Fame And Fortune Weekly (no. 864) (1922 04 21)
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APRIL. 21, ee 7 Cents ANG Bt Mace Mahe : a f * ae v ie =. é ‘Come with me.” cried Broker Cusick, hauling Charlie toward the entrance of the building. “Let go of him. Cusick, he belongs to me,” said Broker Simpson, pulling the boy in the opposite direction “Easy, gentlemen, give me a chance,” protested Charlie.
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< Z. a | FAME AND FORTUNE WEEKLY fasued ee Ey ae price, —— Post Oftice ork, N.Y. Entered No. 864 NEW YORK, Canada, pom wet Foreign, $4.50. Harry EB. Wolff. Publisher, Inc., 166 Second-Class Matter, October 4 1911, at ore. New York Yr under the Act of March 3. 1879. APRIL »21, 1922 Price 7 Cents CHARLIE OF THE CURB OR, BEATING THE MINING BROKERS = By A SELF-MADE MAN CHAPTER I.—Charlie Opens An Office. “Hello, Munson. I hear you have quit Green’s office?” said Broker Dodge to a bright-looking boy on Broad street one morning. So I et replied Charlie eS in his customary w: “What was the trouble?” “None at all.” “But you had some reason for leaving Green?” “Of course. I left him because after an ex- “perience of three years I was tired of sunning errands on a small salary. “Oh, you wanted a raise and he wouldn’t give it to you?” “No, I paw ask bins for a raise. I si no of teld him I was going to quit. He asked me w Had I been offered a better position. I told aoe no—that I was going in business for myself.” a kind of business?” asked Dodge curi- eg See brokerage.” - “What!” exclaimed Dodge, in surprise. “On the curb.” “You're joking, aren’t you, Munson?” “No, sir. I don’t see anything funny about it.” “But you’re only a boy.” | On ye Lie ge cleats Nerina nae eeiaaie or three yea “That's a a Poa conclusion, if you live. At present, however, ou are at least two years shy of your majori “I know it, but I guess T’m man enough to go for myself. “You lack knowledge and experience of the business.” “Oh, Sis, nat. oo ail aes poet daay thtkk.” “And you need a — account of sufficient size to Pgs business wi “Tl'm weryieg. ent that,” en Charlie “Have you come into money?” “Maybe T have.” erat eeree oan, 200.p Pe: SS Wy 40 : a eee so?” *aughed the boy. It stands to reason that you will only fritter it aay in useless effort. 4 Allow that you do open up, the brokers won't do t a with you.” “I’m so I like you, Munson, and I hate to os a fool of ie? “I don’t expect to a fool of myself.” “But wil you think so or not. any amg _ you—as a broker. How are you going make commissions, supposing you get customers, which strikes me as doubtful?” “You’re on the curb, aren’t you?” “You know I am.” “Know anything t me?” “Not a thing. ‘on! “the other way.” “Won't you give me a lift, then?” “In what way?” “Divide commissions with me on all business I put through your office?” Dodge laughed. “rie to that for you—on the “a for we traders are not sappeese to make conces- sions; but do you reall business to hand over “Why business you suppose I’m going into just to hang up my sign and look at att confidence will bring you business t to get some, for you seem to be full of it. ere do you to have your office?” “T’ve hired it y, in the Duncan Building, - Room 524. I’m furnishing it up now. Drpp up and see my no gages you any way to make to do it.” in a few da *T will. ie ntbank’ you, “What daon Green say when. you told him you were going to open up as a broker?” “He nearly had a fit. He said there were sev- eral kinds of fools in the world, but I ome give the whole of them cards and spades and win hands down.” ene Dodue tiga pesstila, for he knew Treen W and could ea f how the news from his ‘office bo - 4 ome oa “He was oe ae he said. e said other things, res?
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Z CHARLIE OF THE CURB euted at its own office in Pearl street. He want- ed business cards, letter headings, order pads, and other things he was likely to use as soon as he got into harness. He also wanted account and memorandum books, pens, ink, mucilage, blank pads, and other stationery which he could get there. He left his order, with the copy for the printing, and then returned to his room on the fifth floor of the Duncan Building, at the back, overlooking a court, which furnished light and air to the offices surrounding it. His office was still as bare as when he hired it, but he expected his furniture to arrive shortly, and it was necessary for him to be there to re- ceive it. He had bought a good second-hand roll- top desk, table, half a dozen chairs, small letter- file case that would rest comfortably on top of his desk, a second-hand safe in excellent condi- tion that he got cheap, some wooden railings to divide his room off and keep visitors away from his desk unless he invited them inside, a rug for the inner part of the office, a couple of cuspidors, and sundry other things. He had also ordered a ticker to be put in, but he did not know when it would be brought there. He let himself into his room and went to the window to pass the time. In the office opposite sata very pretty and sweet-looking girl, busy at a typewriter. Her nimble ig) ae flew rapidly over the keys of her machine, but occasionally she stopped to raise the carrier to see something she had written, and then she looked down at her note-book by her side. . “That’s a nice girl,” thought Charlie, and it struck him he would like to know her, but he essed there wasn’t much chance of that. While fe was admiring her, she took her work off her machine, got up and went away with it. Pres- ently she came back, sat down again, and glanc- ed out into the court. Then she caught Charlie looking at her. She turned away and went on working without taking the slightest notice of him. He saw that she did not look at him again. “She’s no flirt,” he thought. “I like her better for that, though it reduces my chances of making her acquaintance. However, we’ll see how things come on later when she finds I’m a fixture here.” He had left his office door ajar to show that somebody was there, and it was pushed open by one. of the men bringing his desk from the ’ freight elevator on Pine street. The table, ught in. The ing w from the elevator, and of th at it up. ee Wille he mas Witte ee work. ] was oO th the ticker, plated it’ where Ch to make th apparatus that belonged to the room, but which had been removed when the previous tenant va- cated it. About the time everything was in place except the safe, which hadn’t arrived, that ar- ticle came along. “I’m in luck to have everything come together, so to speak,” thought Charlie. “If the painter ook only come now, my office would be com- plete. Here the door was pushed open and a head was stuck in. “This is the place where the sign is to go on the door, isn’t it?” said the man, inserting the rest of his body. “Yes. You’re from Dixon’s?” “I am. Tell me what you want put on the glass.” : E Charlie wrote on a slip of paper the follow- ing: “Charles Munson. Stocks a Specialty.” He handed the paper to the painter and told him to make the lettering uniform with the other doors in that vicinity. Half an hour later the work was finished and approved of. Charlie paid the bill and the man departed. A tow-headed youth who was attached to the office opposite came out and looked at the sign of the new ten- ant. The door being half open, he looked in and saw Charlie fixing a picture on the wall. “Hello, skesicks!” he said, with a grin. “Are you the new guy’s office boy?” “Do I look like an office boy?” asked Charlie good naturedly. “I dunno. Maybe you’re Munson’s clerk.” “No, I’m Munson himself.” “What! Are you the boss of this shop?” “I am the tenant.” “Oh, I say, give it to me easy. I’ve got a weak heart.” “You mean a seven-day heart,” smiled Charlie. “What do you mean by that?” “Seven days make a week, and if you have a weak heart, wh——” 5 “You’re a funny gazabo. Now without kidding tell me who. you are. “Are you interested in knowing?” “Sure. I work in the office opposite. know the chaps around me.” “Well, I’ve told you the truth. Munson, and this ig my office.” The youth gaped at him. ; “I don’t want to call you a liar, but you can’t stuff me that way. You ain’t no broker.” “Perhaps not, but I’m making a bluff at it.” “Say, is that straight goods?” asked the youth doubtfully. “Yes, and a full wide, quality guaranteed.” “Where did you come from? “Why?” “They don’t have brokers in Wall Street who ain’t old enough to vote.” “I wasn’t aware that there was any law against it.” ; “I didn’t say there was, but who'd patronize a kid broker?” Stocks and Bonds. Curb I like to My name is “I’m a p sized kid. I could pick out Maal an hour that are than
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Ps _look at the CHARLIE OF THE CURB 3 € ~ “ae ‘ “Your size is all right. That ain’t anything. There’s a fifteen-year-old kid in my block who’s taller than you are. I’m talking about your age. You ain’t much older than me.” “How old are you?” “Fifteen. You ain’t more’n eighteen. I’ve got money to bet on it.” walt right. We'll let it go at that. Now run along or your boss will have something to say to you for wasting his time.” “Thanks for nothing. Ill call again when your boss is in and I'll tell him you tried to pass your- self off for him. So-long. Be good to yourself.” The lad shut the door and went away into the direction of the elevator. He didn’t believe that Charlie was the person whose name was on the door. It didn’t look reasonable to him. Charlie completed, hanging his pictures, took another rl across the court, then went home for the day. ‘ locked up an e CHAPTER I1.—Charlie and His Father. Charlie Munson was a New York boy, born and brought up on Manhattan Island, and his home had re a moderate-priced flat in some part of the city above Fifty-ninth street. His father was forerhan of the printing depart- ment of a widely circulated magazine, an fore he got that position he was foreman of a big Fulton street printing office, and before that he was head compositor in the same office. Charlie grew up like other , went to the grammar school in his neighborhood and some- times got transferred when his parents moved, and they moved quite often, not ause it was cheaper to move than pay rent, but because by moving they could generally manage to get two months’ rent free, and the new quarters were ating from the ret school Ol, course a customer of the Fulton house offered to place him in Wil- rokerage office as messenger, and his father jumped at the chance, and forthwith Charlie = the high school and entered Wall Street. He took to the financial district like a duck to water, and after he had been two/years Se ne ae ne te ee wy. eae we little bank on Nassau street, h mt encouraged immature specu- lators and others to enter the great game of chance taking orders for the purchase or sale of as small a number as five shares of any stock on the market list. Whether good judgment or good luck guided Charlie’s i lated anything himself, probably because his wages did not permit of his d 50. : It was only since he got into the magazine of- fice that he received as high as $30 = week, for as a job foreman $25 marked his limit, and prior to that he worked for from $16 up. He did not belong to the union because the office was an “open” shop, and though he could have readily got the scale where it was paid he would not change, and the foremanship was the reward for sticking to the house. Now he was in a union shop, and was paving - dues and assessments, which somewhat redu his $30. As the cost of rent and food had gone up, and two months’ free rent was a thing of the ast when he —— on ghee he wasn’t sav- ng anything. arlie had up his father’s experience as way below the plane he to live on when he got married. Working for wages he considered unprofitable as a steady —- if one could do better, and he reasoned that Wall Street was the field where a smart chap could do better—the brokers were object lessons for that. They could afford to dress well, live well and have a as Oy 2 time, too. Having nur- tured the idea in his brain that he was smart enough to emulate those gentlemen, even if he was not yet old enough to vote, he decided that as soon as his success in the market netted him $5,000. he would cut loose from Mr. Green and proceed to-paddle his own canoe. He was careful to let no hint of his purpose escape him at the house. He knew his father would put the veto on his ambitious ideas, and as his father was the boss it wouldn’t do to run counter to him—that is, not so he could notice it. Charlie was a wise boy for his years and he laid his plans with the view of encountering the least resistance. Two weeks before our story opens Charlie closed out a deal with the little bank the profit of which raised his capital to $5,500. Then he gave Green notice that he was going to leave on the following Saturday, and w Saturday came he shook the dust of the messenger voca- tion from his shoes forever, he hoped. It was now Friday of the following week and we behold him established in his office, boss of his own time and arbiter of his own future un- less his father got wind of these extraordinary proceedings and took an opposing hand in the e. “If my dad learned about what I have done since Saturday he would have a fit,” thought Charlie on his way home that afternoon. “He would certainly read me the riot act, and order me to give up my business yoy and hunt for another messenger job. If I can keep him in the background long enough to a start then things probably work out differently. If I’d been in my father’s shoes I’d have owned a print- ing office long before reaching his age, instead of ig somebody else’s plant with the cer- tainty oes superseded the moment I began to c : ie Gharlie, as usual, home some time before seend ae een and he put in the ace reading even paper. Finally hi er came home, and Dery 4 afterward supper the table. 7 aH : are thi ‘ } sas ae a Se was put on
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“Do you mean the market, pop? It’s slow since the boom in D. & G. went to pieces,” replied the boy. It was the said boom which had more than doubled Charlie’s capital and led directly to his ‘separation from Broker Green. “I suppose some people made a lot of money out of the boom?” Ex “You may take it from me that some people : did. I am very well acquainted with a boy of : my age who cleared over $3,000 on the rise.” | “A boy!” ejaculated Mr. Munson, looking in- terested. “How did he do it?” mark and sold it at high tide.” “He must be a a chap.” “He things he is. at do you suppose he did as soon as he got the money?” “What did he do?” “Resigned his’ messenger job and opened up an office for himself.” “As a broker?” - *¥es.” “Some people are lucky in this world. I never was. “I think you are lucky to have such a fine wife as my mother.” That compliment to his mother brought a smile from her m her. “I have one admirer, I see,” she said, in a pleased tone. “Bet your life you have,” said Charlie. “You are also lucky, pop, to have me in the family.” = plimenting yourself now, eh?” said Mun- not? I want you to understand that I carat fine.” am ei : : “Glad to hear it. I’m piptty fine myself, only I don’t get all the credit ee mean your creditors prefer you to pay cas “I am not referring to that kind of credit.”~ _ “Why didn’t you branch out for yourself in an office instead of always holding down a job?” “It takes money and I never had any.” “Whose fault was that?” “Not mine. I’ve always had my nose to the mn a Vd been you, I’d have taken it off the grind- stone. “Then we should have starved, because the woods are full of ters.” “And the woods are twice as full of clerks.” “Some day you'll be one, I suppose, and then you'll be thinking of getting married.” “Don’t you worry about me getting married. When I am ready to double up I expect to own my own house, an automobile or two, and sundry other necessary adjuncts that go with an inde- pendent position in life.” “I hope you may get all these things, but the of wages these days hardly warrants you alow © a t ok f I intend n’t Oo Wo: ‘or wages. in “wages and live on the profits of the other You but you “y to p 4 CHARLIE OF THE CURB “He bought some of the stock at low-water — =- “Very likely. I am not acquainted with him. He doesn’t. come into the printing office. I get my orders from a manager who probably pulls out $50 each week and does not sweat as much over it as I do.” “And you don’t sweat as much as the men you boss around,” grinned Charlie. - “I sweat enough for a measly $30.” rs m bet you had to hustle more when you got half of that.” “T’ll bet I did, too.” “Well, I’ll bet you never sweated as much as I have carrying messages for Green,” said Char- lie, getting up from the table. Next day was Saturday.and Charlie left the house at the usual time. He reached his office at nine o’clock and found a copy of the Daily Wall Street News he had subscribed for on the floor inside the door. He opened up his désk and pro- ceeded to look through the paper. It felt kind of good to Charlie to be his own boss, even though he was doing no business yet. Never ore had he enjoyed an uninterrupted inspec- tion of the financial newspapers which he used to run over at Green’s office when he arrived there in the morning. Before he got very far into the news on those occasions the cashier was sure to call on him to go out, and after that he had little chance to see the papers again. Now it was different. =) He could read the paper as long as he chose and no one— At this point in his reflections the door opened and a caller stepped in. Even in his own office he was open to interruption. CHAPTER III.—Charlie Frustrates a Piece of Rascality. “Hem!” said the visitor, lookin room with some curiosity. “Mr. in, I perceive.” ae your precepuene meee deceived you. I am Munson,” sai rlie, ping the paper. “What can I do for you, Mr." — “Are you the new tenant of this office?” “Yes, sir.” “You are—ahem!—rather young to be in the brokerage business.” Charlie wondered if this reference to his youth was going to be a continuous performance. It rather nettled him, but he was too good-natured ke any notice of it. : “Age doesn’t always count against one. Some boys are smarter than some men twice their years. What brought you in—curiosity to in- spect the new tenant, or. “Ahem! I was a bit curious to see who my new neighbor was,” said the caller frankly. “My name is Blackington. My office is opposite.” “Step inside the railing, Mr. Blacki nm, and take a seat. Glad to know you,” said Charlie pleasantly. ‘ Blackington stepped in and took possession of a chair. “Are you a newcomer to the city?” he asked. “No, sir. I’m.a New Yorker.” “In-deed! Then you have been in Wall Street some time—emplo: em!—by some broker?” _ “That is quite true.” 2 ; around the unson is not 7. -——
