The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1904-10-16

sue, uOI you ne SAID. i and my
affairs are less than nothing to Miss
Brentwood, and no one knows it any
better than you do
But you want to go TO her. she
persisted, Il am only the alternative"
Miss Van Brock, what is it you
want me to say? What can l say more
than L said moment ago-that you
are the trueSt friend a man ever had %
The answering look out of the
brown eyes was age-old in its infinite
wisdom.
How little you men know when
you think YOU know the most" she
said half musingly; then she broke off
abruptly Let us talk about some
thing else. If Major Guilford is
wrecking the railroad, why is he
spending so much money in improve
ments? Have you thought to ask
yourself that question ?"
"A good many times" he admitted,
following her promptly back to the first
principles.
And you have not found the an
swer?"
Not one that fully satisfies memo"
i've found one"
'Intuitively?" he smiled.
No; it's pure logic this time Do
you remember showing me a letter that
Mr.. Hunnicott wrote you just before
the exDlosion-a letter in which he re-
peated bit of gossip about Mr. Sem
pie Falkland and his mysterious visit to
GaSton?'
Yes, I remember it."
do you know who Mr.. Falkland is?"
who doesn't?'' he queried. He has
half of Wall street in his clientele"
Yes; but particularly he is the adj
visory counsel of the Plantagould sys-
tenn. Ever since you showed me that
letter | have been trying to account for
his presence in CASTOR on the day be-
fore Judge MacFarlane's spring term
of court. l should never have found
out but for Mrs. Brentwood"
Mrs. Brentwood"
Miss Van Brock nodded.
Yes, the mother of my-of the young
person for whom l am the alternative,
is in peck of trouble. / quote her
verbatim. She and her two daughters
hold some three thousand shares of
Western Pacific stock. 1t was pur-
chased at 81 and it is now down to 81"
Twenty and quarter to-day" Kent
corrected.
Never mind the fractions. The moth
er of the incomparable-Pene
heard that L am a famous business
woman. a worthy understudy for Mrs.
Hetty Green, so she came to me for adj
vice. She had a letter from a New
York broker offering her a fraction
more than the market price for her
three thousand shares of Western Pa
cif1c."
"Well?" said Kent.
Meaning what did l do? l did what
you did not do-what you are not doing
even now; / put two and two together
in the twinkling of a bedstaff. Why
should New York broker be picking
up outlying Western Pacific at frac-
ton more than the market when the
stock is sinking every day? l was GU
rious enough to pass the why along to
a friend of mine in Wall street"
"Of course, he told you all about II"
said Kent, incredulously.
He told me what 1 needed to know.
The broker in question is a Planta-
gould man."
Still 1 fail to connect up as the
linemen say"
do you? All, David, David! VIII
you leave it for woman to point out
what you should have suspected the
moment you read that bit of gossip in
Mr.. Hunnicotts letter."
Her hand was on the arm of her
chair. He covered it with his own.
I'll leave it for you, Portia. You are
my good angel"
She withdrew the hand quickly. but
there was no more than playful resent
ment in her retort.
Shame on you!" she scoffed. What
would MISS bTeIlWOOu say
Il wish you would leave her out or
it," he frowned. You are continually
ignoring the fact that she has prom
Used to be the wife of another man."
And has thereby freed you from all
obligations of loyalty? Don't deceive
yourself; women are not made that
way. Doubtless she will go on and
marry the other man in due season;
but she will never forgive you if you
smash her ideals. But we were talk
ing about the things you ought to have
guessed. Fetch me the atlas from the
bookcase-lower shelf, righthand cor
ner; that's it."
He did it, and in further obedience
opened the thin quarto at the map of
the United States. There were heavy
black lines. linked in with a pen, trac-
ing out the various ramifications of
great railway system. The nucleus Of
the system lay in the Middle West, but
there was growing network of the
black lines reaching out toward the Pa
cific And connecting the trans Mis-
sissippi network with the Western was
a broad red line paralleling the Trans
western Railway.
She smiled at his sudden start of
comprehension.
''Do you begin to suspect things?"
she asked.
He nodded his head.
You ought to be a man. II you
were, ] should never give you mo-
ment's peace until you consented to
take a partnership with me. It's as
plain as day, now"
"Is it? Then l wish you would make
IL appear so to me. I am not half as
subtitle as you give me credit for be-
ing"
"Yet you worked this OUT
THAT was easy enough, after I had
seen Mrs. Brentwood's letter, and yours
from Mr.. Hunnicott. The Plantagould
people want your railroad and the re-
ownership is a part of a plan for ac-
quiring it. But why is Major Guilford
spending so much money for improve
mentS?"
His reasons are not far to seek now
that you have shown me where to look.
His instructions are to run the stock
down so that the Plantagould can buy
it in. Cut rates and big expenditures
will do that-have done it. On the
other hand, it is doubtless a condition
of the deal that the road shall be
turned over whole as to it's property