The Confidence Man of Front Street

I found him in the neighborhood, out upon the site of the streets. He was a perfect picture of a man in his native state; he was talking to children who were playing in the dirt. As I approached the house, with a brisk, unkempt manner, he appeared in the door. I told him I was in the market for some property, and he looked at me with a twinkle in his eye. He did not talk about business in any sense, for he was a man who had seen through and around the world, and he wanted to know what I could do. He told me he could put me up to the greatest mining scheme in the territory. I told him I was all right, but I was not sure what he was selling. He looked me in the eye and said, 'I have something in this territory, sir. I have a lot of rock that is a sure cure for sore eyes—you just bet your life on that. It is the richest thing in the territory, sir.' Then, confidentially, he added, 'I don't mind letting you in on a small interest—if you've got capital, mind. Capital alone, sir. We'll get a foot of that lode. Not that I want to sell it, sir. Well, good day, stranger—see you again, you go and look at that there rock at the toll-gate—that's all.' And giving his sombrero a lofty pull over his eyes, and shouldering his axe, this incipient Colonel Sellers strode grandly away, having me duly awe-struck and admiring.