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CHARLIE OF “May I ask who you worked for?” “Certainly. W iliam Green.” “Indeed! Now you have started out for ~ “T have.” “I suppose you have a large circle of—ahem! —friends whom you rely on to make business for you?” : “I rely on nobody but myself to make busi- “Just so,” said Blackington, rubbing his hands together. “Have you made any arrangements for putting your business through*some recog- sem, B. of the Curb Exchange? If not, I shall be most happy to offer rmy—ahem!— services, and anything you throw in my way I will see that you receive half of the commission.” “Thank you for your offer, Mr. Blackington, but I have already made arrangements looking to that end. “Blackington looked disappointed. He was ex- — g to —— hooks - “Are u buyi anything on your own ac- count? i abe F ath t recommend Red Jacket to your attention. I have received a large block of the stock from Goldfield to dispose of at the present low market price of ten cents. I think i me know. I am the company and I wouldn’t say any- ine which the facts do not war- sa that Red Jacket will the sensations of the ill take my advice you 10,000 shares. That will 1,000, a mere bagatelle. Six it might be worth $1, perhaps even more. It is really worth serious considera- » tion. Don’t let the matter sleep or the chance is “= likel Sep I have eg map shares to =v ) pose at any moment the company mig call a in the sale on account of fresh ore “I will look over the prospectus and other doc- Mie gs at BB ‘ = e235 A ibe M fe Fie 4° g it At :; up is paper and went on He was not disturbed in, and he up, put on d went out. He walked down to the which was in full swing, and lively day terminated sgie a A Z : ; 5 took his depar-— THE CURB 5 went to the little bank and remained in the big waiting room, studying the blackboard there til noon came, and business was over at all the ex- changes for the week. He returned to-his office, took the amount out of his safe that he always handed in to his mother, and then feeling hun- gry, he went to a lunchhouse and had a cup of coffee, a sandwich and a piece of pie. On his way up Broad street he met Broker Dodge. “Say, Munson, got anything special on hand this afternoon?” asked the broker. “No, sir.” “Would you care to do me a favor?” “I’d be very glad to accommodate you in any way.” “You won’t lose anything by it, for I'll do as mee for you any time. Come over to my of- ce. -Charlie went with him. “Here’s a package of mining stock that ought to be delivered to a customer of mine to-day. I’d send it by express only the chances are it would not reach his place before Monday and that would be too late, as he’s going away to-night. He lives in Kneeland, New Jersey. It’s about half an hour out on the New Jersey Central. It is a small place and you'll have to take a local train, for express trains do not stop there. Here’s a’dollar to pay your way.” and the package and Charlie took the mo started for the ferry. e bought a ticket for Kneeland, crossed the ferry and entered the train shed when the announcer of trains said that the local for various points that included Knee- land was ready for passengers. As he took his seat a pretty girl passed to the-next seat ahead. He got a look at her face and recognized her as the*stenographer he had noticed working in the office across from his own. _ Hardly had she seated herself when a woman in a gray suit took the seat beside her. Charlie thought they came together, as the woman spoke to the young lady once or twice and then sub- sided, while the girl gave her attention to a zine. The train started. In due course the conductor came around and punched the tickets. As the took her ticket out of her purse the lady took it, with some remark, and handed *it to the conductor with her own. Fifteen minutes later the conductor came peat og N again and all those whose tickets he had punched ‘ore. Twelve minutes later the brakeman sang out that the next stop was Kneeland. The con- ductor came through and took up the tickets for that place. As the train ——- down in -approach- ing the station, the young lady showed by her movements that she was gine to get out there. When the train stopped woman in gray got up, stood aside for the girl to leave the seat, and then followed her out of the car. Charlie, won- dering if it was possible that the young lady lived so far from her scene of daily labor, came on ind the two. The woman in gray followed close behind the girl on the platform, and that made the boy more certain that th er eA Din oe Le a fF ee
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-broker. aan) see you through. © 6 CHARLIE OF “Is this the girl you have brought down?” he asked the woman. “Yes. Come along, “I don’t know you,” ae the young lady, hold- i EWhy,, the the idea! Don’t yor know your Aunt Where is the car?” Pen sae te the wixa. 7 ere it is,” replied the man, indicating a closed car that was in, He grabbed the handle of the door and pulled, it open, then he and the woman pushed the girl toward it. The young lady struggled and uttered that was Sy the off my the woman. All this passed so quickly that Charlie, who had hung back to see in what "atroction the girl was going, uite staggered. He now though it time to inbertors and stepped up. “Hold on, there. What are you to do with this young lady?” he “What is the matter Soy pouns- fellow?” said the man sharply. “Stand back and don’t interfere with that don’t concern you.” At that moment young lady tore the wom- an’s hand from her mouth. “Save me! oh, save me from these people!” she cried hysterically. Charlie made a , spring and got between the trio and the door of the cab. “Let that young lady alone!” he cried in a de- termined ee trying by = to Bees age iy eos aunt? said the woman ing 53 | Brought her down here on the train.” ‘t's not 80,” cried the girl in an excited tone. “T don’t know this woman, nor the man either.” “I believe you,” Charlie. “You work in the Duncan Building on Wall Street, don’t you?” “Yes, yes. My office is across the court from where you work, and I have seen you at the “I remember you. a These people are trying to carry me off “You can rely on me, ‘ion said the young Here comes the station agen’ ic seaen> ai sw taiends Vaca nd: sien wp Bb platform. ial 2 asker Prag Fae oe a bluff on the boy’s part, and k advantage of it to pull the girl suddenly soars from her = “tNow, then, ye a eeedink let’s get this “Now, you see you ies guns trees ton” be said. Charlie, butt the ed the bs Solerane . further eB fe a sepelion, Be re itueet a ee who had been ~ The man turned and rid gd > olla ~“The game’s up,” he said to woman in gray. ' Tet into the car— op will square with Day sor * , for this,” he added menacingly io C) I r ~ Mari? e e laughed Charlie. here THE CURB He sprang in after the woman and the car darted off, passing the officer with a rush. “There, miss, calm yourself. The danger is over,” said Charlie to the girl, who was shivering like a leaf. “Oh, I’m so frightened. Please don’t leave me. They might come back.” ol won’t leave you, miss. If you'll tell me where you are going I'll escort you there before I attend to the business that brought me to this place.” “J_J—oh, dear, I’m so nervous!” Here the officer came up. “What was the trouble here a moment ago?” he asked in an official tone. “A man and woman were tryi ing to carry this young lady off in a closed car,” explained Charlie. “J butted in and stopped the game. She came ba in the same train with me from Jersey ity.” “Who were they?” asked the surprised officet. “T don’t know who they were,” said the young broker. “I never saw them before.” “What is your name, young lady?” asked the oR Edith Cosgrove,” she gna in a faint voice. “Do. you live in this village?” “No. I came to visit my aunt, Mrs. Watkins, who lives on Prescott street.” Charlie ed out the package he had brought from the city. The name and address read: “Mr. ‘ Edmund Watkins, 344 Prescott street, Kneeland.” “Is that your ae ?* he said, showing the in- scription to the “ es, -yes,” a ape here to deliver th “T am, came here to deliver at packa, to Mr. Watkins.” s “How fortunate that we should meet!” she said, recovering her courage. “I am so glad you are going to call on my uncle.” The cop insisted on learning all the facts of the case and wound up by taking Charlie’s name and pesteess address, and the name and address of e’s uncle. Then he walked off, leay- ina the young people together. og exclaimed. “Are you going —— + -CHAPTER TV—Batween Two Fires. “It was awful kind of to come to i Munson,” said Edith. giving him a hs Bee “Not at all. It was my duty to do so when I saw something was wrong. Charlie. “T tremble to think whet would have happened to ne ee oe eS. T shall never forget what I Tah Pa ped ave nade oes ae 'm please ve ret ain- Pe at any rate, Miss a a you work in the office across from I shall ‘ital gee you every week day—at a little distance.” - sho said we may meet and sa ny Fae do you do?” > with a shy smile as started across @ street bai guess we'll manage to do that occasionally,” “As I suppose you have been Gee eae ae TORR ot me to your ¥ * ee a . a as, a oaks eee
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CHARLIE OF af can do that easily, for I’ve been here several es. Under Edith’s guidance the young broker reached his destination much quicker than he would have done had he been obliged to rely upon himself. During the half-mile walk the young people grew very well acquainted indeed. Mr. and Mrs. Watkins were expecting their niece, and the welcome they gave her was extended to Charlie when they learned what a valuable service he had rendered her. Both declared that the young broker’s visit to Kneeland was a provi- den’ one for the girl, and they insisted on his spending the afternoon with them, which he will- ingly did, as Edith was no small attraction. Mr. Watkins was going to Scranton that evening, and after supper Charlie accompanied him to Jersey City, ere he was to take the express. Of course Charlle didn’t get home till quite late in the evening and his mother wanted to know where he had been. lle explained that he had gone on a special er- rand for a broker he knew to the village of Knee- land in New Jersey, and had been invited by the people he visited to remain to supper and ac- oe ——— es inci a o whieh grove so unpleazantly, of whic he was the bright particular hero agreed that pe ig | lady had had a very nar- row escape. en he reached Wall Street on Dodge’s office and left the receipt he-had received from Mr. Watkins, and them he went to his office. Miss Cosgrove was busy at her rpms across lady. gton had d the news about the boy Curb broker who had rented an office across the dor from his place of business, and many were curious to see the phenomenon as they termed the boy. Two brokers named Cusick and Simpson decided to call and see him. Char- lie was about to go out when they walked into his “You are the new broker,” said Cusick, after they had introduced themselves. “Yes, I'm pretty new,” admitted Charlie, with “If you look close you'll see the gloss on like a smart boy,” said Simpson, _ with a wink at his companion. “What do you say, oe. ee we ee fe pa Ponagthiyeg 2 vate we are u cor- Mage ary Tce aie toni huey untill our young friend agrees to join us.” “T haven't any objection,” said Cusick, looking hard at Si “We have ae teen’. for one more then the syndicate be com- “What do you say, Munson?” said Simpson. to rage on something real good?” m t do you call something real good?” asked _ Charlie curiously. ; _ “A dead sure chance of Seon Far money.” Bsa ele fata tld cid that?” Why, young already or- a new ¢ car and a sand new cutht THE CURB 7 “You are counting your chickens before they are hatched.” “They'll be hatched all right. Won't they, Cusick?” “It’s a sure.bet rey d will,” nodded Cusick, “It’s mining stock I suppose?” said Charlie. Yes. How much shall we put you down for?” “What's the name of the mine?” “You shall know as soon as you pay up your first deposit.” “Seems to me this is a blind pool, isn’t it?” Is there anything blind about it, Cusick?” asked Thompson. “Not that I’m aware of,” responded Cusick. “Then tell me what stock you propose to boom,” said Charlie. “We can’t do — till ‘re one of us. When you come up with, sa ,000, wi wise to all the facts.” ad Sa Well, I’m not going to commit myself to an such thing as that” sxid Charlie. ’ 3 “But we are offering you a fine chance to make a bunch of money,” said Simpson. “Phat may be, but still I am not going to take any blind chances to make it.” “We can’t tell you the name of the stock, and other facts, until» you That isn’t busi- ness. You would ina osition to sell the in- formation and queer kad san “I wouldn’t do any thing. If I didn’t care to go in after learning what stock you had in view, I should consider myself bound in honor to say nothing about what you had told me.” “I dare say you mean well, Munson, but when wonisg! an es d po pe in _ Street you'll earn peop g up pools trust nobody— best friends” el not even their “Very well. I have a lot to learn, I dare say. But I've already learned one thing, and that is that blind pools are dangerous things.” “Nonsense! They’re gotten up every little pe es, and lots of people who into th caught for their ile” err tag “You talk foolish, youn I've been in Wall Street for the — fifteen years, and I've been in a score of blind pools and haven’t been caught once.” “You ought to be wealthy, then.” “T have no kick coming in that direction. Bet- ter reconsider your determination and come in — et ia won't reeret it.” se nk it over and let know,” sai lie, tired of the argument. eS eat SS ee - I can’t guarantee that you will be able to get- in if you delay the matter. We only need one more person to complete the pool, and the next man we approach on the subject is likely to ac- - nay pronen 4 ss & letting — by you, That ou ’s the i Wall Street worm.” Sa ee ‘couldnt afford to take such © the visitors went away with
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fen bio We eee bonita oF ey iii » a “We'll get him on something else,” said Simp- son to Cusic : “We might try to sell him an option on some- thing that we were sure was going down.” at would be a good idea, but we can’t ap- proach him on that till we’ve let a reasonable time elapse, for we are now supposed to be working a . pool on some stock.” = “He'll keep, I guess.” The two traders separated outside and each re- turned to his own office. That afternoon Charlie learned that N. Y. & Q. Elec. was in for a boom. Broker Dodge, who had been tipped off to it, put him wise on the promise that he’d keep the in- formation quiet and only make use of it himself. “You can buy me 500 shares. [Pll go around to my office and get the money right away,” said Charlie. = ; “There’s no rush. There won’t be anything doing for a week, and you might as well save that amount of interest. The stock is ruling Big “vaca pt up's dopa Soha so . You'll put up a , so you P - Hi Be ha day, nor the next remained at about the i Fs o ze 2 ES o 2 a art Cie Th i : a ! F remember that I’m new in the busi- liable to make a mistake.” mistake that time.” funeral, I suppose. Do you know deals in options as a regular do you want to by one?” asked Simp- his ears. ‘ y 1,000 shares of N. Y. & Q. call, because I’m shy of funds wi geb5e -) os ”~— aq serra. like fo CHARLIE OF THE CURB formation corroborated the printed news. He jumped to the conclusion that Charlie was just as easy as he and Cusick had at first supposed. “I might sell you an option on the stock,” he said reflectively. — At that moment Cusick came up and heard his remark. : “What stock are you talking about, Simpson?” he said. “Never mind, Cusick, don’t you butt in here. This is between Munson and me.” “T asked Mr. Simpson to tell me where I coulé buy 2 ten-day optnon on N. Y. & Q. Elec.,” said Charlie. “I want 1,000 shares.” “Tll sell it tosyou at the lowest figure in the street,” said Cusick briskly. “No you won’t,” interrupted Simpson. “If any- body sells it to him I will. He spoke to me about it first.” “Pooh! You haven’t a mortgage on him. I'll sell a ten-day option at two points above the mar- ket,” said Cusick. “Well, I'll sell it to. you now,” said Simpson, who clearly didn’t want Cusick to get a good th away from him. “At what rate?” “Two per cent. adyance on the market.” “’ll make it one and seven-eighths,” said Cu- sick, eager to get the better of Simpson. “You'll make it nothing. Go on about your business, Cusick. I like your never putting in your oar between Munson and me,” snorted Simp- son. It happened that the foregoing conversation took place opposite the entrance of the building where Cusick had his office. The trader took ad- vantage of the fact. “Come with me,” said Broker Cusick, hauling Charlie toward the entrance of the building. “Let 4 of him, Cusick; he belongs to me,” said Broker Simpson, pulling the boy in the opposite - ome j < “Easy, gentlemen; give me a chance,” protest- Charlie. : CHAPTER V.—Charlie’s Option Deal. “One and seven-eighths, Munson,” said Cusick, giving the boy another tug. “Vil make it the same,” said Simpson, pulling way. “Oh, I say, do you want to haul me apart?” Charlie, who found this kind of business teen ert topped derin hat sers-by 8 , wonde wi was in the aoe, . “Let go, Simpson,” yelled Cusick. . go yourself,” retorted Simpson. “Toss up and I'l the option from the one oR od Charlie who wins, \
