E-text prepared by D Alexander and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by Internet Archive/American Libraries (http://www.archive.org/details/americana) Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which includes the original illustrations. See 32897-h.htm or 32897-h.zip: (https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/32897/pg32897-images.html) or (https://www.gutenberg.org/files/32897/32897-h.zip) Images of the original pages are available through Internet Archive/American Libraries. See http://www.archive.org/details/youngwallingford00chesiala YOUNG WALLINGFORD by GEORGE RANDOLPH CHESTER Author of The Early Bird The Making of Bobby Burnit With Illustrations by F. R. Gruger & Henry Raleigh Indianapolis The Bobbs-Merrill Company Publishers Copyright 1910 The Bobbs-Merrill Company Press of Braunworth & Co. Bookbinders and Printers Brooklyn, N. Y. [Illustration: Fannie] CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I WIX BEGINS TO THINK 1 II EASY MONEY 12 III YOUNG WIX TAKES A HAND 25 IV THE EASIEST WAY 38 V WIX DISAPPEARS FOREVER 52 VI A SAD DISAPPOINTMENT 61 VII A GREEN-GOODS PLAYLET 72 VIII THE DOUBLE CROSS 86 IX SPOILING THE EGYPTIANS 101 X EATING CAKE AND HAVING IT 111 XI A BRIEF CHARACTER BIT 126 XII WALLINGFORD IS FROZEN OUT 144 XIII BEAUTY IN THE SPOT-LIGHT 158 XIV AN OLD SCORE EVENED UP 172 XV TAKING HIS MONEY 183 XVI ENJOYING THEMSELVES 201 XVII J. RUFUS SEEKS INVESTMENT 219 XVIII SPECULATION IN REAL ESTATE 231 XIX A GREAT ART CENTER 251 XX ETRUSCAN BLACK MUD 264 XXI THE GREAT VITTOREO MATTEO 279 XXII THE SURPRISE OF HIS LIFE 288 XXIII STILL ANOTHER SURPRISE 298 XXIV A STRAIGHT BUSINESS 306 XXV THE SCIATACATA COMPANY 318 XXVI A DELUSION AND A SNARE 331 XXVII LAUGH AT THAT WOOZY FEELING 341 YOUNG WALLINGFORD CHAPTER I WHEREIN JONATHAN REUBEN WIX BEGINS TO THINK "A natural again!" exulted Jonathan Reuben Wix, as the dice bounded from his plump hand and came to rest upon the billiard-table in Leiniger's Select Café, with a five and a deuce showing. "Somebody ring the bell for me, because I'm a-going to get off."