The San Francisco call. [volume], April 08, 1906, Page 2, Image 2

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

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MISTER BILL
in <odn>'»« t»»ue of The Sun
day Onll l» <-oneluded Albert K.
|.yon> novel. -Mliter Bill."
Till* iitorj \u25a0will be followed two
week* hence (beginning 1b The
Sunday Tall of April 2- » by
"The S«R«--Ilru»h r»r»oB," by
A. 11. Ward. II i«, »« «\u25a0 <•*••\u25a0
plainly •ujrire«ti», n tale of early
life In Nevada, po»»e»sln«: «he
utroneent of eharaeterm, enpe
elmlly thai of the hero of the
ntory, nev. Clement Vaußliuii,
a j'onnsr KnsrlUbinan, around
\u25a0»ih«m the author ha* woven an
lntereKtlns: romance. Ainonjc
the. bent erltlm -The Saj;e
ttnifth Pamon" hnn been re
ferred to no equaling In innny
potnlH and surpaMMlnic In ninny
others -The Sky Pilot" und
••The Vlrsrlnlan"." If you are
looking for nomrlblnß refrenh-
InK for <!\u25a0•* tuind you Tttll Hurt
It In "The S««e-liru*h I'nr
»on." which will be concluded
In five Issue* of The Sunday
< rIL
CHAPTER XXX.
Man to Stan
> T fc> tne reigning s«.-n
f/7£E&r—^ pa lion! The evening
papers fairly bristle
&A "^ with excitement and
ypL A importance. brought
£-4g> down a bunch— sot
V/ thrm a'.i. Th< usht you
/ £X might like to become
J*y acquainted with your
' self. You are supplied
\ " with a life history
• * i gratis. I imagine. You
U" t 4 are the wonder of the
age — the Napoleon of
•^^•"^i^*: j Finance, in big type, if
you please. They have
AjSflWf\\\ ij unfortunately detract
ed from your good looks'— worked in a con
venient baseball player for the phenom
enal young financier, I dare say. You
don't seem any the worse for your experi
ence," said Jack, critically regarding his
guest, as he admitted him into the fa
miliar living-room of his home.
"No appreciable disability to date." \Val
dron briefly replied, seemingly not im
bued with the enthusiasm of his young
friend.
"The street seems to think- the whole
affair ,a huse joke on Burrows and his
crowd. Mighty few are sorry that a reef
has finally been taken in the old man's
sails. Just to think of the old fellow
walking up to the captain's office and
writing his little check for big figures,
and settling like any of the small
fry. It's a new experience for him;
he will never forgive you. but I
gruess you can stand it. Lots of peo
ple know you— remember you as a
boy— knew your father. Oh! you will have
plenty of friends, and they won't be long
In making their appearance. I guess that
was why you were willing to come down
here tonight— to get away from the crowd
camping on your trail?" queried the
young man, suddenly realizing that his
remarks were not receiving the attention
he dtemed them worthy.
"Partially, and partially because I wish
ed to see Mrs. Davidge. I have reason to
believe that her affairs are more or less
involved in, the general transaction. I
understood last evening that she was
coming down today with the girls."
"Yes, they will be here on the next
train. Did you notice that my little rail
road developed considerable strength, or
didn't you think of it in the general ex
citement?"
"I managed to keep it in sight, con
sidering that it was a part of the deal,"
said. "Waldron. smiling at the young man's
enthusiasm.
"So that was what brought it so sud
flealy to life?"
"Yes. Consolidated Properties rescued
the railroad from bankruptcy, and owns
the controlling interest. From now on the
railroad will share in the prosperity of
the whole district."
"Even at the present quotations my
mother has more t-.an sufficient to ray the
mortgage, and I suppose the stock will
continue to increase in value, will it not?"
• ' • .»ct an unreasonable supposition."