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CHARLIE OF THE CURB 9 More people stopped to see the fun and a crowd gradually accumulated, 9 “T’ll sell it to you for one and three-quarters, -put in Cusick. : : “Don’t you listen to him, Munson. Come with me,” said Simpson, tugging at the boy’s arm. “One and three-quarters,” cried Cusick eagerly. “You’re a regular shark, Cusick. Shake kim off, Munson, and I'l! sell you the option for one and three-quarters.” - : ‘ie “One and five-eighths,” from Cusick, maintain- ing his grip. : “Look here, Munson, I'll make it one and a half to get you away from/that grasping Shy- lock,’ said Simpson. - The crowd grew still bi laughing at the efforts of possession of the boy. : 3 “Won't. somebody help me out of this stew? cried Charlie to the spectators. Nobody volunteered to spoil the fun. At that moment Broker Dodge came along, saw the crowd and inquired of one of the people what was going r and everybody was rival brokers to get on. “Two brokers have hold of a boy, and each wants to get him to buy something. They are bidding against each other,” was the reply. _ Dodge pushed his way in and recognized Char- “What's the trouble, Charlie?” he asked. “Mr. Simpson here has offered to sell me a ten- day option on N. Y. & Q. Elec. at one and one- e half above the market, and Mr. Cusick insists on doing that himself. If they keep on pulling me in opposite directions there won't be _anyt ing left of me for them to do business with,” said lie. “Who made the first offer?” asked Dodge. * “I think Simpson has the best right to make ” . “That’s right,” noded Simpson. “Let go of him, poe and permit the boy to make his own decision.” The two Curb brokers reluctantly released the young trader. ; = “Tll take you at one and a half, Mr. Simpson, said Charlie. Le x “Come to my office, then,” said Simpson, with 2 look of triumph at Cusick, who mopped his face in t ee. ¥ Basee looked after them wonderingly. - siderable intended to buy.” . continued on his way. accom i — Broker Dodge i In the meantime Charlie to take five per cent. of the current value of the shares as a deposit; that is, five per cent. of $45,500, or $2,275, the same to be forfeited to Simpson if Charlie failed to take and pay for the shares within the stipulated ten days. © “Here's the option,” said the broker. “Come to my office and I'll hand you the mon- ey,” said Charlie. Simpson made out a receipt for the deposit and they went to Charlie’s office, where the , paid the cash over and took the option and the re- ceipt, both of which he placed in his safe. . “Thanks, Mr. Simpson. You'd better go and buy the 1,000 shares now before the price goes = so as to have them ready to deliver,” said Charlie. : “I intend to, though I have an idea the price is not going up to any great extent,” said the broker. Charlie picked up the tape and looked at it. “Better get a hustle on, Mr. Simpson. N. Y. & Q. Elec. is quoted at 46.” “The dickens!” ejaculated Simpson, who saw oe of his anticipated profit slipping away from im. He looked at the tape, and finding the quota- tion as Charlie had read it, he hurried away as fast as he could go. The young broker sat down to his desk and looked across the court. Cosgrove was out to her lunch,*so he did not see her at her typewriter. He looked at his watch, saw what time it was and decided to eat himself. Before leaving his office he looked at the ticker again. N. Y. & Q. Elec. was up to 47. “I’m afraid Mr. Simpson won’t make much on his option deal,”-he said. “It will serve him right, for he and his friend Cusick tried to put it over me when they did me the honor to and make my acquaintance a few days ago. I don’t believe they were interested in any pool to boom some stock. They just tried to separate me from some of my capital?" Charlie locked up and went to lunch. After pens! he dropped in to see Broker Dodge. “Well, Mr. Dodge, I suppose you were sur- prised to see me in the hands of the two brokers on Broad street an hour or so ago,” said Charlie, i into a chair. _ “T was rather astonished at the scene,” admit- ted the broker. “You three succeeded in drawin quite a crowd around you,” and Dodge chuckle at the recollection. “Well/ you see it was this way: I figured out that as the boom in N. Y. & Q. Elec. was pretty certain to materialize, I could make more money by buying an option on 1,000 at 47 than by pur- dealing in options. see if I i
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10 tried to pull me away from his friend. That put me in the position of the rope in a tug-of-war, ex- cept that a rope has no feeling, while I have as much as anybody.” “Well, I suppose you bought the option from Simpson ?” “J did, and as the price went up half a point before he left my office, I have an idea that ne won’t make more than half of what he counted = “He'll be lucky if he makes that, for the stock ay is very scarce. I made a mistake in advising you to hold off for a week. Had you given me your order for 500 to-day I would have had some trou- ble in filling it. I think you did a wise thing in looking for the option.” “I hope ten days will cover the rise. 3 it is going up now.” aa Charlie picked up the tape and ran it over. I notice “The last quotation is 47 1- 2,” he said. “That’s - a rise of two points to-day so far.” ; “You are safe on a ten-day option,” said “The boom is on now from the looks of things.” Charlie took his leave and went back to his own ge to keep track of the further movements in Y. & Q. Blee. there. He had the pleasure of ead a bow and smile with Edith Cosgrove, and then he turned his attention to his ticker. N. Y. & Q. Elec. remained eed a while at 47 te. and then,went up to 48. “That puts me $1,000 ahead,” thought Charlie, . with oaag satisfaction. When three o’clock came the closing figure was 48 1-8. Next day being Saturday there was only . a two-hour session on the exchanges. Little : a done in N. Y. & Q. Elec., which closed at 48 1-2. Charlie met Edi Cosgrove in the cor- : : 3 Dodge. | f a and invited her to visit his den, which she “You have sone a snug little office here, haven’t you?” she sai . “Yes. It is big enough for my present needs. Some day I hope to = ee a regular suite, with clerks, an office boy and a stenographer; but that won’t happen for a while yet. I’ve got to creep : before I can walk. I’ve got to get business be- : fore I look for help and a larger office,” said the young broker. . . “You’re pretty smart to be able to have any office at hee at all" ‘said Edith for the compliment, which is appre- bs ciated | aon the more taped comin Basers 4 from such a youn; — an Sait — shall be pleased to have your gee but oF T dont want to take you out of your way,” she _ rep “Don’t worry about taking me out of my way. I would go several miles out of my way for the pleasure of being in your society,” he said. _ Edith blushed and made no reply. Then they "started for the ferry. Charlie went across the _river with her and bade her good-by on the other Ea a % pomiey ene on . & Q. Elec. took Ne ; Fee Sterler et. Shapes CHARLIE OF THE CURB & Q. Elec. waiting for me to call for them?” said the young broker. - “T have. Want them?”-asked Simpson in a ouchy tone. “Not to-day. The option has a few days more 7 “You had better take them now and save me losing more money on the deal.” “T haven’t the money to pay for. the stock yet.” “When do you expect to have it? “Oh, in a day or two.. But what do you mean by saying you are losing money on the deal? When you left my office that day to cover your option you had the chance to make $1,000.” “T wasn’t able to get the stock, even at 47, the price I agreed to deliver it to you at.” “Why not? It was going at 46.” That was the market price, but it was so hard to get that nobody would sell anywhere around that figure. ‘The opinion was that it would go much higher.” “The opinion was correct, for it has gone high- “It’s quoted at 49 3-4 now, but you can’t buy it for that.” “What did you pay for the 1,000 shares?” “That’s my business,” growled Simpson. “T aid more than I'll get back. You had a tip that it was going up, that’s“why you socked me for the option.” “T didn’t soak you. You-did that yourself. Mr. Cusick wanted to sell me the option the worst way, but you wouldn’t let him. You insisted on doing it yourself.” “I was a fool.” At that juncture Cusick came up from behind. “How's the option, Simpson?” he chuckled, digging his friend in the ribs. “Don’t you worry about the option, Cusick,” snorted Simpson. “Oh, I’m not worrying about it. -I’ve been shaking hands with myself ever since you did me out of it. That’s the time you got stuck, and by a boy broker, too—ha, ha, ho, ho, he, he!” “Think you're ay, don’t you?” “Sure I do. The joke is on you, and it’s the, best one of the yer.r—ha, ha, ho, ho, he, he!” “Go to thunder!” roared ‘Simpson, walking off in ee He’s mad,” said Cusick, with another chuckle. “You were "just as mad because you were dished out of the option by him,” said Charlie. “Nonsense! 1 was just fooling that day. I didn’t want to sell you the option. I just wanted to egg ae ate into buying it at a low figure.” “You looked mad,” said Charlie, who didn’t be lieve him.” “Oh, I had to carry out the deception.” “He'll be mad for two days now because you laughed at him about it.” ~ “T don’t care. It’s one on him, and he thinks himself so smart. I like to see him get stuck once in a while. How came you to want to buy that option? You must have been tipped off to the rise that was coming.” “Perhaps I was. If so it was business for me ba the information to good account, wasn’t “I guess. 80. ‘Who tipped yor ?” “Oh, 3 a little bird.” er.
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CHARLIE OF THE CURB 1 “You won't teil, eh?” Zs - “IT never give away my sources of information when I have any.” , . “Has Simpson got the stock ready to deliver? “He says he has. When a broker sells an op- tion he always covers it, doesn’t he, as soon as possible? It’s a business rule, I understand. “Yes;-but Simpson has lost money in this case er he wouldn’t be so grouchy.” Cusick walked off and Charlie went down to the Curb Exchange. Three days later N. Y. & Q. Elec. was up to 65, and Dodge told Charlie he had better sell his option if he didn’t have - money enough to take it ur at will you give for it?” 4 “How much do you need to pay for the stock? “T have to pay Mr. Simpson $44,725 balance. I’ve got about $2,500 cash in my safe to do it with. “The stock is worth $65,000. I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll lend you my check for the forty-four thousand odd. Take it to the bank and have it certified. Hand it to Simpson, get the stock and bring it to me. I'll sell it for you and cha you the full commission on the sale. That 1] let you out cheap,” said the friendly broker. t’s kind of you, Mr. Dodge. I trust I may be able to return ae mong ‘ nace “Don’t mention it,” said Dodge, who wrote ou the check, signed it and handed it to the young s rlie had it certified and called at Simpson’s office. “I’m ready to take that stock now,” he said to js eo ott out of his private safe without i mn go out of hi i withou a word. Charlie handed him Mr. Dodge’s check and his option, with the deposit receipt. . “Had to borrow the money, did you?” sneered a ore : needn’t worry you, Mr. Simpson. Every- body borrows of one another in Wall Street. Some day you'll be asking me to loan you money or maybe, to help you out.” “And you'll loan it, I suppose?” Z “Sure I will, if I have it, and I think you’re good for it.” Half an hour later Dodge sold the stock for Charlie and the boy trader made a clear $18,000 Profit on the deal. Perhaps he didn’t feel pretty CHAPTER VI.—Charlie’s Success Continues. When Charlie returnea to his office after hear- ing from Broker D that his stoek was sold , he sat down at desk and asked himself at 65 if he was really worth $23,000 or was he dream- 4 rood luck. can J Beng such a boom in my re- ~ anything to speak of. He isn’t one of the money- making kind. Had he been in my shoes he never would have made a cent outside his wages. He’s one of the kind of people whose thoughts never Ft beyond pay day. He’d have a fit if he knew had made ,000. I guess I’d better not tell him yet,a while. He is happy with his thirty r, sO what’s the use of cetth *d tel? mother if I was sure she’d self, but I’m afraid she couldn’t. I'll take her home $100 for herself and tell her I made it in - Wall Street stocks, That will tickle her as much as Ba —. 2 raised to $50 a week.” postman brought in a mining from the West that Charlie had eet dae i new management intended to pu lower level, as the work already done had proved disappointing, causing the price of the shares to “= to five cents. “That’s the mine Blackin wanted me to buy into at ten cents,” said Charlie. “He me to believe it would soon go up in price to. 25 cents a share, with the prospect of rising to 50 cents and maybe $1. Tried to induce me to buy five or ten thousand shares. The old prevaricator, I think [ll go in and show him that = Charlie crossed the corridor and en ington’s office. The tow-hea boy was there. That youth had some time since found out that Charlie was really Munson, the tenant of Room _ 524, and he wondered how the boy broker was cctting along. “Ts Mr. Blackington in?” asked Charlie. “Surest thing you know, Munson,” he said fa- miliarly. 2 “Kindly announce me.” ~ “Come to buy a few thousand shares of stock?” grinned the youth. ge ee ee of i ge, — boss out an ing office as a ine to my own, said ‘Charlie, without a smile. * “Great saucepans, what a nerve you've got!” with you?” “Booming. I’m making so much. money I've been thinking of starting a bank. “Good. ant to buy some of that Red Jacket now? - aries do so —_ for it?” 2 - you have it cheap—nickel a share. “You asked me ten cents some days ago.” Roady down, but it will boom up again in no ti > Fae | “Think it will, eh? You told me the same thing when you offered it to me at a dime. Looks like it had boomed the wrong way, like. ll team pon fom © a ay fates
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as » ba aS dees SIT aa Pe OO ee V _ asked, making no move to 12 There has been a change of management, and take it from me, Munson, it is going to be some mine. I can sel] you a block of five, ten or twenty thousand shares at a nickel.” “Tll take 20,090 shares if you will include a written guarantee that it will go to ten cents in- side of three months.” “Don’t you want me to hand you a few sheets of trading stamps, too?” asked Blackington sar- eastically. “ wouldn’t refuse them. I. guess my mother could find use for them,” said Charlie coolly. “You have no lack of one thing, and that is nerve. Do you guarantee that any stock you sell will double in value within a stated time?” “No, sir; neither do I induce a purchaser to be- lieve that it will go up in value. I leave a buyer to form his own conclusions, Now you are talk- ing up Red Jacket to me; that is why I asked for a guarantee. If you are as confident about the price going up as you say you might feel willing to guarantee the fact.” “IT see you don’t want any Red Jacket. do you want, if I may ask?” “I merely came in to show you a paragraph about the mine that I just saw in the Goldfield News. However, you appear to be fa- miliar with it, so it isn’t necessary for me to show it to you.” "T will look ‘at it anyway,” said Blackington. ~ Charlie pointed out the paragraph. - “Yes, yes, I know all about that,” said the broker. “It marks a new era for the mine. As soon as work gets well started on the lower level we shall hear of results, and with results the pricé will advance. I have 30,000 shares yet un- ' gold. I think I will buy it in myself.” *“T would if I were in your place. You might double your money.” “Precisely. Suppose we go into this together —15.000 shares a Fig . _ “Not to-day. n you have something real on the books come in and see me and then talk business,” said Charlie, getting up and ng his bow. : When Charlie got home that day he pulled ten $10 bills out of his pocket and offered them to his mother. ‘ ‘Don’t say after this I never gave you any- thing, mother,” he said. “Why, where did you oy oe rin: money?” she e it. “Made it in the stock market. Take it and blow yourself to some new clothes and astonish p. ; “Ts this really for me?” * “Tt is. Grab it quickly before it gets away from you.” “How much is it?” What them off, During Next morning he bought, at the suggestion of CHARLIE OF THE CURB avoid any further questioning on the subject. “By the way, mother, don’t tell father about the $100. I want you to surprise him with your glad rags. He'll wonder how you saved so much out of his wages.” “He’ll think I’ve suddenly become extravagant.” “You can tell him then how you got the price.” Next day Charlie inserted an advertisement in several papers, representing himself as a regular Curb broker. Before he went home Broker Dodge’s boy brought him a check for what was coming to him out of the option deal. On the following day he noticed the Cobalt was selling at 7 1-2. Generally it ruled around 9. He went around to Dodge’s office with $7,500 and told the broker to buy him 1,000 shares. “Ts this for a customer you’ve got?” Dodge. . “No. It’s for myself,” replied Charlie. “You ought to make something out of it if you hold it long enough,” said the broker. “That’s what I bought it for. I caleulate on clearing $1,000.” : j Cobalt went up 25 cents a share that week. On Saturdav Charlie received a couple of letters from people who had seen his , avertisement. They wanted information about mining stocks. Charlie wrote out a brief market letter, and then venturing to call upon Edith in her office, asked her if she would typewrite it in duplicate for him and leave the letter at his office on her way home. She promised to do so, At ten minutes of one she appeared with the two letters and the en- velopes, and handed them to him. “Thanks, Miss Edith. I am very much obliged to you.” he said. “IT am very glad to have an opportunity of serv- ing you, Mr. Munson,” she said. “If you will get a machine I will come in and write any pressing letters you have after. my office hours.” “That is very nice of you, Miss Edith; but I wouldn’t ask you to do that except once in a while, When you are through with your regular work you want to go home.” “J can spare you half an hour any time. It would be a pleasure to me to help you out, for I can never forget the service you rendered me that Saturday in Kneeland.” “Oh, never mind that. I feel repaid by the pleasure of your acquaintance. Now let me see you to the ferry,” said Charlie. - He not only went to the ferry, but saw her all the way to her home in Jersey City, and was in- vited in to make her mother’s acquaintance. Mrs. Cosgrove had been wishing for an opportunity to thank him for the service he had rendered her daughter, and she took advantage of this chance to do so. Charlie did not think of taking his leave till nearly five o’clock, and was then prevailed on to remain to supper. Finally he vot away about said : half-past eight, and reached home around ten. ‘Where have you been till this hour?” asked his father. swer, and by working slowly he managed to write of. al the day Cobalt went up to 8. Stevi
