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Show It by S. S. McCluro Co.) ON after Fenlmore Dayton beanie be-anie a reporter his city editor ttat him t0 'nte"'1677 Jnmes Mountain. That famous financier 'hen approaching the zenith of his r over Wall Street and Lombard It had Just been announced that i "absorbed" the Great Eastern ,'estern Railway systcm-of course, e methods which have made some and some newspapers -habitually of him as "the royal bandit," The editor had two reasons for send-Lyton-first. becaus? he did not im second, because any other man e clff would walk about for an and come back with the rcjort Mountain had refused to receive 'trhlle Dayton would make an ttonturned In at the Equitable nz and went up to the floor occu-bv occu-bv Mountain, Hanger & Blake-He Blake-He nodded to the attendant at the of jlountaln's own suite of ofllces, frnnmilllv down the aisle be- i.n rows of desks at which sat Moun-i'g Moun-i'g jwrsonnl clerks, and knocked at -Ias door on which was printed r Mountain" in small gilt letetrs. Ccme!" It was an angry voice ittiln's at Its worst ayton opened the door. lUounlaln teed up from the mass- of papers be-lam. be-lam. His red forehead became a sort of wrinkles and his scant while brmre bristled. "And who are you?" snarled. ' y name Is Dayton Fenlmore Day-replied Day-replied the reporter with a grnce-y grnce-y polite bow. "Mr. Mountain. I beef be-ef was Impossible for Mr. Mountain aether to resist the Impulse to bow eturn. Dayton's manner was com-Kni com-Kni what the dev what can I do you?" a reporter from the iYbnt'" roared Mountain, leaping to feet In a purple, swollen-veined fury, m-daro you enter here?" 3ut-why not'" Dayton looked sur-ti. sur-ti. "No one tried to stay me." Impudence'" ardon me not impudence." Dayton led agreeably. "Impudence is un-rasnil un-rasnil audacity. For example if you Ed to get the Great Eastern and stern, they'd have paid you were lm-ent lm-ent to try. As it is men call It au-Ity, au-Ity, Now, If I'd failed to get here haps" curtain listened with a grim smile, taw in young Dayton the signs of a lity he especially admired he Idn't help softening toward him. "I 3d corrected,'" he said gruflly. Then laid his hand on the young man's ulder and pointed toward the large m. "Do you sse those clerks?" he Jnded. Ido," said Da j ton. rhere are thirty-seven of them and t big numskull at the door makes tonight I employ those- thirty-tit thirty-tit men lo save me from audacity ,MiRch as yours. Yet here you arc In Jljnr private ofllce! How do you explain Z Dayton laughed his laugh was very iKfontaglous. "i don't know. I'm sure," JHHsald. "Perhaps If they were the s-ort tBWjntn who could outwit me. they'd be 3tgmy work and rd be dolnt' theirs." WJilo-jntaln'B eybs smiled. The longer i .looked at Dayton's refined yet resort reso-rt face the better he liked It. "Sit corn," he said In an Ironic tone of mock vJCTallon "But be quick, and be care-Jot care-Jot not to Irritate me with questions S arc audaclous My digestion is I and, therefore, my temper is not ait It might be." (L11 the first recorded story of i wwn a "collosal cheek." Now for the i vi, ,,nt-the one since which his ' f .has bKn "'ought of and spoken anV' ed and cnv,ed- as "Napoleonic ft0Z W0Ii T08e to be a notable special H rmT", nL 0ne winter afternoon at m ine fn-uuio of bis friend, C?ue the art,st- ne met a girl with straJgbUvay fell in love. She as EuIe GranU tht (laughter oC &t t8 Wlckforcl Grant. She had S., ot of her ,,fe abroad, and her WVven then negotiating for Jl!? rlnce wno thought well of K na,E0, oCJ her lar& dot. And Krnflon had come-and ho was B.H w.1? ,t0 8hy at obstacles. fSi ' T?h,ter ln a straightforward Italy'lnfer ,!,wh0 thon could think Ex iSnrf fv0 the A1nach de Gotha. boEln f80U,ilg frm hlS balTCn S Sin S m Swltzerland to con-iUh con-iUh hta cm n ftis sword and women mrch h" , Grants went abroad In SwWtaJ ErUnccecdea n Retting a roving t puuSilen ln the sarne Reamer. V beforV m" 9t'Iuare,J' before her the M'Ptik i they landed. He did not WtteriEhi 'v? u,!l "he had glv on him 5kot atao bT ,"Lyi by encouraging him, Mionate v SlnK1lt nlain that she " w 'nd hla l00l and tones. MfwtwSR?, mo1no." he said. -I en you comoh c?untr' for a week-1" week-1" COme un to London you will WtC St0000?,0" and began to rySEfr,ethlng out of the flr-found e 'nof the Royal Society iferla ren0'" ,he was Peking. The ?