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diff --git a/38472.txt b/38472.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..14188a3 --- /dev/null +++ b/38472.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6092 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Money Gods, by Ellery H. Clark + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Money Gods + +Author: Ellery H. Clark + +Release Date: January 2, 2012 [EBook #38472] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MONEY GODS *** + + + + +Produced by Charles Bowen, from page scans provided by Google Books + + + + + + + + + + +Transcriber's Notes: + + 1. Page scan source: + http://books.google.com/books?id=sjMmAAAAMAAJ + + + + + + + THE MONEY GODS + + + + + + + THE MONEY GODS + + + + BY + + ELLERY H. CLARK + + Author of "Loaded Dice," "The Carlton Case," "Ebenezer's Millions," + "Pharos," "Dick Randall," "The Camp at Sea Duck Cove," &c. + + + + + + 1922 + BOSTON NEW YORK + THE CORNHILL PUBLISHING COMPANY + + + + + + + Copyright, 1922, by + THE CORNHILL PUBLISHING COMPANY + + ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, INCLUDING MOTION PICTURE RIGHTS, DRAMATIC + RIGHTS, SERIAL RIGHTS, AND INCLUDING THAT OF TRANSLATION + INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGES, INCLUDING THE SCANDINAVIAN + + PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA + + THE JORDAN & MORE PRESS + BOSTON + + + + + + + To + + Dr. and Mrs. L. D. Shepard + + + + + + CONTENTS + + + CHAPTER + + I Hide and Seek. + + II Tangled Threads. + + III The Golfers. + + IV A Flurry in the Market. + + V Fools Rush In. + + VI Misery Meets Company. + + VII The Adventure of Blagden. + + VIII The Adventure of Tubby Mills. + + IX A Message from the Past. + + X The Adventure of Atherton. + + XI A Fresh Start. + + XII The Flight of Bellingham. + + XIII The Great Secret. + + XIV A Triple Discovery. + + XV Thrust and Parry. + + XVI The Final Effort. + + XVII The Power and the Glory. + + XVIII Fate is Fickle. + + XIX The Sowers of the Wind. + + XX The End. + + + + + + + THE MONEY GODS + + + + + + + THE MONEY GODS + + + + + CHAPTER I + + Hide And Seek + + +Outside the open window, clustering ramblers flecked the wall with +crimson, and the ceaseless murmur of the questing bees filled the +midsummer air with melody. No other sound disturbed the silence of the +study, where Marshall Hamilton, President of the Standard Bank, and +his secretary, Hugh Bellingham, sat facing one another at the table in +the centre of the room. One by one, the capitalist was disposing of +the documents before him, working rapidly, but with the absolute +precision acquired by years of experience in the world of high +finance. A note here, a numeral there, a word of explanation to the +secretary; at length he had completed his task. + +"That will be all, Bellingham," he said curtly. "When you've attended +to these, you may have the rest of the day to yourself. I'm expecting +some friends to play golf." + +Bellingham rose, picked up the papers from the table, and with a +murmured word of thanks made his way slowly up the broad staircase to +his pleasant, airy room at the top of the house. Yet it was evident +that he viewed the prospect of a holiday with indifference, for as he +seated himself at his desk and gazed forth over Marshall Hamilton's +broad acres, the look upon his face was one of discouragement +bordering on despair, while his thoughts, gloomily disconsolate, were +divided between pity for himself and envy of his employer. How would +it feel, he wondered, to change places with the banker, if only for a +day, and to become the owner of these well-kept lawns, these groves of +birch and pine, the hills and valleys of the links and the sea-blue +river winding its leisurely way through the green and fertile meadows +on its journey toward the sea. That would indeed be happiness, and +more glorious still would be the knowledge that he was one of the "big +men" of Wall Street, not only a multi-millionaire, but a director in a +score of huge companies and the organizer of mighty enterprises. For +an instant, as he sat staring into the sunshine and letting his fancy +roam at will, he almost succeeded in realizing his dream, but the next +moment, with a sudden start, he came to himself again--Hugh +Bellingham, private secretary at a salary of two thousand a year, and +with debts so urgent and so impossible of payment that the very +thought of them was a perpetual torment, causing him anxious days and +sleepless nights, and robbing his life of all pretence of happiness. +"Money," he reflected, "I've got to find it. A lot of it, too. Ten +thousand dollars, at the least. But Heaven knows where it's coming +from, and if I don't have it soon--" + +A shrug of his shoulders completed the sentence, and rousing himself +with a sigh from his vain imaginings, he turned to the papers before +him and was about to begin work in earnest when he heard the patter of +footsteps coming swiftly down the hallway toward his room, and at the +sound shook his head in humorous despair. "Young Marshall," he said to +himself. "No chance for writing now." And scarcely had the words +passed his lips when the door flew violently open and Marshall +Hamilton, Junior, a handsome boy of seven, burst explosively into the +room, and without wasting time on preliminary greetings, hastened to +announce the purpose of his visit. + +"I say, Hugh," he cried, "I've finished my lunch, and Miss Wilton's +still at the table, stuffing like a pig. So let's play hide and seek." + +Abruptly, Bellingham swept his papers together, thrust them into the +drawer of his desk, and rose acquiescently from his chair. "Very well, +sir," he rejoined, "if you say hide and seek, then hide and seek it +is. And I suppose you want me to be 'it' so that you can have all the +fun and make me do all the work." + +But the boy shook his curly head. "No, no, Hugh," he cried, "you're +wrong about that. _I_ want to be the hunter; that's the mostest fun. +And don't you hide--" he added, raising an admonishing finger, "in any +easy baby place like curtains, the way you did last time. I want to +have a real 'citing hunt, so you must choose the hardest place you +can. Now then, I'll give you a fair start; I'll count three hundred by +ones. Ready, Hugh--" and seating himself in the chair which the +secretary had just left, he buried his face in his hands and began to +count rapidly to himself in a buzzing undertone, while Bellingham, +crossing the room on tiptoe, made his way quickly out into the +corridor, wondering where he might find a hiding place sufficiently +inaccessible to satisfy the aspirations of the hunter. + +Near the turn in the hallway, he paused opposite the picture gallery; +and, seized by a sudden impulse, entered, closed the door behind him, +and for a moment stood motionless, temporarily blinded by the +transition from the glare outside to the semi-darkness within. +Presently, however, his sight returned to him, and at once, in the +vague half-light, he became aware of an uncomfortable feeling that the +ancestral Hamiltons upon the walls were peering down at him through +the gloom with a hostile and disapproving gaze, as though resenting +his presence in the room. But time pressed, and the secretary, still +governed by the impulse which had bade him enter, did not stop to +analyze this impression, but instead turned hastily from the +unfriendly portraits to the four suits of massive armor which flanked +the door, bulking grimly upon their pedestals, survivals of those +far-off days when the fighting Hamiltons of old had girt their swords +about them, and had gone blithely forth to do battle with their foes. +Toward the nearest of these Bellingham made his way, and a few moments +later stood safely entrenched within his shell of steel, securely +hidden from view and smiling to himself as he reflected that he had +unquestionably found a place difficult enough to test the ingenuity of +his pursuer. + +The seconds passed. Evidently the boy was making a thorough search of +Bellingham's chamber, for no sound disturbed the quiet of the gallery +until all at once, with a swiftness which made Bellingham start, he +heard the door suddenly opened and closed again, and immediately +afterward became aware that someone was hastily crossing the room. For +the moment, with his field