said Corcoran. "You'll both freeze out there, wetas you are. " Not until I heard this did I realize that we were still standing on thesteps, our clothes congealing about us, peering through the now densegloom ahead, as if for the apparition of some other grisly foe to dauntor drive us back. We went in, and sat down by the roaring fire, in spite of which a chillpervaded the car. We were now running over the divide between the valleywe had just left and that of Elk Fork. Up here on the highlands the windmore than ever roared and clutched at the corners of the car, andsometimes, as with the palm of a great hand, pressed us over, as if agiant were striving to overturn us. We could hear the engine strugglingwith the savage norther, like a runner breathing hard, as he nearsexhaustion. Presently I noticed fine particles of snow, driven into thecar at the crevices, falling on my hands and face, and striking the hotstove with little hissing explosions of steam. "We're running into a blizzard up here, " said Corcoran. "It's a terroroutside. " "A terror; yes, " said Jim. "What sort of time are we making?" "Just about holding our own, " said Corcoran. "Not much to spare. Got tostop at Barslow for water. But there won't be any bad track from thereon. This snow won't cut any figure for three hours yet, and mebbe not atall, there's so little of it. " "Kittrick has been asking for an appropriation to rebuild the Elk Forktrestle, " said Jim. "Will it stand this flood?" "Well, " said Corcoran, "if the water ain't too high, and the ice don'trun too swift in the Fork, it'll be all right. But if there's any suchmixture of downpour and thaw as there was along the Creek back there, wemay have to jump across a gap. It'll probably be all right. " I remembered the Elk Fork, and the trestle just on the hither side ofthe Junction. I remembered the valley, green with trees, and populouswith herds, winding down to the lake, and the pretty little town ofJosephine. I remembered that gala day when we christened it. I groanedin spirit, as I thought of finding the trestle gone, after ourhundred-and-fifty-mile dash through storm and flood. Yet I believed itwould be gone. The blows showered upon us had beaten down my courage. Ifelt no shrinking from either struggle or danger; but this was merelythe impulse which impels the soldier to fight on in despair, and sellhis life dearly. I believed that ruin fronted us all; that our greatsystem of enterprises was going down; that, East and West, where we hadbeen so much courted and admired, we should become a by-word and ahissing. The elements were struggling against us. That vengeful floodhad snatched at us, and barely missed; the ruthless hurricane washolding us back; and somehow fate would yet find means to lay us low. Ihad all day kept thinking of the lines: "Nor ever yet had Arthur fought a fight Like this last dim, weird battle of the west. A death-white mist slept over land and sea: Whereof the chill, to him who breathed it, drew Down to his blood, till all his heat was cold With formless fear: and even on Arthur fell Confusion, since he saw not whom he fought. " And this, thought I, was the end of the undertaking upon which we hadentered so lightly, with frolic jests of piracy and Spanish galleons andpieces-of-eight, and with all that mock-seriousness with which wediscussed hypnotic suggestion and psychic force! The bitterness grewsickening, as Corcoran, hearing the long whistle of the engine, saidthat we were coming into Barslow. The tragic foolery of giving that nameto any place! Out upon the platform here, in the blinding whirl of snow. The nightoperator came out and talked to us of the news of the line, while theengine ran on to the tank for water. There was another telegram fromAgnew, saying that the Pendleton special was on time, and that Mr. Kittrick was following us with another train "in case of need. " The operator was full of wild stories of the Brushy Creek flood, causedby the thaw and the cloudburst. We cut him short in this narration, andasked him of the conditions along the Elk Fork. "She's up and boomin', " said he. "The trestle was most all under wateran hour ago, and they say the ice was runnin' in blocks. You may findthe track left without any underpinnin'. Look out for yourselves. " "Al, " said Jim slowly, "can you fire an engine?" "I guess so, " said I, seeing his meaning dimly. "Why?" "Al, " said he, as if stating the conclusion of a complicatedcalculation, "we must run this train in alone!" I saw his intent fully, and knew why he walked so resolutely up to theengine, now backed down to take us on again. Schwartz leaned out of hiscab, a man of snow and ice. Ole stood with his shovel in his hand whiteand icy like his brother worker. Both had been drenched, as we had; butthey had had no red-hot stove by which to sit; and buffeted by theblizzard and powdered by the snow, they had endured the benumbing coldof the hurricane-swept cab. "Get down here, boys, " said Jim. "I want to talk with you. " Ole leaped lightly down, followed by Schwartz, who hobbled laboriously, stiffened with cold. Youth and violent labor had kept the fireman warm. "Schwartz, " said Jim, "there is a chance that we'll find the trestleweakened and dangerous. We'll stop and examine it if we have time, butif it is as close a thing as I think it will be, we propose to make arun for it and take chances. Barslow and I are the ones, and the onlyones, who ought to do this, because we must make this connection. We canrun the engine. You and Ole and Corcoran stay here. Mr. Kittrick will