ell
that by the wide ribbon on his shell eyeglasses and the gray suede
gloves.

I could see in a minute that he'd sort of put the spell on Steele, most
likely because he was a genuine sample of what J. Bayard was givin' only
a fair imitation of. You know, one of these straight-backed,
aristocratic old boys that somehow has the marks of havin' been
everywhere, seen everything, and done everything. You'd expect him to be
able to mix a salad dressin' _a la Montmartre_, and reel off anecdotes
about the time when he was a guest of the Grand Duke So and So at his
huntin' lodge. Kind of a faded, thin-blooded, listless party, somewhere
in the late fifties, with droopy eye corners and a sarcastic bite to his
offhand remarks.

I may as well admit that I didn't take so kindly to Cuyler from the
first. Also I was a little peeved at J. Bayard when I discovers he's
lugged him up here without findin' out much about him. Hadn't even asked
De Kay how it was him and Pyramid Gordon had bumped up against one
another. So I fires that at him straight.

"Let's see," says I, "where was it you and Mr. Gordon got mixed up?"

"Gordon?" says he, shruggin' his shoulders and smilin' cynical. "Really,
I can't conceive just why he should remember me. True, during our brief
acquaintance, he showed a most active dislike for me; but I assure you
it was not mutual. A man of Gordon's type---- Bah! One simply ignores
them, you know."

"You don't say!" says I. "Now I had an idea that wa'n't so dead
easy--ignorin' Pyramid."

Cuyler humps his gray eyebrows as if he was slightly annoyed. "I was
referring merely to his offensive personality," he goes on. "One does
not quarrel with a bulldog for its lack of manners."

"Ah, come!" says I. "Maybe he took you for one of these parlor spaniels
and was tryin' to throw a scare into you with a few growls."

I could hear J. Bayard gasp protestin'; but Cuyler shrugs it off without
wincin'. "Just how he regarded me was a subject to which I gave not the
slightest thought," says he. "I was concerned only with his enterprise
of crossing the Peoria & Dayton at grade in the face of an injunction
issued by the State supreme court. You see, I happened to be president
of the road at the time."

"Now we're gettin' to the plot of the piece," says I. "You blocked him
off, eh?"

"I did my best," says Mr. De Kay. "Of course I was not a practical
railroad man. I'd been somewhat of a figurehead, you understand. But in
this e