An Electkic Bluff

' ' Did I ever teil you about the great bluff I invented and worked off on a country hotel proprietor?" asked Meck in, the lazy inventor, as he tilted back his chair and lit his pipe. "It would have been blamed inconvenient for me if I hadn't brought my inventive facul ties to bear on the subject, and if I ha neglected to observe the new telephone. It carne about like this : I was rnaking a flying trip through the west in search o: a man who was said to have invented a process for tempering copper by electricity. One. evening about dinner time ] reached an Indiana town which I'll cal! Jayville, as the town is still there, and so is the hotel proprietor. I rushed into the only hotel in the place, asked for somo dinner and was shown to the dining room after I had registered. I want'?■ to catch the 9 :13 train for Indianap 4lis, so I could spend the night there. When I had iinished my meal, I fished around in my pockets for a dime to tip the waiter with. I found I hadn't a blooming cent in my clothes. Yon know I'm careless about money matters, and never think of lucre un til I'm out of it. Well, I hadn't anycash, but I had a $50 draf t on New York in my pocketbook. I let the waiter go without his tip aní walked out to the office, where I founri the landlord. I ostentationsly took up pen, asked the landlord his name, uw made the draft payable to him. "'Now,' said I, 'if you'll kindij take out the price of a dinner and giv me the baliince of this $50 I'll K obliged. ' "The landlord read over the draft for ward, backward, sideways and upsid' down. Then he held it up to the light At last he lookedi at me sharply arJ said: " 'Your name Meekin?' " 'Surething.'saidL " 'T. J. Meekin?' "'Sure.' " 'How do I know it?' " 'You don't, but I'm telling you,' said I. " 'How do I know yon ain't on6 o' these yere flim flammers?' " 'You dou't. Do I look like a flim flammer?' " 'Waal, yemonghtan yemoughtn't,' was the lan'dlord'sencouragingreply. It was getting near train time, and I was getting nervous. In glancing around the office with the faint hope that I'd see some one I knew, my glance fell npon a long distance telephone over in the corner, ftight here was where I invented my bluff in, Jayville at 8 :45 p. m. " 'See here, Mr. Man,' I said to the landlord, 'yon know a bank draft when yon see it, don't you? Well, that's a bank draft. Now, it don't make any difference to you who I am if I can prove that the draft's good, does it? All right. I see yon have a telephone. Can I use it?' " 'Ye can if ye know how to work the thing. Just put her in yistiddy, an I ain't on to the game yit. ' "'All right, ' I replied. 'Now yon come over here to the telephone with me, and I'll soon satisfy you that your suspicions of me and this draft are all wrong. ' "We went over to the 'phone; the landlord leaned up against the wall watching my every movement. Luckily no one was around but an old man asleep near the stove and a stupid German porter. I picked up the receiver without ringing, and this is what the landlord heard : " 'Helio, central ! Gimme New York. Helio! This New York? Gimme 8838 Cortlandt. Helio! 8833 Cortlandt? Manhattan Exchange National bank? Mr. Crandell there? Helio! This you, Crandall, old man? This is Meekin. Mdouble-e-k-i-n. Yes, Meekin, T. J. How are you? Say. I'm in Jayville, Ind. Hotel man says your draft number 347 on my account is no good. How abont it? Well? Good for $5,000, is it? Sure? You are, eh? Good joke on yonr old bank, ain't it, Crandell? Cost you a bottle when I get back. Sure it's good, are you? Ha, ha ! That's good. Well, so long. See you next Monday. ' "With that I hung up the receiver without ringing off, and turned to look at the landlord. His eyes were buiging out, and when I asked him if he required any fuiihci pruoí ho gatpcd out : " 'Waal, I swnci te gracioasJ Hf that ain't toe fh:r.st (hing I cvrr ;;co ! Talking to New York, eh ! Waal, I nover thought to see it. Here, come over here and get yer cash. The dinner's on me. Never see anything. so wonderful since the circus was here last. ' "I took (ho reonry, Ihankod liiiri and nearly laughed myself into hysterios all