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~ CHARLIE OF THE CURB : 13 Dodge, 1,000 shares of Standard Milling, pref., on a ten per cent. margin. The stock was ruling at 51. At half-past two it was up to 55, and Dodge sold it without waiting for orders. Cobalt went to 8 1-4. Charlie was in his office when his phone rang and he asked who wanted him. He found it was Broker Dodge. - “I sold your Standard Millifig at 55, without instructions,” he said. i “All right, sir. Whatever you do goes with me. At 55 I appear to be $4,000 to the good,” said the boy trader. “About that. Dll send you the money to-mor- row afternoon. Good-by.” _ : “That was just like picking up money,” said Charlie to himself. “I ow& Mr. Dodge a whole lot, for the bulk of my present capital-has come to me‘through him.” On Friday Cobalt reached 10 3-8. As that seemed a very good price for it, Charlie told Dodge to sell] his shares, and the broker did so. That added $2,500 more to the boy’s capital, which now amounted to $29,500. : Broker Simpson hadn’t forgotten how Charlie had put one over on him, and determined to get back at him at the first opportunity. Charlie and his father arranged on Decoration Day to visit a cousin living at Patchogue. Cousin Hinkley met - them at the station and took them to his house in a carriage. His son Sam took to Charlie at once. _ After they had their dinner Sam proposed to Charlie that they take a sail in his boat, and they went. After a while a thunderstorm was seen approaching, and Sam told Charlie the best they could do was to board a sloop on the shore and get shelter in the cabin. So they ran the boat ashore just as the storm broke. In the driv- = and wind the boys got separated and rlie tripped on top of a sand heap and rolled down on what appeared to be the bow of a vessel. He saw the door to the cabin and made his wa inside. He struck a match and looked around. He saw pots and pans hanging up on nails. _ He wondered what had ome of Sam. He heard voices and perceived a light shining through a crack in the partition. Also there was a small panel. Ewidently he was in the kitchen and the voices came from _ aa sant Ee ess gently on the panel and it opened slightly an Sierke saw two men playing cards, and to his surprise the men proved to be Brokers Simpson and Cusick. Suddenly he heard Cusick tell Simp- son that he had a scheme to do Charlie for his trick on them: He was to unload 30,000 shares of the Kickapoo mine on the boy. He was sure he could do it. The stock was a dead one on the market. He was to get a woman to work off the shares on Charlie. Charlie listened to the whole 25 which he confessed to himself was a pret- storm by this time was all over, so Charlie to get ashore and started to hunt up e soon found in an old fisherman’s Z pdm ¢ compared notes, but Charlie the two brokers, They sailed early train for the city. Char- his office. At it was Saturdey, a walked a bronze and be 1 tpl rest, Charlie and _ bearded man, who looked like a citizen of the Wild West. CHAPTER VII.—The Man from the West. The visitor looked around the room and then at Charlie. “I s’pose your boss has gone home, too, or he hain’t been down to-day,” he said with a drawl. I’ve been to a dozen or more offices and hain’t found a broker in one of ’em. In most places they said the boss hadn’t been around, and if I want- ed to see him I’d have to call on Monday mornin’. I reckon I'll give up tryin’ for. to-day, for every- body seems to have gone home ’cept yourself and you’re goin’, for you’ve got your hat on.” = “What’s your name, sir, and what can I do for you?” asked Charlie, just as politely as though addressing a bank president. “My name? Waal, it’s Hen Bagshot, and I’m from Paradise, Nevady. I-stopped at Denver, San Lo’ and Cincinnaty—all some towns, believe; but I reckon this hyar Noo York has somethin’ on all of "em. What kin you do for me? Waal, son- ny, as you ain’t ther boss I dunno as you kin do anythin’ for me.” “It happens I’m the boss of this shop. My name is Munson, and it’s on the door large enough for any one but a blind man to see,” said er SS 7 y, you're only a boy, sonny. Do they have boy brokers in Wall Street? I ain’t never heard tell about a boy broker yet.” “I believe I’m the exception to the rule, Mr. Bagshot. I won’t say that you'll find another boy trader in the Street. If I can do any busi- ness for you I'll be glad to take your order, and Pll guarantee to do as well by you as any man broker in the district. Sit down and have a smoke. 1’m in no rush to get away.” Charlie passed him his box of perfectos. “Thanks, sonny, you’re ra’al gen’rous. If you're a broker I reckon I kin do business with you, and as I like your face it would soot me fustrate to hey you act for me. I’m a-lookin’ for a bunch of minin’ stock which a promoter by thar name of Jenkins sold in this har town ’bout two years ago.” ? ‘ “What’s the name of the mine?” asked Char- ie. “Waal, I reckon you’ve heard of it. It’s called Kickapoo, and it’s got thar repertation of bein’ a dead one.” > Kickapoo! That was the name of the mining stock which Simpson and Cusick meant to unload - on him if they could. This, then, must be the — man who was to cal] on him, a sweat to get hold of all the Ks A, ou Ti ot
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m 14 CHARLIE OF THE CURB but the tanned and weather-beaten look of his face and hands looked too genuine to have been put on. Cusick must have got hold of a man who had been some time out West and was fa- miliar with the part he had been coached to lay. The boy admitted to himself that he would have been deceived in oe visitor’s personality had he en forewarned. ; melo, you’re looking for Kickapoo, eh?” he said. “Tl allow that’s what brought me East. Thar s about eighty thousand shares of it floating’ ’round these diggin’s, and it would kind of please me to hook the Rot,” said Mr. Bagshot quite frankly. “T guess you'll be able to find a bunch of them in Wall Street dirt cheap if they haven’t been ld for waste % : oon hope so, Boo ri Now s’posin’ I give you an order to buy me all gar find, what would you in the way of commission? oneast are you willing to pay for a stock which market value?” ' NaS allow they ain’t worth a cent a share as things stand, but I’ve found by experience that it ain’t always what a thing is worth but what peo- ple who have it ask for it that makes thar figger one has to pay when he wants a thing ra’al bad. I’m willin’-to anythin’ in reason. What d’ye think 3 y ‘em for?” “F B hict ry that 1 cents a share was a fair average price. Eighty thousand shares at i if they can be found, would cost you 0. Then I should want $100 for the trouble Too! for them. Do you that’s going ; : a” : fons y, maybe it ain’t goin’ to pay me, but “Very well, Mr. Bagshot, if you’re so anxious ‘to get hold of that stock I'll guarantee to round u et lot of it, but I won’t say. I'l get hold of all that’s in this district.” ou're talkin’, sonny. Make out tle or- der anc Ti sign it. Put it down at 80,000 and get me what you kin.” “T'll do it provided,” and here Charlie expect- ed to squelch his visitor, “that you advance me the cash to pay for the stock you want. You No broker would’ take your order unless you put up the gash to make good the purchase price. When a stock has a boni-fide market value, and ean be readily bought and sold around that figure, “a broker y er: a certain percentage of that price to pro himself, but in this case, where the stock you are looking for has no salable value will have to advance enough to cover the entire probable cost.” ‘Tll allow your argyment aire reasonable, son- ~ not less than 50,000 shares. ulled out of $100 Charlie fairly gasped as the visitor a fat pocketbook, counted out a bun bills and tossed them on his desk. “Count them,” he said, “and give me a receipt for the money. I dunno but what I'll make it $3,000 while I’m about it. Whatever you kin save out of it you kin hand me back when we have a settlement. Al) I ask, sonny, is that you get that thar stock as cheap as you kin, and as quick as you kin. If you get it at an average price of say three cents, which I think is a liberal margin, I'll make your commission $500, provided you get If you have to pay more, and the quantity air less, why I won't give more than $250. I’m willing to be liberal to make you get busy and do your best. Now then, make out your receipt, likewise the order forme to sign, and then I'll make tracks for up- town whar I’m goin’ to see a few of thar sights I’ve heard tell about.” It was Charlie who was floored and not the visitor. He counted the money and found there was $3,000 in good money. What did this all mean? According to the conversation he had overheard between Simpson and Cusick, the most Hoey sounted on tricking him out of was $3,000. y should he suggest two or three cents when Simpson and Cusick had figured on beating him out of ten, or five, at any rate, Charley me- chanically wrote out the order for the purchase of any part of 80,000 shares of Kickapoo mining, and Hen Bagshot ‘signed it.. Then he made out the receipt for the sum the visitor had advanced. Bagshot rose from his chair in a careless fash- ion, characteristic of a free-and-easy habit, and remarked: : “TI reckon you'll be busy all day Monday, so I won’t bother you by callin’. I should like, though, if you'd jest make a note of the number of shares you have got hold of by closin’ time, put it in an envelope, address it to me and send it to the Astor House, then I’l] know hew things air comin’ on, You'll do that?” “I will,” replied Charlie, who didn’t know what else to say, and then his visitor, with a friendly nod, left the office, and the boy broker heard him tramping along the corridor outside, his footsteps dying away in the direction of the elecator. “Well,” said Charlie, gazing at the pile of bills on his desk, “this gets my goat if anything ever did. Either this is a most extraordinary coinci- dence, and Bagshot is a genuine visitor from’ the West, or those brokers are working some new wrinkle on me. I certainly must see Mr. Dodge before I.make any move in this thing. I can’t afford to get stung.” r ; ae got up, unistked his safe and put the $3,000 mit M As Charlie hurried up Wall street he saw Hen Bagshot, or the man who claimed that name, board a way car uptown. Had it been practicable, the boy would have caught the same car and tried to shadow the presumed Westerner, but by the time he reached corner the car was some distance on its way, and so he could only fall back on his original intenti dropping in at the Astor House. This he did. “Is a man named Hen Bagshot stopping here?” he asked the clerk. =
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CHARLIE OF “Yes. He —_ tee nee. He’s not in at_ present,” replied the cler' “Came in nen one of the trains from the West, didn’t he?” > on “I should judge so. I think he said he came from Cincinnati over the B. & O.” _ s “He came farther West than Cincinnati, I un- d.” “He registered as coming from some place in Nevada. You'll find it on the book.” The clerk pulled the register half around, and a moment placed his finger on Bagshot’s sig- nature, which ran: “Hén Bagshot, Paradise, Nev.” : *That’s a mining camp,” said Charlie; “some- what smaller than Bullfrog*and Goldfield.” “You don’t call Goldfield a-camp. We have a { many people from there, and they refer to t as a city, with all the modern improvements. Charlie would have asked more particularl -about the Westerner, only he thought the cler' would think his curiosity unwarranted, so he left, still not thoroughly convinced that Bagshot was the genuine article, though the evidence all pointed that way. CHAPTER VIII.—Charlie Buys the First Batch of Kickapoo. Charlie walked into his office at nine Monday morning and found several letters and papers on the floor inside. The letters, as usual, were from le who wanted information about a certain or stocks in general. The boy put them aside to answer later, and devoted his attention to the Daily Stock Report, and the news printed in one of the daily Wall Street papers. A quar- ter of ten he rang up Dodge’s office and asked him if the broker was in. He was told that he had just come. Charlie put on his hat and start- ed over to see him. The broker was very busy and could only accord him a very brief interview —too brief for the boy to go into the details that he wanted to consult him about. “Well, in a few words, I’ve discovered that Mr. Simpson and Mr. Cusick have put up a job on me to relieve me of $3,000 or more,” said Charlie. “Ts that so?” said Dodge, with a look of in- this out?” “How did they expect you to buy a valueless stock?” = “Their plan was to send a man, an alleged Westerner, to me with the information that a valuable lode of ore had been discovered in the mine, and that he wanted to buy up all there was of the stock in Wall Street before the news leaked out.” sd : “Indeed!” said Dodge. “That’s an old trick _ that few would bite at these days.” “This was to tell me that he would pay as 25 cents a_share = all T oy me then go away saying woul y to take what I had secured : _in the meanwhile.” THE CURB 15 “Then Simpson or Cusick would call, I sup- pose, and offer to sell you a big block of Kicka- poo cheap?” he said: “No. They intended to send a woman—an al- leged widow—who was to tell me that while ldok- ing over a trunk belonging ta her late husband she had found 30,000 shares of Kickapoo which she would like to sell for ten cents; or five, if I wouldn’t give that much. Although they figured that I was aware the stock was worthless, they hoped that the confidence game worked on me by the first visitor would bear fruit. As the certifi- cates are only worth their value in waste paper, they agreed that whatever I could be indu to give for them, if around five cents, would be clear profit to them.” “Tt certainly would.” “Now what I really wanted to consult you about was the visit I had on Saturday, about one o’clock, from a man who seems to be a genuine Westerner, but who has given me an order to buy any part of 80,000 shares of Kickapoo at two cents, with a leeway up to five.” Then Charlie told him all about his transac- tions with the man and asked Dodge what he thought of it. “Did the man sign an order for the purchase of the stock?” “He did.” ; “Then I don’t see how you are going to get stuck. You ought to be able to Ege a good bit of Kickapoo in the Street, if you look hard enough for it, for a song. I can’t make out where Simpson and Cusick expect to come in on this deal.” “Neither can I, What I’m afraid of is that there’s some dark scheme behind it. That’s why I called to your advice. By the way, the man who called on me said his name was Hen Bagshot, and told=me he was from Paradise, Nevada. He said-he had just come to town and was stopping at the Astor House. I went there and asked the clerk about him. I was told that he had registered a few hours before. He told the clerk he had come direct from Cincinnati. He told me he had stop over at Denver, St. Louis. and Cincinnati. He looks like a Western miner, and talks with a strong Western accent. Whether he has just come from out there or not, he certainly acts like a man who has lived at the mines'some time. As he expects me to ahead and get the stock, and has paid me to to it, I suppose I ought to go ahead.” “Yes. You’ve taken his order and it is your business to execute it as far as you can. I'll drop around to your office about four and have anGAll rights sir, Vl looks foe eee an right, sir. or you,” said Char who then took his leave. a . bs - He returned to his office, got some -and started out on his tour after Kickapno shares. He remembered that Cusick told Simoson that Broker Bridge, whase office adjoinec kis, had 10,000 shares, so he went there first. - ‘ ' “Mr. Bridge in?” he asked a clerk. “I believe he is. Want to see him?” “Yes,” said CKarlie. “Who are you from?” © : “I want oan him on my own =
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16 The clerk went inside, and presently ushered Charlie into the private room. 7 “Well, young man, what can I do for you? said Bridge. ; = / “I’m looking for some Kickapoo mining shares. Got any?” certificates?” a “If I told you Ym afraid you'd at me. “I might if your object was sufficiently ridicu- ous.” “Well, you see I’ve just opened an office in the Duncan Building as a broker.” “The dickens you have!” “en: there’s ae card. Now, as I’m not doing any business I want to make a showing be- fore my friends. I thought if I got hold of a few hundred old mining Certificates, and made bun- dles of them, look impressive displayed in my safe. They would kind of fill up the iness.” ori burst out in a hoarse laugh. “W bluffing tine. lve it one hundred of those Kick- a certificates. ey cost me $2,500 cold cash. do offer for them?” It’s like throwing money away, for they aren’t actually worth anything, and yee: | never will be, but I’m willing to give that much to put up * Seer oneeybeay down here kmows that Kick . re - a isn’t worth anything. How are you going Lge wr bluff go?” to “Well, T thought buying a few certificates of good stock and putting one on top of each what lay underneath but that the whole bundle ted the same stock.” wr P : : . ; ; ; a i t ; ; j " t i » g “What in thunder are you going to do with old “One dollar a certificate—that’s a cent a share. CHARLIE OF THE CURB He wrote out the document and handed it te Charlie, who passed him the money. The bey then went to the closet, got the brown paper package and started with it for his office, satis- fied that he had got a bargain for Hen Bagshot. CHAPTER IX.—How the Game Worked Out. He left the bundle on top of his safe, for he didn’t consider it valuable enough to lock up, and started out after some more Kickapoo. As Simpson and Cusick had 30,000 shares between them, that left 40,000 more that Bagshot “had teld him was floating around Wall Street. “Floating around,” is hardly a correct ex- pression to apply to such stock as Kickapoo. They did not float, but were all anchored in . various places, but as he had the money to pay for them from the party who gave him the order for their purchase, he intended to ¢lo his best to fill the bill. He called on a dozen Curb bre kers, and ran the gauntlet of a lot of chaffing, before he found another batch in the possession of a trader named Trask. He had 5,000 shares, and wouldn’t let them, go under two cents, and so Charlie paid him $100 for his fifty certifi- cates and took them to his office. Another useless hunt of an hour followed, and then_Charlie stopped to get his lunch. At two o’elock Charlie got hold of another 5,000 shares at a cent a share and returned to the office. There he found a man somewhat similar in appearance to Hen Bagshot, with a cowboy hat, which Bagshot did not sport, trying to get in his office. “Hello, my friend,” said Charlie, “are you look- ing for Mr. Munson?” : Yes. You’re the party, I guess. I heard he was a boy, and you look smart enough to be a broker any day,” said the man, in a free-and- easy way. “This is Westerner Number Two,” thought Charlie, as he opened the door and invited the man to enter. Throwing his third bundle’ of Kickapoo certifi- cates on the safe,.the young broker opened his desk and asked the visitor what he could do for him. “I’m looking around for Kickapoo mining cer- tificates,” he said. “Have you got any?” “Say, d u take this office for a junk shop?” asked Charlie, convinced that this man, at any rate, came from Simpson. and Cusick, even if the other one didn’t. “Junk P Why do you say that?” where you came from?” “Paradise, Nevada. t in the midst of the Paradise mining district. “A sort of miniature Goldfield.” “So I thought. When did you come from there?” :
