The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-02-11
By julius Muller.

One day the Great Financier. clad as
usual in his Russian sable coat. emerged
as usual from his electric hansom, and
mechanically, as usual, assumed the fc-
rocity OF countenancc with which he had
entered his office daily fog more than
twenty years.
With the usual air OF frowning pre-
occupation that made him laboriously OBJ
liyious of all the humility OF the awed
clerks and the eager smiles of waiting
visitors, he strobe into his private office
at the end OF the long. open banking
room and slammed the door behind him.
Soon his bell rang, as II had runS every
morning for twenty years. to summon
one OF his chattlcS-oiilcc boy, bookkeep-
cr, manager or partncr-into his presence
TO have his soul withered by fierce. con-
tcmptuous dcnunciation,
This time It was the office manager who
was selected by the tinklinG Chooser OF
the Slain. while the rest of the banking
force heavcd one universal sigh OF relief
bushmen In Central Africa may have
heaved similar sigh when their Priest
chief had at last selected the one who
was to be the sacrifice 10 an angry god
The wicked eyes of the Great Flnan-
cier, bisonlike even to the little tlnge Of
bright red In the low-hanging corners
minutes. while criticism OF the entire Of
fec system, from copying press To stem
ographers, was spet at him
And now" concluded the chief. swing
Ing around to his desk and polntedly dis
missing the fact that there was any crca-
ture like manager In the world or Gre
ated things, Il want you TO send me
new stenographer when | ring for one,
That's all %
The office manager backed out softly.
closed the door gently, assumed stern
air of command, and treated the office
boys to a highly creditable imitation OF
Tho simeon that had Just turned him pale
To the lips.
In the private Office the Great FInancier.
having glanced sharply TO see that the
door was shut, furtively took a mirror
out of a drawer and looked at himself
The face that looked back at him was
not pretty 1t justified the remark that a
financial enemy had made once that It
looked as If 1t had been roughly ham
mered out of pumice stone with a mighty
poor hammer. The bison-eyes were sur
rounded by puffy skin. The great nose,
full OF strength, was so carelessly ad-
justed by an otherwise careful ProVi-
dence that 1t seemed to point half doz-
en- ways al once.
cier the same truthful story for many
years. Constant reiteration OF the truth
had made him first familiar, and then
Vice. He was convinced now that II was
not such a bad-looking face; and the ease
with which many beautiful women OF
Babylon had been able to look on 1t low
rounded him had added 10 the conviction.
Despite the conviction, however. he had
spent enough money to build a United
States cruiser OF the second class In an
,.ffort to improve his beauty. and many
specialist from Babylon to Vienna had
had reason to bless the mysterious ways
of nature,
lie was not accustomed TO deceiving
hlmself about many things Sclf-decep
tIon is incompatible with the supreme
work Of man In the world, which Is MAX
L., nd 10 Ia hl1
sccrated himself. But In sheer self-de-
fcnse he had TO deceive himself on one
point. and that was on the point OF looks.
though deep In a corner OF his heart he
NAV have known that for all his Rus
sian sables and priceless cloths and Won
dcrfui linen, he looked like a tough cab
man OF the nIghthawk variety.
Presently he rang his bell and In came
a new stcnographer. Her appearance did
not surprise the Great F'inancler bit,
He had seen her the moment he entered
the Office. az nc had seen everything else
in it, with those savagcly obliylous eyes.
He began to dictate TO her grutliy, As
she wrote be looked at her brown head.
There We're liquid golden lights on IT. like
the sunlight that laughs at the bottom of
shallow brown brooks in the woods 1T
made him think OF the line In Maud
MY bird with the shining head'-and
that was the first time he had ever
thought there was anything In that fellow
Tennsson.
The girl had long cyelashes, and he
could sec them. and the 1alr curve OF her
check as she bent her head over her notes
Suddenly she looked up, frightened be-
cause she had missed the exnct words of
n sentence At the sudden look the great
tinanccr felt himself getting so ombar-
rassed that he bit furiously at q cigar
stammered, and finally said hclplessly.
That's ALL
That morning he had rolled through the
streets with only one thought Ii was to
lick and wipe out" an insolent West
ern scoundrel who had had the cffrontery
to appear in his own Wall street pre-
serves and play at his own game. All
Wall street had been trembling In it's hab-
itually trembling shoes at the frightful
impudence of the man who could dare to
think OF such a thing as boarding the
King. For days all the minor flnancicrs
had been talking In awed tones of the bat
tie of giants that was to come
hs matter CT fact Wall street did not
know anything about 1t. which Is not at
all an unusual matter; for a little coteric
that fondly imagines that II is the pulse
OF the coultry every time some more or
less bogus paper stock goes up or down in
price Is not at all likely to have sane
points of View about anything.
Long ago. in the beginning OF things
Wall street and Lombard street and ali