The Cairo bulletin., 1906-07-03
AT the Heel of the ID. A. and b.
BY F. II. LANCASTER.
Copyright. 1906. by Daily story Pub. Goa

peers; he can never be tried justly
~ himself,
still" Brand caught up quickly,
you came on
"At my own expense, sir, the other
returned, gently at my own ex-
pense.
Brand took the reproof with pro-
est: Times are changing, he said,
briefly
They are; yes, sir; in a way times
ire changing, very fast. But sir, there
never was, ana there never will be a
time that will refute the saying: The
| public is an ass ana the sharpest ras-
tai rides it, The ass brays sometimes,
and kicks sometimes, but the rascal
rides on No gentleman, sir, added
The old man, quantity; no gentleman
ever rides an ass
Brand WINGED at the covert thrust
Well he said, brusquely, the gen
/ tIeman is going OUT Of fashion. What
we ask OF man to-day is; how
much money have you made? And il
he can't answer that question salts
factorily, may the Lord have mercy
on his soul,
And if he can answer it satisfac-
torily." the other took up, with quiet
humor, you infer that he has no
soul left for the Lord to bestow mercy
upon? Pardon me, sir, but | think
you are mistaken. think large per
cent of our business men ore non
est gentlemen. This talk about uni
yersal corruption is cant, sir All
cant. And, my son, when man be-
gins to tell You that all men are
rogues, set him down for a ready
made rascal, sir A ready-made ras-
cal" And having paused 10 see
whether or not Brand had any reseu
ment to indulge, the old gentleman
made courteous excuse and retired TO
the smoker
Brand had no resentment to indulge,
in fact he had not caught the tla-
sor of the fine 0ld-yintaged insult he
had swallowed
old togy ne reflected But
guess he's right about the railroads
having stacked the cards The
chances are that the only instructions
that Chidsay will have for me VIII
be to come chasing home, And I viii
have proved my good Will TO serve
But Chidsey had other orders. A
man from Minnesota had been max
ing trouble What the D. A. A b.
wanted was straightforward tcsti-
mony TO prove that it had not been
discriminating against the small ship
pers. and Brand, as first assistant
freight agent, was to get in this tes
timony.
But its ridiculous" he said, rebel
lousy to Chidsey You know as
well as l do how it is done"
That's nothing" Chidsey said,
cheeruliy you are d. A. & b..
man, and you've got TO stand by the
d. A. & B. If you expect the D. A, q
b. to stand by you. Go in and win.
And having calculated the profit and
loss, Brand went in-and won, He
was a smart man, keen wittel. and
his testimony was all that the d. A.
& L. could have asked for When
he stepped down he saw recognition
of his ability in all mems faces, and
in the recognition lay mirrored
home in Walnut street. with sery-
ants whose mere names he could not
remember: autos and yachts aud com
try-seats: and everywhere mahogany
and brass, mahogany and brass Sud
denly his gaze snapped and shrauk
back Il had encountered the slow
smiling OF a mild little man with chin
whiskers. who seemed to be trying,
politely, 70 take up no more room
than was necessary. For an instant
Brand seemed to hear a quiet voice
saying: a ready-made rascal, eli.
A ready-made rascal then ne lifted
his head and walked on. seeing long
vistas of mahogany and brass, mahog-
any and brass