bealong with another train in a few hours. Uncouple the caboose and we'llrun on. " Schwartz blew his nose with great deliberation. "Ole, " said he, "what d'ye think of the old man's scheme?" "Ay tank, " said Ole, "dat bane hellufa notion!" "Come, " said Mr. Elkins, "we're losing time! Uncouple at once!" We started to mount the engine; but Schwartz and Ole were before us, barring the way. "Wait, " said Schwartz. "Jest look at it, now. It's quite a run yet; andthe chances are you'd have the cylinder-heads knocked out before you'dgot half way; and then where'd you be with your connections?" "Do you mean to say, " said Jim, "that there's any likelihood of theengine's dying on us between here and the Junction?" "It's a cinch!" said Schwartz. "For God's sake, then, let's get on!" said Jim. "I believe you're lyingto me, Schwartz. But do this: As you come to the trestle, stop. Fromthe approach we can see down the other track for ten miles. IfPendleton's train is far enough off so as to give us time, we'll see howthe bridge is before we cross. If we're pressed for time too much forthis, promise me that you'll stop and let us run the engine acrossalone. " "I'll think about it, " said Schwartz; "and if I conclude to, I will. It's got to clear up, if we can see even the headlight on the other roadvery far. Ready, Jack?" We wrung their hard and icy hands, leaped upon the train, and were awayagain, spinning down the grade toward the Elk Fork, and comforted by ourspeed. Jim and I climbed into the cupola and watched the track ahead, and the two homely heroes in the cab, as the light from the furnaceblazed out upon them from time to time. Now we could see Schwartzstoking, to warm himself; now we could see him looking at his watch andpeering anxiously out before him. It was wearing on toward nine, and still our goal was miles away. Overhead the sky was clearing, and we could see the stars; but down onthe ground the light, new snow still glided whitely along before thelessening wind. Once or twice we saw, or thought we saw, far ahead, lights, like those of a little prairie town. Was it the Junction? Yes, said Corcoran, when we called him to look; and now we saw that we wererising on the long approach to the trestle. Would Schwartz stop, or would he run desperately across, as he haddashed through the flood? That was with him. His hand was on the lever, and we were helpless; but, if there was time, it would be merefoolhardiness to go upon the trestle at any but the slowest speed, andwithout giving all but one an opportunity to walk across. One, surely, was enough to go down with the engine, if it, indeed, went down. "Don't stay up there, " shouted Corcoran, "go out on the steps so you canjump for it if you have to!" Out upon the platform we went in the biting wind, which still camefiercely on, sweeping over the waste of waters which covered the fieldslike a great lake. There was no sign of slowing down: right on, as ifthe road were rock-ballasted, and thrice secure, the engine drove towardthe trestle. "She's there, anyhow, I b'lieve, " said Corcoran, swinging out andlooking ahead; "but I wouldn't bet on how solid she is!" "Can't you stop him?" said Jim. "Stop nothing!" said Corcoran. "Look over there!" We looked, and saw a light gleaming mistily, but distinct andunmistakable, across the water on the other track. It was the Pendletonspecial! Not much further from the station than were we, the train ofmoving palaces to which we were fighting our way was gliding to thepoint beyond which it must not pass without us. There was now no morethought of stopping; rather our desires yearned forward over the course, agonizing for greater speed. I did not see that we were actually uponthe trestle until for some rods we had been running with the inky wateronly a few feet below us; but when I saw it my hopes leaped up, as Icalculated the proportion of the peril which was passed. A moment more, and the solid approach would be under our spinning wheels. But the moment more was not to be given us! For, even as this joy rosein my breast, I felt a shock; I heard a confused sound of men's cries, and the shattering of timbers; the caboose whirled over cornerwise, throwing up into the air the step on which I stood; the sounds of thetrain went out in sudden silence as engine and car plunged off into thestream; and I felt the cold water close over me as I fell into therushing flood. I arose and struck out for the shore; then I thought ofJim. A few feet above me in the stream I saw something like a hand orfoot flung up out of the water, and sucked down again. I turned as wellas I could toward the spot, and collided with some object under thesurface. I caught at it, felt the skirt of a garment in my hand, andknew it for a man. Then, I remember helping myself with a plank fromsome washed-out bridge, and soon felt the ground under my feet, all thetime clinging to my man. I tried to lift him out, but could not; and Ilocked my hands under his arm-pits and, slowly stepping backwards, Ihalf carried, half dragged him, seeking a place where I could lay himdown. I saw the dark line of the railroad grade, and made wearily towardit. I walked blindly into the water of the ditch beside the track, andhad scarcely strength to pull myself and my burden out upon the bank. Then I stopped and peered into his face, and saw uncertainly that itwas Jim--with a dark spot in the edge of the hair on his forehead, fromwhich black streaks kept stealing down as I wiped them off; and with onearm which twisted unnaturally, and with a grating sound as I moved