"The fellow piles it on a little strong at times, doesn't he, Mrs. Barslow?" said Jim.
"He brings to our city," I read on, "his vigorous mind, his fortune, and a determination never to rest until the city passes the 100,000 mark. To a _Herald_ representative, last night, he spoke strongly and eloquently of our great natural resources."
Then followed a skillfully handled expansion of our _tête-à-tête_ talk in the lobby.
"Mr. Barslow," the report went on, "very courteously declined to discuss the L. & G. W. situation. It seems evident, however, from remarks dropped by him, that he regards the construction of this road as inevitable, and as a project which, successfully carried out, cannot fail to make Lattimore the point to which all the Western and Southwestern systems of railways must converge."
"You're doing it like a veteran!" cried Jim. "Admirable! Just the proper infusion of mystery; I couldn't have done better myself."
"Credit it all to Giddings," I protested. "And note that the center of the stage is reserved to our mysterious fellow lodger and co-arrival."
"Yes, I saw that," said Jim. "Isn't Giddings a peach? Let Mrs. Barslow hear it."
"She ought to be able to hear these headlines," said I, "without any reading: 'J. Bedford Cornish arrives! Wall Street's Millions On the Ground in the Person of One of Her Great Financiers! Bull Movement in Real Estate Noted Last Night! Does He Represent the Great Railway Interests?'"
"Real estate and financial circles," ran the article under these headlines, "are thrown into something of a fever by the arrival, on the 6:15 express last evening, of a gentleman of distinguished appearance, who took five rooms _en suite_ on the second floor of the Centropolis, and registered in a bold hand as J. Bedford Cornish, of New York. Mr. Cornish consented to see a _Herald_ representative last night, but was very reticent as to his plans and the objects of his visit. He simply says that he represents capital seeking investment. He would not admit that he is connected with any of the great railway interests, or that his visit has any relation to the building of the Lattimore & Great Western. The _Herald_ is able to say, however, that its New York correspondent informs it that Mr. Cornish is a member of the firm of Lusch, Carskaddan & Mayer, of Wall Street. This firm is well known as one of the concerns handling large amounts of European capital, and said to be intimately associated with the Rothschilds. Financial journals have recently noted the fact that these concerns are becoming embarrassed by the plethora of funds seeking investment, and are turning their attention to the development of railway systems and cities in the United States. Their South American and Australian investments have not proven satisfactory, especially the former, owing to the character of the people of Latin America. It has been pointed out that no real-estate investment can be more than moderately profitable in climates which render the people content with a mere living, and that the restless and unsatisfied vigor of the Anglo-Saxon alone can make lands and railways permanently remunerative. Mr. Cornish admitted these facts when they were pointed out to him, and immediately changed the subject.