The Yale expositor., 1906-11-16
CHAPTER ill.-continued.
(cO212GzT 1915 by


said he.
"AlI right" said |. And from that
minute | was almost silent. 1t was
something in her tone and manner
that silenced me. I suddenly realized
that | wasn't making as good an inn
preston as l had been fiattering my
self
When a man has money and is will
ing to spend 1t, he can readily fool
himself into imagining he gets on
grandly with women But | had bet
ter grounds than that for thinking
myself not unattraStive to them, as a
rule. Women had liked me when |
had nothing; women had liked me
when they didn't know who | was.
felt that this woman did not like
me. And yet, by the way she looked
at me in spite of her efforts not to do
so, | could tell that l had some sort
of unusual interest for her. Why
didn't she like me? She made me feel
the reason. l didn't belong to her
world. My ways and my looks offend
ed her. She disliked me good deal;
have felt safer If she had been graft
flying her curiosity, gazing in at me
through the bars Of cage.
Sam-not without hesitation, as
recalled afterward-left me with her,
when I sent him to bring her brough-
am up to the Broadway entrance. As
she and were standing there alone,
L., ell
suddenly, and blurted out: You don't
like me"
She redeemed a little smiled slight
ly. What a quaint remark" said
she.
/ looked straight at her. But you
shall"
Our eyes met. Her chin came ont
a little. her eyebrows lifted. Then,
IN scorn of herself as we'll as of me,
she locked herself in behind a frozen
haughtiness that ignored me. "Ah,
here is the carriage" she said. fol-
lowed her to the curb; she just
touched my hand, just nodded her
fascinating little head.
See you Saturday, old man." called
her brother friendlily. My lowering
face had alarmed him.
'That party is off" said l, CURLY.
And | lifted my hat and strobe away.
AS I had formed the habit of dis
missing the disagreeable, | soon put
her out OF my mind. But she took
with her my JOY in the taste of things.
couldn't get back my former keen
satisfaction in all l had done and
was doing. The luxury. the tangible
evidences of my achievement, no long
er gave me pleasure; they seemed to
add TO my irritation.
/ worked myself up, or rather, down,
TO such mood that when my Office
boy told me Mr.. Langdon would like
me 10 come to his Office as soon as
it was convenient. / snapped out:
The hell he does. Tell Mr.. Langdon
I'll be glad TO see him here whenever
he calls" That was stupidity. a pre-
mature assertion of my right to be
treated as an equal. / had always
gone to Langdon, and to any other
of the rulers OF finance, whenever I
had got a summons. For, while |
was rich and powerful, / held both
wealth and power, in a sense, on sui.
ferance; | knew that, so long as !
had no absolute control of any great
department of industry, these rulers
could destroy me should they decide
that they needed my holdings or were
not satisfied with my use of my
power. | was surprised when Lang
don appeared In my Office few min
utes later.
He was a tallish. slim man. care
fully dressed, with a bored. weary
took and a slow, bored way of talk
ing. 1 had always said that If bad
not been myself should have wished
to be Langdon.
His expression. as he came into my
office, was one of cynical amusement,
as II he were saying to himselfS Our
friend Blackjack has caught the swoll-
en- head at last" Not suggestion
OF Ill humor, of resentment at my Inn
pertinence-for. in the circumstances,
I had been guilty OF an impertinence.
Just languid. amused patience with
the frailty Of a friend II see" said
he, that you have got Textile up to
55."
He was the head of the Textile
trust. which had been built by his
brother-in-law and HAD fallen to him
In the confusion following his broth
er-in-law's death. AS he was just then
needing some money for his share In
the National Coal undertaking, he had
directed me to push Textile up toward
par and unload him of two or three
hundred thousand shares-he. of
course, to repurchase the shares after
he had taken profits and Textile had
dropped back to its normal go
"Tll have It up to 80 by the middle
Of next month";" said /. "And there
I think we'd better stop"
~Stop at about 90" said he. THAT
will give me all l find I'll need for
this Coal business. don't want to be
bothered with hunting up an invest
ment"
shook my head. 'T must put Il ur
to within a point or two OF par" de
~..l.lto Iokt.~ Tsxy. hoon