THE WOLF HUNTERS 



baum, "and let me make you acquainted with 

 Mr. Lang, and you can talk it over with him." 



On following him into his back room I was in- 

 troduced to a pleasant-looking young officer of 

 about twenty-five, who wore the uniform and 

 shoulder-straps of first lieutenant of cavalry, but 

 whose appearance showed evidences of dissipa- 

 tion. He seemed pleased to find a man who un- 

 derstood Uncle Sam's ways of transacting business, 

 and still more gratified when I told him that I 

 thought possibly I could find means to relieve him 

 of a part, if not all, of his accountability; which he 

 knew meant not only the saving of so many dol- 

 lars, but would prevent an official investigation 

 that might result in his dismissal from the service. 

 I told him I could not promise to take charge of 

 his papers and begin on the work until I had con- 

 sulted my partners. He would pay me a hundred 

 dollars, he said, to make the effort and do what I 

 could for him, and two hundred if I succeeded in 

 clearing him of all his accountability and put his 

 company papers in good shape, so that his com- 

 pany clerk could thereafter keep them straight. 



I promised him that I would return in a day or 

 two probably prepared to go to work on his ac- 

 counts. This so pleased him that he called for a 

 bottle of champagne, in which, however, I de- 

 clined joining him and retired, leaving him and 

 Weisselbaum drinking the wine. 



Jack and I had seen enough of the rawness of 



200 



