The “boob” seized the bait like a trout in the Bonaparte, and made a deposit of five thousand dollars.  Shortly afterwards the company went into liquidation, and his six thousand dollars sailed away with the worthless liquid into the sea of oblivion.

About this same time, when his popularity was at its zenith, and was rivalling that of Dr. Cook, the fake discoverer of the North Pole, another shark came down with the rain selling the most marvellous money-making scheme ever offered to the public of British Columbia.  This was X.Y.Z.  Fire Insurance shares, which he was disposing of at a great sacrifice.

“Let me sell you some shares in the only ‘real thing’ that has been offered to the public since the flood,” he tempted.

The victim was so much under the shark’s influence that he was hypnotized.

“Certainly,” he said.  “Write me down for five hundred ‘doughbaby’s’ worth.”

“You mean a thousand,” said the shark.

“No,” said the “gink,” timidly, “I have only five hundred in my sock; that will be as much as my pack will carry.”

“Exactly; that is just right.  You see, you are buying a thousand dollars worth of goods with only five hundred dollars worth of cash.  The shares are fifty dollars each, with a cash payment of twenty-five dollars, and the balance subject to call.  This balance will never be called for, because on no occasion has an insurance company been known to call in its balance of subscribed stock; and the X.Y.Z. is not going to establish a precedent in this respect.  You will have twenty shares for five hundred dollars.  In other words, you will draw interest on one thousand dollars, and only have five hundred invested.  Was ever a business so philanthropic in its foundation?”

Our hero grabbed the bait like a pure-bred sucker, and handed out his last asset.

A few weeks later the company was in the hands of receivers with all its assets vaporized.  The popular man found himself on the “rocks.”  Being popular for a short time had proved a very expensive expedition for him.  The retreat rivalled that of the Kaiser’s retreat from Paris.  It was so sudden that the town heard the thud and felt the jar.  The unpopular man realized that it is wiser to remain in one’s natural element even if it is necessary to sacrifice many of the first prizes.  Perhaps it is better to go after the prizes for which we are qualified, than to aspire to elevations which we are unable to hold intelligently.

The unpopular man backed himself up into his burrow, and for a time the silence around town was embarrassing.

Of Hard Times Hance

Once upon a time on the foothills in the environs of Clinton, Lillooet District, Province of British Columbia, there lived a “mossback” who was as happy as the 22nd day of June is long in each year.  At initiative conclusions he would be classified with the freak species of humanity, but beneath his raw exterior there lurked rich mines which the moss kept a secret from the inquisitive, avaricious world.