| Show SO tRIS GOOn GRAFT 4 Had n a Single nd Used It rt to Advantage dv I tage 4 H LOVED I GOOD DINNERS 4 AND vi LITE LIFE MEN NEN TO XOA NICETY t Thy They Th y Thought Him a Millionaire o aire and ig up Many a Iia Dol Dollar Doll lar l r Thinking to Write Write Him BIm ups Up s topers Soper per Convenient t Case of Brights Disease Chicago C Inter Ocean Whenever I hear h r a young oung man com complain comi complain plain of not having the right kind of ofa ofa ofa a chance In life said the general life insurance agent I think of old Soper and his talent and antI what he made of it it Never Nev l heard of f old Soper Sop r Well WeB hes been dead doad these fifteen years but he gave pleasant dreams s to one whole generation of struggling life insurance solicitors It was wa shortly after after I had gone to work as is a solicitor for th the Fraternal Life nearly eighteen years ago that I Imet Imet Imet met hh hit first One day an elderly well dressed men man came Cam into the office and asked if he could get a few facts u ts about the policies 1 got him into a corner and proceeded to fill him up P PHe He was a very intelligent man with a clear head for figures and he made notes from front time to time with a bea J gold pocket pencil in a morocco covered I I I I t I 1 When I had told him all I knew he thanked tanked me m and said You Tou seem to have hav an excellent policy and I may wish to talk you further if you will kindly let me have hav your yo Jr card cardI I 1 did so and suggested 1311 n rv early in interview interview interview and after atter a moments II om ts reflection reflection reflection tion he named what was in thosa days a topnotch hotel in Chicago and said eaid saidI I might look him up in the smoking room that evening everth between 6 and 7 The rest ret off of the day I 1 spent In trying to conceal my satisfaction from my less lees fortunate fellow employees My lY career in the insurance business had so far netted me one 2000 policy and I 1 had bad ad begun to tu have hav misgivings But here plainly was the insurance solicitors 1 ideal affluence and strict bus busi business busI ness nesS t te e kind of a o man m n that talk anything less l s than It was ivan V ras probably only a question of f t whether I I I had the stuff in i me to get the e Fra Fraternity Fraternity FraI I I in ahead I showed up in the hotel s g I room at five minutes te past 6 and about half balf past pa t he lie strolled in iIi with an even evening ing log paper I got him Into an easy chair and went to 10 work I thought I r talked well and an he certainly seemed deeply ds ply interested Finally Finelly when the psycho psychological I logical moment seemed to have arrived I maid said Bald t 4 Now Mr Ir So rhe he hail had given me his card cord at the offiCe 1 want to write you for at once J Wanted a Bigger Policy J 4 Ten thousand dollars he repeated There was vas that in his tone ton that told t ld me on the instant nt that the sum I had named seemed insignificant Or better still I said as soon es I caught my breath What is la your insurance limit li it l he lie asked Fifty thousand I gasped He nodded quietly and seemed lost for a tin time e in meditation Then sud suddenly suddenly denly h PEt ia arose I Your Yo policy has features which at attract attract tract me rue he said caM with a kindly smile Indeed rth the Influential L is the only one tHat t seems ems to compare with It I Iam Iam am to see the Influential agent tonight I and if I do not conclude c with him hint I Ishall Isha shall sha l wish to 10 have a further talk with you Ou Just now nOv I 1 must ask you to ex excuse excuse cuse me ine as it is my dinner time Oh od I said id to myself theres just my luok I could have haye the hailed in five minutes more and now nw E other o her agent hos probably an aa Old aId h hi i E will practically take that Q out of my ow pocket I made madle madea madho a o lightning calculation of how much money mon yX I had with me rae 25 by an acci accident ned dent and summoning all my nerve nerve asked the old chup ch p to dine with me He consented graciously and it looked as though I Iha had my opportunity by the hair I 1 wont bother you with the ilie details of that dinner After wed finished soup Blue Points and soup had always seemed to me a simple matter m matterI I re retired retired retired tired from the role of host in confusion and anti asked him to tkO take t ke charge ch rg which he did I had started the wine with a modest h hock He e ordered or ered the claret Lafite of a vintage he said he could recommend d which cost more than champagne and followed it up u with rith a at t 6 a aquart quart And at the end he be introduced ale irie to his I brand of cigars a fat thing he called caned a that smoked like a dream of Araby Arab the th Blest and for which I sub subsequently subsequently gave up 50 gents cents apiece aniece When I wandered home that ni ht my pocketbook was lighter by 2475 but what did that amount to He was going to drop mea raea tine lne when to come round and finish the thin thine up and was the amount he was think thinking thinking thinking ing of ot But somehow although I 1 Saw saw him half a dozen times during the next two weeks I 1 landed him hm although every time I left him it seemed as though everything was over except drawing my commission He lunched with me three times during those two weeks and dined with me again I had to borrow the money but hut it was no notime notime notime time to look at a dollar Or two And then sure enough I got him over to to ro luncheon one day and did land him for fo and got him around for his examination that same afternoon Proves a Worthless Risk Bisk Two hours later Utter I saw aw our ur medical examiner Ke Ie looked sympathetic Sorry he Said sald Brights disease 4 Oh look here I replied are you sure sureSure Sure as a s death dearth he said Not very far advanced ed but the tile analysis is plain as day Absolutely worthless risk I wrote Soper a note the next day But though tho gh it ft was the only decent thing to do it was several weeks before