ion; their happiness
has nothing to do with me," returned John Massey. "I pay 'em their wages
and that's enough. And I don't believe that every man is born with a
special talent. They all look alike to me mostly."

"Every man is born with the capacity to do something in a way impossible
to another," said the inventor with conviction. "There are no two
persons alike in the world."

John Massey smiled. He really now felt that he was being entertained.
Such another rare specimen as this inventor with his ridiculous
contentions would be hard to find. So he said pleasantly: "And after the
machine has recorded its findings, what then?"

"Then you, and other men like you who have accumulated fortunes--"

"Stop!" cried the capitalist. "Let me finish for you. After the machine
has done its work, I'm to have the privilege of paying for the
professional education or trade of these same impecunious young men."

"Exactly, sir. The institution you endow might be called the Temple of
Natural Ability Appraisement. There the poor in money, but the rich in
ambition may come; there the fumblers, the indecisive, may come to be
put to a test. Ah, yours can be a great work."

"A great opportunity for you, Mr. Massey," emphasized David, the
gardener. "I envy you."

"You'd help out, wouldn't you, Eagle Man?" Suzanna now cried with
perfect faith in his good will. "You see, you'd have to when you
remembered that there's a little silver chain stretching from your wrist
to everybody else's in the world. It must be rubber-plated, I guess."

"What do you mean?" asked the Eagle Man, involuntarily casting his
glance down to his wrist, his flow of satire dammed.

"That's what Drusilla told me; we all belong. And you can't do something
mean without breaking the chain that binds you to somebody else."

"Ah, my dear," said the Eagle Man, letting his hand fall upon her bright
hair, "you belong to a family of impossible visionaries." He looked
over at Suzanna's father, and his face suddenly grew crimson. "Were you
in earnest, Procter," he cried, "when you told me in Doane's hardware
store that your machine meant a big opportunity to me--were you
jesting?"

"Jesting! Why, I've pointed out your opportunity, plainly."

"Shown me how I can throw a fortune away!"

After a moment Mr. Procter replied: "We speak in different languages. By
opportunity you can see only a chance to make more money."

"Any other sane person makes the same guess," Mr. Ma