&nll9t. Sa Pro Phll0Pber and life1 rtstS Fhn mpt,0n (Hubert Foss). 3BPr. "EveS J despondent of his Anrt i;,n Amerlca knows u?',,neTTffdmrihat he' sal' along over W(S-I"VI'' hM EnglisHman, Lord Prampton." with emphasis on the title, "is a , ery old man almost DO. He lives as quietly as possible; sees no one. He wouldn't think of interviewing. He's 'very old-fashioned, dislikes even our newspapers. And he's been a sort of rcclus-e all his life." "No harm in trying," said Dayton. "I'll Just drop him a line." In the mail two mornings later came the answer. Dayton opened it in the presence of Iveagh. It was a printed slip which read: "Lord Frampton" appreciates your courtesy. He regrets that age and the state of his health make it Impossible for him personally to thank you." "I thought so," said Iveagh, not concealing con-cealing his delight at Dayton's dlscom-llture. dlscom-llture. "Pie pends that to everybody who tries to intrude upon him." Dayton mechanically turned the printed slip over. "What's this?" hc-said. hc-said. There was writing Jn a feeble, cramped hand: "My Dear Sir I am lunching at he Athenaeum club the day after tomorrow (Thursday) and shall be pleased to see you there afterward at 3. "FRAMPTON." Dayton thrust the note Into his pocket, concealing his feeling of triumph. "I may cable what he yays if It's worth while. It might make a good feature for them on Sunday." And he went Iveagh looked after him, dazed. "Yet there are ome people who say there's no such thing as luck," he grumbled. "Who'd have thought old Frampton had gone stark mad?" At the Carleton Dayton found a telegram: tele-gram: "Shall be at Claridge's tomorrow. Be sure to come at 3, precisely. "ELSIE GRANT." "Whatever shall I do?" he said niter he had reread the telegram and Lord Frampton's note, to make sure. Both for Thursday. Both at the same hour. I can't put either of them off. What shall I do with Fosa?" No, Foss could not be put off. He must be seen at the lime he had appointed ap-pointed or the great Sunday feature would be lost. "I must send some one in my place. But who? It must be a newspaper news-paper man, a man with the newspaper Instinct and training; It must be a man of the best possible address, and up ln nhlllsonhv and sociology and Foss. Where can I get him?" It seemed absurd to think on such a problem. Yet after nearly an hour, Dayton Jumped up and said, "Why, of course just the- man better than I could possibly do it myself." and began fumbling in a compartment of the trunk that was full of letters, papora and cards. He soon found what he was searching for a card bearing tho address ad-dress of Henry Carpenter. A common friend ln New York had given It to him, saying, "Look Carpenter up, and, if you can, put something in his way. I hear he's badly off." As Dayton said to himself, Henry Carpenter was probably tho best-equipped best-equipped man in the world for an interview inter-view with Foss for an American newspaper. news-paper. He was a Yalo man with a Ph-D. from Gottlngen, nnd a writer on economic subjects who had won aomo fame. But philosophy Is not profitable, and Carpenter made his living as a newspaper reporter. He had been ono of the cleverest ln the profession, then had married, had taken to drink, had gone to the bottom. The address ou the card was In the far end of PImllco. Dayton set out, calling at tho Victoria. There were several New York newspaper men ln the lounge. He asked them If they had' seen Carpenter. "Just left him," said one. "He was bound for the Criterion." Dayton drove to tho Criterion and began a search of the crow.ded rooms. He soon saw Carpenter wandering about tho bar. noting each face as If he were looking for nn acquaintance. His clothes, his very expression, proclaimed poverty and failure, nnd Dayton, knowing his habits, was particularly Impressed by the weakness of his chin. But ln spite of the air of "hard luck," Carpenter looked tho gentleman, the man of superior intelligence. in-telligence. He greeted Dayton effusively, effusive-ly, and as soon as the business was disclosed dis-closed eagerly offered his services. "There's only one dllllculty will Lord Frampton receive you when he is expecting ex-pecting me?" "We'll have to take our chances on that," said Carpenter. "But I never take chances If I can help 1 wmzr it. I've been thinking he doesn't know me and he doesn't know you. Why shouldn't you send in one of my cardii