Putnam patriot., 1916-07-07

ofoadest publicity ill 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 party of my stockholders all the way from New York tt nay own expense just to show them how their interests are being administered | have char tered special train and ship for them, and of course they must be properly entertained while here"
 Quite a scheme" said ONeil
 T wanted to show them this marvel ous country, Gods wonderland of op- portunity. They will return impressed by the solidity and permanence Of their investment.
 'I judge from what you say that the mine gives encouragement" O'Nen ventured cycling his host curiously through a cloud of tobacco smoke.
 Encouragement is not the word Before many years Hope Consolidated will be listed on the exchanges of the world along with Amalgamated and the other great producers. We have here, Mir. O'Neil, 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 shelter The mine only requires systematic development under competent hands"
 T was in Cortez when Lars Ander- son made his first discovery here and had an option on all this property. l believe the price was St2Qo At any rate. it was l who drove those tunnels you found when you bought him out"
 Gorden's eyes wavered briefly then he laughed
 "Aiy dear sir you have my sincere sympathy. Your poison. my meat, as it were. eh? You became discouraged too soon. Another hundred feet of work and you would have been iusti- fed in paying S1.200000. This Eldora- dc which the copper trust has bought has greater surface showing than Hope. I grant. bnt-it 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 Heidlemanns are building a railroad to it which will parallel mine in places. but the very nature of their enter prise foredooms it to failure"
 .Indeed, How so?'
 ''My route is the better. By rigid economy of expenditure, by careful supervision of detail, I can effect a tre- 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 ONeil refrained from smiling with difficulty He felt certain that 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-O'Neil could not tell which.
 "Who laid out your right of wayT 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 But l discharged him more for the sake of discipline than anything else. He'll be anxious to re turn in few days. Now tell me Gordon fixed his visitor with a bland stare which failed to mask his gnaw ing curioSity-'what brings you te King Philip sound: Are we to be rivals in the railroad fie.d?'
 No There are enough projects ot that sort in the neighborhood for the present.
 Five, all told, but only one destinet to succeed
 I'm bound for the Kyak coal field. to perfect and amend my surveys uA der the new ruiing.
 "Ah. I've heard about that ruling.
 Heard about it." exclaimed 0.Nei Good Lord. Haven't you complied with it?3
 Not yet"
 You surely intend to do soY''
 "Oh, yes; 1 suppose so.
 "If you don't you'll iose"-
 I'm not sure we can ever win
 .Nonsense.'
 I'm not sure that it's wise to put more good money into those r"a claims" said Gordon. This ruling will doubtless be reversed as tbe 7th CTS have been. One never knows what the land office policy will be two days at time.
 You know your own business" O'Neil remarked after a pause. but unless you have inside information or bigger pull in Washington than the rest of us I'd advise you to get busy. I'll be on my way to Kyak in the morn ing with a gang of men Gordon's at titude puzzled him. for he could not bring himself to believe that such in- difference was genuine
 It was difficult to escape from the hospitality Of Hope. and O'Neil sue ceeded in doing 50 only after an argu- ment with Natalie and her mother. They let him go at last only upon his premise 10 return on his way back from the coal fields and they insisted upon accompanying him down to the dock. whither Gordon had preceded them in order to have his motorboat in readiness.
 An II o'clock twilight enyeloped