it;and from whom there came no other sound or movement whatever. And over across the stream gleamed the lights of the Pendleton specialas it sped away toward Chicago. CHAPTER XXVI. The End--and a Beginning. As to our desperate run from Lattimore to the place where it came to anend in a junk-heap which had been once an engine, a car reduced tomatchwood, a broken trestle, and a chaos of crushed hopes, and of thereturn to our homes thereafter, no further details need be set forth. The papers in Lattimore were filled with the story for a day or two, andI believe there were columns about it in the Associated Press reports. Idoubt not that Mr. Pendleton and Mr. Cornish each read it in the morningpapers, and that the latter explained it to the former in Chicago. Fromthese reports the future biographer may glean, if he happens to comeinto being and to care about it, certain interesting facts about thepeople of this history. He will learn that Mr. Barslow, having (withtruly Horatian swimming powers) rescued President Elkins from a waterygrave, waited with his unconscious derelict in great danger fromfreezing, until they were both rescued a second time by a crew ofhand-car men who were near the trestle on special work connected withthe flood and its ravages. That President Elkins was terribly injured, having sustained a broken arm and a dangerous wound in the forehead. Moreover, he was threatened with pneumonia from his exposure. Shouldthis disease really fasten itself upon him, his condition would be verycritical indeed. That Mr. Barslow, the hero of the occasion, wasuninjured. And I am ashamed to say that such student of history willfind in an inconspicuous part of the same news-story, as if by reason ofits lack of importance, the statement that O. Hegvold, fireman, and J. J. Corcoran, conductor of the wrecked train, escaped with slightinjuries. And that Julius Schwartz, the engineer, living at 2714 MayStreet, and the oldest engineer on the L. & G. W. , being benumbed by thecold, sank like a stone and was drowned. Poor Schwartz! MagnificentSchwartz! No captain ever went down, refusing to leave the bridge of hissinking ship, with more heroism than he; who, clad in greasy overalls, and sapped of his strength by the icy hurricane, finding his homely dutyinextricably entangled with death, calmly took them both, and went hisway. This mine for the historian will also disclose to him the fact that therescued crew and passengers were brought home by a relief-train incharge of General Manager Kittrick, and that Mr. Elkins was takendirectly to the home of Mr. Barslow, where he at once became subject tothe jurisdiction of physicians and nurses and "could not be seen. " Butas to the reasons for the insane dash in the dark the historian willlook in vain. I am disposed now to think that our motives were entirelycreditable; but for them we got no credit. Much less than a nine days' wonder, however, was this tragedy of the ElkFork trestle, for other sensations came tumbling in an army upon itsvery heels. Times of war, great public calamities, and panic are theharvest seasons of the newspapers; and these were great days for thenewspapers in Lattimore. Not that they learned or printed all the news. I received a telegram, for instance, the day after the accident, whichmerely entered up judgment on the verdict of the day before. It was amessage from Mr. Pendleton in Chicago. "In matter of Lattimore & Great Western, " this telegram read, "directorsrefuse to ratify contract. This sent to save you trip to Chicago. " "No news in that, " said I to Mr. Hinckley; "I wonder that he bothered tosend it. " But, in the era of slug heads which set in about three days after, andwhile Jim was still helpless up at my house, it would have receivedrecognition as news--although they did very well without it. "Great Failure!" said the _Times_. "Grain Belt Trust Company Goes to theWall! Business Circles Convulsed! Receiver Appointed at Suit of CharlesHarper of Chicago! Followed by Assignment of Hinckley & Macdonald, Bankers! Western Portland Cement Company Assigns! Atlas Power CompanyFollows Suit! Reason, Money Tied up in Banks and Trust Company. Wherewill it Stop? A Veritable Black Friday!" Thus the headlines. In the news report itself the _Times_ remarked uponthe intimate connection of Mr. Elkins and myself with all the failedconcerns. The firm of Elkins & Barslow, being primarily a real-estateand insurance agency, would not assign. As to the condition of thebusiness of James R. Elkins & Company, whose operations in bonds anddebentures had been enormous, nothing could be learned on account of thecritical illness of Mr. Elkins. "It is not thought, " said the _Herald_, "that the failures will carrydown any other concerns. The run on the First National Bank was one ofthose panicky symptoms which are dangerous because so unreasoning. It isto be hoped that it will not be renewed in the morning. The banks arenot involved in the operations of the Grain Belt Trust Company, thefailure of which, it must be admitted, is sure to cause seriousdisturbances, both locally and elsewhere, wherever its wide-spreadoperations have extended. " The physical system adjusts itself to any permanent lesion in the body, and finally ceases even to send out its complaining messages of pain. Sowe in Lattimore, who a few weeks ago had been ready to sacrificeanything for the keeping of our good name; who by stealth justlyforeclosed mortgages justly due, lest the world should wonder at theirnonpayment; who so greatly had rejoiced in our own strength; who