"And Just to think of that despised lit
tle railroad bobbing up like a Jack-in-the
box \ Mr. Burrows probably wishes that
he had held the stock a little longer. By
the way, mother has been formally noti
fied that arrangements have been made
with Mr. Chadeller to assume the re
sponsibility of the mortgage. He has
agreed to carry it for a year, and alto
gether Mr. Burrows seemed to consider
thje matter very well disposed of. As he
never stood to lose any of his own money,
he could afford to make a liberal discount
to Mr. Chadeller, and that shrewd gen
tleman sees prospective profits In the
rapidly Increasing value of the property,
and is content to bide his time."
"Your conclusions are fairly well based,
I should say, young man. But if you will
pardon the change from a very Interesting
to a very commonplace subject— what
eiz« collars do you wear."
"Come upstairs, and I will see what 1
can do for you," laughed Jack, leading
the way. > -
At Waldron's request, the two had come
down to Jack's home. Jack preceding his
.guest by an hour or more. The day had
certainly been a most eventful one for
the young financier, and he might well
feel dated with his success. He bad come
out of the West a stranger and alone;
he had boldly and fearlessly invaded the
stronghold of the enemy; he had quietly
and deliberately laid his plans of cam
paign, ar.d had fought a sharp and de
cisive engagement resulting in the utter
and complete rout of his opponents. He'
not enly had made himself and those Im
mediately associated with him richer by
many thousands of dollars, but had placed
their property beyond the reach of the
scheming and unscrupulous Individuals
that had preyed upon it for months, and
had taught them a lesson they would not
soon forget. His name was on thousands
of lips this night for not alone in the great
city but Yar and wide the telegraph haa
*ped the news of the big corner and the
few conspidous facts concerning tte
ALBERT E. LYONS
young man to whom was due the credit
of its conception and execution. \u2666
In the city he wns , eagerly sought.
Friends of his boyhood, from whose recol
lection he had long, since faded, were
eager to remw the acquaintance; others
who knew him not were no less anxious
to make his acquaintance. Reporters were
lying in wait for -him to obtain more de
tailed information concerning himself and
the affair for their morning papers. But
lie was not to be found, and he might as
well have disappeared from off the earth
for all the Information to be obtained of
him this night. The penalty of success
had begun to clamor for an early reckon
ing.
"In this way, Mrs. Winston, you will be
relieved of all! embarrassment and,respon
sibility and well rid of the mortgage once
and for all." \ The speaker was Mr. Cha-
dener, addressing Mrs. '.Winston as they
entered the living-room,; continuing a con
versation begun in an adjoining room. "As
1 have explained. lam willing to ex
change the mortgage for. the stock and
take chances of its becoming of value to
me sooner or later."
The joy of the good woman when she
finally grasped the full meaning of this
splendid offer was beyond her power to
express. The possibility of being so easily
rid of the • dark cloud .hanging over the
little home like an impending fate was too
good to be true. In the excitement occa
sioned by this unexpected piece of good
fortune she had taken the package of cer
tificates from the little tin .box in which
thty had reposed since coming into her
possession, and - was about : to hand them
to Mr.^Chadeller when /Jack's admonition
to take good care of them suddenly' oc-
THE SAN" -FRANCISCO SUNDAY CaLL.
curred to" her. ,To be sure/Jack had cca r
tioned , her to guard . tbem\well." yet what
better' purpose : could- they serve 4 than to
be " exchanged for the dread mortgageT
\u25a0he knew of hone. 8h» led the way- into
the>' livine-room : expecting^ to -, findy Jack.
She was not ; aware of the -arrival of his
friend/; riorV had Mr.'; Chadeller i.any # < idea
that either .was" in the -boused Jack \ was
rarely ; at \ home '\u25a0 except fori V Sundays and
an occasional Saturday afternoon, and^to
acknowledge 'of this ; fact might safely
be attributed Mr. Chadellef's fpresence in
the house at this particular "time.'; He ad
vanced some further reasons why, the ex
change. should 'be consummated 'without
delay; . it was all: perfectly 'simple,'
the mere matter^of Jack's "approval . the
only "obstacle which, after all, \ was \ not
essential,' and he would be no less pleased
to be so 'easily fid' of the troublesome
mortgage. :: ' '\u25a0 v .-'-••""" '. : '.: ; '
'.'I "Y-<-b. '_ Mr.; Chadeller,";-. she finally ; as
sented, "it seems quite clear that I should
accept your very! kind and generous offer.