impersonate me?" Carpenter's face brightened. "Yes that is the best plan," continued Dayton. "With your special knowledge you'll do the interview far better than I could. He'll really profit by the deception." decep-tion." It was agreed, and1 Carpenter went away, Dayton advancing him two sovereigns. When he returned the next afternoon his appearanco was in every way satisfactory, and Dayton's last misgivings mis-givings disappeared. He went with Carpenter to the Athenaeum. "It's a little early, old man, but you can send in your, or rather, my card, and wait. And don't forget you're both indcr assumed as-sumed names. If you are calling yourself your-self Dayton when you're Carpenter isn't he calling himself Frampton; when he's uaa i "You may roly on me I'll do my best," said Carpenter. He saw Carpenter enter the clubhouse, saw him glvo his card to the attendant. Not until then did he drive awny. His heart was light. Fate had been kind to him. On the stroke of 3 he was ln tho writing-room at Claridge's. Elsio did not keep him waiting. "Mother has changed her plans," she Bald, hurrying in. "I thought we'd have a clear hour. But she may be back at any moment." Ho was looking at her steadily. "Well?" he asked. She flushed and cast down her eyes. Then she lifted them und' returned his gaze steadfastly. "Yes," she said. He gave a long sigh- They were silent for a few minutes. "Mother " she began. "She will not consent?" "It's of no use to ask her. You know that." He nodded cheerfully. "But we don't need her consent. You're of age." "What do you suggest?" "Well, I had arranged In case you accepted and your mother wouldn't have it that we should marry at the American Ameri-can Consul General's. He's an old friend of mine and has promised to attend to everything for me AH we have to do Is to let him know when we're corning. Ho's even got an American preacher at hand." She laughed. "And when did you daro to do this?" "YeBtorday as soon as I had your telegram. It wasn't daring, was it, to assume that you meant what your telegram tele-gram Implied?" "Whatever It was or was not, I like it." "I thought," ho continued, "that we would better marry in aomo way that would leave her a chance to como round quietly afterward." "Yes that is better than going to Scotland," said Elsie reflectively. Dayton laughed. "And who dared to think of an elopement away off to Scotland?" he said. Elsie was still blushing when her mother came In. Dayton invited them to dinner and the theater, and Mrs. Grant accepted. II. At S the next morning, as Dayton had finished shaving and was going Into his bath, thero was a knock at the outer door of his sitting-room. "What is it?" lie called. "A gentleman to see you, sir," came throu'ph the door. "Carpenter," he said to himself. Then to the servant: "Show him up, please. Bring him to the sitting-room and tell him I will see him directly." With this, he unlocked the outer door and went back through the bedroom into his bathroom. Soon he heard the outer door open and the servant showing show-ing his caller ln. When he had bathed he returned to the bedroom the portiere por-tiere was drawn across tho door into the sitting-room. He could wait no longer. "I say, old man." he shouted, "did you get a good yarn?" There was a sharp rustling, then silence. si-lence. He went to the portiere and threw it back and stood in the door-wav, door-wav, his bathrobe half open, his faco and neck red from the cold water, his hair tumbled. Ho was. transfixed. Before Be-fore him. gaping at him, sat an old man a study In the black of broadcloth and the white of linen and skin and wool-like hair and side whiskers. H1b head was wagging, and his mouth ajar as he stared stupidly nt Dayton. He raised himself with the aid of a gold-headed gold-headed cane and put up his eye-glass. "I must apologize to you," he quavered. "I'm so disturbed that I hardly know what I'm about this m",n VT cled I was In the rooms of a Mr. Fcnl- m'TmDPenrnore Dayton." said Dayton And then a horrible thought flashed lnmi? oldSJn'a mouth had flown open again. "What!" ho exclaimed. Im- PDayton, all the blood In hla body In his face, stood there, unable to speak or move. "Great heavens!" he thought, "what shall T do? What has Carpenter been up to?" Lord Frampton passed his hand over his face. "Impossible!" he muttered. "Incredible!" And again he rubbed his face confusedly. "Tell me!" He looked strangely