The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-11-15

principle During office hours he re-
manned in bis Office, but the hours were
few. Telephone wires connected the
store with his home; pneumatic tube
connected every room of both store and
house with every other room, and two
messenger boys were on duty twenty
hours a day--ten hours each.
When the colonel became interested
In western investments it was natural
that ne should carry his theory into the
matter. He organized the Trask Cattle
Co. 0imitedl, with himself, Col. Trasl1,
president and manager. and then coolly
informed the directors that he did not
propose to visit the scene of operations,
western Kansas, at all. at can be
managed just as well by correspond
ence," he insisted. land I'll advertise
for a superintendent at once"
Coz. Trash was only forty, he was
wealthy and prosperous and his associ-
ates concluded TO let him have his own
way.
Hence there appeared in two or three
poorly printed and worse arranged
prairie papers this notice:
WANTED = AN ENERGETIC SUPERTN-
W tendent for cattle ranch. deposit OF
ECO required evidence Of fidelity Address
, M Trask, Boston. Mass:
! One answer so IMPRESS ed him by it's
vigorous language and its bold, manly
chirography, that the colonel consid-
cred no other, and J. c. Seton was en-
gagged forthwith.
Eha
far that the superintendent was in
trusted with the purchasing of the cat
tie and land, it being required that LETT
tiers be written weekly detailing prog
reSs.
Never was better work accomplished
than that told Of in the reports. The
colonels eyes kindled as he read them
and he dictated gorgeous paraphrases
of them to be sent in circular form to
the syndicate's stockholders.
Zone would think you had sweet
heart out west by the way you pore
over those letters" said his mother one
day.
Il have" replied Trask, I'm in love
with this fellow Selton. He does write
magnificent letters. and is making us
money. too I'm going out to see him
next week"
He kept his promise, and ten days
later the express train let off at the
little western Kansas station an ele-
gantly dressed gentleman who looked
little regretfully at the Pullman car
be had just left.
Granville was not exactly what he
had anticipated. His ideas had been
formed from the boom newspapers oc-
casionally sent him by Selton. 1t
looked ill-kempt, struggling, ragged.
Nor did the ranch of the Trask Cattle
Company exactly agree with the voiup-
tuous accounts he had sent out to the
stockholders. There was an expanse
of green prairie, long reaches of barb
wire, and over there ram bling corral.
with headquarters cabin of three or
four rooms, implanted and rather rough
IN appearance.
The colon ell read over one door, ~
c. Seton. superintendent" Guess
I'll go in" he said aloud, and lifted the
latch. The room was empty, except
for a cheap table Uttered with the COM
pany's letter paper.
At that moment there was cry for
help outside. and he turned to see two
young cowboys vainly trying to drive
a bunch of hundred cattle toward the
bluffs of little stream
That viii suit me-" thought the
colonel, pulling off his coat Il used
to drive home the cows from the pas
ture on fathers old farm down in Penn
sylvania, and I'd like no better fun
than to help"
lie mounted a pony hitched to the
corral and rode beside one OF the herd
ers-
Where's the superintendent" he
began
Dunno"
want some helpn-
"6es, so over there an head EN- of. :"
Trask touched his horse with the
spurs and found himself in front of
two hundred very threatening looking
horns
What was that, the crack OF plstoIp
His horse started at the sound and he
saw the smoke floating away from the
weapon in the cowboys hand.
Whether the man cid it out OF mean.
ness or really thought that BY the shot
he could control the actions of the cat
tie Traslz did not have time 20 consider.
Ills pony reared and turned until no
more control Of the animal was posi-
| bic, lie had carried his rider far to the
right OF the herd when a sudden arch
ing OF the back t''buciSing' N western
parlanceb threw the colonel violently