details of engineering, and it gave Philip a chance to see the country,

and to judge for himself what prospect of a fortune it offered. Both he

and Harry got the "refusal" of more than one plantation as they went

along, and wrote urgent letters to their eastern correspondents, upon the

beauty of the land and the certainty that it would quadruple in value as

soon as the road was finally located. It seemed strange to them that

capitalists did not flock out there and secure this land.

They had not been in the field over two weeks when Harry wrote to his

friend Col. Sellers that he'd better be on the move, for the line was

certain to go to Stone's Landing. Any one who looked at the line on the

map, as it was laid down from day to day, would have been uncertain which

way it was going; but Jeff had declared that in his judgment the only

practicable route from the point they then stood on was to follow the

divide to Stone's Landing, and it was generally understood that that town

would be the next one hit.

"We'll make it, boys," said the chief, "if we have to go in a balloon."

And make it they did In less than a week, this indomitable engineer had

carried his moving caravan over slues and branches, across bottoms and

along divides, and pitched his tents in the very heart of the city of

Stone's Landing.

Well, I'll be dashed," was heard the cheery voice of Mr. Thompson, as he

stepped outside the tent door at sunrise next morning. "If this don't

The Gilded Age