The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1893-08-10
THE HIDDEN CITY.
By WALTER Il. MDOUChLL
Copyright. Is92. by .Cassen Publishing corr
pany, and published by special arrangeu emf
with them

Then, growing earnest, he outlined hi
plan 10 Pierce. II was, in brief, 10 iii
vide about fifty thousand dollars anon.
the men who had been hired for the *
petition, and retaining Whitley ane
Sheriff Woodruff dismiss them all
He would then call together the chici
men Of the city and form n board oil
directors under his own presidency, lay
ing before them a scheme If manage
ment which he was sure would inure T.
the benefit Of all.
The city would simply be "A grca;
stock company, capitalized from it owH
priestly savings, and its earnings would
b. divided among the people. Their
were rich mines to be worked, and
which alone would make the people
wealthy; in fact, the more he thought
If it the more feasible it seemed, and he
grew enthusiastic at the prospect.
Although Pierce was not 50 sanguinc,
be still felt that with unknown millions
in bank almost any scheme could Dc car
ricd ont, and he felt like trying the OK
pertinent. H. looked dubious. however.
understand me- added Eric. Il
mean business. 1t is not all pure phiIau-
thrOpy by any means. 1 Know we VIII
have to buck against ignorance, super
gtitiOn and fear; also there will be rush
Of outsiders, spectators, land grabbss
and others here that must DE checked.
The government will perhaps interfere;
the state certainty will We will need
all our wits and more 10 manage things
and even the success u the plan may DO
our undoing, fgr when they are al cdu
Gated twenty years hence other interests
will perhaps be more powerful"
"And therefore it would be wise"
hterposed Pierce, "fOr us to place away
III some good, solid securities a few mil
lions for the use Of original charter mem
bcrs, as it were, in case the board Of di-
rcctOrs is voted ont of Office some time
in the future"
"Just So" Eric answered, land Ikla-
pei himself would say the same. At
least it is no more than other discover
ers and cOnqucrers havc always done"
"Only they took an there was III
sight" said Pierce, land we propose to
take only a small percentage. Are
Whitley and Woodruff in this at aIl:'
perhaps it is better that they remain
Outside-for the present anyway Eric
answered, laughing
That night the inhabitants Of Atz-
Ian i'll Il great meeting elected Gilbert
their governor. The voting was by ac-
clamation, and the whole proceeding
did not take fifteen minutes. He was
summoned and made Il speech to them,
unfolding his ideas in the simplest man
ner so that they con1prehended his
scheme readily. They were quick to see
the advantages Of the plan, although
they had no manopolistic corporations
as examples 10 teach them the power Of
combination. But lie laid great stress
upon the difficult nature Of the task, and
again and again laid before them the ne
cessity Of constant toll, ceaseess vigi-
lance and tireless patience.
"Most Of all, above all, work, work,
work" he cried. ut is the soul, the life
Of the world; the aim and end of living
aye, It's life itself"
The next day the wagon train came
into the city, and the Atzlans crowded
about the canvas covered WAGONS, filed
with mingled curiosity and fear. The
horses terrified them by their every &C
ton; the wagons amazed them; their
eyes were tired before the day passed
with staring at the martels that were
displayed on every hand. Many of them
made most advantageous bargains, ex-
changing gold and silver ornaments,
mere baubCls, for the rare things the
strangers brought. Their greatest de-
sire was for the axes, hatchets and hunt
ing and pocketknives. But some queer
trades were made. One aged chief had
obtained pair of eyeglasses and was
beside himself with delight at the res
toration of his vision, while another rev.
eled i'll the possession Of compass and
spent his time showing the unerring
needle to his astOnshed friends.
Eric had cautioned them not to be too
liberal in their dealings with the white
men, and also tried to prevent their be-
ing swindled, and cndeavored to prevent
too palpable swindling on his mems part.
but it was nearly impossible. The temp
tatlOn was too great ON both sides to be
restrained, and it was curious to see the
complacent sense Of satisfaction and the
realization of clever business tact beam
ing i'll the faces of those of the Atzlans
who had made good bargains from an
Atzlan point of view. They knew they
had Outwitted the newcomers and got
ten something for nothing, and they
were nightly pleased with themselves.
In the evening Kulcan came to Eric
and said
Brother, tomorrow shall hand over
to you the office and its powers"
but" interrupted Eric, "before YOU
do so you must perform a ceremony
oDe upon which | have set my heart.
You must wed us, Leila and me, as the
last act Of your tenure of office"
1T shall be so!' cried Kulcan with de-
light. Il am glad it falls to me, In
deed it repays me for the loss of the
great dignity of being governor, which
loss, believe me, does not sadden me at
all. In truth, confess to a feeling of
relief at the thought that i'll becomes nv
fathers son, but still feel it."
On the morrow, when all the peODle
AA''A taN7DCiIiblNA w W IIIltSS IIG dDl1c1tlOn
OF the governor and the ceremony Of in
staIllng his successor, Kulcan. departing
from ancient usage, proud of being the
first to break the bond of traditional
custom, stood before them speaking elo-
quently for awhile, and then there
stepped forth the bride and bridegroom
in their dignity and beauty.
Before the citizens had recovered from
their wonder they heard kulcan pro.
nouncing the simple marriage ceremony,
and as one man they Joined in the sono-
rous, joyful nuptial song of Atzlan. Sc
harmonious is the melody, SO, touchipo
is the simplicity of the words that Eric
himself was affected, and tears blurred
his eyes as he noted the real Joy and sin.
cere affection the people displayed. IN
til now he had scarcely known how much
room they occupied in his heart, and he
determined to give the whole energy Of
his life to them and their needs.
After this came his investment In the
governors robes, the presentation Of the
ancient seal and staff of Office, and &
or Nv l-lonn1 Is