"J."

The wedding tour came to an end, and the bride and groom returned long
before Mr. Elkins did. Giddings dropped into my office the day after
their return, and, quite in his old way, began to discuss affairs in
general.

"I'm going to close out the _Herald_ Addition," said he. "Real estate
and newspaper work don't mix, and I shall unload the real estate. What
do you say to an auction?"

"How can you be sure of anything like an adequate scale of prices?" said
I; "and won't you demoralize things?"

"It'll strengthen prices," he replied, "the way I'll manage it. This is
the age of the sensational--the yellow--and you people haven't been
yellow enough in your methods of selling dirt. If you say sensationalism
is immoral, I won't dispute it, but just simply ask how the fact happens
to be material?"

I saw that he was going out of his way to say this, and avoided
discussion by asking him to particularize as to his methods.

"We shall pursue a progressively startling course of advertising, to the
end that the interest shall just miss acute mania. I'll have the best
auctioneer in the world. On the day of the auction we'll have a series
of doings which will leave the people absolutely no way out of buying.
We'll have a scale of upset prices which will prevent loss. Why, I'll
make such a killing as never was known outside of the Fifteen Decisive
Battles. I sha'n't seem to do all this personally. I shall turn the work
over to Tolliver; but I'll be the power behind the movement. The
gestures and stage business will be those of Esau, but the word-painting
will be that of Jacob."

"Well," said I, "I see nothing wrong about your plan; and it may be
practicable."

"There being nothing wrong about it is no objection from my standpoint,"
said he. "In fact, I think I prefer to have it morally right rather than
otherwise, other things being equal, you know. As for its
practicability, you watch the Captain, and you'll see!"

This talk with Giddings convinced me that he was entirely himself again;
and also that the boom was going on apace. It had now long reached the
stage where the efforts of our syndicate were reinforced by those of
hundreds of men, who, following the lines of their own interests, were
powerfully and effectively striving to accomplish the same ends. I
pointed this out in a letter to Mr. Elkins in New York.

"I am glad to note," said he in rep