of vision restricted by the bars of his +helmet, he could not tell who the visitor might be, yet he felt +certain that the footsteps could not be those of a child, and the next +instant proved that he was right as there appeared before his startled +eyes the figure, not of the boy from whom he was hiding, but of +Marshall Hamilton himself. A singular time, thought the bewildered +secretary, for his employer to be visiting the gallery, and the +banker's subsequent actions were more remarkable still, for walking +directly up to one of the portraits, a dignified Hamilton of the +seventeenth century with ruff at neck and sword at side, the financier +stopped short, listened for a moment, and then, casting a quick glance +over his shoulder, raised his hand and apparently touched some portion +of the picture, whereupon, to Bellingham's amazement, the portrait, +frame and all, swung smoothly back; the banker, without hesitation, +stepped quickly through the orifice thus made, and an instant later +the picture had slipped noiselessly into place again, and all was once +more silent in the room. + +For the moment, Bellingham experienced nothing but the most intense +astonishment, yet almost at once this feeling gave place to one of +apprehension and dismay, for it was only too evident that the exit +which he had just witnessed was something which he had never been +meant to see, and that if his eavesdropping should be discovered, he +would be placed in a position of obvious embarrassment, and perhaps of +actual danger. And moreover, since young Marshall was a great chum of +his father, it seemed equally clear that if the boy should find the +secretary's hiding place, news of it would inevitably come to the +banker's ears; and accordingly Bellingham, without losing an instant, +made haste to emerge from his place of concealment, and stepping +quickly to the door of the gallery, opened it just in time to hear the +boy's voice crying impatiently, "Make a noise, Hugh; I can't find you. +Make a noise, quick." + +Like a flash, Bellingham darted across the hall, entered a spare +bedroom, and with a sigh of relief dropped behind a table, at the same +time calling aloud to guide the hunter. Instantly the boy came +storming down the hall, captured his quarry in triumph and began +clamoring eagerly for another game. But fortunately for Bellingham, +Miss Wilton, having completed the process of "stuffing like a pig," +now appeared upon the scene and took command of her charge. + +"You're to come driving with me, Marshall," she announced, and turning +to the secretary, she added, "And Miss Helen wishes to know, sir, if +you would care to play a round of golf with her at five o'clock?" + +Bellingham, his mind still in confusion, stood staring at her as if he +found it difficult to comprehend her words, but at length he managed +to answer, with an effort, "Yes indeed, I'll play with pleasure," and +as the boy and his governess disappeared down the staircase, he stood +for some moments gazing after them; then with a muttered, "Well, I'll +be damned," he turned on his heel, and walked rapidly away down the +corridor. + + + + + CHAPTER II + + Tangled Threads + + +Bellingham's first act, upon regaining his room, was to close the door +tightly behind him, as if to prevent the possibility of pursuit. After +which, he resumed his seat at his desk, and lighting his pipe, leaned +back thoughtfully in his chair, and began to consider at his leisure +the strange scene which he had just witnessed in the gallery. A more +imaginative man might perhaps have wondered if his eyes had not +deceived him, but Bellingham, being of a prosaic and matter-of-fact +disposition, did not dream of questioning the evidence of his senses. +Yet to solve the riddle of his employer's conduct was a problem which +was wholly beyond him, and although various vague conjectures +suggested themselves to his mind, he immediately dismissed them as +being too improbable to be worthy of consideration. Drink could not be +the answer, nor could drugs, for Marshall Hamilton, although a man of +more than middle age, was aggressively healthy, with a body of iron +and nerves of steel. Intrigue seemed to the secretary to be a more +plausible explanation, and yet scarcely a likely one, for the banker's +devotion to his invalid wife, and his affection for his daughter and +for his little boy were unmistakably genuine and sincere. More +probable appeared the supposition that the sliding panel might be the +entrance to a vault, where the capitalist could keep important +documents and securities. But whatever the secret might be, the +secretary felt certain that it was on no slight and trivial errand +that the banker had visited the gallery, for in the three years during +which he had served his employer he had long ago discovered that +Hamilton's huge responsibilities made his outlook upon life +essentially a serious one. And while it was quite possible that if +someone else, of lesser interests and of greater leisure, had thus +vanished through a wall, the incident might have seemed frivolous and +amusing; yet where Marshall Hamilton was the man in question, +Bellingham felt that the occurrence was of genuine significance. All +his efforts to solve the mystery, however, were in vain, and presently +realizing that he was accomplishing nothing, and that his +correspondence was still unfinished, he came to the sensible +conclusion that he was wasting his time, and accordingly set to work +upon his task and a couple of hours later had completed it, just as +Martin, the butler, knocked at the door and entered to leave the +afternoon papers upon the secretary's desk. + +Bellingham thanked him, and at the same time advanced a chair and +pushed a box of cigars across the desk, for Martin's personality, and +his position in the Hamilton household, were both distinctly out of +the ordinary. Tall and smooth-shaven, with a keen and penetrating eye, +there was something in his appearance suggestive of the ministry; yet +this impression was a false and misleading one, for while it was true +that the butler had interests and aspirations far beyond his station, +yet these interests were the very reverse of ecclesiastical. The stock +market, the wheat pit, the cotton exchange--these were the absorbing +passions of his life; his ears, sharp as those of a fox, were trained +to lose no word that fell, at table, from the lips of his master and +his master's friends; and whether it was owing to this, or to natural +shrewdness on his part, his ventures had prospered so amazingly that +he occupied a position in the eyes of his fellow-servants almost as +dignified and exalted as that of his master in Wall Street. + +Now, with a respectful inclination of his head, he seated himself, +helped himself to a cigar, and in answer to the secretary's question, +"Well, what's new, Martin?" he answered, "Stocks were very strong +to-day, sir. Steel crossed one hundred and twenty-nine." + +"The devil!" exclaimed Bellingham. "You don't mean it!" And forthwith +turned eagerly to the papers, for while in his present impoverished +condition he had no personal interest in the market's ups and downs, +yet in the atmosphere of finance in which he lived it was part of his +duty to have at his fingers' ends the daily fluctuations in cotton, +stocks and grain. For some moments he studied the pages of the +_Journal_ in silence; then handed the paper to Martin, observing, +"Well, you're right. And there's the explanation, too." + +The butler took the paper from Bellingham's hand, and read, in staring +headlines, at the top of the page, "Bull market continues. Marshall +Hamilton and Cyrus McKay both said to favor the advance. Steel booked +for two hundred." + +Martin's eyes glistened. "Mr. Bellingham," he asked earnestly, "do you +imagine, sir, that this is true?" + +The secretary, with the unbiassed mind of the man who has no stake in +the game, meditated for a moment, then answered truthfully, "My dear +Martin, I haven't the remotest idea whether it's true or not." + +The butler looked visibly disappointed. "If you happen to hear +anything, sir," he said in a tone so low that it was almost a whisper, +"you know what I mean, sir--any letters or telegrams--I should be most +grateful if you'd remember me, sir." + +Bellingham nodded. "I'll be glad to," he answered, with just