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/ CHARLIE OF THE CURB 17 “Oh, I can’t remember every‘ one I meet. There’s more than a thousarid miners and others out in Paradise.” “Hen is a little chap, with bow legs, a black mustache, and wears a sombrero,” said Charlie, describing a person the very opposite of the real Bagshot, in order to test his visitor. “Have you been out in Paradise?” asked the man, with an uneasy look, which the boy noticed. “I won’t say whether I have or not, but I know Bagshot. I thought everybody in Paradise knew him. He’s a character.” : “Qh, yes,” I remember him now. A little runt with bow legs, black mustache and a_ sombrero. Sure I know him,” said the visitor with sudden alacrity. Z “What a fine liar you are!” thought Charlie, but he didn’t voice his thought. “What’s your i ee said al “D Di : “Well, Mr. Daly, what do you want with a dead stock like Kickapoo? Has the mine sud- denly come to life that you want to corral the stock and make something out of it?” Daly looked somewhat taken aback. “Have you seen anything in the paper about it?” he asked. “Not a word.” “Say, can I trust you, young fellow?” 7 don't want to borrow any money.” “Oh, I say, you know what I mean. If I tell you something in strict confidence, can I rely on you not.to let it go further?” : “Yes, sir, you can rely on me every time.” | Daly looked arownd the office in a mysterious kind of way, much after the manner of the vil- lain in a good old-fashioned melodrama when he’s going to confide a secret to his accomplice. — hit the nail on the head, young man,” he said. “What nail have I hit?” asked Charlie. — . ‘“The Kicka mine has come back to life,” “Has it? That’s a joke of yours, isn’t it? “It’s the solemn truth. Me and a pard White bought the mine at auction a few months ago, and we've been prospecting in it ever since. A week ago we struck a lode of silver so rich that it made our eyes bulge. ‘We’re made men,’ says White. “That’s right,’ says I, ‘we are.’ Then we executed an Indian war dance, we were up every share of Kickapoo in sight. You’re a broker, and as I’ve confided the secret to you I'll give you my order to buy the stock. Get every er ge ee it sur Baye ake c onevtar i you have to pay a a share for it. I’ve the h to bay toe it” make out the - “AH right, my friend. © detox stn te js you Mr. Daly gasped. : “You want a cash deposit?” he ejaculated blankly. “Certainly. I want some guarantee that you will take the stock after I have bought it,” said Charlie, chuckling to himself at the way his visitor seemed to be taken back. “Oh, all right,” said Daly, recovering himself. “Surely, that with you = You want $3,000 in advance? Very Fond. ll go and have my draft cashed, and I'll be back in an hour. In the meantime don’t forget that all I’ve told you has been con- fidential. That stock will be worth $1 a share within thirty days, and my pard and I have got to own most of it before the newspapers get hold of the news of the strike in the mine and print it all over country.” Thus s ing, Mr. Daly made a quick exit. wonder if Hen Bagshot is in this game or not?” thought Charlie. “He made no explana- tion as to why he wanted the stock. He’s a real Westerner or I’m a poor guesser. Still he may have been instructed to play his part in that fashion, leaving it to this Daly to do the real stuffing.” Charlie, ‘however, considered‘ that so far he was amply secured against the plotters. He had bought 20,000 shares of Kickapoo at an outlay of only $250, and still had $2,750 of Bagshot’s money to fall back on. The Westerner’s written order to buy the stock protectéd him, so he had nothing to fear that he could see. “I guess I’ll run out and look up some more of the stock before four o’clock,” he said:to himself. He put a paper on his door, reading: “Will return in an hour, or about three.” After half an hour’s hunt he found another block of 5,000 shares, which he bought for two cents a share. He got back to his office at a quarter past three and found a lady attired in widow’s weeds in the corridor. “I guess this is the widow with the 30,000 shares,” he bt rr as he walked into his office, ; Five minutes later there came a knock on the oor. “Come in!” called out Charlie. The door opened and in walked the lady in black. “IT should like to see Mr. Munson,” she said. “Yes, ma’am; that’s my name,” said Charlie. “Take a seat and let me know how I can serve you. Moy I ask T name?” = mith. = = a “Yes, ma’am,” n oung broker, - fectly satisfied that he knew at she called for, but Bg roe on play the ao Naat “My husban i a few mon Pa sai ey to a sigh, looking down. ee ou have my sympathy, ma’am,” said Charlie, noting that the lady was about” forty,,and re- ably well preserved. As a matter of fact, the lady was nearly fiity, but owing to the services of an ex masseur, and various cosmetics applied, she on looked to be forty, or even less. “He was a man who made money easy and when dea’ s the usual way of doing business Peas
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18 CHARLIE OF poor resources, I have become somewhat embar- rassed, financially. Yesterday while going through my husband’s trunk I found a lot of mining certificates. I then remembered he had bought them of some promoter about a year ago, paying 25 cents a share. I asked one or two of my neighbors if they had any idea what the stock was worth now. They could not tell me, but advised me to go to some Wall Street broker and inquire. I saw your name in the paper as a broker of mining stocks, so I came down to see you. “Yes, ma’am. The name of the mine is——” “The Kickapoo.” “I’m afraid, ma’am, your husband made a poor investment when he bought that stock.” “Isn’t the stock worth what he paid for it?” “No, ma’am. That mine went up Salt Creek about a year ago, and the stock is regarded as worthless in Wall Street. How much of it have you?” : “My husband bought 30,000 shares. Don’t tell me I can’t realize something on it. Really, I am in dreadful need of money.” a “I’m sorry for your sake that it isn’t worth $1 —- a share, but unfortunately, dead mines have no 4 standing whatever in the market. I might get t you two cents a share for it, and that’s more a ~ than it’s worth.” > “T couldn’t possibly sell it under 10 cents,” she s : . “Then I can do nothing for you.” “Nothing?” she said earnestly. ae “Nothing.’ That is, nothing better than two , cents, or perhaps three.” 1 “Oh, dear, I’m sure this mine will turn out | valuable some day.” “T hardly think so, ma’am. Dead mines very < seldom come to the front again.. A dead mine is -one which has petered out of ore and has ceased to be worth the trouble of working. repie who control mines don’t abandon them as long as seems to be a chance of finding ore some- in the claim. When a mine has once * been thrown over as dead it is a pretty sure bet that it’s done for good. That seems to be the 3 case with Kickapoo.” y “But it might come to life again,” said the ‘* = “I wouldn’t like to take any chances on it. hee However, to help you out I will buy the stock of you for three and a third cents a share, or $1,000 thousand dollars is very little money. If ; ive $2,000-——” 4 ma’am. One thousand is the utmost I , It isn’t worth that, but still, apse: ition you are in, I will give $1,000. the thin some other ask him what he oun is worth. It absolutely has no market The lad and said sh Id have to think over” Charley owe ‘nd am her, U1 . . ; soon as she sa in direct ig ts artes he got his hat and took 4 t+ car down. She was just ene out of in € Roe oe oe Sr e shad- te office, ait ts bx I am not mig 3 you a fair price, - an THE CURB “She is going to consuit Cusick,” thought the boy. “She'll be back at my office pretty soon.” Accordingly, he .returned to his office in @x- pectation that she would reappear there. His expectations proved to be correct, At a quar- ter of four she came back and said she had con- sulted with a friend, and he had advised her to accept his offer of $1,000. Charlie bowed, made out a bill of sale of the stock, and asked her to sign it. While she was doing it he looked the certificates over and found them all right. Then he handed her $1,000 and she went away. CHAPTER X.—Simpson Is Puzzled. “Now,” thought Charlie, “if Simpson and Cu- sick have another move up their sleeve they will play it. As for Hen Bagshot, I have 55,000 shares of Kickapoo ready to deliver to him, and I still have $1,650 of his money left. If he is a genuine customer I’d like to know what he in- tends doing with such a bunch of that useless stock, unless the mine has actually turned up a lode of new ore and that is the reason he is so anxious to buy the shares up. As he is my first customer, I wish him all the luck in the world.” Just then the door opened and admitted Broker Dodge. Charlie told him all that had happened since they parted that morning. “Well,” said the breker, “I am inclined to be- lieve that Bagshot has no connection whatever with the conspirators.” “That’s the way it looks to me. In that case Simpson and Cusick will divide the $1,000 be- tween them and shake hands at their success in getting something for a bunch of worthless shares. I guess it is pretty near as much as they figured I would pay for the certificates. As for Mr. Daly, who went away ostensibly to cash his draft and return in an hour, I.am not likely to see him again, for it is an hour and a half since he was here, and he hasn’t come back as yet,” said Charlie. “You say you.have bought 55,000 shares of Kickapoo for Bagshot?” said Dodge. “Yes, sir.” “At a little over two cents a share on the “He must have some strong reason for putting his money into it.” “He has probably inside information about the mine. I wouldn’t astonished if it turned out to be worth sométhing after all.” “Such luck rarely happens to a mine once given up as a bad bargain. “Well, that’s his funeral. He promised me if I at least 50,000 shares seety and got them quick, he would pay me $500. If he keeps his word I have earned the money.” “T hope you will get it. It is a very nice com- mission for you to make out of a day’s work. Not every broker with a considerably bigger office than yours can say as much.” Charlie treated to a cigar and that gen- tleman shortly left. en Charlie wrote a note to Hen Bagshot, telling him of the result of his first day’s work, and left it at the Astor House on his way home. Next morning, after running -
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CHARLIE OF ever the Wall Street news, Charlie was about to start out and look for some more Kickapoo Stock, when the door opened and Bagshot walked in. “Sonny, you’re a real hummer,” he said, slap- ~ping the young broker on the back. * t Yd no idea you’d pan out so well. Fifty-five thou- sand shares, and cheap as dirt. You must have hustled some.” e : “I did, but I didn’t give all my time to it, for I had other business to attend to,” said Charlie. “Of course. I reckon you had. Pm not the only one you’re doin’ business for. Waal, you shan’t lose nothin’ by it. I’m goin’ to pay you well. But I won’t stay now and interfere with your business. Can’t you call at the hotel ‘tween fiye and six and have dinner with me?” “Yes, I guess so.” eo Til Jook for you at quarter past five. * What e say?” “Tl be at the Astor House at that time.” Bagshot shook hands with him and went away. , “I guess he’s my first real customer, after all, thought Charlie. “It was a singular coincidence that he should turn up looking for Kickapoo at the very time Simpson and Cusick started to work their game with the same stock as a bait, There must be something behind his effort to Pick up that stock. He’s no fool, and he’s come right from the place where the mine is located. pened in that mine, and he about it, and that’s the secret of his visit to the city and the reason why he is buy- share of Kickapoo he can find. fellow, and se ang amounting in which he secured for a cent a share. He,had convinced him that ee <a mrs difficult to discover wherea - Se - mend age that ing. coming ex morning. from lunch about one o’clock he met Simpson on the sidewalk. ‘ . “Hello, Munson,” said the broker, with a Ae “ * ” making money “Yes, sir. I’ve no kick ? : “Are you inte: in any mining ee ae “No? Why, Bridge told me he had sold you 10, Kicka Jackson said you’d bought bt zon hm, “and heard ou hd, He are you trying to do—corner a dead stock? That somes, em So Wal, Siege Rpaen se kled Sim “I admit. buying the stock, but it was for a “Oh, be it for a customer, eh? You must Maze compa gage ~~ weN F don’t call him a jay. He’s from the he trying to control of the mine?” “I really couldn't tell you. He didn't confide fils to _ | ““T'thought ‘maybe he told you that old chest- THE CURB ; 19 "nut about a discovery of rich ore in a dead mine that_was bound to bring the mine to life.” “No, sir; he told me nothing about such a thing. I.asked him why he was buying such a quantity of dead stock, and suggested that may- be he wanted the certificates to paper his room with. He replied that maybe he did, and I let it go at that.” j Simpson stared at the boy broker. “What was the gent’s name?” he asked. “Hen Bagshot.” - “Hen Bagshot!” ejaculated Simpson. “Yes. A funny thing about this Kickapoo matter is that another Wastecnee. who told me his name was Dick Daly, came into my office and wanted to buy Kickapoo, too. In fact, he wanted to get every share that he could find. He told me his reason, which seemed to be a good one, if there’s any truth in it.” “What was his reason?” asked Simpson,. who knew already. “I can’t tell you, as I promised to keep it a secret.” “Say, look here, Munson, I guess you’re giving me a steer about this Bagshot.” “What do you mean by that?” “There isn’t any such person.” e “Tf there isn’t I must be under the influence of an optical delusion.” Simpson didn’t know what to ha ES 3 looked mighty queer to him that somebody besides Daly, the accomplice employed by him and Cusick, should call on the boy in quest of Kickapoo. He really couldn’t understand it. That afternoon Charlie saw that Houston Oil Pref. was going up, and-he told Dodge to buy him 1,500 shares. Lior! Cage it at 57, ‘ later ri im $1, to cover his marginal deposit. The stock closed at 59. At a quarter uae five Charlie walked into the rotunda of the Astor igs me 2 ee a ve you done y for me?” the Weer a, wos Mo I found onl ot a grea ‘oun 'y 10,000 shares in small lots,” replied the yo broker. “That ain’t so bad. That makes 65,000 alto- doesn’t it?” es. “Thar’s only ae more. If you kin corral +5 of them I'll Satisfied and we'll a ft uri siaker ot, but it seems to me you m h some i ion abou that ‘ i oF Yon bg po be paying out good money for - “P’r’aps I have, sonny. You get them 5 shares, and maybe I'l tell you allabout ft Now GHAPTER XI.—Conelusion. Charlie tried hard day t Kickapoo, but didn’t Bia E. No! catied ot’ had a a joke that be ves eke ae ; 8s efforts to buy the stock boy b bua BL PN
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“you go an’ say nothin’ *bout it. 20 CHARLIE OF THE CURB erally looked upon as a funny piece of business, for no one believed there was anything in Kick- apoo. Houston Oil Pref. boomed to 65 that ‘day, and Charlie sold out at a profit of $12,000, which raised his capital to $41,000. Dodge told him he _ Was getting on fine. Hen Bagshot called on him and found he had not been successful in getting any more of the shares. “Waal, I guess I'll let it go at that,” he said. “You’ve done well enough. If you should run across any more, buy ’em for yourself. You'll make money. That stock will be worth $1 a share thirty days from now.” “Tt will!” cried Charlie. “Has there been a discovery of ore in that mine?” “Has thar, son? Waal, I reckon. Me and two pards own that thar mine. We bought it nigh a year ago and hev been workin’ in it on thar - quiet. A month ago we opened up a lode that made our eyes bulge. Samples have assayed $450 per ton, and that aire’s goin’ some, believe me. Pm tellin’ you this on the quiet, son. Don’t It'll all come out in due time, and then the people you’ve boyght that thar stock from aire goin’ to put up a mighty howl, believe me.” “Well, you owe me $100, but you said if I got at least 50,000 shares at a low price, and got them soon, you’d pay me more, but I won’t id you to that. I will be satisfied with $100,” said e. _ “T said I’d give you $500. Make out your state- ment and charge me $500 commission. What I say always goes with me,” said Bagshot. So Charlie made out his first customer’s state- ment, which sho he had purchased 65,000 shares of Kickapoo at a total cost of $1,700. To this the boy added $500 commission. That left a ce of $800 coming to Bagshot out of his $3,000 deposi Charlie handed it over to him with the big bundle caer ida . aire sort,” sai a shot, me him by the ae “'m mighty glad I drifted in on you. You’ve done the busi- ness up brown, and me and my pards are great- obleeged to you. We're goin’ to reo company, and get right down to werk get- tin’ out thar ore. reckon we'll want a repre- sentative har in Wall Street. Will you take thar it? “Tl bees to,” replied Charlie. “Good. You shall hev it, and I reckon you'll make somethin’ out of it. You’re only a_ boy broker, but by gum you’re some worker, believe me. -by, you'll hear from me. later,” and with those wo Charlie’s first customer walked out of his office, and that afternoon started for Nevada. Charlie, much impressed by the infor- mation about Kickapoo he had received from Hen Bagshot, lost no time in looking around again for some shares of the still outstanding 15,000. - In one afternoon he picked up 10,000 shares, and it for a cent a share. 4 the Kickapoo shares up in his safe ‘He’ decided to tel his father and mother the ath that night, and he knew it would stagger ith : tutus —_— at i F “Hold on, pop, I want to tell you and mother something important.” “What is it?” asked Munson, pere. “T haven’t been working for Green for the last two months or more.” “What are you doing now—clerking?” “No. I am boss of my own office.” “How long has this been going on?” “Ever since I left Mr. Green.” “Do you know enough about the business to make it pay?” “Whether I do or not, I’m making it pay.” “What have you made?” ; “Well, I’ve had one customer so far, and I made © $500 out of him, and expect to make $10,000 more out of stock I purchased through his advice.” Mr. Munson gasped. “Look here, young man, where did you get your capital to go into the brokerage business? I don’t know a whole lot about Wall Street, but I know this much, that it takes money to conduct a busi- ness in the financial district. I don’t imagine that anybody would lend ten or twenty thousand Lc ai so kindly explain how you have done all this.” “T’ll answer to your satisfaction,” replied Char- lie, who then told him how he had saved up $50 and then started on a speculative career at inter- vals, while working for Broker Green, which finally resulted in the accumulation of $5,500. “Do you, mean to say that you have made $5,- 500?” said his father, unbelievingly. “T made that while acting as Green’s messenger. I’ve made $37,000 more since I’ve been out on my own hook.” Mr. Munson nearly fell off his chair. “Why didn’t you tell your mother and me about your, luck?” “T wanted to give you a bigger surprise by wait- _ ing till I had made more money,” said Charlie, which was only the least of his reasons. Ten days later the news came out about the Kickapoo mine. The stock of the reorganized company was re- listed on the Goldfield Exchange, which caused it to be recognized in the East, and it was bid for on the Curb at 25 cents, and rapidly went to 60 cents. At the end of a month it was going at $1, and Charlie could claim that it was now worth over $50,000. After that Charlie became well known on the Curb, and in the Street generally, and he began to & customers. , harlie Munson is now a big successful broker, and he is called Charlie of the Curb still, for everybody likes him. : He is married and his wife was once Edith Cosgrove, whom he saved at Kneeland from the abductors. Next week’s issue will contain “A MILLION IN RUBIES; OR, THE RICHEST FIND IN THE’ WORLD.”- *) , °*" ——S— Send us a one-cent stamp to cover postage, and. you a copy of “Moving Picture we will
