The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1918-08-14
The Trump
Card Mine
By. GUY HALLECK

hcorporators knew Of paying veins
which ran in our direction and believed
that some of them extended into our
property. So they held Oh until rich
vein was discovered on adjoining prop
erty and there was fine chance by
digging down hundred feet to strike
the extension. But those interested in
both mines kept the secret from out
siders, and our managers got on to it
only from their neighbors trying to
buy us out.
/ was completely ignorant Of all this.
One morning was told that the COM
pany had no more work for me, it hav-
ing collapsed, but. since the original
owners did not like to see me lose any
thing they would buy my stock at what
| had paid for 1t. thanked them, but
told them that ] saw no reason why l
should not suffer with the rest, and I
would put the certificates away and
consider them charged up to profit
and loss. But they insisted on making
me whole, and l, unsuspicious, sold
them my stock.
For some time after this, SO far as !
knew, there was nothing doing in the
Trump Card mine Occasionally there
was quotation at from 3 to 5 cents q
share on the mining stock exchange.
One evening while walking by the
property / was surprised to see some
lworkmen coming out Of hole in the
ground, carrying their dinner pals l
asked one of them If they had been
at work, but he was a Norwegian and
spoke no English. In fact not man
Of the lot could understand a word =
said.
II ! had simply discovered that work
was being done in the mine would
not have become suspicious. But that
the owner had thought f1t to employ
only those who could not commune
cate with inquirers seemed singular,
especially since when I was working
for them their men were mostly Amer
leans.
Looking at the sales list Of stocks
that evening In the newspaper, saw
more sales Of Trump Card shares than
had noticed for several weeks previ-
GUS, though the price had only edvanc-
ed a fraction. wondered If some
thing was going on. That night I lay
awake thinking.
sent my wife to nnger in the neigh
borhood Of the mine and watch. She
saw nothing unusual. There was moth.
ing alive In it SO far as she could see.
The same night I went to the prop
erty and sat on stump near by till
o'clock In, the morning, when cart
loomed out Of the darkness and pass.
ed away into the darkness again. l
noticed that It was without a creak. !
knew enough about mines to believe
that 1t was carrying ore, and the axles
were muff1ed.
The next day went down to Den.
yer, where procured an interview
with man who had held a lot of
Trump Card stock, but had sold 1t at
a small profit before the mine collaps-
ed. l told him that I could give him
a pointer on prospective rise In q
certain stock and secured contract
from him that If I named it and he
bought and made profit he was to
give me 40 per cent Of his gains. Then
/ told him that believed there was
something up in Trump Gard.
He consented to make small invest
ment in 1t by way Of observing its ef-
feet on the market, and, being busy
himself, committed the matter to me.
found that the only stock to be had
were scattered shares held by those
who considered their Investment q
dead loss, and most of these did not
care to sell at the present low market
price. This strengthened the conf
dence Of my hacker, and when ! pro-
posed to go about among the former
stockholders and pick up the stock at
private sale, paying an advance on the
market price for 1t, he assented.
In this way got what stock did, not
belong to the original owners, and
then began to bid for more on the ex-
change. Some stock came out, and my
hacker feared that we were buying a
dead horse. But it turned out that the
ring had sold some stock to prevent
the price from going up. This they did
because some of them had not got all
the shares they wanted.
When had bought all the shares my
hacker would stand for and had put
back the money had received for
those the managers had SO kindly re-
lieved me of, I was obliged to await
developments. They came one day
when there was scramble for Trump
Card stock on the exchange, and 1t
went up like a squirrel climbing the
trunk Of "a tree. My wife, who was as
much absorbed in the matter as l,
came to me with the papers giving an
account of "a Stir In Trump Card
and threw her arms around my neck,
delighted.
Evidently the secret, whatever 1t
was, had come out. The company had
struck new vein not connected with
any other and was getting out ore that
assayed $500 to the ton.
/ reaped small fortune, but after
all was disgruntled because did not
s get revenge on those who had bought
my stock for a song when they saw
Ana nrOsnecfs a hnftd.