the +suggestion of a smile, for the combination of Martin the decorous +servant and Martin the eager speculator was one which never failed to +amuse him. Then, impelled by mere curiosity, he added, "Which is it +this time, Martin? Are you long or short?" + +The butler's face was impassive, but his voice was eager with the +irrepressible passion of the gambler. "I'm short, sir," he answered. +"Quite heavily short. I have every reason to believe, Mr. Bellingham, +that we are going to see a severe decline in the market. Unusually +severe, sir. But of course I may be wrong." + +Bellingham glanced at the papers with renewed interest, running his +eye up and down the narrow columns of figures which summarized, in +this brief space, the prosperity or the adversity of the entire world. +"They're awfully strong," he commented, "and the gains run through the +list, too. Locomotive is up four, Crucible three and a half, Steel +five. And the rails are strong, too. By Jove, Martin, I believe you +_are_ wrong. Be careful you don't come a cropper. Have you any real +reason for thinking the market isn't going up?" + +"Why, sir," the butler answered, "you may remember that about three +months ago it was generally supposed that we were on the brink of a +panic. But I am confident that at that time Mr. Hamilton and Mr. McKay +and the other gentlemen were buying very heavily indeed. And if that +is so, sir, why it hardly seems probable that they would be adding to +their purchases now, when stocks are thirty or forty points higher +than they were then. In fact, sir, if it's not an impertinence upon my +part, I think that if you were to sell Steel short on a scale up--" + +But Bellingham interrupted him. "My dear Martin," he observed with a +smile, "when a man has dallied with the market all his life, as I +have, and suddenly ceases either to buy or to sell, there is usually +just one answer," and raising his hand, he formed, with thumb and +forefinger the figure zero. + +The butler flushed. "I beg your pardon, sir," he said hastily. "I +didn't intend--I meant it in a friendly way, sir--" + +"Of course you did," Bellingham good-naturedly interposed, "and I +appreciate your tip, Martin. I'm only sorry I can't take advantage of +it, but I hope you make a million. Oh, and by the way," he added, as +the butler rose to go, "would you mind telephoning Saunders to saddle +the bay mare? I'll be over right away." + +Ten minutes later, on his way to the stables, he met Helen. Hamilton +returning from the garden, her arms heaped high with flowers. + +"You're not forgetting our golf?" she asked. "Miss Wilton said that +you would play." + +"Yes, indeed," he answered, "I'm only going for a turn. I'll be back +in plenty of time." And as he continued on his way, he found himself +thinking, as he had done a hundred times before, that his employer's +daughter approached more nearly to his ideal than any other girl whom +he had ever seen. He admired her beauty, her charm, her thoughtfulness +of others, and most of all he liked the friendliness of her smile and +the frank and fearless glance of her dark brown eyes. "No nonsense +about her." That was his invariable summing-up of her character, and +her friendship had been the pleasantest feature of his employment at +Marshall Hamilton's. + +Once astride the mare, however, he had no further chance for +meditation, for his mount had stood idle for two days, and now seemed +to be doing her level best to pull his arms from their sockets, and to +break his neck into the bargain. But after he had made the circuit of +the lake, and had turned her head toward home, she behaved more +sedately, and subconsciously he had already begun to think again of +the adventure in the gallery when all at once, as he neared the +entrance to the links, the whole affair was suddenly revived by the +appearance of Cyrus McKay's motor, drawn up by the side of the road, +the chauffeur, a thick-set, bullet-headed young Irishman, sprawled +comfortably on the seat, cigarette in mouth. "I'm expecting some +friends to play golf." He remembered his employer's phrase, and at +once drew rein beside the car. + +"Hullo, Jim," he hailed, "how are you? Mr. McKay on the links?" + +"Sure," the chauffeur answered, with a yawn. "I brought him out here +two hours ago, and I've just come back for him now. So I guess he's +had some game." + +"Yes, indeed," agreed Bellingham, "it's a perfect day for it, too. +You'll find you'll be waiting another half hour yet." + +The chauffeur stretched himself luxuriously, happy in the mere +enjoyment of the pine-scented air and the languorous warmth of the +sun. "Well," he grinned, "it won't worry me any; I'll put my time +against his. But on the level, Mr. Bellingham, don't it beat hell? +When the boss is working, he's the busiest guy in Wall Street; a +minute is worth a thousand dollars; I'm on the jump the whole blamed +time. And then he'll come out here to Mr. Hamilton's and waste a whole +afternoon chasing a little white ball around a field, making half a +dozen rotten shots to every good one. Honestly now, can you beat it?" + +Bellingham smiled. "It's relaxation, Jim," he answered, "and that's +what the big men have got to have. That's all that keeps them going. +Whoa, girl, whoa," for the mare, impatient at the delay, reared +straight upward and began to paw the air frantically with her +forefeet. There was a momentary struggle while Bellingham coaxed her +back to earth again, calling over his shoulder to the chauffeur, +"Good-by, Jim, see you again." Then, yielding to a fleeting impulse, +he added, "Where are you keeping the car now? I may drop in and see +you some day." + +"Wheeler's garage," Nolan answered. "Find me there about noon, most +any time," and Bellingham, giving the mare her head, arrived at the +stables in greater perplexity of mind than ever. "So he's been playing +golf," he reflected, "just as he said he would, and according to Jim +Nolan, Mr. McKay came to the links at half past two. But that was just +the time when I was in the gallery. So Mr. Hamilton couldn't have +stayed there long; that's certain. Probably he went straight over to +the golf course. But I was working at the window, all that time, and I +should surely have seen him. And it's a safe bet that a man can't be +in two places at once. So what the devil does it all mean, anyway?" + +The village clock was striking five as he and his partner reached the +hill which overlooked the first tee. Jock McKenna, the professional, +practising faithfully for the open championship, was just making ready +to drive, while on the green, two hundred and twenty yards away, a +half dozen small white objects bore testimony to the stocky +Scotchman's deadly aim. Helen laid her hand restrainingly on +Bellingham's arm. "Let's watch him," she whispered, and McKenna, +unconscious of his audience, drew back with the free, effortless swing +of the born golfer, while the ball, like a shot from a gun, skimmed +away toward the fluttering flag, struck, bounded, rolled, first with +vigor, then more and more slowly, until it came to a final stop hole +high and only a hair's breadth to the left of the green. Helen, with +the enthusiasm of a true lover of the game, clapped her hands +involuntarily. "Oh splendid, Jock," she cried, "that was a beauty," +and the professional, looking quickly up at them, smiled and touched +his cap, not ill pleased that his shot had been appreciated. + +An instant later, they had joined him upon the tee. "Well, Jock," +asked Bellingham, "how did Mr. Hamilton come out with Mr. McKay? I +suppose he won, didn't he?" + +The professional stared. "'Deed, and there's been no match to-day," he +declared. "And more's the pity, for the course was never as good as +now. Young Mr. Marshall was down this morning, skelping up my turf for +me till I fair had to drive him away, but nobody else has played a +stroke." + +Helen Hamilton, paying no heed to their talk, had teed her ball, and +now, with a deliberate and well-timed swing, sent her ball straight +down the fairway for a hundred and fifty yards. "Very good, Miss +Helen," was McKenna's comment, "you're improving all the time. What +handicap does Mr. Bellingham give you now?" + +"A stroke a hole," she answered, "but I only take it to humor him. In +another month I shall beat him even." + +She spoke chaffingly, and Bellingham