hadfelt that, surely, we who had wrought such wonders could not nowfail:--even we numbly came to regard receiverships and assignments asquite the thing to be expected. The fact that, all over the country, panic, ruin, and business stagnation were spreading like a pestilence, from just such centers of contagion as Lattimore, made it easier forus. Surely, we felt, nobody could justly blame us for being in the pathof a tempest which, like a tropic cyclone, ravaged a continent. This may have been weak self-justification; but, even yet, when I thinkof the way we began, and how the wave of "prosperity" rose and rose, byacts in themselves, so far as we could see, in every way praiseworthy;how with us, and with people engaged in like operations everywhere, themost powerful passions of society came to aid our projects; how thewinds from the unknown, the seismic throbbings of the earth, and thevery stars in their courses fought for us; and when, at last, thesemightinesses turned upon us the cold and evil eye of their displeasure, how the heaped-up sea came pouring over here, trickling through there, and seeping under yonder, until our great dike toppled over in balefultumult, "and all the world was in the sea"; how business, east, west, north, and south, went paralyzed with fear and distrust, and oldconcerns went out like strings of soap-bubbles, and shocks of pain anddisease went round the world, and everywhere there was that hellish andportentous thing known to the modern world only, and called a"commercial panic": when I broadly consider these things, I am not vainenough seriously to blame myself. These thoughts are more than ever in my mind to-day, as I look back overthe decade of years which have elapsed since our Waterloo at the ElkFork trestle. I look out from the same library in which I once felt asense of guilt at the expense of building it, and see the solid andprosperous town, almost as populous as we once saw it in our dreams. Iam regarded locally as one of the creators of the city; but I know thatthis praise is as unmerited as was that blame of a dozen years ago. Werode on the crest of a wave, and we weltered in the trough of the sea;but we only seemed to create or control. I hold in my hand a letter fromJim, received yesterday, and eloquent of the changes which have takenplace. "I am sorry, " says he, "to be unable to come to your business men'sbanquet. The building of a great auditorium in Lattimore is proof thatwe weren't so insane, after all. I suppose that the ebb and flow of thetide of progress, which yearly gains upon the shore, is inevitable, asthings are hooked up; but, after the ebb, it's comforting to see yourold predictions as to gain coming true, even if you do find yourself inthe discard. It would be worth the trip only to see Captain Tolliver, and to hear him eliminate the _r_'s from his mother tongue. Give thedear old secesh my dearest love! "But I can't come, Al. I must be in Washington at that time on businessof the greatest (presumptive) importance to the cattle interests of thebuffalo-grass country. I could change my own dates; but my wife hasarranged a tryst for a day certain with some specialists in her line inNew York. She's quite the queen of the cattle range--in New York: and, to be dead truthful, she comes pretty near it out here. It is rumoredthat even the sheepmen speak well of her. "These Eastern trips are great things for her and the children. I'mriding the range so constantly, and get so much fun out of it, that Ifeel sort of undressed and embarrassed out of the saddle. In WashingtonI'm pointed out as a typical cowboy, the descendant of a Spanish vaqueroand a trapper's daughter. This helps me to represent my constituents inthe sessions of the Third House, and to get Congressional attention tothe ax I want ground. I am looked upon as in line for the presidency ofthe Amalgamated Association of American Ax-grinders. "If we can make it, we'll look in on you on our way back; but we don'tpromise. With cattle scattered over two counties of buttes and canyons, we feel in a hurry when we get started home, after an absence sure tohave been longer than we intended. Then, you know how I feel;--I wishthe old town well, but I don't enjoy _every_ incident of my visitsthere. "We expect to see the Cecil Barr-Smiths in New York. Cecil is the wholething now with their companies--a sort of professional president incharge of the American properties; and Mrs. Cecil is as well known insome mighty good circles in London as she used to be in Lynhurst Park. "I am glad to know that things are going toward the good with you. Personally, I never expect to be a seven-figure man again, and don'tcare to be. I prefer to look after my few thousands of steers, laying onfour hundred pounds each per year, far from the madding crowd. You knowRiley's man who said that the little town of Tailholt was good enoughfor him? Well, that expresses my view of the 'J-Up-and-Down' Ranch as ahermitage. It'll do quite well. But these Eastern interests of Mrs. Jimare just now menacing to life in any hermitage. She has specificallystated on two or three occasions lately that this is no place to bringup a family. Think of a rough-rider like me in the wilds of New York! Ican see plenty of ways of amusing myself down there, but not suchpeaceful ways as putting on my six-shooters and going out after timberwolves or mountain lions, or our local representative of the clan of theHon. Maverick Brander. The future lowers dark with the multitudinousmouths of avenues of prosperity!" This letter was a disappointment