4 The Acorn ward the hotel. When he reached his room he began to pace back and forth. He could not think, his mind was chaos, he was only conscious that he had erred, erred twice once two years ago. An hour later O'Leary, on his way home, purchased a paper to read after supper. He whistled, while climbing the hill, for he was happy. The melody was decidedly Irish, full of vivacity, the gayety of the Irish folk. It took his thoughts over thousands of miles of land and sea and brought memories of sorrow and of joy. But what was the past to him, the future ah the future in another month, the powers of man and steam would be carrying him away to to what? He shivered slightly to what? He did not know, but he hoped, and hope made his spirits light. While he ate his supper Mrs. Sullivan told him of her strange visitor. "An' when oi told him o' Kitty he said never a word and went. I shouldn't wonder but how he knows something o' her." To this Tom replied : "No, mother, you and I are the only ones in America that know about Kittie. Your mentioning her name just reminded him of something of importance that he had forgotten. That is all I am sure." But Mrs. Sullivan was not sure, she believed there was some mystery. After supper Tom unfolded the newspaper and glanced at the front page. The name of Hook, Steele & Co. attracted his attention, and doubting the accuracy of his sight he read in bold print. "THE FIRM OF HOOK, STEELE & CO. CHALLENGES. For some time there has been considerable competition between the above well known firm, manufacturers of safes, and the International Burglar Proof Safe Co. To demonstrate the superiority of the "Hercules" safe made by Hook, Steele & Co., their representative issues a challenge to the International Company. He asks that each Company submit a safe to a test of three charges of nitro-glycerine. If the International Co. fails to accept this challenge the reason will be obvious" O'Leary grasped the situation immediately. He arose and left the house much the same as McGraw had done, leaving the astonished Mrs. Sullivan staring at the door he had just closed. "Sure, he must be thinking he's his friend that was here," she remarked knowingly. He went directly to a telegraph office and wired his company of the challenge. By noon the next day he received the answer: "WE HAVE CONSIDERED CAREFULLY. ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE." Christmas, 1909. 5 In the evening the Daily Times published the telegram, and added: "Will Mr. McGraw name time and place? If he fails the reason will be obvious." That night the acceptance of the challenge was read by fifty thousand business men. The papers in neighboring cities copied, and within twenty-four hours fifty thousand more read the same; it was going to be a tremendous advertisement for one of the companies. McGraw, although convinced that he could have done better had he postponed his challenge until after O'Leary left, determined to push his scheme through and strike the business of the International Co.' the blow he, had planned. He telegraphed his firm of what he had done. Hook, Steele & Co., knowing the grade of steel put into the "Hercules," wired back: "YOU FOOL, DO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN. RETREAT WITH A BOLD FRONT." McGraw; folded the telegram and smiled. "I may be a fool, but I certainly have no intentions of letting it happen, 'Hercules' will never be tested. I will make a scoup of it yet," he soliloquized. But the brightness of his contemplated victory was dimmed by other thoughts that crowded into his brain. He wished that he and his were many miles away, or better still, that O'Leary were working in the coal mines of "Auld Nick." The next evening O'Leary was called to the telephone. "Hello. Yes, this is O'Leary. How's that? Oh, yes, yes, I'll be there within the hour. 217 Butler Annex. Good-bye." Tom put on his coat, and telling Mrs. Sullivan that he might not be home until late, stepped out into the night. From his elevation he could see over a great part of the city nearly surrounded by water. Below, nearly a mile distant, the streets, illuminated by countless electric signs, and the many lights of the sky-scrapers, cast a brilliance upward where it was refracted by a thin cloud of smoke, giving the appearance of a mighty fire. Out beyond this, the line of the wharves was marked by thousands of twinkling electric stars. The moon, well advanced in the eastern sky, made the waters of the sound appear as a lake of molten silver. Strains of music from a pleasure park floated across the bay, wafted by the evening breeze. Tom saw and heard, and was conscious of a thousand other beauties. He sniffed the sea air and filled his deep lungs. Some day, yes, very soon, he would build a little home in this city. He passed through the streets crowded with people intoxicated with pleasure and the sensational, and entered the annex of the Butler hotel.