at Dayton. "Did you or did you not have a talk with me at the Athenaeum club yesterday in the afternoon?" af-ternoon?" Dayton opened his mouth several times before he could articulate: "I did not that Is" "Then who was It? Where Is he?" Lord Frampton looked angrily uround. "I insist upon an explanation, sir!" "Excuse me just a few minutes I must finish dressing I was and I wasn't there I'll explain." Dayton withdrew to the bedroom, pulling the portiere over the doorway. Hp luirrlofl into this clothes and re turned to the sitting-room. Ho stood before Lord Frampton, looking ashamed, repentant, honest. "I am going to make a clean breast of it, sir," he said. "I could not keep my engagement engage-ment with you yesterday. I did not wish to lose tho lntorvlew. I sent a perfectly competent man, thinking It made no dlfferenco to you, as you did not know me or care especially who did the interview, so long as It was dono properly." "But whero Is he? Where is he?" Lord Frampton tapped his cane angrily angri-ly on tho floor. "I I don't know, sir. I " "This Is outrageous. A person representing repre-senting himself to be a Fenlmore Dayton, Day-ton, an American Journalist, wrote me a note. I don't know what demon of Ill-luck possessed me I had never submitted sub-mitted to an Interview. I am a very old man and in poor health. I permit no strangers to come near me. But something perhaps ln tho note I don't know at any rate, I consented to receive re-ceive this person at my club. He or some one representing himself to be him came, and wo talked for about two hours. He was most agreeable most intelligent but he had been drinking at least I feared so I became nervous about the Interview. He promised to brine me what he had written last nlrrht. As ho did not I came hero thl3 morning. I wish to recall the interview. inter-view. I forbid the publication of a word from me. I shall hold you responsible, re-sponsible, sir! It is an outrage! It Is scandalous! I shall protest publicly, sir!" "I have no excuse to offer, sir," said Dayton humbly "I can only throw myself on your mercy. But first let me say that your interview Is safe at least It has not been published, and will not be." Then lie went on to confess con-fess the whole truth, holding both nothinghis noth-inghis love for a young American, tho Impossibility of keeping both engagements, engage-ments, and the Impossibility of breaking break-ing either. "And T Ruppose. sir." he said In conclusion, "that Carpenter slipped away nnd took several drinks before seeing you and then kept on drinking afterward, In pplto of his habits, sir, there Isn't a man ln tho world more competent to get such an interview than Henry Carpenter." "Hasn't he written on sociology?" Inquired In-quired Lord Frampton. He had been interrupting Dayton's narrative with a descending aeries of exclamations, beginning be-ginning with "Shocking!" and "Depraved!" "De-praved!" and "Insolent!" and ending with such milder ejaculations as "Most ostonishlngl" Extraordinary!" "Surprising!" "Sur-prising!" "Yes," replied Dayton, eagerly entering enter-ing the opening, and hurrying gn to remind re-mind Lord Frnmpton of the titles and subjects of Carpenter's best known essays. es-says. Lord Frampton was somewhat mollified. molli-fied. He said: "It was a disgraceful trick to play upon nn old man, sir but I've been young myself. You Americans! Ameri-cans! A wonderful people, sir, but," with a sudden twinkling in his old eyes "will you get the young lady?" "I think so," said Dayton. "I don't doubt it, If Impudenco Is as effective with the ladles as it was when I was a young fellow," Lord Frampton chuckled. "Would' you mind If I showed you a photograph of her, sir?" asked Dayton, shamelessly using his bride-to-be as a pacifier of the old man's wrath. He brought tho photograph a fair-haired, clear-eyed girl with a resolute face looking look-ing straight out of the picture at pou. "A flno American- type," said Lord Frampton. They talked for a few minutes of America, then Lord Frampton suddenly remembered Ills wrongs and was angry all over again. "I am very old," he said peevishly. "This will shorten my life. And where, sir, Is that associato of yours; this Carpenter?" "We'll find him," said Dayton, and after he had1 hastily taken coffee and a roll, they set out for the far end of PImllco. PIm-llco. They found Carpenter's lodgings down a dismal alley in a housa