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FAME AND FORTUNE WEEKLY 21 CURRENT NEWS PINEAPPLE FOR 40,000 KRONEN A man walked into the bar of one of the big hotels in Vienna and placed a pineapple on the table. “One pound sterling or 40,000 kronen,” he said. There was no sale, but the incident serves to illustrate the chaotic idea of values prevalent there. An Austrian smelled it gratefully, re- marking: “It’s the first one I have seen since 1914.” | - BURIED TREASURE The police and the sheriff's office are trying to solve the problem of how bar silver worth be- tween $3,500 and $4,000 came to be buried on the farm of Lewis Salmon, on the east bank of the Niagara River, near Lasalle, N. Salmon called on a Buffalo jeweler one day with a sample of the metal, which he had turned showed no signs that the bullion had been re-~ cently buried. The bars were found at varying depths from one to four feet below the surface of the ground. KILLS BIG BEAR Mortimer Durst, near Bittinger, Garrett Coun- ty, Md., shot a black bear that dressed 300 pounds. The animal was fat and apparently about three years old. Durst, accompanied by his nephew, Kenneth Durst, had followed the trail of the animal all day and came upon it on the east slope of Mea- dow Mountain as the animal was sunning himself, and with one shot from his rifle despatched him. This was at a rugged spot near Dunlap’s Camp, not far from Big Run. The two men dragged the body to the foot of the hill to a sled and hauled it to the Durst farm, where it was dressed. This up with a spade. Learning that it was real bul- lion, Salmon reported his find to the police, and accompanied by an officer, returned to the farm. They dug up 44 bars, each six inches long, three is thought to have been the same bear that one night last November visited the Durst farm and carried away-a 100-pound hog. It is thought he had returned for a second feast of inches wide and half an inch thick. The soil ees ee- LOOKS “ey A FEATURE STORY: z “HELL’S HINGES.” By Hamilton Craigie. A SERIAL: ; ‘ VOICE OF HORROR.” IN TWO PARTS. By Gerard and Beatrice Luisi. FOUR SHORT STORIES: : “HAUNTING EYES,” by Jack J. Gottlieb; “THE HOUSE- BREAKER,” by Will A. Wilkinson; “THE MOUSE,” by Merritt L. Allen; “TWO BURNS AND A SHORT-CIRCUIT,” by Ear] Norton. AND A SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE: “PHRENOLOGY.” By Russell Raymond Voorhees. — THE MISCELLANEOUS MATTER CONSISTS OF: THE SIAMESE A PECULIAR PEOPLE — THE WEIGHT OF- SPECIE — EMERGENCIES FOR. LAWYERS — BABY IN WELL SAVED BY VOICE OF MOTHER — CURIOSITIES OF NATURE — A MONKEY PICKPOCKET —A CURIOUS SALT WELL — “GHOST” IS JUST RADIO — MESMER- IZED BY LION — FLOATING FISH POND — LATHES 210 FEET LONG — PREHISTORIC FREIGHT — “GHOST” IN CALIFORNIA — COLOR OF GROUND AFFECTS PLANTS — A WILD WOMAN — A JERSEY GHOST — MYSTERY CHEST OPEN — ELEPHANTS RAID A STATION — GOLD- BEARING SANDS. ; AND ALL THIS FOR TEN CENTS—GET A COPY FROM (Sees “YOUR NEWSDEALER ts 2 > cs
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yw 22 Daring Dan Dobson THE BOY WHO BEAT THE MOONSHINERS By GASTON GARNE (A Serial Story.) Popes As XIV. Well Earned Escape. SS : He fired a shot into the air. “There, that’ll stop ’em a minute—they haven’t reached the curve in the road. They'll suspect ambuscade.” neWell, what now?” asked old Zach. “You push off in the water. Better put your boots on the raft with those revolvers. Ill put my there, too—and I’ll swim after you as soon as I keep them back for about ten minutes. Now, quick—there’s not a minute to lose.” Out into the water they went. : The horses whinnied as they were led into the cold water, but the animals were obedient. They swam strongly, as the two men forced the raft into the t, using all their strength. " The raft supported them better than they had hoped for, and they managed to use two rie branches to shove out, sitting on the logs instea of swimming, them. Dan had slipped into the shelter of some big trees—in his stocking feet—waiting for the ap- proach of the pursuers. . he chasing party now rounded the bend cau- tiously, leading their horses and walking. an Dobson, true to his name, stuck gallantly to his position. : ‘He sent a shot singing down the road, aiming it so that it would come very near the men, but not close enough to kill or injure them. Bang! He pulled the trigger once again, and this sec- ond little song from the byllet convin the men that they were within closé range of a determined ition. eth be shooting next,” he muttered, and he _ drop to a low shelter with the words. It was none too’soon, for the next instant came a furious volle sie 8 score of rifles which tore the leaves and all about and above him. It was a lucky : t, and well chosen, were determined to win that 1 of “tnountain dew,” and “alive or dead” . in that revolver Tom Dingle gave me. after the current once reached FAME AND FORTUNE WEEKLY another position sent another bullet through the air, over th ir heads. This had the effect he wanted... Moonshiners are great men at ambuscading. It is their favorite way of fighting, for it al- lows the battler to remain unseen, and does not allow the other side taget a true idea of numbers or munitions. But these mountaineers did not. relish their medicine now. They quailed with suspicion and fear. “That ain’t no small party!” cried one man. “They’s got lots of guns,” answered another. “Let’s get back, and come at ’em through the underbrush,” volunteered a third. ; “Injun methods is the only way ter git them fellers,” was the opinion of a fourth. Now. it was all right to pursue and persecute the enemies of their feudal king, but when it came to risking life, liberty and the pursuit of moonshine and other good things to drink and eat, they balked. So our hero had the pleasure of watching from his peeping hole between two low-hung limbs of the tree, as the pursuers backed down the road. They raised their rifles for another shot, and Dan dodged until the report had died away. ~ “Now, they'll probably try the trick of worm- ing their way through these trees to get at the position of my great army from the side,” said Dan Dobson to himself. “Well, they would be sore if they knew that I was all in as far as de- fense goes, for there’s not another es hot ’ go swimming now, or they’ll surround me.” _And so he hurried to the edge of the flooding river. It was a discouraging sight, for his friends. were far out on the broad surface, and it was a - tiresome swim ahead of him. But Dan knew it had to be done.‘ When a fel- low knows that, he is wise to yield to the necessity and hustle. Dan unloosened his shirt collar, rolled up his sleeves, so that there would be no more friction or impediment than necessary. The trousers he pulled up and rolled about his knees the same way. ‘ “TI guess I won’t bother with this revolver,” he muttered, as he tossed that aside. “The weight of that might count for my life and I'll swim hard and fast, fof the water is terribly cold.” Then he ducked into the stream. . Ooch! How he gasped, and it felt as though his heart must fairly stand still, for a little while, as he struck out almost blindly from the shore. We used the overhand stroke at This made every muscle in his arms and chest © igo i ed h ' y, it warm im up against the chilling dead xg Bg the visniola§ Shortly, he felt tug of the current, and he swung into the calm, speedy breast stroke, called by many swimmers “sailor fashion.” This was his favorite. : - (To be continued.) af Send us a one-cent stamp to cover postage, and we will mail you a copy of “Mystery Magazine.” Press A s
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FAME AND FORTUNE WEEKLY 22 ITEMS OF DEPOSITORS TO BE FINGER-PRINTED All postal savings depositors must now be fin- ger-printed; this supplements the present method of identification and safeguards both the paying postmaster and the depositors. The system was inaugurated on December 15th, and the prints are taken whenever an account is opened or interest or principal paid. Care is taken to disabuse the minds of depositors of any connection between this procedure and criminology; those who al- ready have accounts will register their finger- prints in the first transaction following the in- stallation of the system. SENT HIM A MULE’S HEAD : On his summer trip Frank Brown of Independ- ence, Mo., got an elk and ordered the head mount- ed. He was expecting it one day last week, and when a big box arrived by express he procured a hatchet, nail puller and derrick and hastened to open it up. The boys gathered around to watch, and when the box was carefully opened the ex- celsior and straw removed, there was the head of a grinning mule with dead jumpson weeds for branching antlers. Those who saw it pronounced it a very fine head of its kind, and the joke was complete when a big express bill was presented. FINDS OLD PENNIES Much speculation is rife in Miller, S..D., over the finding recently of a large number of old pennies bearing the date of 1803, 1836 and 1800, by Carl Abbott of St. Lawrence, while he was out hunting. Returning to town with his find he showed the pennies to friends, and a party returned to the spot where the coins were picked up and made a thorough search which resulted in the finding of more coppers bearing the date 1800. These coins were found near a large rock and investigation revealed what was thought to have been the remains of 2 small leather pouch, prob- ably of buckskin. It is known that sums were lost near where Miller now is located during the early days of stage lines express. THE BITE OF THE GILA MONSTER Natural History has an instructive little article on the Gila Monster. Authorities differ as to the deadliness of its bite; but no really authentic case of human death from this source has been forth- priape, ae poison is fatal, but it seems that ean is unprovided with means for ejecting it; the glands are in the under side of the mouth, ; ectly connected with the teeth, and, as Dr. Loeb points.out, liquids won’t flow uphill. Gila monster was adopted as a playfellow by a five- girl, and never offered to bite another, after being safely handled by a cher ‘Museum attendant for a year, inflicted the worst — Leo One au INTEREST bite on record, but the man recovered. The poison seems generally to be wiped off before it can enter the wound. JEWELS WORTH $1,000 RESCUED FROM SEWER Diamonds worth $1,000 belonging to Mrs. Ed- ward Van Riper were recovered the other day by the street cleaning force of Paterson, N. J., an hour after Eddie Van Riper dropped his mother’s chamois jewel case down a pipe in the bathroom. Mrs. Van Riper was so relieved when one of Paterson’s veteran street cleaners emerged from a muddy manhole carrying the stained jewel case —— fainted. Then Mrs. Van Riper telephoned to her hus- band that Eddie, their Ejeacale son, had Peas the jewel case on the top of the refrigerator and playfully slipped it down the drainpipe, Mr. Van Riper telephoned to Lawrence T. Ryan, Street Superintendent, who dispatched a crew jn a fast automobile to the Van Riper home. A manhole was opened, a fine screen placed across the sewer and the main flushed with a fire hose. “Mystery Magazine” SEMI-MONTHLY 10 CENTS A COPY LATEST ISSUES | a FRIDAY AT TWELVE, by Kathe: aT. MORTARITY’S, by Fred Re it is = wie Laer STAR OF THE FILMS, by Jack Bech- Craigie and Elliot Balestier. a A CRIMSON PRICE, by Elliott Lester. THE INSPECTOR’S STRANGE CASE, by Gottliet Jacobs. 108 A MUSEUM MYSTERY, by Jack Rechd 104 THE LITTLE RED BOOK, by Aibceodae oii * 105 A MAN FROM STAM. by Charles Fult: 106 The Clue of the Emerald Ring, by Beulah soa The Famous Detective Story Out To-day In No. 107 Ie » _ HELL’S HINGES By HAMILTON CRAIGIE HARRY E. WOLFF, Publisher, Inc., 166 West 23d Street, New York City “Moving Picture Stories” A Weekly Magazine Devoted to Photoplays and Players Bs ESR SB aees HARRY E. WOLEF, Publisher, In 106 West 23d Street, New:
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Hearts and Diamonds By KIT CLYDE _ Cartér, Blake & €o., dealers and importers of diamonds and other precious stones, were un- usually busy at Christmas times. They decided to employ some more men. Cyril Chester saw in this his opportunity to obtain a position. + His uncle, Abner Blake, juwfior member of the firm, had promised him the first vacancy. Cyril at once applied to Mr. Blake, and was made a salesman in the store. Cyril was twenty-two, quite poor, and in love; so he determined to devote himself very earnestly to his business, hoping that application might lead to his promotion, and ultimately enable him to marry Florence Titus, to whom he had been se- = rectly engaged for almost a year; in fact ever since he was graduated from college. As their engagement had never been announced Florence still had several suitors for her hand. others a certain Wilson Clide, who de- spised Cyril because he saw Florence preferred him beyond all her other lovers. a Clyde was alsc employed by Carter, Blake & O. » He was superintendent of the repairing depart- a ment. “One morning early in the new year, Mr. Blake sent for Cyril to some to his private office. When the latter entered he said: . “Cyril, we have.just finished the re-setting of . Candor’s very valuable diamonds, and we dare not trust them to the mail or express com- yy, so we want you to start to-night for Pitts- ats and carry them to her. It will be better ? to let no one know of your departure or errand, as the jewels are valued at sixty thousand dol- ean take them in a little valise i and——_” Here Mr. Blake stooped and whispered some- thing into Cyril’s ear, for at that moment Wilson Clide had entered to ask some question about an he had just received. 3 After Cyril left the office in the afternoon he only time to bid Florence a hasty good-by hurry for the evening train to Pittsburg. tra ust the rded it and took a seat almost opposite Cyril 4 in the drawing-room car. - Sor, 2 Fora while Cyril read, looking up every now = tch young -boy who sat oppo- to him to be somewhat so strangely suff from some t-and iter e ttch, thooghtis did his : in was starting a young boy - FAME AND FORTUNE WEEKLY He looked in vain for a match. Finally the boy whom he had before noticed came to his rescue and offered him a light. After this they began a conversation which lasted until Cyril became so sleepy he decided to go to his berth. The young man remained in the smoker, say- ing that he was not a bit sleepy. “But you_are yawning dreadfully, sir,” said Cyril, smiling. The boy seemed embarrassed by this good- natured speech, but answered: “That is merely a habit I have. I often yawn, but I never go to bed before two o’clock, and that is two hours yet. However, don’t let me detain you. Good-night.” . “Good-night,” said Cyril, departing. * When he awakened in the morning, the sun was- shining brightly, and the-train was just entering Pittsburg. Cyril took a cab, and directing, the coachman to drive to Mrs. Candor’s, who lived in Oakland, he proceeded to open his valise and look at the diamonds, to assure himself of their safety. He gave a cry or horror as he perceived that they were gone. Hastily springing from the cab he returned to the station. He asked the conductor about the young man who had talked with him in the smoking com- partment the night before. The conductor said that that pease had gotten out at a little town about thirty miles be- low Pittsburg with another man. Cyril then told the conductor of the robbery and sent telegrams all around to stop the thief. All day he waited in the Pittsburg depot. Gradually the answers to the telegrams came back to him; but they contained no clue of the young man. No one had seen any such person at any time. Crestfallen and unhappy, Cyril returned to New York. He arrived there about nine o’clock, and go- ing at once to Carter, Blake & Co., sought out Mr. Blake in his private office and told him the whole story—his suspicions of the young man and his fruitless search for him. While they were talking Wilson Clide entered. His/gray hair and pale face seemed—to Cyril to be whiter even and paler than before he left. Cyril’s mental comment was: “He has proposed to Florence and been re- jected. That is why he looks so badly.” “J have just received a telegram from Mrs. Candor saying the diamonds were not delivered Lessig as promised. Have they been sent?” asked ilson Clide, looking from one to the other. -» Then Mr. Blake told him the entire story, first taking care to send Cyril from the room. aoe though he doubted him, he felt sorry for to The request was denied.
