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Smith, Francis Hopkinson, 1838-1915

"Colonel Carter of Cartersville"

&
W. A. L R. R. was soon around the office, and each _habitue_ had
a bright word for the colonel, congratulating him on the favorable
turn his affairs had taken.
All but old Klutchem, a broker in unlisted securities, who had been
trying for weeks to get a Denver land scheme before the same syndicate,
and had failed.
"Garden Spot bonds! Bosh! Road begins nowhere and ends nowhere. If any
set of fools built it, the only freight it would get, outside of peanuts
and sweet potatoes, would be razor-back hogs and niggers. I wouldn't
give a yellow dog for enough of those securities to paper a church."
The colonel was on his feet in an instant.
"Mr. Klutchem, I cannot permit you, suh, to use such language in my
presence unrebuked; you"--
"Now, see here, old Garden Spot, you know"--
The familiarity angered the colonel even more than the outburst.
"Caarter, suh,--George Fairfax Caarter," said the colonel with dignity.
"Well, Caarter, then," mimicking him, perhaps unconsciously. "You
know"--
The intonation was the last straw.


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