1 1 have } here e the ' certificates, •; and^lf you
really feel justified *in : making the' ex
change I will surrender* theni to you."
tears (springingii into the good woman's
eyes? s and you .-cannot .; understand; Mrl
Chadeller. : how,, very grateful • I -am— how
grateful ."we. all* are— " • '\u25a0'},&
"Pardon nie^ Mrs. Winston." a voice In
terposed. \u25a0\u25a0 "Permit { me," . the same voice
continued, \u25a0\u25a0 its I owner i. advancing and 'ex
tendine . his hand to . relieve : her of the
package, on which the other man was
about- closing his fingers.
\u25a0?\u25a0 So deeply had both been. absorbed with
the se-^ous matter engaging thitir at«
tention that two men : had slowly- U^«
scended the stairs, and one had «v«*
advanced 'leisurely across f the room
fore his presence was discovered. itT*»
Winston was rot a little »«rprUt\» awl
confused by this strange \u25a0 itrw««4Jnx, •y^
she surrendered the papers without (MV-«
test—the whole \ affair from beglnnms t«
end\ was- beyond her; compieo*oiiwv
, ConsteWatlbn /was the portion of -Mfs
Chadeller v and; could bay*
drdpped through the noo* h» .«wM
less have roade ©uch inforu^V a»*yo^\K^
of himself. *s>urely Burprt»«s had if^ea
lila portion overmuch— an ' avengtn* fat*
In the person of tha man* befor* hl»
aeemed to b* hard upon his trail. ' , s
"You may safely entrust tha matt tr (
•with me for the moment. Mrs, Winston."
eald^Valdran. "and" Jack," addressing th»
young man. "I will, have a few words
with the gentleman," whereupon mother
and son withdrew, leaving the two men
alone, the one thoughtfully contemplat
ing the package of certif.cates he held In
his hand, the other' waitlns with 111-con
cealed discomfiture the next more on the
part cf the man who had arranged this
private interview. Several v tisies he es
sayed to break the emttarrassins silence,
but his half-formed word 3 failed of audi
ble expression.
-. The situation was becotalr^r positively
unbearable when WaUlren slowty raised
his eyes acd studied th* wifcer cautiously
"for a brief raotseat >*?»?« brtakJcs tha
silence. % *Mr, Cfca«*tt*r." fc* ttaaUy said.
"I dtalt witiv y«« to«&t? ** a taan— ona
man with another. I ftavS I sud* a mis
,xak«\ You ar« t:v*;\» W* of aypr*c!at!ns
such trtatewat* V t&e>t&} fc*v*> bitten."
, **1 ffaa't usv.Ur-*;*:*^ y*«» *it» My busi
ness h»T* fc* l?£fttatat» *S«S «at!r«ly
•XT*lsMter**r*. \t I S'iwpwhs t* v «x?Rsins«
l>.<» uK-?u-*i,» tv* ttt* M<&&* *a 4 to taka
otvs:v<* *t W-aViiJ.fci * ?<*w" & >iUr* or of
)<vtUv£ * ' v*%~ »¥b-*V*t *t the
**ny» »\w> S^ » «'-v** usrn. I
\u25a0W'sfawHv * ¥*-MVs*i v£ ta*i*?** ta which
t «Wi^;^!&A\ W- \ WfA:^ >>*,\\ l>o you
; \N<^ .Wi^' v iw^ \V*!U^nv with
*«'A 1 ?* *<#.. wUftTO wy Hijhta
ba,\ii y^u, vfjOj^jiJASKjt.^ ii-j \ iivrvu*ly de-