which, had it been built of wood instead of stone, would have been obliterated decades de-cades before. A ninehed New Encrland female face answered the knock at tho door, to which tho slattern in charge had directed them. "What do you want?" said she in what Is sometimes called- tho "pie and pickles" voice. "Where Is Mr. Carpenter?" "That's - hat I'd like to know," Mrs. Carpenter answered. A few minutes talk made It clear that no news was to be got there. "We'll have to look for him," said Dayton, as if they were sure to find him. And on the way back to the Piccadilly-Strand district he tried to persuade Lord Frampton to go quietly to his club arid wait. "No," said Lord Frampton crossly, "I go with you. Roally. Mr. Dayton, this Is a most extraordinary proceeding. When peace and quiet are absolutely necessary to me I find myself rushing about London in search of a wild drunken creature. My. whole life has been spent ln quiet And now, at 90, thanks to my accursed folly in answering answer-ing a note from a wandering American journalist I must have been out of my mind! I feel like pinching myself to see whether I am awake. I shall not leave you until wo find him. I must look to my reputation. Why did I, why did I answer that devilish note?" Toward 9 at night, Dayton, In the effort to calm one of the old man's tiradeshe ti-radeshe was very tired and sleepy j told him that Elsio and he were to be married on Monday. "As her mother won't consent we shall go quietly to the American consulate. I've arranged it all with a friend of mine." "Most extraordinary!" muttered Lord Frampton. "More Impudence! And what am I doing here at my age in. my health " ,rWill you come?" interrupted Dayton. "Come! Come where?" "To the wedding. We'd be delighted." Lord Frampton stared. "God bless my soul!" he ejaculated. "Am I dreaming? I invited to take nart ln a runaway marriage I!" "I suppose you're afraid there might bea mistake and you'd be the bridegroom." bride-groom." Lord Frampton smiled, then chucked, then laughed. But they were just at Carpenter's lodgings their fourth visit. Yes, Carpenter had returned, had staggered stag-gered ln about an hour before, nnd was now upstairs. His wife opened the door. There he lay upon the bed, his clothes torn and mud bedaubed. "Roll '1m on the floor." suggested the eldest boy. "Let me throw water on 'im mar'm always does; don't you, mar'm?" All, including the renowned philosopher, philoso-pher, who used his cane vigorously as a prod, joined in the effort to revive tho drunken man. When he at last opened his eyes, Dayton said: "Here, here, Carpenter, whore's that interview?" and kept on shaking him to prevent his lupslng Into the stupor. "Pocket," mumbled Carpenter. "Iss a gran' ol' man. or Frampy. passed' t out hot. Gran' ol' man, Frampy " Dayton reached into the inside pocket of the coat and' drew out a note book. "Ha!" Ol' Frampy clutched It, put on his eyeglasses and glanced over tho pages. "Yes, this is it. I never expected ex-pected to see it. Bless me, what a ro-llef!" ro-llef!" Dayton gave Mrs. Carpenter a sovereign, sover-eign, "on account," he said, for lack of any other disguise of the charity, "and when he comes around tell him I want to see him." Dayton nnd Lord Frnmpton hurried away. "Where shall I set you down, sir? said Dayton. Lord Frampton gave the number of a private hotel ln Dover street. They drove In silence for ten minutes, then the philosopher chuckled. Dayton glanced at him furtively. He had been devising a plan for approaching the subject of the interview perhaps he could Induce Lord Frampton to give up tho note book. When the old man chuckled again, he ventured to speak: "Will you forgive me, sir?" "Forgive you, you young rascal? I oughtn't, but It Is certainly very ridiculous ridic-ulous how my friends, my readers all over the world, would laugh if they could know what I've been doing." Ho chuckled again. "Then you'll come to the American consulate on Monday at 10 to the wedding?" wed-ding?" "The spirit of adventure has got Into my blood. Yes I'll be there If I don't die of the reaction." "And that Interview " "There thero! Not a word about that. I'll overlook it " "But I mean lt's'a great impertinence to ask it only" Lord Frampton turned In the cab and looked at Dayton's calm, oarnest face in amazement. "You don't mean, my dear sir, that you are daring to ask me to no, it's impossible even you wouldn't