a ticket for the theatre where an American actor--our biggest actor
today--was playing, and I tried to sell it outside the door of the
theatre where they were crowding to see him. The man who bought it was
the actor himself. He gave me two dollars more than the regular price. I
expect he knew from my voice I was an American. Is there anything
peculiar about my voice, Miss Raglan?"

She looked at him quickly, smiled, and said in a low tone: "Yes,
something peculiar. Please go on."

"Well, anyway, he said to me: 'Look here, where did you come from, my
boy?' I told him the State of Maine. 'What are you doing here?' he asked.
'Speculating, said I, and seeing things.' He looked me up and down. 'How
are you getting on?' 'Well. I've made four dollars to-day,' I answered.
'Out of this ticket?' I expect I grinned. He suddenly caught me by the
arm and whisked me inside the theatre--the first time I'd ever been in a
theatre in my life. I shall never forget it. He took me around to his
dressing-room, stuck me in a corner, and prodded me with his forefinger.
'Look here,' he said, 'I guess I'll hire you to speculate for me.' And
that's how I came to get twenty-five dollars a month and my living from a
great American actor. When I got back to America--with him--I had two
hundred and fifty dollars in cash, and good clothes. I started a
peanut-stand, and sold papers and books, and became a speculator. I heard
two men talking one day at my stall about a railway that was going to run
through a certain village, and how they intended to buy up the whole
place. I had four hundred and fifty dollars then. I went down to that
village, and bought some lots myself. I made four thousand dollars. Then
I sold more books, and went on speculating."

He paused, blew his cigar-smoke slowly from him a moment; then turned