"You mean to say you can beat this place of mine anywhere?" he demanded. "Well," said Jack, amiably, "of course I don't mean to criticise this beautiful country. It is very beautiful in its own way, and there is some evidence of wealth here. I was only saying that next to my place it comes pretty near to being the finest I ever saw." "I guess you'd go a good many miles before you'd see a castle like mine," said the ogre, with a proud glance around him. "I haven't seen your castle yet, sir," said Jack. "But this little bungalow we are in strikes me as about as cute and comfy a cozy-corner as I've visited in a month of Sundays." "Bungalow?" roared the giant. "You don't call this a bungalow, do you?" "Why, yes," said Jack. "It certainly isn't a tent, or a chicken-coop, or a tool-house, is it? It's mighty comfy anyhow, whatever you call it. I wouldn't mind owning it myself." A glitter came into the ogre's eyes. If this young man were merely bluffing now was the time to call him. "Oh, as for that," said the ogre, with a sarcastic laugh, "you can own it--that is, you can if you can pay for it. I'll sell." Here he winked at the butler as much as to say, "Now we'll see him flop." But Jack had no intention of flopping. "Really?" he said, with a great show of enthusiasm. "Well, this is fine. I hadn't the slightest idea the place was in the market, but if we can get together on a figure, I might be tempted. How much?" "What would you say to $2,500,000?" demanded the ogre, with a grim smile. "Done!" said Jack. "And cheap at the price." Here he drew out the check-book, and drew a check for the full amount to the order of William J. Ogre, Esq., which he tossed across the table to the amazed giant. "There's your money," he said. "Fork over the deeds." The ogre rubbed his eyes, and almost stopped breathing for a moment. "H'm!" he muttered, inspecting the check closely. "This looks pretty good to me. What kind of a book is that, young man?" "That?" laughed Jack. "Oh, that's what we call the magic check-book. It is the kind that all our big financiers use--Mr. Rockernegie, Colonel Midas, and John Jacob Rothschild, and all the rest of them. It is merely an ingenious financial contrivance that enables us to avoid contact with actual money, which is not only vulgar and dangerous to carry in large quantities, but in some cases is full of germs." The lad went on and explained to the ogre just how checks were drawn and presented for payment. "It's a pretty nice sort of an arrangement, that," said the ogre, very much interested, "but suppose you draw out your whole balance, what then?"