The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-03-25
CHAPTER XIV.

CHAPTER XIV.
nOTH men looked at Breed curl
* ously. He was not now ad-
dressing them. but gazing in.
- tently into the fireplace. DR..
Zelphan came hurriedly over and put
his hand upon Breed. The door open
ed, and Lillian came in. She had been
about to ask some trivial question;
but, seeing that look In her grandpa
TIERS face. she. too, hurried over to
him and put her hand upon his other
shoulder. At Elephants touch Breed
had given no sign, but to the touch Of
Lillian he responded instantly. The
rigidity of his features relaxed. lie
shook his head ss one shakes off d-ow-
siness and then looked up at Kelvin
with a resumption Of his old shrewd
twinkle.
$50 that's the program he said in
quite natural tone Of voice. Next
year we'll run the ticket of Kelvin
and Rollins"
Rollins caught his breath with a
sharp little intake. cit is high hon.
or" he said.
Kelvin laughed lightly. mo honor
could be too high for my greed of
power" he said in half testing tone.
Il am still of the opinion that 1 should
like to be emperor"
Lillian looked up at him, smiling
"And still hold to my original decla-
ration that If you are 1 want to be
empress" she declared.
Something clattered at Kelvin's feet.
Startled, they all looked down. 1t was
bright steel dagger.
BEG your pardon" said Blagg,
STOPPING down to get it. He had come
in unobserved with a message. ut
was very awkward of me. AS it hap
pens. this is only Mr.. Kelvin's paper
knife, which accidentally brushed of
the corner Of his desk. But, after all,
it is dagger. too. and rather an I'M
lucky omen to drop at the feet Of a
man who declares his desire to be en-
peror of the United Statesv'
The incident was passed over as of
no moment. and Rollins laughed in
keen amusement.
"Your man Blagg is as good as
vaudeville" he observed. cat first I
was inclined to take him rather Sc
riously, but he's too melodramatic to
mean anything. happened to see
that paper knife incident out o. the
corner of my eye. Blagg deliberately
pushed it off the desk to fall at your
feet"
Kelvin joined in the laugh. "He's
absolutely harmless" he said. "but he's
an excellent wireless operator"
Shortly afterward the paper knife
disappeared from Kelvin's desk, but
no one noticed its absence.
The argument with Rollins had but
one possible result = Hepperdon and
Raymer got their concessions, as did q
few others. Raymer had originally ap.
peared as representing the entire pack.
ers' combine. but when the matter was
put squarely up to him he promptly
left Speed. Melton Sears & Co. and the
rest of them out in the cold, took a
comfortable rebate for his own ship.
ments and let them pay the full
freight. Valentine was left out en-
tirely, Kelvin, with a smile. pointing
out that Breed himself controlled all
but one of the men whom Valentine
claimed as his own. The Oswald bill
was killed in committee.
Valentine was one of the loudcst OBJ
jectors. His business was ruined, and
the wooden mills combine resolved it.
self into its original members. Ke;.
WINS publicity bureau seized upon this
as the first shining example Of what
the fat rate had done for the public,
and Kelvin went soaring again In the
public esteem. The mills Of the wool
en- combine had once more become in
dependent concerns, competing with
one another, with the double effect OF
raising the price OF wool and lowering
the price of the finished article. the
farmers and the public b, ng the great
be1eticiaries, and Rollins had done
this, with Breed back of him as the
momentum. and back of them both
Kelvin as the dynamic force. Great
was Kelvin! Then the beef combine
came to blows. Raymer, as he well
might, was underselling the other
packers and gobbling up their trade.
Some of this internal war leaked out.
and again the fat rate. Breed, Rollins
and mighty Kelvin were heroes! The
Unified Steel corporation, the wooden
combine and the beef trust-there
was a record over which to crow!
Who now was the friend of the peoples
Why, Breed and Rollins and Kelvin,
great Kelvin!
But Kelvin had long since absented
himself from Forest Lakes. leaving be-
hind him no thought of any interest
that might be there, save as it con-
cerned his own boundless aims. The
dreams of two women, one dark and
one fair. followed him. but he would
not have cared now If he had known.
He left the field to his rivals and
plunged into his new plans with the
same concentration that had marked
his previous undertakings. Henry
Breed. watched savagely by Zelphan,
spent his half hour daily in his huge
money vault and day by day spent
more and more furtive time upon his
Bible. while Blagg at dead of night
practiced necessarily upon his sample
combination lock. He could open ii
now. set upon any combination. by the
mere feel Of the drop of the tumblers.
(To BE Continued)
- 0A O.