I got up courage to go round and see him Finally one night I did hunt him up but say my little speech I found him in the main dining room at dinner One Perkins an an agent of the Influential waa wae wa doing the honors There were all sorts of things on the table solid and liquid Also an assort assortment ment nent mel of Insurance tables tablea Perkins was sag talking earnestly and Mr Soper se seemed mod deeply de plY impressed I retired quietly pondering as I went wentA A 4 couple of weeks later I ran across cr ss I Perkins I mentioned men seeing him at dinner and asked him casually if he had come come inter Into a fortune Then Per Perkins Perkin PerkIns kins kin told me a harrowing hard had luck hick story st how he had happened onto this thi solid elderly party who was as evidently a millionaire how bow he fIe had worked at him for three weeks spent in tn lunches and dinners finally written him for no less and had hin hir hi thrown down on his hism medical Ical l examina eramina examination examination tion I offered red j Perkins 3 d dafter i after that tried 1 to forget torge the Soper pl sod node until one on day diy young y u Peasley our newest solicitor took me aside Peas Peasley Peasley Peasley ley had been acting peculiarly Ordinarily he was as one of those not unattractive youths who share their hopes hones and fears with such stich of their nt ances ancos as can be got to listen lIen But lately he had affected a de demeanor demeanor demeanor meanor that had puzzled the rest of the office Peasley P asley swore me to secrecy 8 recY and to borrow 50 Fifty Finy cents was waa j I considered r d a ii substantial b t accommodation C tion in the office in those days Peas Icy lcy noticed my distress and made a clean doon breast of the matter reatter 4 Old 01 man tn i he he said quivering rin with ith suppressed excitement m J if I 1 can c J raise rai 50 60 Ive got go of f making a years year s salary before bore Saturday It appeared that hed picked up an elderly gentleman who was evidently a millionaire hd who had practically decided to have Peasley easley J easl y write him for forno forno forno no less leaa than But of course such a deal as that required time and tact For instance on several occa coca occasions occasions Peasley had taken him to lunch luncheon luncheon luncheon eon or dinner dinnerS Of or course courset you ask a millionaire out to 10 any cuick lunch and Peasley had been able to raise about 45 so SQ far When Peasley paused for breath I advised his withdrawing from the transaction where it toad Why Wh wh tS the matter m fter with v th it aSked Peasley bristling Disillusion n of Peasley First your elderly friends got Brights disease dis I said second I be believe behove hove lieve hes a nice smooth old fake tak Peasley got g t up and arid regarded me ate sternly He ih it was funny tunny that I could identify his man on such ouch meager description and suggested turn turning turning turnIng ing over to me the fakes fake s address addre s after he had withdrawn from the case A fortnight later ne no came around round and apologized apok handsomely He men mentioned mentioned mentioned our manager and the police but butI I discouraged the idea id a If this story gets out now I told him well be before we hear hearth the la last f of it Lets keep quiet and give Soper a chance We kept quiet and Soper improved his chance beautifully During the next eix x months he went through our office like an epidemic He was wits an artist We got get so 50 we could spot a new victim by his symptoms arrogance and mys mystery mystery mystery tery and an Urgent nt need of ready money And after att r each ach man had passed thi through ough the ordeal we brought him into our secret conclave ind md waited for the next ext Then we rm made d outside investigations investigations and found that of ot the life insurance offices in Chicago were being favored in the same way and the hoe rest were coming Into line at atthe atthe atthe the rate of two or or three throe a month The various medical examiners i miners got so they waived any formal forrow examination when Soper Super was brought in Of course ourse they might ml ht have hoye given ghen the whole snap away a Y but I learned learn ed afterward that he won their sympathy at an early period And Andas aa as for the insurance solicitors them themselves themselves themselves selves it got toP to l be a point of honor in every office in Chicago to keep quit and give newcomers newcom rs the benefit of the experience Then suddenly Soper dropped out of view and it was a year before b for any apy anyone anyone one heard of him m again But one day dayI I happened through his old haunt in inthe inthe inthe the smoking room ro m of the topnotch ho hotel hotel hotel tel and found him He was dreadfully changed and sick looking I shook hands with him but he know me ne So o I introduced myself and got a ahe he talk out t of him He had been a bookkeeper some somewhere somewhere where down town on an n extremely meager salary and up to the time he was waG 50 his life had been spent between a dingy office and a shabby y boarding boardinghouse boardinghouse house Then one day an art energetic young insurance in rance solicitor had got him interested in a small life Ufe policy for the benefit of his sisters children out in Wisconsin The young man had taken im Mm to 10 dinner at a z t heap eap French res rca taur aurant and the young mans company had rejected him 09 OJ the ground of In Incipient incipient incipient Brights ts disease But that mod mo eat French dinner had been a Spot Ot in his career and nd It set t him think thin thinking ing l g And A as a result for nearly three years lonely lonel was gladdened by jy the best table luxuries that the best restaurants In Chicago could provide And A it may mey seeM strange but a few months later hiter when n poor old Soper went before his final examiner an enor enormous mou mou wealth we lt of at the gift of some WIne sixty odd life insurance Insurance ance arnce solicitors malt as a tribute on his coffin s L i 1 I Is |