to Mr. Giddings. His special edition ofthe _Herald_ commemorative of the opening of our Auditorium must now bedeprived of its James R. Elkins feature, so far as his being the guestof honor goes. But there will be Jim's photograph on the first page, anda half-tone reproduction of a picture of the wreck at the Elk Forktrestle. "It is a matter of the deepest regret, " said the _Herald_ this morning, "that Mr. Elkins cannot be with us on this auspicious occasion. He wasthe head of that most remarkable group of men who laid the foundationsof Lattimore's greatness. Only one of them, Mr. Barslow, still lives inLattimore, where he has devoted his life, since the crash of many yearsago, to the reorganization of the failed concerns, and especially theGrain Belt Trust Company, and to the salving of their properties in theinterests of the creditors. His present prominence grows out of thesignal skill and ability with which he has done this work; and he mustprove a great factor in the city's future development, as he has been inits past. Mr. Hinckley, the third member of the syndicate, now faradvanced in years, is living happily with his daughter and her husband. The fourth, Mr. Cornish, resides in Paris, where he is well known as adaring and successful financial operator. He, of all the syndicate, retired from the Lattimore enterprises rich. "There have been years when the names of these men were not held in therespect and esteem they deserve. The town was going backward. People whohad been rich were, many of them, in absolute distress for thenecessaries of life. And these men, in a vague sort of way, were blamedfor it. Now, however, we can begin to see the wisdom of their plans andthe vastness of the scope of their combinations. Nothing but the elementof time was wanting, abundantly to vindicate their judgment andsagacity. The industries they founded succeeded as soon as they weredivorced from the real-estate speculation which unavoidably entered intotheir management at the outset. It is regrettable that their founderscould not share in their success. " "Nothing but the element of time, " said I to Captain Tolliver, who satby me in the car as I read this editorial, "prevents the hot-air balloonfrom carrying its load over the Rockies. " "Nothing but luck, " said the Captain, "evah could have beaten us. It wasthe Fleischmann failure, and it was nothing else. As to the greatqualities of Mr. Elkins, suh, the editorial puts it too mild by fah. Hewas a Titan, suh, a Titan, and we shall not look upon his like again. This town at this moment is vegetating fo' the want of some fo'cefulElkins to put life into it. The trilobites, as he so well dubbed them, ah in control again. What's this Auditorium we've built? A good thingfo' the city, cehtainly, a ve'y good thing: but see the difficulty, thehumiliatin' difficulty we had, in gettin' togethah the paltry andtrivial hundred and fifty thousand dolla's! Why in that elder day, insuch a cause, we'd have called a meetin' in that old office of Elkins &Barslow's, and made it up out of ouah own funds in fifteen minutes. It'sthe so't of cattle we've got hyah as citizens that's handicappin' us;but in spite of this, suh, ouah unsuhpassed strategical position iswinnin' fo' us. We ah just now on the eve of great developments, Barslow, great developments! All my holdin's ah withdrawn from mahketuntil fu'theh notice. Foh, as we ah so much behind the surroundin'country in growth, we must soon take a great leap fo'wahd. We ah pastthe boom stage, I thank God, and what we ah now goin' to get is a rathahbrisk but entiahly healthy growth. A good, healthy growth, Barslow, andno boom!" The disposition to moralize comes on with advancing middle age, and Icould not help philosophizing on this perennial optimism of theCaptain's. He had used these very words when, so long ago, we had begunour "cruise. " The financial cycle was complete. The world had passedfrom hope to intoxication, from intoxication to panic, from panic to thedepths, from this depression, ascending the long slope of gradualrecovery, to the uplands of hope once more. Now, as twenty years ago, this feeling covered the whole world, was most pronounced in the newerand more progressive lands, and was voiced by Captain Tolliver, thegrizzled swashbuckler of the land market. In it I recognized the rippleon the sands heralding the approach of another wave of speculation, which must roll shoreward in splendor and might, and, like itspredecessors, must spend itself in thunderous ruin. I often think of what General Lattimore was accustomed to say aboutthese matters, and how Josie echoed his words as to the evil of fortunescoming to those who never earned them. Some time, I hope, we shall growwise enough to-- I humbly beg your pardon, Madam, and thank you. That charming gesture ofimpatience was the one thing needful to admonish me that lectures aredull, and that the time has come to write _finis_. The rest of thestory? Cornish--Jim--Josie--Antonia? Oh, this proneness of the businessman to talk shop! Left to myself, I should have allowed their history toremain to the end of time, unresolved as to entanglements, and themunhealed as to bruises, bodily and sentimental. And, yet, those were thethings which most filled our minds in the dark days after we missedconnection with the Pendleton special. In the first spasm of the crisis I was more concerned for Jim's safetythan with the long-feared monetary cataclysm. _That_ was upon us in suchpower as to make us helpless; but Jim, wounded and prostrated as he was, his very life in