The Washington herald., 1914-07-05

finally" Knox concluded, Il wish, to
point out to the directors that the<diS-
appearance of John Grinen on the eve
of the meeting, to which he was coming
as an avowed enemy of the company,
lays certain obligations upon them, and
/ beg to move that reward of 1000
pounds be offered for the discovery of
John Grinen, and that this meeting be
adjourned for a week to await the re-
suit"
There was scarcely a shareholder in
the room who was not anxious to sec
ond the resolution, which was carried
uproariously Knox slipped quietly out
and took a taxicab back to his rooms,
where he packed bag and drove to the
Milan. Presently he was installed in
suite upon the sixth floor, where he
spent half an hour or so making few
inquiries of the valet who came in to
put away his clothes. AS he opened the
door of his room to descend to dinner,
he came face to face with the large man.
Knox stared at him blandly. Mr.. Fields
stood perfectly still:
MY curious friend" he remarked at
last. in a somewhat strained tone. Still
curious, eh? p
Knox fingered his necktie. Il have
already apologized for that mistake" he
said. little stifiy.
Mr.. Fields laughed good-humoredly.
Come, that's So" he admitted. Il
ought not TO have mentioned it, but see
ing you so suddenly it sort of slipped
out Supposing We have cocktail and
forget it,"
Here Knox made one of those mis-
takes which humanize the careers OF
great men in every walk of life. He
accepted-and the two had scarcely
clinked glasses together cheerfully at the
American bar before a young stock
broker with whom he had a slight
acquaintance entered the room and
greeted him vociferously.
81 say, Knox" he exclaimed, you're
a nice chap to come down to the City
and break up a company meeting like
that can't think how you found the
nerve. / think old Leverston would
have wrung your neck if he could have
got at your
Knox looked at the speaker steadily.
Making a mistake, aren't you, Carle-
ton? | haven't been down in the City
for months"
The newcomer was lacking in percep-
tion. He only chuckled. Get outl" he
exclaimed. You were at the Anaguta
Tin meeting. and you kidded the direc-
tors into offering 1000 pounds reward
for the discovery of John Grinen. You
managed to keep your name to yourself,
shy boy, but seeing's believing! Between
you and me, they don't want Grinen
found. Shouldn't wonder if they had
sandbagged him" The large man drank
his cocktail and set down the glass. He
touched Knox on the shoulder. "A
word with you, young fellow, before We
part" he said grimly.
He led the way through a door, out
into a small vestibule, from which lift
ascended to the fats The place was
quite deserted, and the large man looked
very large and very fierce.
See here" he began, 1T isn't often
my first impressions are wrong. When
l saw you fiddling about with those
scraps OF paper | left upon the supper
table, | had my suspicious You looked
such 4 id fool that you kidded me
into swallowing emil But, never mind
Well cut that out. We're up against
it now. Let me ask you this question
as one man to another. What the devil
are you in this game for?"
What | can, make ont OF II" Knox
answered serenely. "A thousand pounds
isn't to be sneezed at"
Mr.. Fields rang for the lift. We'll
have this out in my rooms he de-
clared. Come on"
They stepped into the lift and went
up to the sixth floor.
Mr.. Fields sighed as he led the way
into a comfortably furnished sitting
room. Say" he asked conhdentially,
as he pointed to an easy chair, how in
the name OF all that's mysterious did
you tumble to me?"
"a, B, C." Knox replied. The young
lady at the next table to you was a pal
OF Grinen'S. She came and told me
that you were using his pencil. You'll
find the amethyst at the top is a rather
curious color, and it's trife bent Then
that little sum you were doing and tore
up; it seemed to be series of varia-
tions on 100000 pounds-that was the
amount OF the capital Of the Anaguta
Tin Mine"
Write me down a boob" Mr.. Fields
insisted. You've got me both times.
Now listen to 4 few plain sentences.
These are facts l am going to put be-
fore you. Know anything about min
ing:"
No. Knox admitted.
Finance
Nothing"
Then you'll have to take a bit for
granted. What's it matter? Two years
ago John Grinen came to London TO sell
the Anaguta Tin Mine He got in with
the wrong crowd. Leverston's as shrewd
as any man in the city, but he makes
one mistake-he's too grasping. too
much on the make They got to know
the terms of a mortgage upon the mine,
bought II up, fairly cornered Grinen,
and instead of 10000 pounds all he
got for the mine was a matter of 5000,
less the mortgage-practically nothing"
What did Grinen dor" Knox asked. |
Swallowed it like lamb" the large
man replied promptly. "Cleverest thing
he's ever done. The consequence was,
so as to keep right with the public, they
made him a director Certain things
about the mine cropped up, and Lev
erstou was puzzled. He became sus-
picious. He believed in the mine, but,
granted that il was really good, he |
understand Grinen's attitude
He sent out a private expert. The eX- |
pert vas a pal of Grinen's. Now the |
mine was Just at that stage of develop |
ment when II was possible to see it |
from two different points of view. The |
expert dined with Grinen the night be- |
fore he left England, and very soon !