dare!" "But, sir. it seems a shame for you to have all this annoyance for nothing. I can traoscrlbo tho notes and havo thorn typewritten and bring them to you. And If you aro not satisfied, you can tear them up. or use them for some other purpose." Lord Frampton was laughing. "I havo always held," said he, "that surprising sur-prising results were to come from your race under the political, social, and geographic conditions of the new "World. But I must sny " "And," pursued Dayton. "I could cable it over tomorrow for Sunday's paper, pa-per, and I'm sure It would be a great hit. The Americans are tremendous admirers ad-mirers and readers of your work." "Yes I have been much gratified at the sales of my books over there far better than here. But it is tempting fate." Dayton was discreetly silent. "You Americans!" Lord Frampton exclaimed humorously, as he after a few minutes handed over the note book. "I've rescued res-cued my reputation from a drunken man only to give it into the keeping of a harum-scarum rascal who Is probably crazed by by she Is a devilish pretty girl, young man!" "But wait till you sac her on Monday," said Dayton. "I'll call with the copy at what hour ln the morning?" "I shall rise late. I need rest. Call at 11." And at that hour the next morning Saturday Dayton brought the typewritten type-written interview. Lord Frampton was looking fresh and cheerful. "How do you feel, sir?" inquired Dayton. Day-ton. "I ought to feel done. But the fact Is I never felt better. I think it did me good stirred me up. Astonishing! I must be out of my mind!" Lord Frampton sat at his desk, reading, read-ing, making slight changes, nodding approval. ap-proval. "A most Interesting young man," he mumbled, "in spite of his bad habits most intelligent. I certainly talked surprising well bless me! I had no idea I had put that so effectively." "Are you satisfied to have It go, sir?" asked Dayton, vhen the old philosopher had finished. "I think so I think so," "And I'll see that you get a copy of It, and also all that is said about it in the American Journals." On Monday, at the appointed hour, with Lord Frampton as one witness and the Consul-General as the only other, Dayton and Elsie were married. Lord Frampton was more than cheerful he was gay. He had come with his top hat a little back on his head, and noticeably tilted to one side. "Oh, I almost forgot," said Dayton. "Here's a cablegram from the office on your interview." Lord Frampton read: "Dayton, Carlton, London: Frampton stuff howling success. Congratulations." "Stuff" Howling" Lord Frampton repeated tho words as if he delighted in them. "Most gratifying," he said', "most gratifying, I'm sure. God bless me! I'm getting demoralized." "And now for your mother," said Dayton Day-ton to Elsie. Lord Frampton noted with astonishment astonish-ment the calmness of these two young people. "Will she be angry?" he inquired. in-quired. "Angry? She'll be wild," said Day- i ton, cheerfully. "She's mad on tho sub- ' w ject of titles. Now, if Elsie were going i Ufl to tell her thnt oho had married you" Lord Frampton laughed till his sides iiMI ached at the implication of this idea. It seemed to take another ten or twenty 'I years from his rapidly rejuvenating j ' mind. j Jy "That suggests an idea," he said. "If h I I went with you Interceded for you do f ' i flH you think it would help?" t' I Elsie put out hr v- ' him. "Isn't r .5 he fine?" she said to Dayton. fj! And the threv or in... vanced upon If Claridge's in a cab, Lord Frampton with L J his arm along the back of the seat, pat- Y l line Elsie on the shoulder merely to encourage hor. Mrs. Grant went rapid- 'J ly through 'her moods from fury to f !) hysteria, to tears, to reproaches, to a d ( discussion with Lord Frampton, to nc- 2. quiescence, to "making the best of It." 1! t Lord Frampton left them, but came I J toddling back. y j "Ohl" he said, and took Elsie to one ? ttl side. i ! "It there should be you. know" ho l chuckled "my name is Hubert, and I f fl haven't got any of my own." in Elsie blushed and he almost ran away, ! ' his-'old legs springing with a ludrlcrous f affectation of youth. f'fl "How can I thank you?" said Dayton, !' ' as he put him ln a cab. ' I "Thank me? How can I thank vpu?" 1 T said the old man heartily. "Send that L'l disreputable friend of yours to me. ii 1 Something may bo done for him. Good- TH byel You Americans!" I Irf |