his k'yards and find out his little game. But all in good time,

Washington, all in good time. You'll see. Now there's an operation in

corn that looks well. Some New York men are trying to get me to go into

it--buy up all the growing crops and just boss the market when they

mature--ah I tell you it's a great thing. And it only costs a trifle;

two millions or two and a half will do it. I haven't exactly promised

yet--there's no hurry--the more indifferent I seem, you know, the more

anxious those fellows will get. And then there is the hog speculation

-that's bigger still. We've got quiet men at work," [he was very

impressive here,] "mousing around, to get propositions out of all the

farmers in the whole west and northwest for the hog crop, and other

agents quietly getting propositions and terms out of all the

manufactories--and don't you see, if we can get all the hogs and all the

slaughter horses into our hands on the dead quiet--whew! it would take

three ships to carry the money.--I've looked into the thing--calculated

all the chances for and all the chances against, and though I shake my

head and hesitate and keep on thinking, apparently, I've got my mind made

up that if the thing can be done on a capital of six millions, that's the

horse to put up money on! Why Washington--but what's the use of talking

about it--any man can see that there's whole Atlantic oceans of cash in

it, gulfs and bays thrown in. But there's a bigger thing than that, yes

bigger----"

"Why Colonel, you can't want anything bigger!" said Washington, his eyes

blazing. "Oh, I wish I could go into either of those speculations--I

only wish I had money--I wish I wasn't cramped and kept down and fettered

The Gilded Age