danger, was a concrete subject of anxiety and acomfortingly promising object of care. "If we can keep this from assuming the character of true pneumonia, "said Dr. Aylesbury, "there's no reason why he shouldn't recover. " He had been unconscious and then delirious from the time when he and Ihad been picked up there by the railroad-dump, until we were well on ourway home on Kittrick's relief-train. At last he looked about him, andhis eyes rested on Corcoran. "Hello, Jack!" said he weakly; and as his glance took in Ole, he smiledand said: "A hellufa notion, you tank, do you? Ole, where's Schwartz?" Ole twisted and squirmed, but found no words. "We couldn't find Schwartz, " said Kittrick. "He was so cold, he wentright down with the cab. " "I see, " said Jim. "It was bitter cold!" He said no more. I wondered at this, and almost blamed him, even in hisstricken state, for not feeling the peculiar poignancy of our regret forthe loss of Schwartz. And then, his face being turned away, I peepedover to see if he slept, and saw where his tears had dropped silently onthe piled-up cushions of his couch. * * * * * Mrs. Trescott came several times a day to inquire as to Mr. Elkins'swelfare; but Josie not at all. Antonia's carriage stopped often at thedoor; and somebody stood always at the telephone, answering the streamof questions. But when, on that third evening, it became known that thelast "battle in the west" had gone against us, that all our great RoundTable was dissolved, and that Jim's was a sinking and not a rising sun, public interest suddenly fell off. And the poor fellow whose word butyesterday might have stood against the world, now lay there fighting forvery life, and few so poor to do him reverence. I had been so proud ofhis splendid and dominant strength that this, I think, was the thingthat brought the bitterness of failure most keenly home to me. I couldnot feel satisfied with Josie. There were good reasons why she mighthave refused to choose between Jim and the man who had ruined him, whilethere was danger of her choice itself becoming the occasion of warbetween them. But that was over now, and Cornish was victorious. Gradually the fear grew upon me that we had rated Josie's womanhoodhigher than she herself held it, and that Cornish was to win her also. He had that magnetism which so attracted her as a girl, but that I hadbelieved incapable of holding her as a woman. And now he had wealth, andJim was poor, and the whole world stood with its back to us, and Josieheld aloof. I was afraid he would speak of it, every time he tried totalk. That night when the evening papers came out with all their plenitude ofbad news (for we had pleased Watson by dying on the evening papers'time), it was a dark moment for us. Jim lay silent and unmoving, as ifall his ebullient energy had gone forever. The physician omitted thedressing of his wound, because, he said, he feared the patient was notstrong enough to bear it: and this, as well as the strange semi-stuporof the sufferer, frightened me. Jim had said little, and most of hiswords had been of the trivial things of the sick-room. Only once did herefer to the great affairs in which we had been for so long engrossed. "What day is this?" he asked. "Friday, " said I, "the twenty-first. " "By this time, " said he feebly, "we must be pretty well shot to rags. " "Never mind about that, " said I, holding his hands in mine. "Never mind, Jim!" "Some of those gophers, " said he, after a while, "used to learn to . .. Rub their noses . .. In the dirt . .. And always stick their headsup--outside the snare!" "Yes, " said I, "I remember. Go to sleep, old man!" I thought him delirious, and he knew and resented it; being evidentlyconvinced that he had just made a wise remark. It touched me to hearhim, even in his extremity, return to those boyhood days when we trappedand hunted and fished together. He saw my pitying look. "I'm all right, " said he; but he said no more. The nurse came in, and told me that Mrs. Barslow wished to see me in thelibrary. I went down, and found Josie and Alice together. "I got a letter from--from Mr. Cornish, " said she, "telling me that hewas returning from Chicago to-night, and was coming to see me. I ranover, because--and told mamma to say that I couldn't see him. " "See him by all means, " said I with some bitterness. "You should makeit a point to see him. Mr. Cornish is a success. He alone of us all hasshown real greatness. " And it dawned upon me, as I said it, what Jim had meant by his referenceto the gopher which learns to stick its head up "outside the snare. " "I want to ask you, " said Josie, "is it all true--what was in the paperto-night about all of you, Mr. Hinckley and yourself, and--all of youhaving failed?" "It is only a part of the truth, " I replied. "We are ruined absolutely. " She said nothing by way of condolence, and uttered no expressions ofregret or sympathy. She was apparently in a state of suppressedexcitement, and started at sounds and movements. "Is Mr. Elkins very ill?" said she at length. "So ill, " said Alice, "that unless he rallies soon, we shall look forthe worst. " No more at this than at the other ill news did Josie express any regretor concern. She sat with her fingers clasped together, gazing before herat the fire in the grate, as if making some deep and abstrusecalculation. But when the door-bell rang, she started and listenedattentively, as the servant went to the door, and then returned to us. "A gentleman, Mr. Cornish, to see Miss Trescott, " said the maid. "And hesays he must see her for a