El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-06-23
CHAPTER ".
BINiETALLISHl

CHAPTER ~.
BIMETALLISM.
It was late in tho evening when Patrick
Cambcl again found himself en- tete -tete
with his host. There had been people
in to dinner at the house in Park lane,
bus these had gone, and Mrs. Shelf and
Amy Rivers followed thcm to par les else
where. Mrs. Shelf hal wished to carry
Cambel also in her train, but that person
staid behind by request which no could
not very well refuse. = You will favor me
very much by remaining here for the rest
of the evening, Mr.. Cambel," Shelf had
said in his pompous way. Il have matters
of the greatest moment 1 wish to discuss
with you"
Il hardly know how to begin,'' Shelf
confessed uneasily when they were alone.
''Then let me make a suggestion said
Cambel, with laugh. Come to the
point at once. Let's have the plot without
any Introductory chapters. You've told
me you've got a scheme on hand for turn
Ing my discovery into currency, and you've
rather limited it 5 dirty scheme. The only
question is how dirty. Thanks to pressure
of circumstances, I'm not an overparticu
lar person. But Oh points III very
squeanlish, or, in other words, draw the
line somewhere. Unless I'm very vastly
mistaken. your plan will involve one in
downright knavery, which is a thing all
sensible men avoid if possible. Now, in
my ignorance l fancied the find might IL
turned to account without climbing down
to that.
"Oh," said Shelf eagerly, "then you
had scheme in your head before you caI.I0
to me:''
The other shrugged his shoulders AM
lit a cigar.
Just a dim outline-nothing mere.
You see the interior of the Everglades is
absolutely untouched by the white mans
weapons. 1t was vaguely supposed to IL
one vast lake, with GASES of slime and
mangroves. The lake was reported too
shallow for boats and Astounding with
fevers, agues and mosquitoes. Consequent
ly it remained uneXplored, and on the end
of the Florida peninsula today no white
man. barring myself and one or two 9th
ers, has ever got farther than five or eight
miles in from the coast.
Now, as I've told you, 1 was lucky
enough to hit upon a fine deep ship chan
Mel going in as far as the center line anu
don t know how far behind inside. There
is good, fertile country, healthy climate
and the best game preserve on this earth.
For the first corners that interior will be
just a sportsman paradise.
My idea is twowise First sell the
cream off the sport. Some men will give
anything for shooting, and in this case
there VIII also be the glamour of being
pioneers Each one will start determined
to write book of his opinions and doings
when he gets back. By chartering n steam
er and treating them well on board they
would have sporting de luxe. One ought
to get quite five and twenty chaps at 500
guineas apiece.
That gives the first crop For the sec
ond buy up an enormous tract of the
land, which can be got for half nothing
say, 10 or l j cents an acre-boom it and
resell it in lots to Jugginses. They II fancy
they IL grow oranges. as all Englishmen
do who try Florida. Perhaps they may
grow 'em, who knows, if they keep off
whisky and put in work? But that won't
be the promoter concern. They don't
advertise that the land will produce
oranges. They only guarantee that it
would If it was given chance, and that's
all correct.
Perhaps this is rough on the Jug
ginses, but as they crowd the British is
lands in drovcs, and are always on the
lookout for some one to shear them, I
don't see why an Everglades company
shouldn't have their heeces well as any
body else. They re mostly MASTERS and
wouldn't do any good anywhere, and it's
q patriotic deed to cart them over our
boundary ditch away from local mischief.
Besides, even if the worst comes to the
worst and the orange industry of Florida
still refuses to make Roadway, the would
be growers needn't starve. Nor need they
even do what they'll probably hate more.
and that's work. There's always sweet
potatoes and mullet and tobacco to be got,
and if that diet doesn't cloy, man can
have it there for mighty little exertion.
Come, now. That's the pemmican of
the plan. What do you think of it?''
Much capital would be needed
Cambel shrugged his shoulders. Some
naturally, or I shouldn't have come to you.
If I'd seem any way to pouching all the
plumber single handed, you may bet your
little life, Mr.. Theodore Shelf, shouldn't
have invited you into partnership
Returns, too, would be very slow"
Not necessarily. Float the company
and then turn it over to another company
for cash down.
Moreover, when the-er-the young
men you spoke about found that the Or
ange groves did not produce at once in
paying quantities, they would write home,
and their parents would denounce me in
the EaECrs Swindler.''
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