When the manager came on the line, Ogilvy dictated to him a message
which he instructed the manager to telegraph back to him at the Hotel
Sequoia one hour later; this mysterious detail attended to, he
continued on to the Mayor's office in the city hall.
Mayor Poundstone's bushy eyebrows arched with interest when his
secretary laid upon his desk the card of Mr. Buchanan Ogilvy, vice-
president and general manager of the Northern California Oregon
Railroad. "Ah-h-h!" he breathed with an unpleasant resemblance to a
bon vivant who sees before him his favourite vintage. "I have been
expecting Mr. Ogilvy to call for quite a while. At last we shall see
what we shall see. Show him in."
The visitor was accordingly admitted to the great man's presence and
favoured with an official handshake of great heartiness. "I've been
hoping to have this pleasure for quite some time, Mr. Poundstone,"
Buck announced easily as he disposed of his hat and overcoat on an
adjacent chair. "But unfortunately I have had so much preliminary
detail to attend to before making an official call that at last I
grew discouraged and concluded I'd just drop in informally and get
acquainted." Buck's alert blue eyes opened wide in sympathy with his
genial mouth, to deluge Mayor Poundstone with a smile that was
friendly, guileless, confidential, and singularly delightful.
Pages:
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300