answered in similar vein, +"Nonsense, I could give you two strokes instead of one," but his +thoughts, as he swung, were far distant from the game, and a topped +and sliced tee shot came to rest in a sand-trap near the seventeenth +green. + +Helen Hamilton laughed aloud, and the professional half smiled in +sympathy with her triumph, half frowned in disapproval of this most +inartistic shot. "You've played golf enough, Mr. Bellingham," he said +reprovingly, "to make it a shame for me to have to say 'You didna +follow through,' like I would to some beginner. But that was the +trouble, man; you checked your swing as though you were no thinking of +the shot at all." + +"My club turned in my hand," said Bellingham absently. "The grip's +worn smooth." But as they started for the green, he was saying to +himself, "So they played no golf. And if they weren't on the links, +where were they? That's one mystery. And the second is, no matter +where they were, what on earth were they doing?" And greatly +wondering, he walked onward toward the trap where his misplayed ball +lay buried in the sand. + + + + + CHAPTER III + + The Golfers + + +The Hamilton estate was bounded upon the north by the main highway, +and between the road and the hills and valleys of the links extended a +strip of woodland, about a quarter of a mile in width, and covered +with a dense growth of hemlocks, birches and tall pines towering +upward toward the sky, while at the base of these forest giants briars +and brambles, shrubs and bushes, had been permitted to grow unchecked, +until they had formed a network of underbrush so thick as to be +well-nigh impassable. + +Upon the same day, and almost at the identical hour when Bellingham +stood gazing open-eyed after his employer's vanishing form, a man came +slowly through this strip of woodland, proceeding cautiously, with the +practised step of the forester, along a path so narrow and so +overgrown that it was practically invisible. Yet the man was +apparently familiar with his surroundings, and apparently, too, he was +not merely a forester, but a huntsman as well, for he carried a gun +slung over his shoulder and his clothes and cap of faded green +harmonized so perfectly with the underbrush that his furtive progress +along the path was almost imperceptible. Slowly and noiselessly he +advanced until he had drawn near to a clump of huge firs, set in a +natural circle and distant about a hundred yards from the trail which +led to the links. Here he paused and dropping on his hands and knees +crept through the bushes and entered a hutlike shelter, artfully woven +of growing shrubs, where he lay effectually concealed, commanding, +through a narrow orifice, a perfect view of the approach to the clump +of firs. Next, with leisurely precision, and with no trace of +excitement upon his bronzed and weather-beaten face, he proceeded to +unsling his weapon from his back and to make it ready for use; and as +he did so, one further circumstance became apparent--namely, that he +was a huntsman who did not care for noise--a poacher, perhaps--for +what had resembled a gun now proved to be an old-fashioned crossbow, +of rare and curious workmanship, and this bow the huntsman bent, and +then, adjusting the murderous looking bolt, settled down to wait in +comfort until his quarry should appear. + +Silence descended upon the forest; a silence so profound that it +seemed as if animals, birds and insects, all were slumbering amid the +quiet of the summer afternoon. Surely, the huntsman had poor prospects +of success, yet if this were so, he did not appear to care, but lay +motionless, resting quietly, with ears upon the alert and eyes fixed +steadily upon the clump of firs. + +The moments passed. Then, presently, far up the road, sounded the +throbbing rhythm of a motor, and a half a minute later Cyrus McKay's +big car drew up at the gateway leading to the links, and McKay, +founder and President of the National Wire Trust, stepped leisurely +forth, a huge, burly, bull-necked man, with power written in every +line of his ruddy, jovial face, in every movement of his big body, and +in every glance of his shrewd blue eyes. With something of an effort, +he reached for his golf bag, and with a nod to the chauffeur, said, +"All right, Jim. Come back at half past four." + +The chauffeur touched his cap; the big car turned and sped smoothly +down the road, and McKay, left alone, started slowly along the pathway +toward the links. Apparently, he anticipated a pleasant afternoon, for +as he strolled along he whistled boyishly, burst occasionally into +snatches of song, and presently, some distance up the path, he stopped +for a moment, drew a white feather from his pocket and adjusted it +carefully in his cap; after which he seemed suddenly to alter his mind +regarding his destination, for striking boldly off from the trail, he +began making his way through the waist-high underbrush, directly +toward the clump of firs. + +As the sound of the motor had died away in the distance, the huntsman +in the thicket had redoubled his vigilance, and now, as the crackling +of the bushes grew more and more distinct, his keen eyes swept +searchingly about the glade and his fingers tightened upon the stock +of his weapon, as if it were for human game that he was thus lying in +wait. Yet if this were the fact, it was clearly not McKay whom he was +expecting, for as the latter's bulky form loomed into view the hunter +relaxed his grip upon his crossbow, and once more resumed his attitude +of patient watchfulness. + +In the meantime McKay had reached the edge of the circle of firs, and +with a shrug of distaste for the ordeal that lay before him, he +settled his cap more firmly on his head, and guarding his face with +his upraised arm, he at length succeeded in forcing a passage through +the close-knit barrier of the trees. Then, extracting a key from his +pocket and achieving, not without difficulty, a kneeling posture, he +cleared away the soil until a square of steel came into view, and +fitting a key to the lock, he threw back the door and disclosed a +flight of stone steps, down which, with the utmost nonchalance and as +if he were conducting himself in a perfectly normal manner, he +promptly disappeared, carefully closing the trap behind him. At the +foot of the short flight of steps he paused for a moment, and drawing +a flashlight from his pocket proceeded briskly along the narrow +passageway, stoutly shored and timbered, until he presently emerged, +through a second door of steel, into the underground chamber where +Marshall Hamilton stood awaiting him. + +The room itself was simply--almost barely--furnished, and in +appearance was as conventional as the method of approaching it was +unique. The only furniture was a heavy mission table and four chairs +to match; a massive safe was set into the wall; at one end of the room +stood an old wooden desk, elaborately carved and inlaid, and at the +other a sideboard bearing glasses, decanters and cigars. + +The two men shook hands with the ease of long acquaintance. "On time, +as usual," Hamilton observed. + +McKay drew a chair up to the table and sat down. "The others will be +here?" he asked. + +"Any minute," Hamilton responded with equal brevity. "They come from +the south, this time," and the words had scarcely passed his lips when +the door opened to admit James Norton, the "Cereal King," and Vincent +Brooks, senior partner in the famous banking house of Brooks & +Harrington. Brooks was a tall, fair man, often described by his +friends as "a fellow who had been dealt every card in the pack." In +other words, he had been welcomed, from the day of his birth, into the +most aristocratic society in New York, was immensely wealthy, and +possessed, into the bargain, great natural ability and a wonderful +aptitude for "big business," where the figures ran into billions, and +the risks and the rewards were alike staggering to the imagination. +Norton, on the other hand, was almost his exact opposite, a dark, +eager man of forty, fairly dynamic with energy, who had been favored +with no cards by Fortune, and who had thereupon fared blithely forth +and had collected an entire pack for himself. In the Wall Street +district he had first been hated and despised as an upstart, but later +had been made welcome as a man too shrewd and forceful