tuck to their walking treasury department.

In his room Honey Tone made a final effort to side-step the escort. He
removed his coat and hung it on a chair. "Now wid de cares whut infests
de day relegated to de bosom ob de past, I lays me down an' sleeps.
Brothehs, I hopes you all enjoys de boon ob ol' lady nature's sweet
restorer, an' I sees you tomorr' at--"

"You sees us now." A heavy-set deppity grunted a verdict. "Gimme 'at
quilt, an' I makes down mah pallet on de flo'."

Without implying anything pussonal, another of the soopreem trio laid
himself down close against the door.

The uplifter knew a bear trap when he saw it. He pillowed his rangy jaw
on the comforting outlines of the lumpy treasure in the pocket of his
vest, folded beneath his head. "Talk sure is cheap," he reflected.
"Talk is cheap, but sometimes you can trade big words for big money."

A violent snore answered him, and again hope mounted to his heart, but
presently he realized that only one of his associates was sleeping.

With the sleepers changing shifts every hour or so, the long night
passed.

By dawn Honey Tone was resolved to give his schemes a run for their
money. You never could tell how a scheme might turn out; and the
colonization business sounded pretty good, even to its overstressed
inventor.

CHAPTER XVIII

1.

The convention of the Nobles of the Mysterious Mecca dwindled into the
final stage that attends all conventions. Golf was eliminated, and
business was the order of the day. The Mud Turtle left him; and
thereafter the Wildcat suffered indirectly, being threatened with a
resumption of his responsibility as porter on the special car that had
brought the Chicago contingent west to San Francisco. A sense of
restraint gradually killed off the wild free business of roaming the
Lincoln Park golf course at so much per roam, eating heavy on the
proceeds, and sleeping twelve hours a day.

Arrayed in his yaller raiment, he sought the offices of the Pullman
company and got confidential with the office boy. "I's de po'teh fo' de
blue fezant boys--dis heah Mysterious Mecca business. Dey tells me us
leaves fo' Chicago real soon. Ah jus' been down at de deepo lookin' fo'
de cah. Whah at is dat cah? Me 'an Lily aims to git it swep' out befo'
de gen'men comes."

The office boy took the Wildcat's message to an inner office. Two
minutes later the answer came back in the person of a gentleman who was
trying to hold his temper.