Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-06-06
CHAPTER XII.
Charlie Endeavors to Negotiate an idea

CHAPTER XII.
Charlie Endeavors to Negotiate an Idea
At noon the commotion subsidized some
what in the money temple. For the mo-
ment many of the participants dropped, as
it were, the apple of discord and the bone
OF contention and turned to the real Viands
of the Aston House or the numerous side
street restaurants Here quick lunches and
slow lunches were served by the colored
walters, and between sips and bites the
diners fguratively surveyed their paper
profits chimerical clouds of gold and sill
yer floating in an azure dome!
1t was but brief breathing spell; period
when fancy gave to airy nothing local
habitation and name. The traffickers
walked on air, and ate without palpable
relish. AS In the case of smokers of
hashish. the reins Of the imagination were
loosened, and the chariot of fancy drove
headlong through fantasticai realms
I'd. B. and Gu go down to eightyV"
Say seventy! You can get 1t back at
seventy
That means quarter of million and a
mansion at Long Branch!
II shouldn't be surprised to see 1t break
sixty!
From the western country m'chachas-the
cafes of the money-rhapsodists - these
dreamers however. soon wendell their way
ONCE more 10 tHe tenpIc, IhcdhiS, q
turbaned sheik that wakes the smokers,
would shortly grip Them By the shoulder.
There the turmoil became louder.
"Eighty-nine!' Eighty eight and three
eighths!, "Ffve thousand at lightweight!
Everywhere Uncle SAINTS agents were
offering u. B. and c. down. 1t touched
eighty-six, but remained at that quotation
for some time; then advanced quarter OF
point. A shoal OF "stop-orders'' had been
gathered IN; for long time prices had
been Swimming the surface above this
tempting bait; deeper dive-and the min
nows were caught! Values afterward scared
a bit, and the suspense became greater.
Most of the offerings were quietly absorbed
by the brokers of Mr.. Strong; whenever
there seemed evidence of fair buying from
other sources, these agents remained in
active, reserving themselves for any possible
emergency.
That gentleman, commanding the opera
ton Of a majority of the unobtrusive
buyers, had eaten lunch at his Office some
time after the noon hour The exciting
moments had slowly slipped by and but a
brief interval of suspense remained before
the closing.
Meanwhile he drank his coffee and waited.
From where he was seated he could see a
flood of people issuing from the building
that had been center Of interest through
out the day. He set down the cup; then
looked at his watch. rap on the door,
and darby from a nearby restaurant en-
tered, followed by the chief clerk.
| tons am. to brin' back de dishes" With
which he began to gather them noisily on a
tray. Done bought five shares dat d. Is.
and c. on de curb, Mistah Strong. he added,
with grin, shouldering his load and de-
parting. Not many months before he had
been in bondage; from slave to Spectator
represented but one of the sudden transit
lions of fortune in that momentous period.
1.-The market Is a bit frmer, SIR" said
Tim, when the dusky operator in small lots
had vanished. II don't know exactly what
caused it-except it is rumored Fisk has
broken loose from Brewster"
Richard Strong pondered. Taplins con-
clusion about Jim Jubilee did not appear
| warranted to him at present. But 1t might
happen that the young man would later Sc
cretly shake off his allegiance to the older.
A maze of conflicting interests would prob
ably become evident at the first sign Of i'm
potence on Brewsters part AS long as he
was puissant and held the key to the situa-
ton he could hold his following. but let an
inkling get out that his grip was not iron or
his fingers were slipping. and Uncle Samuel
would be left standing alone in the gap.
Such a consummation Richard Strong ex-
pected-but how long he should have to wait
for 1t he did not attempt to tell himself.
by the way. sir, that young gentleman
you refused to see this morning has come
| back" resumed Taplin.
Mr.. Dalton2"
he said he would call around later in the
day. He Is now waiting outside
Show him in
And Richard Strong leaned back in his
chair. Now that the day was over-that
technical day of the street. measured by
but few hours, not by the rising and set
ting of the sun-he became conscious for the
first time of the mental tension he had been
laboring under. The gratifying belief that
the future would bring further advancement
and an equitable readjustment of values did
not seem to afford him the satisfaction it
should have DONE
How do you do, Mr.. Strong?'
With apparently easy assurance Charlie
Dalton strobe into the room. He was care
| fully dressed and his clothes set off well
| his tall, athletic figure. The tailor whom
| he patroniZed could not have found more
| fitting model and apparently that worthy
maker of garments was aware of the fact,
for the morning coat draped the broad Shout
ders without wrinkle, while the light trous-
ers had been sedulously cut to adorn the nice
symmetry of the lower limbs. volumi-
nous flowing tie burst gaily from the up
per confines of the waistcoat; small fob
peeped modestly from beneath 1t. On Ms
finger sfione duly an old ring-presumably
ancestral! For moment the two men ex-
changed glances, and it was the younger
who again broke the silence.
II heard you had returned" he continued.
'I met Mr.. Rossiter and he told me all
about it,
Richard Strong did not rise, nor did he
shake hands with his visitor-a reception
not in accord with Just what Dalton had
expected. On the few occasions when they
had met before Mr.. Strongs marriage that
gentleman's manner had been cordial al
| most to friendliness. This present remiss-
ness however, Charlie overlooked under the
stress of circumstances so absorbing to this
master of finance, and, selecting chair,
dropped into it without the formality of an
invitation.
IT suppose Elinor was good deal cut
up" he went on. And the Saratoga sea-
son Just begun!
The other did not answer. Charlie laid
Of IA 10 v,oad tiyplV inst
his chin: his eyes were bent on the car
pet
asking himself. And why-especially-did
he not state his business at once? Did
Charlie Dalton read the Discrimination
toward himself in Richard Strongs eyes?
At any rate. his own gaze returned that
brief scrutiny with certain propitiatory
Difference.
"And how is Mrs. Strong?' he asked.
Very WELL" answered the elder man,
shortly.
He had been wondering at that moment
lust what connection the Daltons had with
the Rossiters He knew relationship ex-
listed between the two families, but how
near he could not say. Both the Rossiters
and the Daltons had been prominent IN
colonial days and had lived on Wall street
when that thoroughfare had been devoted
TO fashion and culture. Then, young gem
tiemen OF the name of Dalton, in powdered