to be ignored. + +Immediately the four men seated themselves around the table, and +Hamilton, drawing a sheaf of papers from his pocket, proceeded to call +the meeting to order and for perhaps fifteen minutes read steadily, +interrupted now and again by a comment or a query from one or the +other of his associates. At the conclusion of his task, there followed +approval and acceptance of his report, the carrying of various formal +motions, and then began a low-toned, informal talk between the four, +apparently entirely harmonious until McKay and Norton became involved +in a discussion which gradually increased in intensity until at length +they had the conversation to themselves, Brooks and Hamilton listening +with an intentness which made it evident that the subject was one of +vital importance. Finally McKay, with the utmost earnestness, spoke at +length, summarizing and emphasizing his arguments with all the skill +at his command, but when he had concluded it became evident that his +efforts had only served to increase Norton's opposition, for the +Cereal King struck the table before him with his clenched fist, +crying, "No, no, McKay, you're absolutely wrong. You're altogether too +conservative. Life is short, and so I say: Let's get all we can." + +At this outburst McKay only smiled, and instead of answering he turned +to Hamilton. "Would you be kind enough, Marshall," he asked, "to read +to us once more the statement showing our profits for the year?" + +Hamilton found the document referred to. "Gross," he answered, +"seventy millions. Net, after deducting all payments and expenses, +forty-two millions." + +"Thanks," said McKay briefly, and to Norton he added, "Well, my boy, +that makes precisely ten millions and a half apiece for the four of +us, to say nothing of what we've disbursed to our subordinates, or of +the sums that have been realized by our friends across the water. In +the face of such a showing, do you maintain with seriousness that we +may be termed ultra-conservative?" + +"That," responded Norton with spirit, "is exactly my contention. It's +not the actual financial results, in dollars and cents, that I'm +criticizing, for as you say, ten millions and a half of sure money is +a satisfactory income for anyone. No, my objections are based purely +on artistic grounds. When you consider--" + +But McKay, with a huge burst of laughter, broke in upon him. "Artistic +grounds!" he exclaimed. "Good Heavens, man, you might accuse us of +plenty of other things, but not of being inartistic. Why, that is our +strong point--our trump card. If we're not artistic, we're nothing." + +Norton shook his head. "Only in a sense," he retorted. "In the same +way that we hark back to the beginnings of any art. For their age, +they sufficed, but in the light of later knowledge and achievement +they are bound to appear pitifully crude and inadequate. And so it is +with us. Forty years ago the founders of our society were the ablest +financiers of their day, and the system which they inaugurated was +wonderfully efficient for that period. But think of all that has +happened in forty years. Think of the increase in population, the +increase in wealth, the increase in the number of enterprises, of +corporations and combinations, of securities upon the stock exchange. +And yet, in spite of this, we are still satisfied to conduct our +business along the old primitive lines of forty years ago. Why, I +could take pencil and paper now, and in two minutes I could suggest +improvements that would increase our earnings a hundred, two hundred, +three hundred per cent. I'm absolutely certain of it." + +"I quite agree with you," McKay responded quietly, "there's not a +doubt of it. But the answer is: What's the use? Here's a parallel case +for you. Suppose, somewhere in some mountain wilderness, you were to +come by chance upon an undiscovered stream, simply filled with trout +so hungry and so unwary that they would rush ravenously for your bare +hook. Under such conditions, would you use bait?" + +"Not at first," rejoined Norton. "I'll admit that. But you don't +complete your parallel. After a while, as your supply of fish begins +to diminish, you will find that those which are left will grow wiser +and more suspicious. And that is the time when you will need all your +skill, and must use your choicest bait." + +"No, no," McKay protested warmly, "that's not a fair argument at all. +We are not discussing some possible time when fish grow wise. We are +confining ourselves to facts; my premise is that you can catch all you +need with your bare hook. And when four men--" he added, with a wave +of his hand toward the papers on the table, "can make forty million +dollars in twelve months, without half trying, it certainly doesn't +appear as if our human fish were possessed of any great supply either +of caution or of brains." + +Brooks, man of few words, nodded approval. "Right," he interjected. +"You're quite right, Cyrus." And to Norton he added significantly, +"You don't want to fish out your brook, Jim. If you do, you'll go +hungry." + +Norton's eyes gleamed. "Perfect rot," he persisted. "That's the same +old 'safe and sane' chatter I'm so tired of hearing. In the first +place, you can't fish the brook out; there's one born every minute. +But wouldn't I like to try it, though. I'd like to start right now; +there never was a better chance; and for the next twelve months do +nothing else except slaughter the innocents. Big fish, fingerlings, +I'd keep 'em all. Never a one would I throw back into the brook to +grow. Why, just imagine what we could make, if we once started after +it. We'd murder 'em; crucify 'em; skin 'em alive." And he licked his +lips covetously at the thought. + +McKay's brows contracted. It was not the first time that his own views +and those of his younger associate had come into violent contact. "Oh, +if you aspire to be a game hog, a professional butcher--" he began, +but at this point Marshall Hamilton, who had maintained an unbroken +silence, allowing the debate to range unchecked, suddenly leaned +forward in his chair. "One moment, Cyrus," he said courteously, "may I +interrupt you?" And as McKay assented, the banker continued, "This +figure of the trout brook is a very appropriate one, but neither of +you has quite completed the picture. To make the parallel exact, you +must include a very important person, and that is the owner of the +stream." + +Norton stared. Then, with the respect which was invariably accorded to +the financier, he objected, "I don't think I follow you, Mr. Hamilton. +Who is this owner? I should say that we come pretty close to being the +owners ourselves." + +"No," Hamilton answered, "we are not the owners. There are times when +it might appear so, but we must not allow ourselves to be deceived. We +are nothing more than poachers--bold, formidable and successful +poachers, I admit--but none the less poachers for all that. And though +the owner of the stream is stupid and careless, slow to anger and to +realize that he is being robbed, still we must never forget that he +exists and that when once aroused his power is irresistible." + +Brooks looked frankly puzzled. "I cannot suppose, Marshall," he said +quizzically, "that after the highly uncomplimentary adjectives you +have been using, you are venturing to refer to the individual +mentioned in the prayer books as the 'High and Mighty Ruler of the +Universe.'" + +"No," Hamilton answered briefly, "this is the twentieth century. I'm +not bringing God into the discussion in any way." + +"I don't understand you either, Marshall," broke in McKay. "I disagree +with Norton in many respects, but I do agree with him in this--that so +far as this enterprise of ours goes, we are supreme. Whom do you +designate as this owner of the stream? Surely not the Law?" + +There was a general smile. "No," Hamilton drily responded, "scarcely +that. As far as the Courts are concerned, I suppose we may fairly +claim that we _are_ the Law." + +"And the Profits--" interjected Brooks under his breath, but Hamilton +was too much in earnest to heed him, and continued, "No, the owner of +the stream is the Public, and the weapon we have to fear is the +intangible but terribly effective one of Public Opinion." + +"Oh, the Public," commented Norton flippantly, "well, as Vanderbilt +said--" + +But Hamilton