The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1916-09-14
CHAPTER v.
O'Neil Sizes Up Gordon.

Gordon had surrounded himself at
Hope. The promoter had spoken Of
his modest living quarters. In reality
room house, furnished with the ele-
gance OF a Newport cottage.
you wonder, perhaps. why l have
been so e~Xtravagant with my living
quarters" said Gordon as they walked
into the library, but it is not alone
for myself. You see, l have people as
ISOLATED with me who are accustomed
to every comfort and luxury, and l
built this house for them. Mrs. Ge-
rard has been kind enough to grace
the establishment with her presence.
and I expect others of my stockholders
to do likewise. You see, | work in the
light, Mr.. O'Neil. l insist upon the
broadcast publicity in all my operations,
and to that end l strive to bring my
clients into contact with the under
taking itself. For instance, l am bring
ing q party Of my stockholders all the
way from New York at my own expense
just to show them how their interests
are being administered. l have char
tered a special train and a ship for
them, and Of course they must be
properly entertained while here"
quite a scheme" said O'Neil.
II wanted to show them this marvel
u country, Gods wonderland Of OPP
portunity. They will return impressed
by the solidity and permanence Of
their investment"
81 Judge from what you say that the
mine gives encouragement" O'Neil
ventured. cycling his host %curiously
through n cloud of tobacco smoke.
encouragement is not the word.
will be listed on the exchanges of the
world along with Amalgamated and
the other great producers. We have
here, Mr.. O'Neil, a tremendous noun
tain Of ore. located at tidewater on
one of the worlds finest harbors. The
climate is superb. We have coal near
at hand for our smelter. The mine
only requires systematic development
under competent hands"
II was in COrtez when Lars Ander-
son made his first discovery here. and
I had an option on all this property. |
believe the price was $1,000. At any
rate, it was l who drove those tunnels
you found when you bought him out"
Gordon's eyes wavered briefly, then
he laughed.
"My dear sir, you have my sincere
sympathy. Your poison. my meat, as
it were. Ell? You became discouraged
too soon. Another hundred feet OF
work and you would have been just
fed in paying S1,2OO,OOO. This Eldora-
do which the copper trust has bought
has a greater surface showing than
Hope, I grant, butt lies 200 miles in
land, and there is the all important
question of transportation to be solved,
The ore will have to be hauled or
smelted on the ground, while we have
the Kyak coal fields at our door. The
H~eidlemanns are building a railroad
to it which will parallel mine in places,
but the very nature Of their enter
prise foredooms 1t to failure"
Indeed. How 500"
"My route is the better. By a rigid
economy Of expenditure. by a careful
supervision Of detail. I can effect a tire
mendous saving over their initial cost.
I hope to convince them of the fact
and thus induce them to withdraw
from the field or take over my road at
"a reasonable figure. Negotiations are
under way"
At this talk of economy from Curtis
Gordon O'Neil refrained from smiling
with difficulty. He felt certain thai
the mans entire operations were as
unsound as his statement that he could
bring the trust to terms. Yet Gordon
seemed thoroughly in earnest. Either
he expected to fool his present nearer
or else he had become hypnotized by
the spell Of his own magnificent twad-
dle-OfNeil could not tell which.
who laid out your right of way?"
he asked with some interest.
"a very able young engineer. Dan
Appleton. An excellent man. but-un-
reliable in certain things. l had to let
him go. this very afternoon, in fact, for
INSTRUMENTATION. But l discharged him
more for the sake Of discipline than
anything else. He'll be anxious to re-
turn in a few days. Now tell me-
Gordon fixed his visitor with a bland
stare which failed to mask his gnaw-
ing curiosity-"what brings you to
King Philip sound? Are we to be
rivals in the railroad feid?"
mo. There arc enough projects Of
that sort in the neighborhood for the
present"
Five, all told. but only n destined
to succeed"