I had several experiences in the easy-money line, but this put them all in the shade. I was confident that my mission in life was to place American mining securities on the London market. Baron Grant and myself entered into a written agreement. I was to secure options on high-class mining properties. I had in mind the Raymond & Ely, North Bloomfield, Eureka Consolidated and Zellerbach mines. Grant, on his part, agreed to handle no other mining properties but mine. With this understanding, I did not even wait for the Mineral Hill melon cutting, but set out post-haste for San Francisco to lay in a new stock of options for the foundation of wealth beyond the dreams of avarice. The news of my success in placing the Mineral Hill mine in London had made quite a stir in my home town and I was deluged with offers of mining properties, good and bad. Quite a jubilee occurred when the first half million dollars on account of the purchase price for Mineral Hill was made payable at the Bank of California. The directors of the company were so enthusiastic that they voted themselves $5000 each as a “souvenir” and added a “souvenir” of $25,000 for the president. The other $500,000 arrived in due season, but the sordid stockholders, who seemed singularly devoid of imagination, objected so strongly to “souvenirs” that this feature of the celebration was overlooked. I had no difficulty at all in securing options on several of the most assured mining properties of California and the Pacific Slope. From these alone I figured to make millions, judging by the history of Mineral Hill. Figuring on a prolonged stay abroad, I broke up my residence in San Francisco, gave Maurice Dore a power of attorney to manage my local interests, and left with my family for London, to change paper into gold. CHAPTER XXIV. BARON GRANT DEMANDS MORE TIME, THEREBY KNOCKING OUT OPTION FOR MINE THAT SOON DEVELOPED BONANZA. _Exploiter Breaks His Promise and Litigation Follows; Public Fooled Into Buying Worthless Securities._