Omaha daily bee., 1889-08-11

~ hAA bhON Dlt HIS uihCE lhDs 90 II
nipping a smile in the bud.
as it far from herep Can / reach 1t
to-night2"
Hardly think you can make it to-
night" he replied with a tone that puz-
zled mt somewhat; ''can't you stay all
nigbtY' he added: Better stay; you
can't possibly make Manganetus to-
l accepted the invitation with
elacrity. My horse being provided for,
l was soon absorbing the heat OF a
CHEEKY fire and listening to the CONVEX
sation of my new acquaintance. He
was a man of worry fluent expression and
possessed a wonderful fund of informa-
ton on scores of topics no ordinarily
discussed by men who occupied log
cabins in the mountains.
While wondering who this old char
acter could be / heard a monotonous
noise in the next room, and l certainly
thought l heard the familiar sound of
some one rapidly folding newspapers.
My ear did not deceive me, for in a
few moments n pleasant-faced little girl
appeared and handed my companion a
paper which he at once passed over to
me. II was damp from the press, and
as l opened it l read the title.
THE MANGANETUs INDEX"
"By industry we thrive" Devoted
TO the material interests of Mangane-
tus. Subscription So per annum, paya-
BILE in advance.
/ My host smiled as he handed me the
paper.
"Then the town is here" / said. Let
me go to the hotel. l do not desire to
trespass upon the hospitality of a stran-
ger"
"You will remain here, sir" he re-
piled. 81 blush to confess it., but this
is the town Of Manganetus, and the
cabin you now occupy is the only habi-
tation for twenty miles"
/ stared at the nan in establishment.
You may we'll be puzzled" he con-
tinued. but | will explain. There is
a group of mines near here which GER
tain capitalists of San Francisco are
anxious to place upon the London mar
ket. They have hired me to advocate
these mines, and it is part of my bar
| gain to run my paper in such a way that
| the London readers will think that a
large town is flourishing in the noun
tains. See?"
l nodded vaguely and he went on:
MY imagination is not sluggish, and
so | manufacture all / write. leave no
stone unturned to make the mythical
city of Manganetus a live, busting
town. You will find in this issue a pub
lie meeting called to discuss the ques-
ton of a new bridge across a stream
that exists only in the columns of the
Index. Here is the wife of a prominent
member of the city council; here is q
runaway team, knocking the smither-
eens out of a cigar store. You will note
the advertisement of the cigar store in
another column. Here is the killing of
'TeXa Pete and the investigation OF
his death by a coroner's jury. The
cause of the shooting was a dispute
relative to the ownership of q
mining location of fabulous rich
ness. There is also in another
portion of the paper, a legal summons
OF the principals in the ARRAY to do
his assessment work or lose his interest.
All my work dovetails nicely in, has a
plausible look and shows no flaw, yet it
Is all absolutely made from whole
cloth.''
"This is the most extraordinary thing
I ever heard Of"
This country is full of extraordinary
things" he replied quietly.
where does this edition go?" 1
asked.
CLARA, bring me the mailing list"
he said to the child.
Iglanced over the list, q saw that
it embraced the leading banking houses
of London and New York, as we'll as
the centers of finance and mining. My
own name was oddly enough on the
list. About a hundred copies were
mailed, and every one went where it
would do the most good.
l found that my friend edited
the paper and did the typesetting, and
his daughter was learning the typo
graphic art.
81 have no companions except my
little daughter-and the town of
Manganetus," he added, with a smile.
l passed a very comfortable night.
The roar of the wind through the pines
and the rocking of the cabin in the
blast had a deliciously soothing effect,
and / lay in the warm bed thinking
and resting until almost morning before
/ slept.
My friend. the editor, was very talk
alive at breakfast. He never alluded
to his name, but he told me more of the
paper and the enjoyment he had in
building up a town in the clouds from q
purely imaginative basis.
"To-morrow," said he, II start out on
horseback to the nearest mail station,
hollow of a tree until the mail buck.
board comes along to take them.
SIN a few weeks they are being read
in London and New York, and the par.
ties in each of these cities who are
handling the sale of these mining pro-
perties are backed up handsomely by
my editorial statements"
Next day he set out with his bundle
OF papers tied behind him. He said i,
was only ten miles and he would come
back soon, and that he would leave me
and the little girl to run the Office.
In about an hour the sky had IL low
ering aspect and snow began to fall. II
came lightly and gently at first and
melted away as it touched the rocks an6
chaparral, but in a little while it began
to stay where it fell, and the dull gray
and brown of the landscape changed tt
a dead white.
Alice, the little girl, who was sweep
ing out the Office, ceased her work ant
a look of uneasiness came over her face
as she gazed out Of the window.
The snow thickened in the air ant
the specks of black, made by dead
branches and rocks protruding through
the white, were soon oDliterated, and al
the day waned the eye fell on nothing
but an expanse of white which wa
everywhere. We built a fire when thu