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FAME AND FORTUNE “She would not wish to see you—a thief,” said Wilson Clide, with ill-concealed malice. : “How dare you-—” cried Cyril, raising his cane. * He would have struck Clide had not -Mr. Car- ter interferred. The officer led him down the steps. e “You have forgotten your hat, Mr. Chester, said Clide, following him to the door. “No matter,” said Cyrik passing down the Just as he turned the corner he looked back and saw Clide kick the offending hat into the street with great vehemence. ; - “He don’t seem to like you,” said the officer. “Hardly,” replied Cyril, sadly. . The trial was almost over. Ps ; Cyril found his chances for acquittal less and ess. Clide had sworn falsely, but so well.that Cyril Saw the establishment of his innocence further and further away. _Cyril buried his face in his hands, and thought bitterly of his ruined life and Florence. “There is one more witness,” said the lawyer for the defense. Cc looked up. : Wilson Clide turned deadly pale, and seemed as if he would faint as Florence stepped upon the She was duly sworn in. “Your name, miss?” “Florence Titus.” “Your residence?” : “No. 185 West street.” “Will you kindly tell us a}l you know about this diamond rob! bs “My. Clide and Mr. Chester are both friends of mine. Last week Mr. Clide——” ut Object!” cried the opposing lawyer, rising. ¥our honor, I object.” : “Omit that part,” then said the judge, turning to Florence and ng gently to her. “But I can’t tell my story otherwise,” the wit- ness answered, turning suddenly pale. ere was some little confusion here caused the attempt of Mr. Clide to leave the court crowd. : by and make his way through the and vowed to be revenged Again the objection was raised to her testimo- ny, again the objection was removed, and she was ‘Permitted to tell her st in her own wa: “Mr. Clide, after ; evidently. called Jock. Mr. Clide evidently sent 3 té Jock, and Jock’s to me. ‘It is here, and I Sak will materially aid in clearing Mr. Chester. lette produced. - WEEKLY 25 goes to Pittsburg on Thursday. They are in a valise, small, black, marked H. H. C. Yours, “Witson: C.” “Arrest that man,” cried the judge, pointing to Wilson Clide, who sat shivering in a corner. “But he is innocent; he did not commit the rob- bery—the thief was another man—the jewels—” cried Florence, very much agitated. But the judge interrupted her, saying: “Where are they?” “In my possession,” was her answer, and then in the most unexpected manner she fainted away and had to be removed from the courtroom. A recess was announced Cyril, more dead than alive, and completely as- tounded by what he had heard, was borne back to his cell. Florence was placed under arrest—as an ac- complice. * : The court reassembled. : Florence, having recovered from his faintness, continued her testimony—it was as follows: “Having received that letter, I decided to save the diamonds, so I dressed in boy’s clothes.” Here she paused and blushed furiously, then continued: “T succeeded in getting the train just as it left ion. My plan was to Mr. Chester awake all night by talking to him, for this pur- pose. I succeeded in getting him in conversation. I took alb the matches from the match-box in the smoking car, and Mr. Chester had to apply to me for a light for his cigar. After that we talked, but about twelve o’clock Mr. Chester got sleepy and went to I was in despair. I retired to my berth, which was just opposite his, and watched. Finally I saw someone’ moving in the- berth above Mr. Chester’s. I knew it was Jock, so, anticipating him, I stole out and, drawi the little valise from under Mr. Chester’s head, retired to my own berth. I took out the jewels and caealed the valise. I decided that I would restore them to Mr. Chester in the morning. Just then the train stopped at some little station. I saw the man Jocks leave the car. I followed. to New York. I was too tired to come before, and too weak, And—and that is all.” ‘ “You are a brave girl,” said the judge. Cyril and F be ae th n1onds we her hearts better. married in
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4 Th Bae ae oe Pee 26 FAME AND FORTUNE WEEKLY FAME AND FORTUNE WEEKLY NEW YORK, APRIL 21, 1922 TERMS TO SUBSCRIBERS Bingle Postage ....-.-...s00+: Postage Free 7 Cents One Copy Three Months...... = bes 90 Cents One Copy Six Months ........ “ so, $1.75 One Copy One Year........+- oy = 3.50 Canada, $4.00; Foreign, $4.50. HOW TO SEND MONEY—At our risk send P. O. Money Order, Check or Registered Letter; remittances in any other way are at your risk. We accept tigi td Stamps the same as cash. When sending silver wrap the Coin in a separate piece of paper to avoid cutting the peg Write your name and address plainly. Ad- dress lette: rs to Harry E. Wolff, Pres. HARRY E. WOLFF, ©. W. Hastings, Treas. © Publisher, Inc., Charles E. Nylander, Seo. 166 W. 23d St., N. Y. =—=————===<—===—_=—=—==—=—[—_ —_ — ——EE EEE INTERESTING ARTICLES BACK TO THE HOUR-GLASS A miniature “hour-glass” is now being used to time the telephone conversation. Its upper com- partment exhausts itself of sand in just three minutes; with one eye on the glass, the telephone user sees when the time is almost up, and can speed up his business accordingly, so that the talk may be finished within the specifiéd three minutes of the long-distance call. A DRIVE ON THE PRAIRIE DOG In Niobrara County, Wyoming, prairie dogs infest 200,000 acres of farm land; each dog means a loss of more than $1 a year. The Biological Survey is cooperating with landowners to clean up these colonies of pests; in one such clean-up 99 per cent. of the animals were destroyed. Free bait is furnished for government land, and county commissioners give financial help in the smaller sections. . _ AXE FOR FOREST GIANTS Three oak trees, estimated to be more than 200 years old, have been cut down in the business district of Valparaiso, Ind., to make way for a new business building. The three trees are fully seventy-five feet tall and three feet through at the base. It is esti- mated the trees contain eighteen cords of wood and fenee posts.- Many yzars ago hundreds of these giants of the forest stcod on the present site of the city, but they have given way to the progress of civiliza- tion. At the Court House Square, in the center of the business district, four of the trees remain. WONDERS OF THE MIDNIGHT SUN There is always mystery and witchery to the le of temperate climes in thinking of the and acéounts by trav- some romance. the last days of July the sup shines day and night without giving place to darkness. The stars are never seen during this time of continu- ous daylight, and the moon shines pale and cold. Summer is so short that the wild flowers have just enough time to grow, to bloom and to fade, and the farmer is barely able to gather in his harvest, which, however, is sometimes nipped by a summer frost. The midnight sun passes, and a few weeks later the hours of sunshine shorten rapidly, the air becomes chilly and the nights colder, although the sun is warm during the day. All this hap- pens by the middle of August, and then the grass turns yellow, the leaves change their color, wither and fall; the swallows and other migrating birds fly southward; twilight comes again, bringing the stars, one by one, which now shine brightly in the pale blue sky; the moon appears again as queen of the night, lighting and cheering the long, dark days of the Scandinavian winter. ‘ LAUGHS Knicker—What is a swimming hole? Bocker— A body of water entirely surrounded by boys. _“That’s a terrible noise inthe nursery, Mol- lie,” said her mistress. “What is the matter? Can’t you keep the baby quiet?” “Sure, mum,” replied Mollie. “I can’t keep him quiet ‘less I let him make a noise.” There were some questions in geography re- quired in the preliminary examinations for law students who aspired to admission to the bar. Among them was: “Name ten animals that live in the Arctic zone.” One young man wrote: “Five polar bears and five seals.’ Mrs. Lansing—Our Aid Society is goin i a church social at the Jere Eons = ots other? Why, you just had one last week. Mrs. Lansing—I know, It did not pay expenses, so we’re giving another to make up the deficit of the last one. “Colonel Brown seems to be very literary,” marked a visitor to the Brown i Beet to the negro maid, glancing at a pile of magazines ly- ing on the floor. “Yes, ma’am,” replied the e ony-faced girl, “yes, ma’am, he sholey am literary. ue jes’ nat’ally littahs things all ovah dis yere ouse. He was a simple looking lad and he anno the busy blacksmith by standing inquisitively = the forge, where he was very much in the way. Finally the blacksmith held a red hot iron sud- denly under the boy’s nose, hoping to frighten him away. “Say, mister,” said the boy, una- bashed, “if you'll give me a dime I'll lick it.” The smith took a dime from his pocket and held it out. Whereupon the simple looking lad took the coin, licked it and walked away whistling. Send us a one-cent stamp to cover postage, and we will mail you a copy of “Mystery Magazine.”
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FAME AND FORTUNE WEEKLY FROM ALL POINTS DEATH IN DRINK “The ‘face on the barroom floor’ should be a skull with erossbones under it these days,” de- clares George H. Blincoe, Federal Prohibition t. eDeath lurks in white corn liquor,” he says. “Tt all contains fuse} oil, one of the most deadly poisons. First-run moonshine is ‘rank poison,’ yet the moonshiner who makes the stuff—‘first shots’ it is called by the legitimate distiller— doesn’t trouble himself to distill it again, but sells it as it is for drinking purposes.” Double distilled and ageing in charred barrels for at léast four years is necessary to remove the fusel oil, Mr. Blincoe says. “No meonshine I have ever seen in my ex- —_ as a Prohibition enforcement officer has aged. The bootleggers’ motto seems to be ‘full speed ahead’ and never safety first.” POLLYWOGS “Have you, a, little pollywog in your home?” reads a sign in a bird and fish store in the lower downtown section of New York The pollywogs swim contentedly around in a glass fish aquarium, and if you buy an assortment you are supposed to watch them y ba into frogs. ws tae it was a See = tai! pollywog is less tai be takes the : eset << larger it on appearance 0. rog which it will be in a few weeks. ] develop. The \tail then rapidly ma | agree bebe: ab bythe rest af the: body. fo e time the new frog is ready to croa will have disappeared. aquarium man says-he has many calls for ey are Before it was a le is almost 27 FIVE MILES UNDER THE SEA Deep-sea sounding of late years has become a very exact science. No idea of the difficulties involved can be gathered simply by watching a vessel “sounding off our shallow coasts. It is when a ship reaches the ocean, thousands of miles from land, that the real work begins. To sink a lead to a quite shallow depth is the easiest thing in the world. But when it comes to work- ing in miles sailors are brought up against a very different problem. Even to-day nobody knows exactly where the greatest depth exists, for the simple reason that no instrument at present invented can reach the bottom in the deepest parts. A theory accredited by scientists is that below a certain depth solid matter refuses to sink, be- cause the pressure of the water is so great that specific gravity is overcome. It is widely held that when ships sink in the deepest parts of the ocean they never reach bot- tom, but float about suspended in the water at a depth below which their weight is not sufficient to take them. In support of this theory it may be stated that the greatest depth which has been sounded up to the present is just over five miles. But it is thought that parts of the ocean are perhaps four times as deep, and marine engineers re anxious to find some means of proving this. In this branch of nautical research wonderful instruments are used. - Attached to the leads of the sounders, which weigh 70 pounds and are suspended on piano wire, are specially constructed cups, which close au- iapanps and bring up samples of the ocean’s They are provided with a dial upon which the depth touched by the leads is qt once recorded, and are in use in all ocean-going cable ships, which must of necessity determine of what the ocean bed consists. Time after time ships working in far seas have seen no record of matter reached by reading the sounder dial becausé the leads are not suf- will use can be employed at a depth of seven miles. What hcoming. Na’ y, deep-sea sounding is essential from -many points. Fog is the seaman’s enemy. Sound- ings must be taken f. tly to avoid disaster. — vomety the leads were smeared with tal- ow. Many interesting specimens were brough to the surface, nothing is known of the flora and the fauna exist at t d . Hence the constant attempts to pF chen on sound- ing apparatus.
