R. Holmes Co. | Page 3

afternoon to see his brother
Yoku, who is ill there," said my visitor. "You see, I didn't want him
around to-night when I called. I knew I could manage you alone in case
you turned up, as you see you have, but two of you, and one a Jap, I
was afraid might involve us all in ugly complications. Between you and
me, Jenkins, these Orientals are pretty lively fighters, and your man

Nogi particularly has got jiu-jitsu down to a pretty fine point, so I had
to do something to get rid of him. Our arrangement is a matter for two,
not three, anyhow."
"So," said I, coldly. "You and I have an arrangement, have we? I wasn't
aware of it."
"Not yet," he answered. "But there's a chance that we may have. If I
can only satisfy myself that you are the man I'm looking for, there is no
earthly reason that I can see why we should not come to terms. Go on
out and get the lemons and the gin and soda, and let's talk this thing
over man to man like a couple of good fellows at the club. I mean you
no harm, and you certainly don't wish to do any kind of injury to a chap
who, even though appearances are against him, really means to do you
a good turn."
"Appearances certainly are against you, sir," said I, a trifle warmly, for
the man's composure was irritating. "A disappearance would be more
likely to do you credit at this moment."
"Tush, Jenkins!" he answered. "Why waste breath saying self-evident
things? Here you are on the verge of a big transaction, and you delay
proceedings by making statements of fact, mixed in with a cheap wit
which, I must confess, I find surprising, and so obvious as to be visible
even to the blind. You don't talk like an author whose stuff is worth ten
cents a word--more like a penny-a-liner, in fact, with whom words are
of such small value that no one's the loser if he throws away a whole
dictionary. Go out and mix a couple of your best Remsen coolers, and
by the time you get back I'll have got to the gist of this royalty
statement of yours, which is all I've come for. Your silver and books
and love letters and manuscripts are safe from me. I wouldn't have 'em
as a gift."
"What concern have you with my royalties?" I demanded.
"A vital one," said he. "Mix the coolers, and when you get back I'll tell
you. Go on. There's a good chap. It'll be daylight before long, and I
want to close up this job if I can before sunrise."

What there was in the man's manner to persuade me to compliance with
his wishes, I am sure I cannot say definitely. There was a cold, steely
glitter in his eye, for one thing. With it, however, was a strengthfulness
of purpose, a certain pleasant masterfulness, that made me feel that I
could trust him, and it was to this aspect of his nature that I yielded.
There was something frankly appealing in his long, thin, ascetic
looking face, and I found it irresistible.
"All right," said I with a smile and a frown to express the conflicting
quality of my emotions. "So be it. I'll get the coolers, but you must
remember, my friend, that there are coolers and coolers, just as there
are jugs and jugs. The kind of jug that remains for you will depend
upon the story you have to tell when I get back, so you'd better see that
it's a good one."
"I am not afraid, Jenkins, old chap," he said with a hearty laugh as I
rose. "If this royalty statement can prove to me that you are the literary
partner I need in my business, I can prove to you that I'm a good man to
tie up to--so go along with you."
With this he lighted a fresh cigar and turned to a perusal of my
statement, which, I am glad to say, was a good one, owing to the great
success of my book, Wild Animals I Have Never Met--the seventh-best
seller at Rochester, Watertown, and Miami in June and July,
1905--while I went out into the dining-room and mixed the coolers. As
you may imagine, I was not long at it, for my curiosity over my visitor
lent wings to my corkscrew, and in five minutes I was back with the
tempting beverages in the tall glasses, the lemon curl giving it the
vertebrate appearance that all stiff drinks should have, and the ice
tinkling refreshingly upon the sultry air.
"There," said I, placing his glass before him. "Drink hearty, and then to
business. Who are