"He was my father's cousin," said Montague. "He put so much money
into the road that the family has been poor ever since."

"It was an unfortunate venture," said the Colonel. "It is too bad
some of our big capitalists don't take it up and do something with
it."

"That was my idea," said Montague. "I have broached it to one."

"Indeed?" said the Colonel. "Possibly that is where my offer came
from. Who was it?"

"It was Jim Hegan," said Montague.

"Oh!" said the Colonel. "But of course," he added, "Hegan would do
his negotiating through an agent."

"Let me give you my card," said the Colonel, after a pause. "It is
possible that I may be able to interest someone in the matter
myself. I have friends who believe in the future of the South. How
many shares do you suppose you could get me, and what do you suppose
they would cost?"

Montague got out a pencil and paper, and proceeded to recall as well
as he could the location of the various holdings of Northern
Mississippi. He and his new acquaintance became quite engrossed in
the subject, and they talked it out from many points of view. By the
time that Montague's friend arrived, the Colonel was in possession
of all the facts, and he promised that he would write in a very few