The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1913-06-17

d moment.
Somebody's going to be master here,
Jim," he repeated, "and it's not going
to be mob the stupid, bowling, slob-
bering thing that clutched at your
throat that day in front of my bank"
mo"
Nor will it be a clumsy soulless cor
poration called q trust either, a
thing that can be badgered and hound
ed by every hungry, thieving politician
who gets into office The coming mas
ter of masters, the king of kings will
be a mana man on whose imperial
word will hang the fate of empires.
met the king of America the other
day in this panic. He sent for me-
You can bet l answered the call. He
made me eat dirt and swear that /
liked the taste of it. But I'll get even
with him yet!'
Two nvid spots suddenly appeared
on tSe swarthy cheeks and he choked
into silence for a moment, continuing:
"The world is waiting for its real
master-not a multi-millionaire, but the
coming Millionaire. The king Of kings
is yet to come. IF I had been ready
in this panic with the capital I have
today I could have made a billion.
With the power and experience now
have and one such man as you on
whom / can depend I'd double my
fortune every year. That means that
in five years 1 will be q Millionaire,
and only forty-two.
"a billion dollars will double itself
in seven years, At forty-two I'd be
worth a billion. At forty-nfne I'd
have two billions. At fifty-eight I'd
be worth four billions-and Just old
enough to really begin to do things.
"Give me one billion answerable TO
my will alone and l can rule this
nation. Give me four billions and
no king or emperor, president or par
lament on this globe dare to make
peace or war without consulting me.
How long could this republic stand
If such man should see fit to change
its form? Even now our petty million
aires buy courts and legislatures, and
the control of great cities. But the
new king would know no limitations
to this power. If Europe now cringes
at the feet of our present millionaire
king Of Wall street, emperors beg his
favor and princes wait at his door,
what could the real ruler of the world
doT
Bivens' voice again sank Into low,
passionate whispers, while his black
eyes again became two points of fierce
cleaning light
When the crucial moment came for
Stuart'S manhood to answer, the
speech OF brave denunciation died on
his lips. At the door of this yellow
empire, mightter than kings in purple
rule, his conscience halted, hesitated
and stammered. He found himself,
In spite of honor and character. for
the moment measuring himself with
Bivens IN the struggle for supremacy
which would sooner or later come be-
tween them If he should enter such
an alliance
you needn't rush your decision,
Jim Take your time. Think 1t over
from every point Of view. You're
bound TO accept in the end"
Stuart flushed and his hand trembled
"It's no use In my quibbling, Cal,
your offer is a stirring one 1t tempts
me immensely. feel the can of the
old blood struggle in me. I'm begin
hing to see now that the worlds battles
ere no longer fought with sword and
gun"
Take pour time, Jim Btvens broke
IN. rising. ~In the meantime I've got
to see more Of you Nan wants n, and
l want It. The politicians have turned
you down, but the big men who count
are afraid Of you and they'll go out
OF their way to meet you Come up to
dinner with US tonight. want you to
make my home your homo whether you
accept my offer or not"
Stuart besftated.
"Real1y, Cal ] oughtn't to go to-
night I'm afraid rye let you take
too much for granted. I've got to fight
this thing out alone It's the biggest
thing physically and morally I've ever
been up against. I've got to be alone
for awhile."
'Oh, nonsense, be alone as much as
you like lateR Nan insisted on my
bringing you tonight. and you've got
10 come. to save me from trouble If
nothing else. I've an engagement down
town after dinner. YOu and Nan can
talk over old times. promise you
faithfully that not a word of bust
ness shall be spoken
Stuart felt ths foundations OF life
slipping beneath his feet and yet he
couldn't keep back the answer:
"All right. I'll come"
As Stuart dressed for the dinner that
ninhf ho khonnhh Of Har.AaA Nth a