The Washington herald., 1915-09-12
O. HENRY'S MASTERPIECES NO Su
NO 9: Supply and Demand

gag you've got about gold! You been reading
Edward Allen Poe? They amt got any goh.
They put it in quills.' says l, and then
they empty it in jars. and then into sacks of
twenty-five pounds each. 1 got it straight.
"W. D. says Shane, laughing and chewing
his cigar, I don't often see white man, and l
feel like putting you on. I don't think you'll
get away from here alive, anyhow, so I'm going
to tell YOU Come over here
He draws aside silk fibre curtain in a cor
ner of the room and shows me pile of buck
skin sacks
Forty of EN- says Shane One arroba
in each one. In round numbers, $4,000 worth
of gold-dust you see there. It's all mine. 1t
belongs to the Grand Yacuma. They bring it
all to me. Two hundred and twenty thousand
dollars-think of that, you glass-bead peddler,'
says Shane-'and all mine
Little good it does you. says l, contempt
uously and hatefully And so you are the
government depository of this gang of money
less money-n1akers? Don't you pay enough
interest on it to enable one of your depositors
to buy an Augusta (Maine) Pullman carbon
diamond worth 5000 for $4S5?
Listen says Patrick Shane, with the sweat
coming out on his brow. I'm conhdant with
you, you have, somehow, enlisted nv re-
CARDS. Did you ever he says, feel the avoir-
dupois power of gold-not the troy weight of it.
but the sixteen-ounces-t -to-the- pound force of
it,
"'Never,' says l. I never take in any bad
money
Shane drops down on the floor and throws
his arms over the sacks of gold-dust
I love it, he says I want to feel the touch
of it day and night. It's my pleasure in life
l come in this room, and I'm king and rich
man. III be millionaire in another year.
The piles getting bigger every month I've
got the whole tribe washing out the sands in
the creeks. I'm the happiest man in the world,
w. D. I just want to be near this gold. and
".
Now, you know says he, why my Indians
wouldn't buy your goods They can't They
bring all the dust to me. I'm their king. I've
taught EN- not to desire or admire. You might
as well shut up shop
"'I'll tell YOU what you are SAYS l. You're
plain, contemplate miser You preach sup
ply and YOU forget demand Now, supply
l goes on, is never anything but supply On
the contrary says 1, demand is much broad
er syllogism and assertion Demand includes
the rights of our women and children, and
charity and friendship. and even little beg
ging on the street corners. They've both got to
harmonic equally. And I've got few things
up my commercial sleeve yet,' says I, that may
jostle your preconceived ideas of politics and
economy
THE next morning had McClintocl bring
up another mule-load of goods to the plaza and
open it up. The people gathered around the
same as before.
Il got out the finest line of necklaces, brace
lets, hair-conlbs, and earrings that l carried,
and had the women put 'em on. And then 1
played trumps.
"Out of my last pack I opened up half
gross of hand-rnirrors, with solid tinfoi backs,
and passed 'em around among the ladies' That
was the first introduction of looking glasses
among the Peche Indians.
Shane walks by with his big laugh
"'Business looking up anyT he asks
"'It's looking at itself right now.' says l.
"By-and-by kind of murmur goes through
the crowd The women had looked into the
magic crystal and seen that they were beautiful,
and was confding the secret to the men, The
men seemed to be urging the lack of money and
the hard times just before the election, but their
excuses didn't go.
"Then was my time.
81 called McClintock away from an animated
with his mules and told him to do