went on gravely. "I assure you that I am quite serious. +Our one possible danger is that some day the Public may learn the +truth. You all know that periodically, after some spectacular rise or +equally spectacular decline in prices, there is sure to be a terrific +bleating from the victims, and a plaintive demand that someone must +investigate the New York Stock Exchange. Of course these +demonstrations don't amount to anything--it's child's play to check +them--but if we should adopt Norton's suggestion and should play the +game to the limit, then the danger would be correspondingly increased, +and if some day the truth should become known--" + +Norton interrupted him. "But that is impossible," he declared. + +"Impossible," retorted Hamilton, "is a dangerous word. I acknowledge +that it is highly improbable--thanks to the founders of this order for +taking the precautions that they did--but it's not impossible. There +is always 'the plaguy millionth chance.' And grant," he added with +increased emphasis, "that the truth should become known; admit, for +the sake of the argument, that the public should find out what has +been happening to their money for the last forty years, and where +would we be? I'll tell you where. We'd be marked men, fleeing for our +lives, and never safe from vengeance, even in the uttermost corners of +the earth." + +No one gainsaid him, and the gravity of his hearers' faces was +sufficient confirmation of the importance of what he said. "You're +right," Brooks assented. "Quite right," McKay agreed. And Norton, +convinced in spite of himself, added thoughtfully, "Well, perhaps you +are." + +"I'm sure of it," Hamilton answered, "and now, gentlemen, it is time +to go. When shall we meet again?" + +"I suggest day after to-morrow, at the same hour," said McKay. +"To-morrow will be a big day in the market, and we shall have a number +of things to discuss." + +"Yes, the time is ripe," Hamilton responded, "it is a wonderful +opportunity." + +"How far will cotton decline?" asked Norton. + +"I should say, off-hand," answered Hamilton, "a couple of hundred +points, at least. But that will be decided, of course, in the usual +way. We can tell better after the first break." + +"And wheat," queried Brooks, "will go up?" + +"Exactly," said Hamilton. "The conditions there are exactly reversed. +The advance will be sharp." + +He walked over to the sideboard, filled his friends' glasses, and then +raised his own high in the air, glancing, as he did so, at the old +desk across the room. + +"Here's to our predecessors," he said gravely. "The men who came here +forty years ago. The men who have made us what we are to-day." + + + + + CHAPTER IV + + A Flurry in the Market + + +It still lacked five minutes of ten o'clock, the hour for the daily +opening of the Stock Exchange, but the board room at Holt and +Henderson's was already filled to suffocation, and presently, as more +and more clients came hurrying through the doors, so little space +remained that as the crowd surged to and fro frequent forcible +collisions became unavoidable. Yet while at any other time these +gamblers would promptly have resented this jostling and scrimmaging, +now they were so preoccupied and so intent upon their own affairs that +they never thought of wasting time, either in apologizing themselves +or in demanding an apology from those with whom they had come in +contact. + +The gathering would have repaid the studies of a psychologist. It +numbered at least two hundred men, and apparently every rank and +condition of society had furnished a representative. Well-dressed +gentlemen rubbed elbows with ragged tipsters and hangers-on of Wall +Street; a famous musician examined the "chart" of a no less famous +artist; a coachman confident of a rise in July oats swapped theories +with a farmer who foresaw a fall in December corn. But though in +appearance so strikingly dissimilar, yet in one respect all these men +were startlingly alike; not one of them seemed wholly normal. Their +aberration displayed itself in various ways. Some were unable to keep +still, but moved continually hither and thither, from the news ticker +to the newspaper files, from the newspaper files to the bulletin +board. Others, though content to remain in one spot, were unable to +control their tongues and talked incessantly, the intensity of their +speech and their nervous laughter showing the strain under which they +were laboring; while others still, of a less friendly temperament, +maintained an unbroken silence and a sullen aloofness from their +companions. + +Occasionally, here and there, small groups collected to discuss one +subject, and one only--the future of the three great markets. "Well, +what do you know?" was the common salutation, while now and then a +customer, seemingly disregarding the grim significance of the phrase, +would propound the jocular query, "Well, what are they going to do to +us to-day?" Questions, answers, comments, filled the air. "London's +up." "How's Liverpool?" "It's a big bull move; they've only started +'em." "I think they're toppy; you can sell 'em on the rallies." So ran +the talk of the speculators, vapid and valueless, without end or +beginning, and begotten of the fever which consumed their veins. + +At one end of the office was a narrow alcove in the wall, just wide +enough to contain a single chair, and this seat was now pre-empted, as +it had been for the past month, by a man who at least in appearance +presented a marked contrast to his fellow gamblers. He was young and +exceptionally good-looking, with the build and bearing of an athlete, +while his clear-cut features betokened not only birth and breeding, +but also no lack of determination and tenacity of purpose. His whole +attitude, indeed, suggested confidence in himself, and the occasional +glances which he bestowed upon his companions were somewhat +disdainful, as though he despised them for their excitement and their +lack of self-control. Yet he himself, although quite unaware of it, +was not exempt from the universal nervousness of the office, for every +few moments he cast a quick glance upward at the clock, and repeatedly +drew from his pocket a small memorandum book, studying it as the +patron of the race track examines his wagers before the beginning of a +race. + +The hands of the clock pointed to ten o'clock; a bell tinkled sharply; +and the tickers, like sprinters shooting from their marks at the +starter's signal, commenced clicking and whirring at breakneck speed, +while Demming, the red-headed, pot-bellied customers' man, began +bellowing forth the quotations with an air of omnipotence which +suggested that he alone was responsible for all that was taking +place. "Crucible, ninety-four," he cried, "Union, one hundred and +fifty-three; Steel, one hundred and twenty-seven and a half," and +then, to divert his audience, and to show that he was a genuine +humorist, he dropped into the time-honored slang of the street, and +with a smirk of self-appreciation, went on chanting, "Annie Connolly, +one hundred and five; Old Dog, sixty-two; Soup, par and a quarter." + +The young man in the corner listened eagerly, noting the prices, as +the board boys posted them, with an approving eye. "Still strong," he +said half-aloud, "they're going up, all right," and he had settled +himself to watch in comfort the rise that was to make him rich when +one of the employees of the office came hastily up to him. + +"If you please, Mr. Atherton," he said respectfully, "Mr. Holt would +like to see you for a moment, sir, in his office." + +Atherton looked at him in surprise. "Are you sure you have the right +name?" he queried. "I don't like to leave the board just now." + +"Yes, sir, I'm sure," the man responded. "In fact, Mr. Holt said that +he particularly wished to see you at once." + +Atherton rose. "Very well, then," he answered shortly, "if it's as +important as that, I'll go." + +In the private office he found both partners seated at the long table +in the centre of the room. Holt was tall, dark and solemn; Henderson +short, rosy and never without a smile; so that almost inevitably they +had become known to employees and customers alike as "Joy" and +"Gloom." They greeted him pleasantly enough, and after he had taken a +seat, Holt picked up a card from the table and with a preliminary +clearing of his