the way in which he dwelt on the words. So I answered him, speaking out my feelings with unaccustomed freedom, as to an assured friend. Fips had done very fairly by me, and-to return to him the certificate with which he had so often favored me-I "knew he was a good fellow."

"Yes," I answered; and with a good deal of emotion I rose and paced the room-" yes, it is a great deal of money. I never had so much in my life. It is a whole year's living. It may be the means of giving me a reputation and a fortune. It will give me a whole year to accomplish an enterprise that I have been half sick to try, this five years. It is the best chance-the only chance-I have ever had, to be a successful man. It is for me as much as your success in this Company is for you. Perhaps it is more, Mr. Fips "

I spoke with profound feeling, which increased with the speaking. As I now appealed directly to my companion-I had been looking only at the carpetI turned short and looked at him. He was intensely summing a column of figures upon a handful of papers on the table, his lips moving as his pencil ran up the lines.

A great fury came into my heart as I suddenly saw what all this meant; and I was the more enraged at the cool, silent, brutal incivility of the way in which Mr. Fips chose to convey to me the intimation of his views. Yet I really believe he did not mean any incivility; I think he took the neatest way his vulgar nature could suggest to convey a hint. I took it. "He means to break that promise," I said to myself. Had I held any thing in my hand, I should surely have flung it in his face. It was foolish to be so rude in beginning his falsehood, of course. But what can you expect of a born vulgarian ? "You can have nothing of a hog but a grunt," says the rough old proverb. After an instant of almost ungovernable anger, I caught recollection enough to consider that I was really helpless in the matter, and that I might as well hide my wrath and pur

sue quiet methods, at least until I s.ould find out exactly what he meant.

All this observation and resolution had occupied but an instant. As I stopped short, on discerning Mr. VicePresident's occupation, he looked up after a moment, and asked coolly, "Hmm! A- what did you remark?"

I felt another hot flash of anger; but controlled it, and spoke in pursuance of my new resolution, and with a sharp, new, and true idea in my mind of the man I was dealing with.

"I say, the Company is turning out remarkably successful, so far. And about this new and further advertising ?"

Fips arose in his turn, and walked, I thought rather uneasily, once or twice across the room. At last he said:

"Well ; I have been thinking I would like to get an offer from you. I have been wanting to talk to you about it "—

Still he stepped uneasily about. Presently he executed a right-aboutface, flung himself into a chair by the window, looked first over at the old brown tombstones, and then up at the cornice of the ceiling, and at last, without looking at me, he said doggedly, with his thumbs in his waistcoat armholes,

"What will you do it for? Make me an offer."

I was white-hot inside, but managed to appear quite cool.

"Well," I said, as if meditating, "what are your views? You know what our express understanding was when I obtained you that three-months' time with Spreademout & Co. ?"

Fips made answer without any reference to the latter inquiry:

"I had pretty much concluded to offer you a round sum."

"Now, suppose," said I, by way of experiment, "the thing were to be arranged this way: You to receive half this advertising commission, and I half?"

He said nothing. After a moment I resumed :

"Say, you three fourths, and I one fourth?"

Fips sat up straight, with a sort of prompt movement. Said he,

"I think that would be just about right."

"I thought that would satisfy you," I observed. "You have the whole control of the thing in your own hands, of course."

66

Certainly," said he. perfectly well."

"Now, Fips," said I, are you not scalping me out of eleven hundred and twenty-five dollars just because you can, exactly as old Gorum scalped you out of two hundred?"

Fips looked very mean, but very dogged; and he answered not a word. I asked again, coolly enough:

"Was that what you meant when you said you would see who would kick people about? I could see something fair enough in paying Gorum in his own coin, but isn't it rather rough to turn round and squeeze me to make up for what Gorum got out of you? As you yourself said about Gorum," I concluded, with a sarcastic parody of Fips' own sentimental vein, "it's painful to be served so by one that you thought was a friend."

Fips looked uncomfortable; but he replied, with an evident resolute ignoring of any ethical element in the matter,

"Well; that's about what I've concluded to do about it. Business is business, you know. The fact is, I could get it done even cheaper. I'm really doing you a favor."

I had no further points to make, having thus explicitly showed the dog his own promise to me, and his own absurd attitude in repeating on me Gorum's trick on him. So I merely added,

"I'll tell you what; a few days won't make any difference. Let me think it If I can't do any better, I'll come

over.

to your terms."