moment. " "Alice, " said Josie, under her breath, "you go, please! Say to him thatI cannot see him--now! Oh, why did he follow me here?" "Josie, " said Alice dramatically, "you don't mean to say that you areafraid of this man! Are you?" "No, no!" said the girl doubtfully and distressfully; "but it's so hardto say 'No' to him! If you only knew all, Alice, you wouldn't blameme--and you'd go!" "If you're so far gone--under his influence, " said Alice, "that youcan't trust yourself to say 'No, ' Josephine Trescott, go, in Heaven'sname, and say 'Yes, ' and be the wife of a millionaire--and a traitor andscoundrel!" As Alice said this she came perilously near the histrionic standard ofthe tragic stage. Josie rose, looked at her in surprise, in which thereseemed to be some defiance, and walked steadily out to the parlor. I wasglad to be out of the affair, and went back to Jim. I stood regarding mybroken and forsaken friend, in watching whose uneasy sleep I forgot thecrisis downstairs, when I was startled and angered by the slamming ofthe front door, and heard a carriage rattle furiously away down thestreet. Soon I heard the rustle of skirts, and looked up, thinking to see mywife. But it was Josie. She came in, as if she were the regularlyordained nurse, and stepped to the bedside of the sleeping patient. Thebroken arm in its swathings lay partly uncovered; and across his woundedbrow was stretched a broad bandage, below which his face showed pale andweary-looking, in the half-stupor of his deathlike slumber: for he hadbecome strangely quiet. His uninjured arm lay inertly on thecounterpane beside him. She took his hand, and, seating herself on the bed, began softlystroking and patting the hand, gazing all the time in his face. Hestirred, and, turning his eyes toward her, awoke. "Don't move, my darling, " said she quietly, and as if she had been for along, long time quite in the habit of so speaking to him; "don't move, or you'll hurt your arm. " Then she bent down her head, lower and lower, until her cheek touched his. "I've come to sit with you, Jim, dear, " said she, softly--"if you wantme--if I can do you any good. " "I want you, always, " said he. She stooped again, and this time laid her lips lingeringly on his; andhis arm stole about the slim waist. "If you'll just get well, " she whispered, "you may have me--always!" He passed his fingers over her hair, and kissed her again and again. Then he looked at her long and earnestly. "Where's Al?" said he; "I want Al!" I came forward promptly. I thought that this violation of the doctor'sregulation requiring rest and quiet had gone quite far enough. "Al, " said he, still holding her hand, "do you remember out there by thewindmill tower that night, and the petunias and four-o'clocks?" "Yes, Jim, I remember, " said I. "But you mustn't talk any more now. " "No, I won't, " said he, and went right on; "but even before that, andever since, I haven't wanted anything we've been trying so hard to get, half as much as I've wanted Josie; and now--we lost the fight, didn'twe? Things have been slipping away from us, haven't they? Gone, aren'tthey?" "Go to sleep now, Jim, " said I. "Plenty of time for those things whenyou wake up. " "Yes, " said he; "but before I do, I want you to tell me one thing, honest injun, hope to die, you know!" "Yes, " said I; "what is it, Jim?" "I've been seeing a lot of funny things in the dark corners about here;but this seems more real than any of them, " he went on; "and I want youto tell me--_is this really Josie_?" "Really, " I assured him, "really, it is. " "Oh, Jim, Jim!" she cried, "have you learned to doubt my reality, justbecause I'm kind! Why, I'm going to be good to you now, dearest, always, always! And kinder than you ever dreamed, Jim. And I'm going to show youthat everything has not slipped away from you, my poor, poor boy; andthat, whatever may come, I shall be with you always. Only get well; onlyget well!" "Josie, " said he, smiling wanly, "you couldn't kill me--now--not with anax!" THE END. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ FAMOUS COPYRIGHT BOOKS IN POPULAR PRICED EDITIONS Re-issues of the great literary successes of the time. Library size. Printed on excellent paper--most of them with illustrations of markedbeauty--and handsomely bound in cloth. Price, 75 cents a volume, postpaid. THE CIRCULAR STAIRCASE, By Mary Roberts Reinhart With illustrations by Lester Ralph. In an extended notice the _New York Sun_ says: "To readers who care fora really good detective story 'The Circular Staircase' can berecommended without reservation. " The _Philadelphia Record_ declares that"The Circular Staircase" deserves the laurels for thrills, for weirdnessand things unexplained and inexplicable. THE RED YEAR, By Louis Tracy "Mr. Tracy gives by far the most realistic and impressive pictures ofthe horrors and heroisms of the Indian Mutiny that has been available inany book of the kind * * * There has not been in modern times in thehistory of any land scenes so fearful, so picturesque, so dramatic, andMr. Tracy draws them as with the pencil of a Verestschagin of the pen ofa Sienkiewics. " ARMS AND THE WOMAN, By Harold MacGrath With inlay cover in colors by Harrison Fisher. 