throat, observed, "Our margin clerk has called our +attention, Mr. Atherton, to the state of your account, and I thought +that I had better speak to you about it." + +Atherton, with the touchiness of a very young man, at once took +offence. "I wasn't aware," he said stiffly, "that my account was not +in good shape. But if you object to it, I suppose I can take it +elsewhere." + +At this retort, Mr. Holt's solemnity visibly increased, but the +smiling Henderson, at his best in such an emergency, came promptly to +the rescue. "Now, now, Mr. Atherton," he remonstrated, "don't be so +hasty. There's nothing wrong with your account as it stands, and it's +an account that we're very glad to have in the office, and that we +don't wish to lose. But Mr. Holt is merely suggesting to you, for your +own good, that you are rather crowding things. You've been carrying +twenty-five hundred shares of Steel; yesterday, at the close, you +bought twenty-five hundred more. And as your deposit with us is just +about fifty thousand dollars, it is obvious that you are getting +pretty close to the danger line." + +"Quite so," Atherton acknowledged, "but that is my lookout. As long as +I keep my ten point margin good, why should you worry?" + +"That," resumed Mr. Holt, "is exactly the question. Are we to +understand that in the event of a decline in the market, you stand +ready to deposit additional sums as we may require them?" + +"No," Atherton answered frankly, "you're not to understand anything of +the sort. All the money I have in the world is in here now. But the +market is going up and you're not obliged to worry about more margin; +if there should be a drop, then we can talk things over again." + +Mr. Holt heaved a sigh of impatience. "You young men, Mr. Atherton," +he complained, "are all alike. You are too cocksure about everything. +Now you can't tell anything about this market; it may go up; it may go +off; but to try to carry five thousand shares of Steel on a ten point +margin is absolute madness--I've been in the brokerage business long +enough to know that. Sell out half your holdings, Mr. Atherton, and +then, if a drop comes, you won't be giving us all nervous +prostration." + +Atherton frowned. He had calculated his profits so many times that the +thought of seeing them cut in halves did not appeal to him in the +least. "I don't want to sell," he demurred. "I tell you this market +_can't_ go down. The Steel Corporation is earning more money than at +any time in its history. Everyone says it's going to cross two +hundred. So don't be too particular about my margin; they don't always +insist on ten points in other offices." + +"More fools they," retorted Holt briskly, but Henderson, foreseeing in +Atherton's attitude the possible loss of a good customer, hastened to +make a suggestion. + +"Personally, Mr. Atherton," he observed, "I think Mr. Holt is quite +right. We've been in this business a long time, and we've seen many a +good man embarrassed for lack of sufficient margin. But if you feel +confident that we are in a big bull market, and are willing to take +your chances, we will carry you, provided you will sign an order +authorizing us to sell you out if steel reacts to one hundred and +twenty. In other words, you give us a stop loss order for our +protection, and take your chances of being caught. It's rank gambling +on your part, Mr. Atherton, and we won't always agree to carry you +overnight, but if it is an accommodation to you, we will carry you +along from day to day, and give you the opportunity of making a big +killing if the market goes up." + +Atherton reflected, and obsessed as he was with the idea that the +market was going much higher, Mr. Henderson's scheme impressed +him favorably. With his stock selling at over one hundred and +twenty-seven, a recession to one hundred and twenty seemed impossible, +and by signing the stop loss order he would be enabled to hold the +whole of his five thousand shares. Accordingly, since it was no time +for delay, he made up his mind at once and promptly answered, "Very +well, I'll do it." + +At once Mr. Holt selected a "sell order" from the printed slips upon +the table, filled in the figures agreed upon, and Atherton, hastily +signing his name, hurried back to the board room to find, to his +delight, that Steel had advanced to one hundred and twenty-eight. +This, however, appeared to be a critical point in the struggle, and +while the transactions increased to enormous proportions, the +fluctuations narrowed correspondingly. Up an eighth, down a quarter, +up an eighth again, while every few moments Demming's voice could be +heard roaring vociferously, "A thousand Steel--three thousand +Steel--five thousand Steel--" + +Eleven o'clock came, and twelve, and Atherton, in view of the market's +steadiness, decided to go out to lunch. But the grip of the game had +laid its spell upon him, and without the board before his eyes he +became so nervous and ill at ease that he ate his meal at breakneck +speed, raced hurriedly back to Holt and Henderson's, and drawing a +breath of relief as he regained the familiar entrance, he thrust open +the door and went in. Yet scarcely had he crossed the threshold when +he realized that during his brief absence from the office something +sensational must have occurred. The room was in a turmoil; a bedlam of +sound filled the air; a mob of dishevelled customers fought their way +madly toward the windows of the order clerks, elbowing and shoving +each other this way and that in their frenzied eagerness to buy or +sell. Waters, regulator of margins, ordinarily the coolest man in the +world, now stood in the rear of the office, crimson-faced, perspiring, +sorting and shuffling a sheaf of customers' cards in his hands, and +sending his subordinates rushing hither and thither in pursuit of +those unfortunates whose slenderly margined accounts were either +already submerged or in imminent danger of becoming so at any moment. + +All this Atherton saw in one lightning flash of vision; the next +moment his eyes leaped to the board and he gasped to see in the Steel +column the figures, one twenty-four, while in the same breath he heard +the voice of Demming, hoarse and exhausted, but still powerful, +roaring out "Union, one forty-nine; Reading, one hundred and three; +Steel, one twenty-three and seven-eighths, three-quarters, +five-eighths, a half--" + +In a second the calm and confidence of the past few weeks, born of a +rising market and the conviction that he was making his fortune, +vanished utterly, leaving him weak, trembling and panic-stricken. No +longer despising his fellow gamblers, he grasped the first who passed +him by the arm. "What's up?" he cried. "What the devil's happened?" + +"War!" the man shouted in reply. "War with Japan! Battleships and +submarines off the Pacific coast! A whole fleet of 'em. Hell to pay. +I'm going to sell 'em short, right here." + +He rushed away in the direction of the order clerks, leaving Atherton +perplexed and dismayed. A short distance away from him he noticed a +man, apparently calm amid the confusion, whom Demming had once pointed +out to him as the best judge of the market among all the customers of +Holt and Henderson. Without the loss of a moment, Atherton walked up +to him. "What do you think of 'em?" he asked anxiously, "Are they +going lower?" + +The man did not take his eyes from the board, but answered courteously +enough, "I can't tell. It's a big bear raid. I've thought for the last +few weeks the big men were getting out." + +"But I thought all the big men were in" protested Atherton. "That's +what all the papers have been saying." + +The trader grinned sardonically. "There's a lot in the papers that +oughtn't to be there," he rejoined, "and there's a long sight more +that isn't there, but ought to be. There's only one explanation of +this. The public are ninety-five per cent long of stocks, and the +insiders are getting them! That's all; it's the same old game." + +Atherton reflected. "But the warships--" he queried. + +"All in your eye," was the trader's response. "It will be denied +to-morrow. But they're doing just as much damage," he added, with a +gesture toward the board, "as if they were real. When the crowd takes +fright, it's all over. Down go stocks, and then the big men load up +again at the bottom, and sell again at