"Very good," said Mr. Vice-President Fips, with an obvious sense of relief, as of one completing an uncommonly dirty job; and I went away, probably the angriest man on the continent of North America, but with a remarkably distinct

"Are you going to put any thing in here?" I asked him very quietly, as we shook hands.

"Why," said he, "Fips has been talking to me about it. Are you in with him?"

"Well, not particularly," I rejoined. "But don't conclude positively on any thing until you've seen me again-say, this evening. There's news. But not a word to Fips!"

Capitalists are as suspicious as foxes. The old man readily promised; and we appointed the meeting. Apologizing to Mr. Spurling for delaying him a moment, I passed into the inner room as the customer went out, Mr. Fips' last words coming along with him, as it

were:

"not a penny less than twelve per cent. a month."

"Well, Fips," said I, as I sat down, "prosperous as ever, I see. How much will Spurling put in?"

He mumbled something or other, looking at once surprised, sheepish, and surly. It is very true that I asked him rather to plague him than for any real purpose.

"Why, confound it, man," I remonstrated, "I'm your fellow-operator and stockholder, and interested to know. Besides, if you don't tell me I'll see about a paragraph in the daily papers to-morrow. I know all the newspapermen, you know. And what difference does it make whether I know or not?"

Fips, ignorant whether I couldn't let loose all the papers on him, was rather bullied, and made a great effort to be cordial, though he evidently disliked to reply. At last he said that Mr. Spurling proposed to invest $75,000.

"Very good," said I, "that will be very convenient to develop the oil-lands we have bought. Now, about that commission. I won't allow you a single cent of it."

"Very well," replied Fips, with a little effort, as when one seeks to hide disagreeable surprise. "Very well. You can do as you like. I shall put the business into other hands, of course."

"Do so. Good-day to you." "Good-day "—with a great affectation of absorption, and much fumbling among some papers. And I departed, just lifting a finger at stout old Mr. Spurling as I passed, as much as to say, "Beware!" like a warning phantom in a melodrama.

I found Mr. Spurling at his hotel in the evening, and he greeted me right cordially.

"To begin with," said the fine old fellow, "let the business wait five minutes, and tell me all about yourself. I haven't seen you for five years. Where have you been? What have you been doing? How do you get on? How much are you worth? Are you making money? Are you married? Any children?"

And the old man laughed at his own string of questions, and I laughed too.

"Nowhere, nothing, nohow, no, none. At any rate, I have only a negative for all your expectations. I believe I know rather more than I did when I came down to this wicked city; but I've gained nothing otherwise, except age. There's really nothing to tell in the life of a newspaper understrapper. I've really nothing to tell except the business errand."

"Well, let's have that, then."

I proceeded to tell very briefly how I had just been up into Venango County and Timothyville; how I had found a regular Pandemonium of greasy wicked

ness and intrigue up there; how I had examined into all the purchases of lands made by Fips for the Company; how they looked all right, but how all the opinions I could gather were unanimous in this one point: that Fips had paid rather more than the current value of all the land he had bought. That was just the phrase " rather more than the current value; a not very dangerous-looking statement, until you remember what a furious high-tide of speculative prices it was that had thus been overtopped.

"Was he going to use your $75,000 to develop or to buy?" The old gentleman was a little startled. "To buy, to be sure," he said at last. "He wants to get hold of that Roe Farm at $80,000. Parties are anxious to get sub-leases on it, on terms that will give two per cent. a month on that investment, any how."

"Look here, Mr. Spurling. There isn't an oil-well on the Company's lands -not one single one. There isn't the money left in bank to-day to sink one well. Here he wants to spend $5,000 more than this money of yours that he sees coming, for another one hundred and fifty acres of wild upland without one well on it. If he kept half his receipts to develop with, and managed the affair in good faith, and with good business ability, I think it would be safe. But at this rate, you know the concern must smash, for Fips' first advertisement claimed that oil was being received then; and it won't be many weeks before somebody will insist either on dividends or on an account-sales of oil. Let him once pay for this Roe

"But what does he want, then?" queried Spurling. "He can't be stealing, as I see. The vouchers are on file for every cent of money, and the deeds are recorded for every inch of dirt."

"See here." I took out my pocket memorandum-book. "Here is an entry that I made from the words of the agent that's trying to sell that very Roe Farm. I took them down on the land,-the agent made me the offer himself, provided I could find him a purchaser." I pointed out the entry, and Mr. Spurling read: "Ten per cent. commission for purchaser at $80,000 cash. Roe."

