The Son of his Father

sturb him in the least, and, after a wash in the trough at the back of the hotel, and having dried himself on a towel that may have seen cleaner days, and refused to be inveigled by th

was he definitely able to classify him in his mind. Big as the amiable stranger was, he sat in

the house. They were a mixed gathering, but every table in the dining-room was full

ndoubtedly business men. Shrewd, keen men of the speculative type, judging from the babel of talk going on ab

ad requested him to sit beside him at his especial

land going on," he said,

at a long tube of mac

entment. "Sure it's land. What else, unless it's coal, would they talk in Snake's Fall? Every blamed feller you see settin' around in this room is what Silas Mallinsbee call

interest

ll forgive me, ar

illions of tons of high-grade coal underlying these silly-lookin' hummocks they call the foothills. All this land around Snake's Fall was Silas Mallinsbee's ranch, and he found the coal. That's why I said Silas Mallinsbee was the father of Snake's Fall. He sold this land to a great coal corporation, and bought land away further up in the hills, where he still runs his ranch. He's a great man with a pile of dollars. And he's clever, too. He's kep' for himself all the land either side of the railroad, except this town. And that's why all

k, without his fully understanding the meaning of it. Then, as he proceeded, it grew, and with its

of the absurdity of his own plans in the nick of time. His visit to the smoker. His play with a "sharp." His fight, and his sudden and uncalculated arrival at Snake's Fall. Here he was, quite without the least intention of his own, lan

yed him d

t?" he said, with

shook h

only kne

his food for a few

me big when it does start?

plots 'll fetch a thousand dollars in a week, and maybe ten thousand in a month or less. I tell you right here that in six months from the time the railroad talks there'll be fifty thousand speculators right here, and we'll most

was imp

I came here

cid

s persuaded-ag

were tw

ersuaded you-bein

think it was the train co

wise guy

ee him again. I surely owe h

s he gazed at the humoro

me, sir. And that's a thing ther' ain'

ressed in silence until

ubstance among them, but equally surely the majority were adventurers looking to step into the arena of the coming boom and wrest a slice of fortune by hook, or, more probably, by crook. What did he know? What could he do? And his mind went back to the sharp on the train, and the way he had fallen to the man's snare. Again he wanted to laugh. He had counted

in miracles?" he

omptly joined in the other's amusement. He always rememb

ore sense than to buy another one myself. Then some damn fool thought rye was the best mix for drinkin' on top o' cocktails, an' so they put me to bed. Guess I never see my brother get back from that joy ride." He sighed. "I allow they had to bury a lot of that automobile with him, he was so mussed up. Sort o' meracle, you'd say? Then there was another time. Guess it was my wife. She was one o' them females who make you feel you want to associate with tame earthworms. Sort o' female who never knew what a sick headache was, an' sang hymns of a Sunday evening, and played a harmonium when she was feelin' in sperits. Sort o' female who couldn't help smellin' out when you was lyin'

impressive, and Gord

ened this day-and here. My arrival here was certainly a miracle. A peculiarly earthy miracl

. Here again was "land"-always "land." And in desperation he betook himself to his bathroom. He felt he must write to

r of sheets of paper in her lap. Her husband turned from his contemplation of the sco

quired. "Wher

inquiry, but his face was perfectly controlled,

bhoy sig

ed the envelope of the letter. "It was mailed here in New York. It's a rambling

sband

he wants us to know where he is. That's come

oy's letter again, in spite of her misgivings. Besides, there was a hope in her thoughts that

REST

n the way has made up its mind to claim us. I've surely arrived at my destination, a place I wasn't going to, nor had heard of, nor dreamed of-even when I had nightmare. I guess this place must have said to itself, 'Hello, here's Gordon Carbhoy on the train; he's every sort of fool, he don't know if it's Palm

e he's largely interested in railroads, though not from a traveling point of view, I would point out that much might be done to improve accommodation. The aisles are too narr

things are just

hings with which he comes into contact liable to strike him forcibly. Those are the things in life calculated to teach him much that may be useful to him after

ve left me with a margin of profit such as I could not reasonably have expected. I mention this to show you, presuming th

and one or two of my observati

wn as 'hoss.' Furthermore, the filtration of water for ablutionary purposes is quite unnecessary. All it needs is to be of a consistency that'll percolate through a fish n

hile. Generalizing, I'd like to say right here that man seems to be a creature of curious habits-many of which are bad. I don't say this with malice. On the contrary, I say it with appreciation. And, too, I never realized what a general hobby amongst me

so feel that a man is only within his rights in having two or even three helpings of every dish in a hotel run on the American plan, unless the limit to a man's capacity is definitely estimated on the printed tariff. Another observation came my way. Honesty seems to be a matter of variable quality. A nice ethical problem is suggested by the

ater glory than national heroes. George Washington never told a lie, it is true, and his birthday forms an adequate excuse for a certain stimulation in the enjoy

n her attention to peanuts, which I observe is a popular pastime amongst the people with whom I have come into contact. I would suggest to the old Dad that five-cent

lovi

RDO