Page:The Wizard of Wall Street and his Wealth.djvu/344

 working back and forth in a most comical fashion as he strove to quicken his pace. The station platform was crowded with people, and very soon the strange figure approaching them was descried. A peal of laughter from 500 throats rolled over the water to us, the ladies hiding their blushes behind parasols and fans. The men shouted with laughter. Finally the wader reached the base of the stone wall, and for a moment covered with confusion and but little else, stood upon the rock, one scarlet leg uplifted, looking for all the world like a flamingo on the shore of a Florida bayou, while the air was split with shrieks of laughter, in which we now unreservedly joined. Then came the climax of the joke, which nearly paralyzed the unfortunate victim.

"'Haul on your sheets, boys, and up with the board!' was Cruger's order. As the yacht gathered headway and swept by within ten feet of the astonished Mr. Gould, we laughingly bade him good-bye, advising a warm mustard bath when he got home.

"Then his quick mind took in the full force of the practical joke that we had worked upon him, and his dark face was a study for a painter. But the train had already reached the station, taken on its passengers, and the wheels were beginning to turn again for its run to the city. As Gould scrambled up the wall, his glossy black suit still pressed affectionately to his bosom, the 'All aboard' had sounded and the cars were moving. Every window was filled with laughing faces, as he raced over the sand and stones, and was dragged by two brakemen onto the