Shiner gazette. [volume] (Shiner, Tex.) 1893-current, 1907-12-05

torials called attention to the town
that had overreached itself. They
denounced the various members Of
the Waterville Town Company as
unmitigated sharks, and predicted
that now, since the boom had been
pricked with the needle Of truth
the bubble had burst for all time.
The city, they said, was dead.
The transient class of real estate
agents and hangers-on at Water
vile who had been doing rather
thriving business, said one to an
other. "Boys, this ends it, the jig
is up. We might better go some
where else than hang around here
and see the dogs fennel grow in
the streets of Waterville."
One day Fred called on j. Ar
thur Boast. Pride is principally
useful among the foolish in pre-
venting them from seeing their own
shortcomings, and thereby keeping
them on good terms with themselves
MIR. Boast was one Of those social
ed. fortunate mortals of earth who
never even suspect, much less see,
any fault in themselves. The mote
is invariably in the other person S
eye. i,
Fred found him as Immediately
dressed as ever, and engaged in ty-
ing up bundles of legal papers,
deeds, contracts, etc.
"You look, Mr.. Rockwell, as if
you were quite Disguised with ev-
erything. I might say, you look
as if you were BANKED sore about
something, possibly over your Wa.
terville Investments
"No." replied Fred, "hardly al
bad as that. Are you getting ready
to move from WatervilleY''
"No, I am not going away, tina
is, not permanently replied Mr.
Boast, as he stopped to brush {
speck Of dust from his attire. "Bu
I presume we shall not have an.
use for deeds or contracts for som
little time to come, and l am there
fore putting them away out of tn
dust until the boom opens u
again"
"You speak discouragingly."
"Discouragingly !" said Boas
as he seated himself on the table i
front Of Fred. "Discouragingly /
he repeated. "Why, hang it, didn
tell you the Town Compan
would ruin WatervilleY I was ava
only two weeks visiting, as yo
know, at Gold Valley, and while
was gone they inflated the price {
real estate and made promises rig}
and left that were impossible to fiji
Rival newspapers all over the coul
try are denouncing them, and IL
result is that Waterville is dea,
I say dead, and 1 mean dead, an
all on account of the Town Con
pany."
Fred was wavering. edo yc
suppose, he asked, hesitatingl
''that you could possibly sell n
twenty-five lots2"
Boast looked absently out of Il
window, as he said: 81 might sc
them in time by putting them {
my special bargain list
cat what priceY"
"Let me see. You paid $25O
for them, did you mott"
eyes answered Fred
"Oh, well, said Boast, as if
were comforting a favor, 81 mig
get $500 for them, but it would
pretty green sort of a tenderfo
just now that I could unload the
on, even at that price.
"But whats the use9" he cont
ued, facing Fred suddenly, al
still sitting on the table. "Wha
the use of losing your nerveY Wit
in one or two years Waterville W
be all right. She can't be Ike
down. She has natural resourc
the richest farming lands in t
world, the greatest water power
any inland city in the Unit
States, marvellous veins Of coal,
exhaustible quarries of build
rock unsurpassed forests of limb
and an abundance of water Tor ir
eating nurposes