d Blizzard, "thank you. Are you a judge of hats? Try that
one."

Obediently Wilmot removed his own heavy yellowish straw, and substituted
the soft and pliant article indicated. It fitted him to perfection, and
the legless man smiled.

"It's yours," he said; "fold it up, and put it in your pocket."

"It'll break it."

"Here. Let me show you." And Blizzard folded the hat as if it had been a
linen handkerchief. "Very handy thing," he said, "and only to be
obtained as a gift. Sit down," Wilmot thrust the hat into his inside
pocket and sat down on the beggar's left, facing the light. The faint
hum of girls talking at their work came from the back of the
establishment. A whirling fan buzzed and bumped. The weather had
turned very hot.

"Young man," the beggar began abruptly, "if I had your legs I'd engage
in something more active and adventurous than the manufacture of straw
hats. Have you ever had the wish to be a soldier of fortune? To go about
the world redressing wrong, fighting upon the side of the oppressed?"

"Of course," said Wilmot simply.

"You are heavily in debt?"

"Very."

"Whatever I may say to you will go no further?"

"No further."

The legless man stroked his chin strongly with his thick fingers. "I am
engineering a little revolution," he said. "My own morals are
negligible. Any revolution that offered a profit would look good to me.
But in this case the revolutionary party _is_ oppressed, down-trodden,
robbed, starved, and murdered by conditions created by the party in
power. I am not yet at liberty to name you the part of the world in
which this state of affairs exists, that will be for later. Meanwhile,
if my proposition interests you, will you take my word for the place and
for the abuse of power? Indeed, the latter smells to heaven."

"South America," said Wilmot, "is full of just such rottenness as you
describe. I suppose you're speaking of some South American republic?"

"Maybe I am," said Blizzard, "and maybe I'm not. That will be for
later--for January 15th. On that date my soldiers of fortune will be
gathered in New York and told their destiny. I am hoping that you will
be one of the leaders."

"I know nothing of soldiering."

"Your record proves that you are a great hand with a rifle. It stands to
reason that you can teach the trick to others."

"Possibly," said Wilmot, "to a certain extent."

"I have," said Blizzard, "a number of scattered mining interests in
Utah. I wish yo