Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-10
CHAPTER V-Continued.

ed on his mission, while Caleb,
summoning Alice Lanier, set about
his daily task of dictation. His al
WAYS large mail was still more voluminous
during the past week or 30, and ne hao
been forced to double his stan OF stenoS-
raphers He and his secretary toiled stead
lily for three hours today then laid aside
the remaining work until later Or.
How'll you like being secretary to the
governor. Miss Lanier?" asked Caleb, as
he lighted his cigar and stretched out MS
thick legs under the table.
Fully as much as you'll like being gov
ernor / fancy she answered.
IL guess YOU won't have to be very much
welded to the job at that sighed Conover.
'.Do you know, I'd give years income II
I'd never made that measly speech But
now that I'm in for 1t, I'm going to make
the fight of my life Everybody in the
Mountain state will sure know there's been
a big scrap. and when it over, our young
friend Standish, is going to be just
sweet, sad memory.
II hear he is making some strong
speeches.
And | hear you want to hear couple OF
them" retorted Caleb, grinning.
DO you mean" she cried Indignantly,
that you've actually been spying on me?
You have dared to
Now, don't get woozey, Miss Lanier.
What on earth would l spy on you for?
Your time, outside work hours. Is your
own. And besides, I've got all sorts of
proof that you're always loyal TO my in
terests."
Then how"
How'd l find it out? While don't keep
tabs you. 1 do keep tabs on Nephew-in-
law Standish, and on his meetings and
W hal n De0nlp there And a couple
of times my men happened to mention that
they saw my pretty secretary In the audi.
ence. There, now, don't get red. What
harm is there in being found out? Only 1t
kind of amused me that you never spoke
about it here
why should L? /"
mo reason at all. A PERSONS got a right
to lock up what's In their minds well as
what's in their pockets. ! always have
lot of respect for folks who keep their
mouths shut If you keep your mouth shut
about your own affairs. you'll keep 1t shut
about mine. That's why l have kind of
sneaking respect for liars. too-folks who
guard what's in their brains by making
false trail with their mouths. The publics
got no more right to the contents OF a
mans brain that it has to the contents of
his safe. And the man who amt ashamed
to lock his safe needn't be ashamed to tell
a lie
lis that your own philosophy? It's
dangerous one"
''Oh, I'm not speaking of the man who
lies for the fun of 1t. Telling q lie when
you don't need to Is tempting Providence.
2 The girl laughed; simple and so totally
in earnest was he in expounding his pet
theory. 1t was only to her that the rail-
roader was in the habit Of talking on alb
struse themes. Despite her habitual re-
serve he read an underlying interest in his
odd ideas and experiences. and was accord
ingly lavish in relating them. She served.
unconsciously to both, an escape valve
for the mans habitual dominating self
restraint.
so you agree with Talleyrand." she sug-
gested that words are gixen as to hide
our thoughts?"
.'Talleyrand?' he asked. puzzled. "Oh.
one of those book characters you admire so
much, / s'pose. Yes. he was all right In
that proposition. But lot of times the
trath will hide mans thoughts even bet
ter. 1t was by telling the truth ! got out
of the worst hole l ever was in. Ever tell
you the mix-up l had with the Mountain
State Coal Company?
Coal company? l didn't know there was
any coal in the Mountain state"
NO more there Is. Only I didn't know 1T
then. chap came along and interested
me in the DEAL He said hed struck rich
coal vein up in Jericho county. Showed me
specimens. Got 'em somewhere In Pennsyl-
vania. l s'pose. And got me to float q
company. Well. the stuff they took out Of
the measly shaft was a sort of porous black
slate or shale or something. and 1t wouldn' {
burn If you put 1t in a white-hot blast fur
i was with company capitalized at $780,
O0O-half of 1t my own money-and suckers
subscribing. for the stock and all that and
a gang of couple of hundred Ginneys and
Svensks at work in the pit. 1t wasn't that
i minded the cash loss so much as minded
being played for jay, and the black eye
it would give any companies l might float
in the future.
.I'u tell you 1 was pretty sore. I was
younger in those days, you see. l ran up
to Jericho to look over the wreck. Next
day was pay day for the hands. and
hadn't enough cash with me for half Of
'em. | sat in my hotel that night thinking
OF the and smashup there'd be next
morning. and just wishing | had third
foot To kick myself with. The lamp got
low. and | called for the landlord to fill it.
Some of the kerosene leaked out while he
doing il and spilled over handful of
the ore that was lying on the table. That
porous stuff soaked ii up like a sponge
The mess made me sick. and I picked up
the samples of near-coal and slammed EN-
into the fireplace They blazed like q
Sheeney clothing store"
II thought you said ii wouldn't burn"
Tile pieces were soaked in kerosene.
and of course they burned. just as a lamp
would II you threw ii in the fire. But it
gave me the tip | wanted. ! bolted out of
that hotel and hunted up a couple OF my
own crowd. We had the busiest night on
record. No use bothering you with details.
A shed. three barrels of kerosene and half
ton Of ore. Then early next morning
wandered into the hotel Office and did
dcspairful scream. I'd seen to it that the
editor OF the local paper was there and
knew bunch Of the big guns OF the place
always congregated in the ONCE for an
after breakfast gossip. Well, l groaned
pretty loud and hectic about the way I'd
been stuck on the ore.
What's the matter with it,? asked one
OF my two pals. Won't the stuff burnr
Burnt ] yells 1t won't do a thing but
burn. IL burns so hot, it'll ruin any CRATE
It's put in. Why, heat like that Is worse
than none at all. tn burn out the best
crate or furnace in week. Nobody'n be
fool enough to buy such stuff The COM
pany's smashed
They all stared at me as If I were
iooney. Then / made out 1 was mad clear
through.
Don't believe me. eh?' says Then
look at this
II throws a pocketful of the ore into the
crate. and il hlazes up like mad. The whole
Office was torrid hot in five minutes But
the crowd was a blamed sight hotter. They
went plumb Wild over the new, wonderful
fuel I'd discovered. and tried to explain to
me that II had the heating power OF ten
times its weight of coal But all the time /
just shook my head and kept on whining
that no one'd buy IL because II would burn
out furnaces too quick.
yell the upshot of II was that the news
Travelled like a streak Of lightning By the
time I got over to the shaft the gangs were