The Argosy, October 1906 — page 72: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

es = the usual iactddtes aendeae upon the arrival of the little mule-drawn tram ‘that connected with the _Tailway at - Marfil. One by one there filtered feotgh the crowd of eager cargadores who swarmed hi yh ied Behe a Bary - gling to take possession of their luggage, a drummer from the North; a promotor — , of one of the neighboring properties, -_with a party of prospective investors ; ee a Mexican horse-dealer; a Western __ miner seeking employment in a new - field, and a. party of tourists. ‘These Je the idlers passed in speculative review, - _. bestowing upon each his due share of attention. But the last arrival to alight was somehow honored with an n especially critical examination. a An Easterner, ‘by the cut of his clothes; short, thick-set, well past mid- ee dle age, and prosperous if the diamond cs stud sparkling - his broad expanse of 2 shirt-bosom and the heavy . gold chain e spanning the extensive territory between his two lower vest-pockets afforded ac- ey curate indication. -_ . Keen gray eyes peering beneath sehy ec brows: returned the loafers’ searching gaze with interest and singled out one’ among them as a likely substitute for a ; local bureau of information. The stran- ger approached, set down his heavy | _. -traveling-bag, mopped the perspiration o* from his forehead with a small sheet, 2 and addressed himself to a tall, well- -_knit young man who stood a little apart age ie the rest of the group. se “Can you direct me, sir, to the prop= Seg one of the Aztec. Company?” Aztec! Thé idlers exchanged shrewd 3 glances and contemplated the ques- Ze tioner with that same professional in- = terest with which a company of butchers < might be expected to survey a prize hog <— that one of their number was about to -_ convert-into pork. Eagerly they listened _ for the answer. — ee __ “ With pleasure, sir. The fact is, I’m going there myself. I am the Aztec ____ representative. My card,” and_ the speaker fished a bit of pasteboard from — the pocket of his neglige. es oS ‘Delancey Denton,” read the elder -man, holding a pair of black-rimmed glasses to his eyes. ‘ Happily met, Mr. _ Denton. My name is Peabody—Bennett THE -ARGOSY, f ee around the incoming _passengers, strug-- rs « Pedy of. Providence, Rhode Island. =— room in the rear. ml | We ee RE a ie rte Ay i ve No doubt you’ve heard of me from Mr. Cowperthwaite St. Clair? No? Well, = I have here a letter which I should like you to read, if we could have a little conference somewhere without figuring as the principles in a joint_debate.” He glared meaningly at the gaping audience, and Denton led the way through the bar of El Palicio to a small ‘In the seclusion of — + this retreat Denton unfolded the mis- sive presented by his companion and read: + My DEAR DELANCEY? This will make known to you Mr. Bennett Peabody, of whom I wrote. to - you under date of the 13th inst. Mr. Peabody~is interested in the Aztec proposition, and desires to confirm ee what I have said of it by a personal in- Ze spection of the mine and an examina- tion of its output. You will therefore — = afford him every facility for a Séatehe ing investigation of our claims. = ee Whatever you can do for him in this : line will be greatly appreciated by _Yours truly, — ~ COWPERTHWAITE St. CLAIR, : President. ie Tica y rs Abs ah ee Twice Denton scanned these. lines — with inward perturbation. The letter “under date of the 13th instant,” to which Sharkey referred, had obviously miscarried. Equally patent was the fact - that ‘whatever you can “do for him,” being interpreted, meant “ whatever yous SS can do to him.” oe It was up to the promotor to handle A. a promising investigator without an = hour’s warning, and consequently with-_ out the absolutely essential preparation of another “rich vein” in the mige. Delay was his leading card. If he could gain but a day to arrange matters he could assist Peabody in his Suse tions to some purpose. - ‘“ Now,” said the prospective invest- = or, while Denton was still turning these ae hings. over in his mind, “I want to be perfectly frank with you. If your mine is what it is represented to be, and the 3S facilities for working it are favorable, ~ I am prepared to take 50,000 shares at a reasonable figure. But I did not come all the way from Providence to. buy ages gold-brick.” “My dear suavely, ‘ 3 . ~ sir,’ ected Dénton "we propose to let this enter- == =