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28 FAME AND FORTUNE WEEKLY A FEW GOOD ITEMS LOST VOICE RETURNS Frederick Holman, of London, England, who lost his spéech in the war, sat reading. He was irritated by his pet dog, which wished to play, and, forgetting his affliction, shouted: “Lie down!” Then he leaped up in astonishment at the sound of his own voice. Since then he has been able to speak in a perfectly normal way. His wife, whom he married two years ago, had never heard him speak before, THIEF OVERLOOKED SOME Herman Fischer.of Anaconda, Mont., before he left his bachelor home in the morning, placed seven $100 bills in an old tomato can, set the can on a kitchen shelf, placed an old hat over it, and went to work. When he returned in the evening the hat was over the can, the can on the shelf, but empty. And still Fischer felt he had cause for congratulations, because he had left in a vest hanging in his cabin $1,800 in uncashed county warrants, $15 in cash and a gold watch, which the thief had overlooked. ORDERS DRESS FOR GIRL EMPLOYEES Women’s skirts should not be shorter than an inch above the shoes is the decision of girls be- longing to the American Rescue Workers, an or- ganization somewhat similar to the Salvation Army, the other day. The national council, held in Philadelphia re- cently, and composed entirely of men, hesitated to aetion on such a delicate subject and re- ferred it to the girls themselves. Their decision has been announced at Dayton, O., by Major D. Hainley. PUPILS HURT BY CARTRIDGE An investigation by the County Board of Free- holders is expected to be made of an accident the other afternoon in a public school at Ford’s, near Perth Amboy, N. J., when a cartridge exploded in the hands of Robert Kovacs, thirteen, injuring him and four other children. The ae was presumably for an army rifle. Kovacs lost a thumb and two fingers. Bes- sie Wilson of Ford’s was bruised about the head. Mary Zick of Ford’s bruised and cut on the legs, Marguerite Quish of Keasbey, arms hruised, and Louis Tofrovich of Keasbey, lags cut and bruised. The boy is said to have found the cartridge in a field near a Government arsenal. He began to pick it with a pin and it exploded. ‘ NEARLY A CENTURY OLD “Grandpa” Joseph Adams, Iron Mountain’s old- est citizen, celebrated his ninety-eighth birthday the other day at the home of his franddaughter, Miss Ora Pelham. : Adams is a pate of New York State, having ing is good. He does considerable work about the home and has a garden in the summer. Adams was prominent in business affairs and at one time operated a number of canal boats. He says his boats carried the first cargo of hard coal from this country to a Canadian port. He also freighted from the United States the stone and marble that was used: in the construction of the first capitol building at Ottawa, Canada. DREAM SAVES WOMAN’S MONEY Police search was made one night for two high- waymen who held up Mrs. Frank Halversen, of Minneapolis, Minn., and then knocked her sense- less when they failed to find any valuables in her purse late at night. The hold-up was said to bear out a dream she had recently that she would be accosted by footpads. On her way.to her home, near the east end of the Franklin Avenue bridge, Mrs. Halversen be- came so frightened at recollections of her dream that she stepped into the Bridal Veil chicken shack and hid her money in her shoe. Then she continued on her way home. A short distance from the residence she was stopped by two men. When they found her purse empty of valuables one of them struck her a blow over the head which knocked her senseless. She lay unconscious in the street for several minutes. When she recovered the men were gone. WALRUS agian AN OLD RUSSIAN A historic Russian side-wheel steamer, the Pol- otofski, built seventy years ago, is*the latest ad- dition to the phantom fleet reported by Behring Sea Eskimos, as seen this winter in the vast area of ice that surrounds the Polar regions. A gigantic movement of. the ice field south- ward in January brought it. nearest to Northern Alaska for many years and members of several tribes walrus hunting were startled one night to see the old steamer riding in the ice pack. An investigation disclosed the identity of the old- time ship. That night the ice pack moved beyond the horizon, The Polotofski was caught in ice floes at St. Michael in December, 1915, aid disappeared the following spring during a great storm. It was believed she had been ground to kindling and sunk, The ship was built in 1856, the hull and ribs of Alaska yellow cedar and spruce. Her boiler was of copper and copper nails and bolts were used on the framework.. When finished she ‘was placed in service to carry ice and coal to San Francisco during the golden period. Many deserted ice-bound ships are seen year after year in the midst of the Polar seas floating hither and yon at the mercy of wind and tide. i Send us a one-cent stamp to cover postage, and we will mail you a copy of “Moving Picture
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Fas MARRY IF LONESOME. ~ Genuemn uen's Membership 3 ALL men, over 17, willing to accept Govern- |, months, 7 one your, ; es’ Membershi unt ied, $ . of Members’ Names, nent cog 35. Traveling oF stationary, Write | Wilesses Copy Bos di, sonee ve CovERNWERT PosiTioNs. OPEN—Men, e lonesty utred; good tart. waite 4 McCaffrey, se Louis. 5 BE A RAILWAY bing He Ml on INSPECTOR! $110 to $250 ge after 3 months’ spare- ptendid opportunities. Position gueranteed or Write for Free Booklet CM-191. Stand, Business Training Inst. Buffalo, N. Y. MEN WANTED to make secret investiga Experience unnecessary. the J. Gi Former Gov't Detective, 152, St. MARRY RICH, hundreds anxious, descri, list. free, action guaranteed, Select Club, Dept. A, Rapid ‘BEST, LARGEST aTermoniaL, CLUB in Country. Established 17 sands Wealthy wishing Early Marriage. Confdentiel Free. we — Reliable tub. Mrs. Wrubel, Box 26, Oakland, 1F Pa B “he. to make friends, Street, Jacksonville, Florida, FOR SALE a — Lee, Please amet ee. li a BE A DETECTIVE. Opportunity for men and women| GOOD FARM LANDS! 20, 40, 80-acre tracts near for secret investigation in your district. Write C. T. I 5 Vv Ludwig, 521 Westover Bide.. Ka nase City, Mo. “ou te ne “Bite Sh per “SWIGAR’ nie WANTED, and MEN, too, to aciiresa envel- LAND CO., M-1268, First National Bank Bidg.. Chicago. a onda $35 wkiy. Ni ey z rie: ake veok FUTURE rOmeTOL- send dime birthdate for . No or experience ; send 10 ects. to cover postage, ruthful, reliable, convincing reading. Hazel SE Ward Pub. Co., Tilton, N. H. Haven, Box 215-K, Los Angeles, eat. YOUR LIFE STORY in the stars. Send birth ne Ney and dime for trial reading. Sherman, Rapid City, 8. Dak. HOROSCOP ime, a in Trouble. Full Life. Box 5, Himes. Gardiner, ASTROLOGY—STARS TELL LIFE’S STORY. Send birthdate and dime for trial reading. Eddy, Westport St., 33-73, Kansas City, SOMGWEESERS» he Rg ep gs Ean 8 SUCCHERTUL, BONG BERVIOR, 290 - West Street, New York, Department §. women. : wets, American Detective System. 1968 B’way. N.Y. MANUSCRIPTS WANTED STORIES, FOXES FLAVS, foe are wanted for err Hannibal, Mo, ww MISCELLANEOUS HIGHEST sums patd for |, silver, platinum, dia- false teeth. old Jewelry. silverware, etc., registered. Old | ——————2 Prop. 383 ‘ashington —— THE WORDS FOR A Sona. We will com- te huts NY. "1 a. cm music, secure copyrigh Submit poume on any vemos. nN COMPANY, month ; a Bie, Box 1 SEX BOOKS FOR AOULTS—lIllustrated catalog, 4c, WRITE Ris) woros FOR A SONG. Wo revise es rantee sub: “Suan ge at ise, Fiteaerait Bullding, New York. ey STAMMERING Se-oru-y-T-TERInG and stammering cured at home, booklet free. Mi “om YB 15 Oe ai * Bank Bide. Washington. D. TOBACCO HABIT stop yeshoce HABIT. a Sample Panes Beene A-15, St. Jooethe Bt write Pg ig? cirl? (stamp) FREE. Suite | TOBACCO or Snuff cured or no it 628. Blatrsville, Pa. So al trisL Buperbs Co. PC, gy Ee Friandsip Club, 2925 Beeadeee | TOBACCO KILLS MANLY VIGOR—Galt easliy. Clear TL gti Sawing, @moking, snuff. ors, orang: charge. MARRY—Many wealthy members. agg ‘ ; tal Pg 4 thy ag , Cs i on trial. ~ 61 Hastings, FOES OF ENGLISH SPARROWS The Pacific Coast seagull con- | ducts an eternal | warfare against the English spar- row, and because of it keeps wharves and docks free of the noise and litter so pred ominant around sparrows’ households. . Observers de- clare some older gulls act as senti- nels, and when a sparrow alights on a wharf roof several immedi- ately chase it away. On one occasion recently a lone sparrow flew sea- ward followed by half a dozen gulls, who kept the tiny bird so hotly pursued -it fell into the water exhausted. Wharf opera- tors in Seattle are grateful to the gulls for this bit of police work, as English sparrows once inhabiting the rafters and overhead work in- side the docks would produce an amazing amount of litter to fall into freight and express ship- ments. A large amount of grain is wasted every day on docks, which would at- tract and feed myriads of spar- rows but for the watchful eye of the seagulls. It is believed the gulls show the antagonistic irit toward the
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WERE YOU BORN UNDER A LUCKY STAR? DO YOU WANT TO KNOW ALL THAT THERE Is TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR Character Abilities Disposition Friends Good Traits and Weaknesses Lucky Days READ YOUR: OWN CHARACTER HE careful study of a thoro description of 33 yourself is for mone important than you may at first imagine. For it is absolutely true that any added knowledge of your own inherent erates will greatly assist you in reaching a higher degree of success. You can be just as successful as ou desire. It is all in your wer of will. ut before you can exercise this power in the right direction, you must thoroly study yourself, ~ “How To Read Human Nature” SERIES OF TWELVE BOOKS Price 10 cents each. Postpald to any address These books give in concise form a positive key to self-development. y are based on a study of thousands of characters—are preg- nant with keen analysis and most helpful og tog cogs age - cate (ae wien us ten cents an e m o birth and the book will be mailed immediate- ly. Use coupon below. If you have a friend, acquaintance or busl~ hess associate whose character and disposi- tion you would like to study, obtain our book corresponding with the month in which such Person was born. IF YOU ARE IN LOVE — you should know the character, disposition, good points, abili- ties, and weaknesses of the person in whom you are interested. Ascertain the month of birth and then send for our book of that month. Enclose avothéer dime. Pee ee CPPCC OCOOOCOCCO OCC ECCS e ee ee 2) a | CHARACTER STUDIES, Inc., Room 1515, Masonlo Temple, N. ¥. C. TL emcloBe.... esc ceeeceececeeccesnccsoveseesooes Send books of (give months)..:...++««-+seeses Name AGAreag 6.0... .cccccceeccesccccccsiveseoccce MK Oe eeeOC CUO Eee eee ee a) From FACTORY TO YOU Easiest riding, most comfort- = . able wheel built. You'll want it sure when you see the 18 exclu- sive features of the splendid 1922 model electrically equipped Sold only with our exclusive five guarantee and six months accident insurance. You can have it now for a small deposit and only $1 A WEEK New, low, direct factory price saves big money. Best value ever offered. We pay express charges and ship whee! to you ou receipt of order. ON APPROVAL Send post card at once for big color F m b i of syle tne éatkene Fhee Haverford Cycle Co., Dept524, Philadelphia, Pa. Sore or open legs, ulcers, enlarged veins, eczema healed while you work. Write for free book and describe your own case. A.C. Liepe,1457Green Bay Av., Milwaukee, Wis. Apply It to Any Rupture, Old or Recent, Large or Small, and you Are on the Road That Has Convinced Thousands. Sent Free To Prove This Anyone ruptured, man, woman or child, should write at once to W. 8S, Rice, 4444 Main St., Adams, N. Y., for a free trial of his wonderful stimniating application. Just put it on the rupture and the muscles begin to tichten; they begin to bind together so that the opening closes naturally snd the need of a support or truss or applinnee is then done away with. Don't neglect te «end for this free trial. Even “if your rupture doesn't bother von. what fa the use of wenr- ing supports all your Hfe? Why suffer this nuisance? Why run the risk of canerene and.such dangers from a small and tnnocent little rupture, the kind that has thrown thousands on the operatine table? A host of men and women are Wally running «nch risk just because their ruptures do not hurt nor prevent them from getting rronnd. Write at once for this free trinl. as {t Is certainty a wonderful thing and has afded in the enra of ruptures that were as bie as a man’s two Ste Fes and write at once, psine the ow. cannon Free for Rupture. W. 8. Rice In+., 444A Main St., Adams. N. Y. You may send me entirely free a- Sample Treatment of your stimulating application for Rupture. Name
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Fame and Fortune Weekly — LATEST ISSUES —— 823 Dollars and Cents; or, From Cash Boy to Partner. 824 a 4 the Otfice Boy; or, A Plucky Wall Street unger. 825 aires on Time; or, The Perils of a Young Mail Cofitractor. 826 The Missing Bonds; or, A Lucky Boy in Wall St. 827 area For Treasure; or, The Pirate’s Chest of 828 $10,000 Reward; or, The Fortune of a Bank Cierk. 829 Bought at Auction; or, The Bid that Led to Riches. 830 The rouee Copper King; or, The Boy Who Went the Limit. 831 Ralph, the Reporter; or, The Mystery of Assign- ment No. 10. 832 A Lucky Risk; or, The Nerve of a Wall. Street Office Bo. 833 The Race for Gold; or, After an Aztec Treasure. 834 Ti To Win; or, The Wall Street Messenger bo Made a Fortune. 835 The Boy Salesman; or, Out On the Road For Suc- cess. 836 A Young Money Broker; or, Striking Luck In Wall t 7 reet. 37 The Way To Fame; or, The Success of a Young Dramatist. 888 In the Money Game; or, The Luck of Two Wal Street Chums. - A Gotten Treasure; or, The Mystery of an Old runk. 840 ‘“ Hal’s Business Venture; or, Making a Success of Himself. 841 snows the Man-eaters; or, The Secret of the Golden age. 842 The Little Wali Street Speculator; or, The Boy Who Became a Stock Broker. : 843 Old Hazard’s Errand Boy; or, The Nerve That Won the Money. 844 Check 765; or, The Strangest Tip In Wall Street. 845 A pet To Fortune and the Smart Boy Who _ Foun 846 ape Brown's Boy; or, A Tough Lad From Mis- _ sourt. 847 The Odds Against Him; or, A Boy With Grit. 848 A Boy With Brains; or, A Fortune From a Dime. 849 Hig Own Business; or, From Errand Boy To Boss. 850 The Banker’s Plot; or, The Mysterious Boy From Cripple Creek. 851 ane a Missing Million; or, The Treasure of the 852 A Boy From the Streets; or, The Old Broker's Prote 853 A Born Hustler; or, The Boy With the “Goods.” 854 Matt, the Money-Makepg; or, A Strange Lad in Wan tree 855 Out for Everything; or, The Boy Who Was Willed Ss. 856 In Wall Street to Win; or, The Boy Who Got the ney. S57 A Youes Sinbad: or, Wrecked on a Treasure Island. 858 Bill Bond’s Syndicate; or, A Fortune From a Two- , Cent Stamp. . 859 The Pas Who Vanished; or, The Treasure of the neas, ; 860 a ae Broker; or, Phe Success of a Wall Street 861 Striking a Good Thing; or, College Chums in . ; 362 Among - gg or, The Lights and Shadows 863 In Business for Himself; or, The Lad Who Made the Mon ey. For sale by ali or will be sent te any ad- dress on receipt of price, Tc. per copy, im money or Dos oe manny cy 7 < ¥ OLFF, Publisher, Inc., 108 Weal #38 Bizet, ‘New ‘York City ‘ squirrels and birds. OUR TEN-CENT HAND BOOKS Useful, Instructive and Amusing. They Contain Valuable Information on Almost Every Subject No, 35. HOW TO PLAY GAMES. — A complete useful little book, containing the rules and a ah are = billiards, bagatelle, back-gammon, croquet, dominoes, c. No, 36. HOW TO SOLVE CONUNDRUMS.—Contain- ing all the leading conundrums of the day, amusing riddles, curious catches and witty sayings. © No. 40. HOW £O MAKE AND SET TRAPS.—Inciud- ing hints on how +? aoe moles, weasels, otter, rats, so how to cure 8. Sopious Broeceatea: kins. Copiously No. 41. THE BOYS OF NEW YORK END MEN" JOKE BOOK,—Containing a great variety of the latest jokes used by the most famous end men. No amateur minstrels is cgmplete without this wonderful jittle book. No. 42. THE BOYS OF NEW YORK STUMP SPEAKER.—Containing a varied assortment of stump speechés, Negro, Dutch and Irish. Also enti men's jokes. Just the thing for home amusement and amateur shows. No. 45. THE BOYS OF NEW YORK MINSTREL GULDE AND JOKE BOOK.—Something new and very instructive. Every boy should obtain this book, as it contains full instructions for organizing an amuteur minstrel troupe. No. 46. HOW TO MAKE AND USE ELECTRICITY. —aA description of the wonderful uses of electricity and electro magnetism; together with full instructions for making Electric Toys, Batteries, ete. By George Trebei, A.M., M.D. Containing“over fifty iNustrations. No. 48. HOW TO BUILD AND SAIL CANOES, — A handy book for boys, containing full directions for con- structing canoes and the most popular manner of sail- ing them, Fully illustrated. . No. 49. HOW TO DEBATE.—Giving rules for con- ducting debates, outlines for debates, questions fer dis- cussion and the best sources for procuring information ou the questions given. No. 50. HOW TO STUFF BIRDS AND ANIMALS, —A yaluable book, giving instructions in collecting, pre- poring. mounting and preserving birds, animais and sects. ; No. 51. HOW TO DO TRICKS WITH CARDs.—Con- taining explanations of the general principles of sleight- of-hand applicable to card tricks; of card tricks with ordinary cards, and not requiring sleight-of-hand; of tricks involving sleight-of-hand, or the use of specially prepared cards. Illustrated. No. 53. HOW TO WRITE LETTERS.—A wonderful little book, telling you how to write to your sweetheart, your father, mother, sister, brother, employer; and ia fact, everybody and anybody you wish to write to. No. M&M. HOW TO KEEP AND MANAGE PETS. — Giving complete information as to the manner and method of raising, keeping, taming, breeding and man- aging all kinds of pets; also giving full instructions for making cages, etc. Fully explained by twenty-eight illustrations. » - Ne. 56. HOW TO BECOME AN ENGINEER.—Con- taining full instructions how to become a locomotive engineer; also directions for building a model lecomo- tive; together with a full description of everything an r should know. No. 38. HOW TO BE A DETECTIVE.—By Old King Brady, the well-known ceiective. In which be lays down some valuable rules for beginners, and also relates some adventures of well-known detectives. No. 60—HOW TO BECOME A PHOTOGRAPHER— Containing useful information regarding the Camera and how to work it; also how to make Photographic Magic eet “age and other Transparencies. Haadsomely ustrated. No. 64. HOW TO MAKE ELECTRICAL MACHINES. —Containing full directions for making electrical ma- chines, induction colls, dyoamos and many nove! toys to be worked by electricity. By B.A. R. Bennett. Fully illustrated. No. 65. MULDOON'S JOKES. — The most original ioke book ever Vshed, and it is brimfel of wit and umor. -It contains a large collection of songs, jokes, conundrums, ete.. of Terrence Muldoon, the great wit, humorist nd practical joker of the day. For sale by al] newsdealers,-or will be sent to any 7 address on receipt of price, 10¢. per copy, in ; ‘money or by HARRY E. WOLFF, Publisher, Ine. . 166 West 23d Street, New ¥