Now," I continued, "Fips is simply spending all the Company's money in bad bargains for high-priced lands, simply for the sake of the neat commission which he retains as per oral agreement at completing his bargain. If he has laid out $125,000 in this way, he has retained $12,500 at least. Your $75,000 is worth $8,000 to him.”

"Hmm?" said Spurling, with the rising inflection-that is, reflectively. "That's a pretty square charge against a business man. How are you going to prove it?"

"I don't expect to prove it by affidavits of the parties," I said. "He won't tell, and the other fellows won't tell. But judge for yourself. How does it look?"

"I hate to think ill of any body," said old John. "What made you think of this thing, and what's your particular need of chocking his wheels?"

"I'll tell you." And I gave him a short history of all my own dealings with Fips, enlarging perhaps rather more than was necessary on my poor little story so brutally slaughtered before it was alive.

"Personal revenge, isn't it, my boy? said the old man, when I was through. "Most assuredly, for my own part," I answered. "But do you object to promoting a just revenge which is accomplished by saving you $75,000?" He laughed. I added:

est undertaking; and such it would have been, if properly managed. And here this fellow has made me help him in a systematic swindle. I suspected that as soon as I found they had bought the office-oil specimens ready made; and I fully satisfied myself of it when I went up the country. I went into the office that day to threaten Fips that if he didn't at once set about putting the Company into a safe business condition, I would have his institution shown up in all the papers. If he would have done that, I would have waited and watched until the annual meeting. But when I found you there, I saw at once that the proper course for me was to save your money first, if you thought of investing."

"Well, Gasby, I don't know but you have done it. I'll see how their accounts stand, and what they say on the question of oil actually furnished. If they have spent up as close as you say, I'll look sharp. But I guess you would enjoy for yourself, a little, his not getting my money, as well as my saving it -hey?"

66

"A good deal," I said; "a good deal, both of 'em."

"Well, well, we'll see. Call here again to-morrow evening, will you—if you'd like to know how it goes?" "I will; " and I went about my busi

In the course of the next day I received a note from Fips, intimating that he would like to make me a proposition. To this I paid no attention; for the more I considered the state of affairs, the less probable did it seem to me that the concerns of the Company could be carried to a prosperous issue in his hands. I went to see Spurling again in the evening. He seemed to be feeling very comfortably, and observed with wisdom,

"A penny saved is a penny earned, my boy. Take supper with me." I did and a good one.

"See here," he said suddenly, at a

My book has been more successful than it deserved. It was-I may inform you, my friendly reader, in strict confidence and to use the obliging terms of one of my publishers' advertisements ("Did I draft the ad myself?" No impertinent questions!), "that highly successful and very popular novel," "The Sangreal of To-day." Yes, I wrote that book-though old John Spurling is perhaps really the author of it. It was very naughty in me to contrive to have it credited to "a new and most promising young lady-writer," I admit. But I couldn't resist the temptation; and it was uncommonly funny to read the criticisms and see how all the reviews picked out the weaknesses of the female character in it, and showed how much better a man would have done it. And so it was to receive letters from the jolly publishers with checks, and addressed (within only), "Dear Marm." I have "Dear Marm." I have VOL. II.-15

lieve-found it necessary to call an informal meeting, silence Fips by threats of prosecution, thrust him summarily forth, and intrust their sickly body-corporate to a shrewd business dry-nurse.

In this reverse of fortune, Fips made an effort to get the secretaryship of a Fire Insurance Company, and sought to forward his design by a curious device. He made a vigorous attempt to be admitted a member of Pilgrim Church. I was told-I don't know how true it is-that when Fips went to old Deacon Flagg, and applied for the usual examination preliminary to admission, the old gentleman gravely replied:

66

Very sorry, Mr. Fips, but the church is full. There isn't a single vacancy. If there should be one, I'll let you know."

I can hardly believe that the good old Deacon would be so funny as that on such a subject; but however that may be, Fips neither obtained his church-membership nor his secretaryship. I believe he is at present diligently trotting about as an agent for the Dartford Accidental Catarrh Insurance Company. I met him in Broadway the other morning. He was very well dressed, but I couldn't catch his eye.

-Upon reading over what I have written, I see with surprise that the Feminine Element is entirely wanting. I can't help it. No woman was concerned in the affair; and I couldn't be expected to invent a whole woman, just to put her into a story?