The Savannah morning news., 1903-07-05
ways concluded his statements. short
XVIII.
LAFoND GOES EAST

to writing letters. He wrote 4 great
many, and always mailed them him
self with Blair, the driver of the stage.
He announced one evening in the mid
die Of March that he was about to
leave for a short trip.
I have the round to make" he said
resignedly. There are many places
which each year I must visit. I go to
Deadwood, Spearfish. Custer, Sheridan,
Edgemont. Rapid, Buffalo Gap, many
others. l may be gone a month.
But yore comm back, amt you?"
asked some one.
But. yes" assured the half breed.
Have we not the opening of the dance
hall?"
So the very next morning he board
ed the stage for Rapid. At Rapid he
bought a return ticket to Chicago. This
was one of the results of the CORE
spondence he had been carrying on for
a month past. His first letter had
run about as follows;
Mr. Frederick Stevens, Chicago:
Dear Sir: You will perhaps re-
member me as one of your hosts during
your late visit to this camp. If you
do. you will remember also that 1 am
interested financially, and so the good
of the camp is my good. You will fur
Their recollect that I was present at the
meeting held in Knapp's shack for the
purpose Oh setting Will IlliIl. L VI
that reason 1 happen to know your
plans and expectation The eXpecta-
tions were that your first investment
of $50 900 would complete the works to
| a paying basis. l have no means of
knowing the exact amount of Knapp's
| expenditures to now, but they must
be considerable, and 1 feel that my
interests and yours require that you
know just what the returns are.
your $50 900 are, that you should have,
on each claim, shafts to below water
level with cross-cUts and drifts mill
set up and ready, pump and hoist
on each shaft, a months fuel
months wages for men with food and
expenses and camp in good working
order.
1.-The shafts are almost done, but
they are sunk OH contract and are
not paid for yet. The mill is half up;
| there is one pump and two hoists not
up yet. That is all that is done 1t
seemed to me Knapp has not spent his
money we'll, because there is much
about camp which he does not need.
Il tell you this because l am inter-
ested."
Here Black Mike paused and tapped
his teeth thoughtfully with the end of
| his penholder. Then he smiled Cyni-
| cally to himself and went Onto
speak plainly, l think the waste has
gone beyond what you can afford. Only
a man living here and knowing min
| ing well could make 1t pay do not
ask you to believe this, but see for
yourself how you stand, and 1 MAY be
| able to make you an Offer
BY return of post Lafond was fran
! ticallv called upon to explain. He did
so. Billy had been wasteful and eX-
| travagant. 1t was not Billy's fault,
perhaps, but he was evidently not the
man for the place. Lafond had had but
a vague idea of how things were 60
! ing, but lately he had been at more
pains to gain an accurate knowledge
| of affairs. He had found things as
above stated. He did not write at all
as a friend of the company, but be-
cause he believed he could perhaps
| make something by taking the proper
| ty himself. InstinctiVely the half
breed knew that an insistence on his
| own selfishness was the surest way of
| impressing these Fasteners with his
sincerity. For that reason he de-
manded his expenses when he was
asked to go East for consultation.
The Chicago men were badly fright
ened Lafond repeated clearly at
greater length what he had told them
in his letters. 1t had been a case Of a
man unused to the handling of money.
| He insisted that in actual value there
existed not one-quarter of the sum
Knapp had expended; and he further
claimed that affairs were in such shape
| West that as much more would have
to be invested before the mine could
be put on a paying basis.
Then" said he, you have your cost
| of production and your camp expenses
always. From your profits above them
you have to make up what Knapp has
spent and what you will have to spend
That takes your close attention and
many years. For that 1 think you
will not wish to go ahead; and for
that l come to make you an offer that
will make it for you not an entire loss
l do not ask that you believe me. In
vestigate.'
Would you be willing to wait here
while we investigated" asked Murphy
Always for my expenses" replied
Lafond, calmly.
The Fasteners consulted.
Very WELL" said Stevens. Call IL
that"
Lafond in the little room at his hotel
looked at himself closely in the glass.
"A fool for luck! a fool for luck!'
he cried at the imaged reflection, re-
peating his old formula.
Stevens was gone just ten days. OF
course he said nothing of Lafond'S
presence in Chicago. He had merely
dropped in to look over the property
as was natural. Most of the men Won
dered why he had not done so before
He was cordial to Billy, looked ovel
what had been done, asked many ques.
lions, listened attentively to all Billy
had to say and departed in the mos
friendly spirit. When he arrived If
Chicago, he went directly to his Office
in the Monadnock building, where he
had already assembled his associates
by telegraph.
Stevens was brief, business-like anc
codly impartial. In a man of his sort
that indicated that he was very angry
and chagrined.
Il have the following figures to sub
nit" said he, taking UP paper They
are accurate, as l consulted with al
expert as to the items of future OK
pense before leaving Rapid. That i:
what we owe, gentlemen" concluded
Stevens, slappng his papers on thu
table and looking about him. Now
if you want TO throw good money afte1
bad, you can do So" he continued, afte
d moment; but this is limited liza
bility company and l am done l an
strongly in favor of pulling out somt
way to save our names as pronot er
of such a fool enterprise, but l thinl
we should pull out. This man LafonC
thinks he can do something with thu
property if he has a fair show, anC
perhaps we can save something through
him. Our fifty thousand is gope-lnC
more. after we've paid our debt to thos
men-and anything we can save out o
such a mess seems to me clear gain"
And so with equal haste they scram
bled out.
The first inexplicable phenomenon i
the sanguine blindness such men SHOW