The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1920-06-17
Chapter One

~ "oASA Suoos 4ASh . VA
lionaires. and burglars; and all, they
ask is to be left alone" declared
John Rhodes on the day when, with
painstaking attention to details, he
took the last precauteionsl to oblit-
crate his footsteps and disappeared.
He might have added, I'm one OF
en-" and if the inquisitive had
asked which one, would probably
have answered, Burglar"
Furthermore, there were numer-
Gus financiers over different sec
tions of the globe who would have
agreed with him heartily, perhaps
yociferously. Not that the methods
by which, with amazing and cumu-
iatiTe steadiness, ne had acquired
his vast fortune were more repre-
hensive than those of other finan-
ciers; but because he was endowed
with such appalling foresight, stead
mess of nerve, and ingenuity of re-
source that it seemed impossible to
drive him into a corner and keep
much Of a disappointment to rival
him there. And this was naturally
magnates. His most peculiar char.
acteristic, however, was such a NOR
bid hatred for publicity that even
those who could have identified
him on the street were few and it
became a tradition that, whenever
possible, his business was trans
acted through agents. Also that OF
these agents Richard Kent was the
n who effected nearly all the
largest deals; also that If there was
any truth in the adage, Like mas
tsE like man. Rhodes must have
been a "%terIor," inasmuch as. in the
parlance of the street, Kent was a
"Hum-dinger!" ssFEs.asssesgsssa
1t was admitted that Kent could
be neither bullied, bribed. Influenced
nor employed, because at different
times all these tactics had been
tried unsuccessfully. There were
diverse opinions Of him. Some
agreed with that expressed by a
certain renowned financial light,
pillar of a fashionable church, ad-
vertised Is a philanthropist, moral
LIST, and patriot, who declared wrath
fully, Kent Is nothing more or less
than a blithering ass! A fool! Why,
do you know, he's SO stupid that he
can tell Rhodes money from his
own? He refused fifty thousand
dollars l offered him as a gift, when
all he had to do to get it was to tell
me whether Rhodes was a bull or
a bear on Steel Common? Plain
dishonest, I call him!"
Others, disagreeing, liked him be-
cause he kept his word; but most of
those unimportant people, who
therefore, didn't count.
That Kent was astonishingly
qualified to act as Rhodes agent in
foreign countries, some were a.
ware; for amongst his conspicuous
talents was that of languages, Of
which he made a hobby. This was
proven by t / =ssssssa c OF . dis-
tinguished polyglot, who could have
given ~cards and spades" to the
average university professor Of
being a waiter in a
restaurant.
He's a heller!" said he. TALKS
at least five languages, each one
better than the other. And he can
cuss in all five Of 'em. Found 1t out
one night when he got sore at the
head waiter, who was a bit uppish,
because there was a short change
on his meal bill, a hold-up in the
cloak room, pair of gloves swiped
from his o%vercoat pocket by a page
hoy and the waiter handed him COT
fee with a harmless little roach in
it! And that amt all, either. He'd
had a row at the front door with a
chauffeur because the guy Tipped
his flag and tried to double the
fare before this Kent could look at
the dial. Fine chances an honest
workingman's got with him, eh? He
amt no New Yorker, because IL he
was, he'd stand for it, and what's
more, he'd like it. Besides, a per-
feet gent don't make no fuss over
little things like them. He can
talk some, all right, believe me,
but he's either q Boston teller or a
piker. Give me one live one from
Pittsburgh or Goldfields, every
time. You al tell what they are
when they blew in; but these big
squarejaWed guys like that Kent Is
awfully hard to place, and every
once in awhile I make a mistake
with his kind!.
Yet n n point every one agreed
that being Kent's loyalty to Rhodes.
And this fidelity found
proof when the master financier dis
appeared. inasmuch as at some
where near the same time, or at