Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-09-13

d. ar thoughtful on one fOrennger, L III SeL-
lR ting to be a regular expert in altruism."
NHg% Cant you take something for it,"
NhTl But he waves aside my comedy stab
and proceeds, chesty and Serious Really,
am though It's this philanthropc executor work that
I've been dragged into doing by that whimsical will of
your friend, the late Pyramid Gordon of course. l
must admit that at first it little awkward, not
being used to thinking much about Others; but now
why, I'm getting l can tell almost at glance what
people want and how to help them!"
GHuh!" SAYS l. aThen you re some wizard. 1t often
bothers me to dope out just what need myself; and
when it comes decdin for other folks Say, have
you tackled envelope No. on Pyramids list yet?'
II have" says J. Bayard, smlin' confident. 4Pe-
culiar too A month so ago should have been
puzzled. Now it very simple. I've done all my
investigating made my plans, and you will run down
to lawyers Office with after luncheon we shall
meet the bene6ciaries-tobe and fix up the details OF
nice little deed of kindness of which am the proud
author"
@Fat commission in it for you, eh?" says I.
T. Bayard looks panied and hurt. Really says he
IL hadn't thought of that. No, the outlay will be
slight. In fact, it's merely matter of launching
young man in society"
well, WE'LL" says I. 3That's husky job for
couple of grown like us, amt it? Who's the young
gent-Clarence what?'
Ever hear of Hungry Jim Hammond" says he.
I HAD, but couldn't quite place him; so ]. Bayard
supplies the description. He'd started out railroad
man. Hammond had, back in the days when Pyramid
Gordon first beginnin to discover that swappin
hot air for votn shares perfectly good business so
long as you could get away with the goods Only Ham
mond the real thing. He construction expert
Mr.. Gordon had found him on the payroll of a line
he'd annexed by midnight deal; concluded he knew
too much about the job be safe to have around
so he transfers him to the Far West and sets him to
work scheme to lay out road paraleln the South
ern Pacific. Hammond couldn't tell it was stall. He
bazes merrily ahead surveyin' right of way across
three States and had got far Death Valley when
the ruor comes to camp that this line is all fake
Hammond had gang of twenty-five or thirty men
with him. and his weekly pay check hadn't shown up
for about month But he couldn't believe that
Pyramid had laid down him. He'd got mighty in
trested in budn that road the DESERT and had
dreamed rosy dreams about it. But his men felt
diff rent. They wanted action the cashiers part
or they'd quit. Hammond begged EN- to stay. He
even blew in his bank account settn part of the
back wages. But inside of three days his crew had
dwind1ed to Chinese cook and Greaser mule driver
Took him couple of weeks get wise to the fact
that he stranded there in the sand six miles from
water hole with few of canned beef and sack
of corn meal.
Even then he didn't give up for good He made his
way back stage station and sent through wire to
Pyramid askin for instructions. More than month
he waited, with word from Gordon. Seems that by
then Pyramid was too busy with other things. He'd
cashed in on his bluff and sortn new hand. And
maybe he want anxious to have Hammond come East
again. Anyway he let him shift
THAT was when Hammond starvin'.
But he didn't-qute. For year or more he man
aged to live somehow. Then day he drove team
of boneyard mules into Blue Dog with wagonload of
stuff that the natives stared 1t white, shiny
stuff. Hammond said it was borax He'd discovered
big deposit of there in the blistern sand. He
goin to ship it back East and sell it. They thought
he nutty. He wasn't, though. On East they
usin lot of borax and demandin' more.
With few thousand back of him Hammond might