aughed the Governor. "Do you supply the
Equatorial?"

"No, not yet; but I'd like to," said Jack. "I think our house could
give them what they need."

"Let me have your card then," said one of the gentlemen who had joined
in the Governor's merriment; "for the Governor has no time to spare--"

Jack handed him the card of Gifford & Company.

"Take it, Boulder, take it," said the Governor. "Mr. Ogden and I are
old acquaintances."

"He's a protege of yours, eh?" said Boulder. "Well, I mean business.
Write your own name there, Mr. Ogden. I'll send our buyer down there,
to-morrow, and we'll see what can be done. Shall we go in, Governor?"

Jack understood, at once, that Mr. Boulder was one of the proprietors
of the Equatorial Hotel.

"I'm called for, Jack," said the Governor. "You will be in the city
awhile, will you not? Well, don't stay here too long. I came here
once, when I was about your age. I staid a year, and then I went away.
A year in the city will be of great benefit to you, I hope. Good-bye."

"Good-bye, Governor," said Jack, seriously. "We'll do the right thing
by Mr. Boulder;" and there was another laugh as Jack shook hands with
the Governor, and then with the very dignified manager of the
Equatorial Hotel.

"That will do, for one evening," thought Jack, as the distinguished
party of gentlemen walked away. "I'd better go right home and go to
bed. The Governor's a brick anyhow!"

Back he went to the Hotel Dantzic, and he was soon asleep.

The Alligator press in Gifford & Company's was opening and shutting its
black jaws regularly over the sheets of paper it was turning into
circulars, about the middle of Wednesday forenoon, when a dapper
gentleman with a rather prominent scarf-pin walked briskly into the
store and up to the desk.

"Mr. Gifford?" he asked.

"Yes, sir."

"I'm Mr. Barnes," said the dapper man. "General buyer for the
Equatorial Hotel. Your Mr. Ogden was up with us, last night, to see
some of his friends, and I've come down to look at your price-list, and
so forth."

"Oh!" quietly remarked Mr. Gifford, "our Mr. Ogden. Oh, quite right!
I think we can satisfy you. We'll do our best, certainly. Mr. Jones,
please confer with Mr. Barnes--I'll be back in a minute."

Up toward the door walked Mr. Gifford, but not too fast. He stood
still when he arrived at the Alligator press.

"Ogden," he said, "you can leave that work. I've another printing hand
coming."

Jack's