The Road Builders

ircle of well-dressed men about him stood General Carrington and a score of department heads of the two lines. The thirty miles of track betwee

t through the little crowd. Once, it was observed, he and General Carrington drew aside and talked in low, earnest tones. The reporters were there, of course, and to these the president was urbane. They had gathered at first about the General, but he had waved them off with a smiling

oys," he said

don't know of anybody who des

. De Reamer's crazy mad now because so much has been said ab

s that Mr. Tiffany?" asked one,

rt no

another, "that he came out and

Mr. Chambers and had paused only a few feet away. "

there," the ques

o you

out and

her graves." The chief sobered. "You can't keep a thousand to two thousand men at work in

enest-appearing reporter of them all, "What did you say to General

was listening to catch Carhart's reply. For himself, Young Van was blazing with anger that this man, who had in his eyes fairly dragged De Reamer through to a successful termination of the fight,

out that. He directs the polic

ancholy visage, and with him his vic

tants, J. B. Flint, was carried on a cot the other day to the C.

gineers as a class do not lie very well. But he was doing the work of the Sherman and Western, and the Sherman and Western, for a mixture of reasons, wis

his reporter, "that Mr. Flint has

eplied cheerfull

ffany caught Young Van's eye, and beck

ng, Mr. Carhart,

an say, with perfect truth, that the Sherman

& W. hasn't," cried

. & W. will have to do its

aren't d

No more-no more!" And with Young V

s. The others, who were to start eastward in the late evening, rode off for a shoot on the plains. And it fell ou

ng to do now, Gus

lost color and that the pupils of his eyes were dilated. Now that the strain was over he was himself consciou

y honest reply: "I've been thinking I'd start at the first sa

ieve I will, thanks. I meant to ask

ing a

ng!-wh

" Young Van laughed bitt

prised a

lly mean that,

ainly

came along and offered me a good position,

t was genuine

possible direction. All together, I've discovered about the choicest crop any man ever opened up. When I started out, I thought I might some day become an engineer. But if this job has taught me anything, it has

ng Island and set up to raise chickens for the New York market: broilers, and maybe squabs-they say the

tle, Gus," was Carhart's reply. "That

rom which even the memory of moisture had long ago been sucked out. The dust rose at every step and settled on skin and clothing. Now and then a lounging figure rose and moved languidly in through a saloon door. Almost the only other movement to be seen was the heat vibration in the atmosphere. The only sound, beyond a drawled remark now a

ould have got hold of a big Italian I know of, with about a hundr

could have gone much faster,"

saved that much time

ng by

City. Neither myself nor my assistants spoke their language, of course, and, as it turned out, we didn't think in their language either, for after two or three days they all walked out-to a man. I could do nothing with them. So I rang up the padrone and told him he would have to furnish a better lot than that. 'But,' said he, 'I can't let you have any more men.' I asked him why not. 'Because y

The laborers were placed just as I have placed our men lately, packed close together on terraces; and after I had watched for a moment it dawned on me that I had never seen Italians work so fast as those were working. 'How did you do it?' I asked. The ass

raw a stone out of his pocket-no pebble, mind you, but a jagged piece of road ballast-and throw it right at that laborer's head. The fellow simply dodged it, seized his pick, and went to work harder

appen?" ask

borers crowded around this foreman an

and. What gave him s

ng point, I could never get the work out of any laborers that he got out of those

young man, with a chuckle. "Only I fancy a little

abruptly changed the subject. "How would you li

n't much doubt what

s now. I can't promise you any remarkable inducements, but you will get a little more than you have be

man. Then-they were just entering the village on their return-he stopped short an

s, and I should find it difficult to justify myself for taking an assistant whom I

l years,'" he repeated. Then, "This seems to

," said Carhar

r in the eyes of his chief, Carhart in his amusement over the utter na?veté of the boy; and neither had an eye for the groups

eed, a day to be remembered in Red Hills; there had been no such wholesale contribution to local needs since the first ramshackle frame building rose from the dust. Bartenders were busy; and deft-fingered, impassive gentlemen from Chicago, and New Orleans, and Denver, and San Francisco were hard at work behind green tables. All was quiet so far. The laborers were so skilfully distributed that no green table

t to make out what he could of the scene through the cheesecloth sash curtains, but, under the mellowing influence of a rapid succession of bottles, he had drawn the curtains, and now sat with his knees against the sill, smiling down in a ruddy, benevolent fashion on everybody and ever

evolver in his hand. Behind him, crowding out to see the fun, came a dozen men. Charlie saw this, and, without in the slightest relaxing his genial smile, he drew out one of his own r

n was the first to take in the situation, and he sp

in front of that hotel on the left, and he looks as if he mean

t replied. "Don't pay

zzle still rested easily on the sill,-but it

eliberate aim at Paul Carhart. Still the two came on, not wholly able to conceal their sense of the situation, but, rather, regardles

s apart-in another moment it would be less than two. A little gasp of admiration came from the watc

oken by a low whistle. Flag

agg's heart. Flagg lowered his weapon a little way, then looked as if he wished to raise it again, but on second thoughts this seemed hardly wise, for Charlie was shaking his head in gentle disapproval. Then this incident, which had shaved clo

h his revolver, and looked about the room. "

l. Then Young Van weakened, staggered to a chair, and sat limp and w

ook as he did so. "Brace up, Gus," he said. "Brace up. I start

E

IPT FROM

ACK

l of the Wild," "T

orations in Colors by Henr

12mo

d in its conveyed impression of power. "The Game" is that which takes place within the squared ring; included in the story is an in

TORM

ES EGBER

Great Smoky Mountains," "The S

12mo

ls in love with the young lady of the house, and the son of the family, a dashing young Confederate officer, comes back to see his family. While there the rebel officer secures information that enables the Southern army to gai

USE OF

RE

OHN

e Major

12mo

se rejuvenated concerns have been very grateful to him. He is rich beyond all decent guessing, my friend of fifty years, and I regard him as the most dangerous man in America." So his story is told by his oldest friend, with little thrusts of grim humor; yet with a very strong and sweet undercurrent of sentiment. It has an

DAR

XCROF

Despotism a

ions by Willia

12mo

he form of an exceptionally good story of the social

ell enough to recognize the unerring accuracy of even its minor details will wonder over the skill which has produced such real, interestingly var

RK L

WITH A

H ROBINS (C

netic North," "Bel

12mo

young German whose rank at once excludes him from the privileges of commonplace home life and gives him the unconscious assumption of the overfêted man who has missed the tonic of hard work. Another is the young specialist in "nerves," accurate to the verge of bru

of an Amer

BERT

mon Lot," "The Rea

strations by

12mo

alks into the Chicago markets from Indiana, to all appearances a tramp-in reality a country boy who has quarrelled with his home surroundings and flung himself into the city to fight for a future. The novel opens in time and scenes of Chicago in 1877. It includes among othe

ECRET

N PHIL

rican Prisoner," "

12mo

nly its author's masterpiece, but it is far in advance of anything he has yet written-and that is

LODE

NEY R.

rations by

12mo

ost wistful quality, and its effect is to make us more in lo

ASTER

F THE SOU

H. H

12mo

rge heart and wide sympathies; she has told her story freely and well, treading both firmly and delicately on difficult

OLDEN

TIME OF ALEXA

ERT H.

12mo

rrect, and intensely interesting picture of the most p

MILLAN

TH AVENUE

de F

ide