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HEARTS AND THE CROSS, By Harold Morton Cramer With illustrations by Harold Matthews Brett. The hero is an unconventional preacher who follows the line of the Manof Galilee, associating with the lowly, and working for them in the waysthat may best serve them. He is not recognized at his real value exceptby the one woman who saw clearly. Their love story is one of therefreshing things in recent fiction. GROSSET & DUNLAP, Publishers, NEW YORK ------------------------------------------------------------------------ FAMOUS COPYRIGHT BOOKS IN POPULAR PRICED EDITIONS Re-issues of the great literary successes of the time. Library size. Printed on excellent paper--most of them with illustrations of markedbeauty--and handsomely bound in cloth. Price, 75 cents a volume, postpaid. NEW CHRONICLES OF REBECCA, By Kate Douglas Wiggin With illustrations by F. C. Yohn Additional episodes in the girlhood of the delightful little heroine atRiverboro which were not included in the story of "Rebecca of SunnybrookFarm, " and they are as characteristic and delightful as any part of thatfamous story. Rebecca is as distinct a creation in the second volume asin the first. THE SILVER BUTTERFLY, By Mrs. Wilson Woodrow With illustrations in colors by Howard Chandler Christy. A story of love and mystery, full of color, charm, and vivacity, dealingwith a South American mine, rich beyond dreams, and of a New Yorkmaiden, beyond dreams beautiful--both known as the Silver Butterfly. _Well named is The Silver Butterfly!_ There could not be a better symbolof the darting swiftness, the eager love plot, the elusive mystery andthe flashing wit. BEATRIX OF CLARE, By John Reed Scott With illustrations by Clarence F. Underwood. A spirited and irresistibly attractive historical romance of thefifteenth century, boldly conceived and skilfully carried out. In thehero and heroine Mr. Scott has created a pair whose mingled emotions andalternating hopes and fears will find a welcome in many lovers of thepresent hour. Beatrix is a fascinating daughter of Eve. A LITTLE BROTHER OF THE RICH, By Joseph Medill Patterson Frontispiece by Hazel Martyn Trudeau, and illustrations by Walter DeanGoldbeck. Tells the story of the idle rich, and is a vivid and truthful picture ofsociety and stage life written by one who is himself a conspicuousmember of the Western millionaire class. Full of grim satire, causticwit and flashing epigrams. "Is sensational to a degree in its theme, daring in its treatment, lashing society as it was never scourgedbefore. "--New York Sun. GROSSET & DUNLAP, Publishers, NEW YORK ------------------------------------------------------------------------ FAMOUS COPYRIGHT BOOKS IN POPULAR PRICED EDITIONS Re-issues of the great literary successes of the time. Library size. Printed on excellent paper--most of them with illustrations of markedbeauty--and handsomely bound in cloth. Price, 75 cents a volume, postpaid. THE FAIR GOD; OR, THE LAST OF THE TZINS. By Lew Wallace. Withillustrations by Eric Pape. "The story tells of the love of a native princess for Alvarado, and itis worked out with all of Wallace's skill * * * it gives a fine pictureof the heroism of the Spanish conquerors and of the culture and nobilityof the Aztecs. "--_New York Commercial Advertiser_. "_Ben Hur_ sold enormously, but _The Fair God_ was the best of theGeneral's stories--a powerful and romantic treatment of the defeat ofMontezuma by Cortes. "--_Athenćum_. THE CAPTAIN OF THE KANSAS. By Louis Tracy. 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It is replete with exciting episodes, hair-breath escapes, magnificentsword-play, and deals with the agitating times in Italian history whenAlexander II was Pope and the famous and infamous Borgias were totteringto their fall. SISTER CARRIE. By Theodore Drieser. With a frontispiece, and wrapper incolor. In all fiction there is probably no more graphic and poignant study ofthe way in which man loses his grip on life, lets his pride, hiscourage, his self-respect slip from him, and, finally, even ceases tostruggle in the mire that has engulfed him. * * * There is more tonicvalue in _Sister Carrie_ than in a whole shelfful of sermons. GROSSET & DUNLAP--NEW YORK. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ FAMOUS COPYRIGHT BOOKS IN POPULAR PRICED EDITIONS Re-issues of the great literary successes of the time. Library size. Printed on excellent paper--most of them with illustrations of markedbeauty--and handsomely bound in cloth. Price, 75 cents a volume, postpaid. LAVENDER AND OLD LACE. By Myrtle Reed. A charming story of a quaint corner of New England where bygone romancefinds a modern parallel. One of the prettiest, sweetest, and quaintestof old-fashioned love stories * * * A rare book, exquisite in spirit andconception, full of delicate fancy, of tenderness, of delightful humorand spontaneity. A dainty volume, especially suitable for a gift. DOCTOR LUKE OF THE LABRADOR. By Norman Duncan. With a frontispiece andinlay cover. How the doctor came to the bleak Labrador coast and there in saving lifemade expiation. In dignity, simplicity, humor, in sympathetic etching ofa sturdy fisher people, and above all in the echoes of the sea, _DoctorLuke_ is worthy of great praise. Character, humor, poignant pathos, andthe sad grotesque conjunctions of old and new civilizations areexpressed through the medium of a style that has distinction and strikesa note of rare personality. THE DAY'S WORK. By Rudyard Kipling. 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So naively fresh in its handling, so plausiblethrough its naturalness, that it comes like a mountain breeze across thefar-spreading desert of similar romances. "--_Gazette-Times, Pittsburg_. "A slap-dashing day romance. "--_New York Sun_. GROSSET & DUNLAP--NEW YORK. ------------------------------------------------------------------------