The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1921-12-30

men, propose to introduce myself Il
you, and yos to one another. The
business whiSn l wish to discuss we
Will postpone, with your permission
till after tie coffee, when we shall be
undisturbed."
In silence the three guests waited
until he unw0und the thick white muf.
fer; then, with undisguised curiosity
they studied their host. In appearance
he was striking, He had short darl;
beard. and In profile his face was aqui-
line and stern. The eyes, which had
SO impressed the manager, seemed
now to be cold grey-blue; the thick
brown hair, fiecked slightly with grey.
was brushed back from a broad fore
head. To even the most superficial OBJ
server the glver of the feast was q
man of power; man capable Of form
ing instant decisions and of carrying
them through.
And II so much was obvious to the
superficial observer, II was more than
obvious to the three men who stood by
the fire watching him. Each one Of
them. as he watched the host, realized
that he was In the presence Of a great
man. 1t was enough: great men do
not send fool invitations to dinner to
men of international repute. II mat
tered not what form his greatness took
there was money In greatness, big
money. And money was their life.
The count advanced first to the Am
erican.
Mr. Hooking, l believe" he re-
marked In English, holding out his
hand. II am glad you managed to
come"
The American shook the proffered
hand, while the two Germans looked at
him with sudden interest. AS the man
at the head of the great American cot
ton trust, worth more In millions than
he could count, he was entitled to
their respect. =.
lionaire in his nasal twang. 81 am in
terested to know to what am indebt-
ed for this invitation"
"All in good time, Mr.. Hooking"
smiled the host. II have hopes that
the dinner will I'LL in that time salts
factorily."
He turned to the taller of the two
Germans, who without his coat seemed
more like Goldfish than ever.
Herr Stelnemann, is It not2" This
time he spoke in German.
The man whose interest in German
coal was hardly less well known than
HOcklng's In cotton, bowed stiffly.
"And Herr Won Gratz?" The Count
turned to the last member of the par
ty and shook hands. Though less well
known than either Of the other two In
the realms of International finance, Won
GRATIS name In the steel trade of Gen.
tral Europe was one to conjure with
SWELL, geatiemen," said the Count,
before we sit down to dinner, may
perhaps be permitted to say a few
words Of introduction. The nations
Of the world have recently been en-
gagged Ia a performance of unrivaled
stupidity. As far az one can tell that
performance is now over. The last
thing wish to do is to discuss tile
war-except In so far as II concerns
our meeting here tonight. Mr.. Hook
ing is an American, you two gentlemen
are Germans. I"-the Count smiled
slightly-"have no nationality. Or
rather, shall I say. have every ma
tiOnality. Completely cosmopolitan.
Gentlemen. the war was waged by
idiots, and when idiots get busy on
large scale, 1t is time for clever men to
step in. That is the raison d.
etre for this little dinner /
claim that we four men are sufficiently
international to be able to disregard
any stupid and petty feelings about
this country and that country, and to
regard the world outlook at the present
moment from one point of view and
one point Of view only--our own"
The gaunt American gave a hoarse
chuckle.
at will be my object after dinner"
continued the Count. ito try and prove
to you that we have a common point
Of view. Until then-shall we merely
concentrate on a pious hope that the
Hotel Rationale will not poison us
with their foOdf"
The next moment the head waiter
opened the door. and the four men sat
down to dine.
1t must be admitted that the average
hostess, DESTROYS of making dinner a
success wonld have been filed with
secret dlsmay at the general atmos-
phere In the room. The American, In
accommodating his millions. had also
accumulated digestion of such an ex-
otto and tender character that dry
rusks and vichy water were the limit !
Of his capacity.
Herr Steinemann was Of the common |
order Of German, TO whom food Is |
sacred. He ate and drank enormously |
and evidently considered that nothing
further was required Of him.
Won Gratz did his best to keep his
end up, but as he was apparently In |
chronic condition Of fear that the
gaunt American would assault him
with violence, he cannot be said to |
have contributed much to the gaiety OF |
the meal.