the top. It's what you might +call a crime, if you dared to." + +At this new view of the stock market, Atherton felt more perplexed +than ever. "Then you think they'll rally?" he ventured. + +"Sure," his informant agreed, "but you can't tell how much lower +they'll go first. It all depends on how heavily the public is in the +market. I know what the bears are aiming at, and that's one hundred +and twenty on Steel; that was the old low, six weeks ago. If it goes +through there, good-night." + +Atherton shuddered, for by coincidence this was precisely the point at +which his stop order would be reached. Yet he hesitated to put much +confidence in this stray acquaintance and his theories. Big men +slaughtering the public so wantonly, false reports in circulation, +prices being swayed, not by basic conditions, but by manipulation and +by such strange fetishes as "new lows"--if all these things were true, +his faith in human nature and in the goodness of the world had been +sadly misplaced. "But look here," he objected, "Steel _can't_ go down +like this. Why, the earnings for the last quarter--" + +The trader's grin widened, and for the first time he turned away from +the board and gazed squarely at Atherton, as if at some new and +interesting specimen of mankind. "Earnings," he repeated vaguely, and +still again, more forcibly, "_Earnings!_" And at last, as though +realizing the inadequacy of speech, he muttered tolerantly and not +unkindly, "Oh, hell--" and turning on his heel, walked over toward the +board. + +Atherton, bewildered and abashed, stole back to his alcove, and sat +down to watch the progress of the fight. In his mind, he pictured to +himself the rival armies--the bears red-faced, scowling, domineering +men, objectionable to a degree, pirates of the Exchange, attempting to +wreck a stock like Steel; the bulls sane, conservative men of affairs, +shrewd judges of fundamental conditions, men, in fact, much like +himself. And he could not doubt that the bulls would win. Up went +Steel an eighth, and he thrilled with pride for those who were +defending it; down it went a quarter, and he shook with fear of these +reckless raiders and highwaymen. + +And so the battle raged. Two o'clock came and went, and suddenly +Atherton realized the sensations of a wearied fighter in the ring, +striving to hold his own until the clanging of the gong to mark the +end of the round. "If only it holds another hour," he thought. Then he +would at least have a respite until the following morning, a chance to +decide matters at his leisure without this frightful accompaniment of +sound and fury, this whirling maelstrom of men seeking desperately to +make new dollars or trying more desperately still to cling to the +dollars they already owned. If the market would only hold-- + +But even as these thoughts were shaping in his mind, there came a +furious onslaught from the bears. One hundred and twenty-three for +Steel, twenty-two and a half, twenty-two, twenty-one and three +quarters. He could feel the blood surging to his brain, and his hands +clenched as though he were fighting physically for victory. Then a +rally and a long fight around twenty-three. But he could feel, with a +gambler's instinct, that there was no life to the advance, and sure +enough, as he had feared, presently the tide began once more to ebb. +Twenty-two again, twenty-one and a half, then suddenly, with a +bull-like bellow from Demming, one hundred and twenty-one, twenty and +seven-eighths. For the fiftieth time he glanced up at the clock; two, +thirty-five; only twenty-five minutes more, but less than a point lay +between him and virtual ruin. His lip trembled, his knees shook under +him, and without realizing that there was anything incongruous in such +a proceeding, he began to pray fervently, imploringly-- + +In the midst of the group which thronged, five deep, around the +ticker, suddenly arose wild commotion. Atherton could discern faces +frenzied with joy; other faces torn with anguish; heard, above the +tumult, some one cry shrilly, "They've done it!" and the next instant, +Demming, in tones of incredulous wonder, was reporting the cataclysm, +"Union, forty-eight, seven, six; Reading, ninety-nine, eight, seven +and a half; Steel, one hundred and twenty, nineteen, eighteen, +seventeen, _sixteen_--" + +Atherton stood dazed, benumbed; the blow had fallen so quickly that +for a moment he could not grasp the truth. Then all at once he +knew--knew that he had lost not only the fortune he had sought but +most of the capital which he had risked to gain it. Steel at one +hundred and twenty; he would have fifteen thousand dollars left; but +instantly he recalled the lightning speed of the sheer drop to one +hundred and sixteen, and wondered whether he had been fortunate enough +to escape at the stop loss figure. There was but one way to find out, +and mingling with the crowd, he fought his way to the order clerk's +window, and presently caught the eye of Curtis, his particular friend +among the office force. The clerk shook his head dubiously. "No word +yet, Mr. Atherton," he called, "everything is away behind." And thus, +for ten minutes which seemed unending, Atherton maintained his place +until at last Curtis bent quickly forward, scribbled some figures upon +a piece of paper, folded it, and handed it through the window. +Atherton seized it, made his way back to the alcove, and tense with +excitement, unfolded it to see staring up at him the figures 117-5/8. +His fears were realized--deducting commissions, his account was +practically wiped out of existence. And suddenly a frenzied desire +seized him to leave the place and never to see the inside of a +broker's office again. There was a moment's delay at the cashier's +window, and then, residue of the fifty thousand he had staked, there +came back to him a check for thirteen hundred and forty dollars and +seventy cents. He thrust it into his pocket, and started for the door. + +Around the board the storm was still raging, but now a different note +was in the air. "Steel, one twenty-one," he heard, "twenty-two, three +and a half, twenty-four." The trader whom he had questioned stood in +his path, and recognizing Atherton, he said, "They've turned. Just as +I thought. Warship story's denied. All a mistake; Japan expresses warm +friendship. They'll come back strong now. You can buy 'em right where +they are." + +Without answer, Atherton passed on. In his heart smouldered a fierce +resentment--a bitter hatred of everybody and everything connected with +the gambler's trade. Forgetting, for the moment, that he had only +himself to blame, he felt that he had somehow been tricked, deceived, +robbed. And as he opened the door, and banged it to behind him, the +last sound which rang in his ears was Demming's frenzied shriek, +"Steel, twenty-six and three-quarters, _twenty-seven!_" + +Outside, in the street, the world was bathed in sunshine. Overhead the +sky was blue. About him, on every side, men and women were going about +their appointed tasks, alert, smiling, unbelievably happy. Of a sudden +Atherton's vision cleared, and in a flash of readjustment, he +realized, for the first time, the incredible folly of what he had +done. + + + + + CHAPTER V + + Fools Rush In + + +Bellingham was alone in his room. Before him, on his desk, lay +letters from his creditors, and beside them a timetable of the local +trains. The telephone leading to the stables stood within easy reach +of his hand, yet he made no effort to lift the receiver from its +resting-place, but remained irresolute and motionless, a picture of +indecision. Over and over again, during the last two days, he had +tried to make up his mind as to the course he should pursue, but his +endeavors had been unavailing, and he was still as far from a +conclusion as ever. + +Upon one hand, Decency and Caution combined to warn him. Urged +Decency, "You are living under Marshall Hamilton's roof; accepting his +money; eating his bread. By the merest chance, you have seen something +which you were never intended to see. In loyalty to your employer, you +should dismiss it from your mind, and never think of it again." And +Caution added, "All that Decency says is true, and you must remember +that there is a further consideration, which is more important still. +That is your own safety. There is a mystery here, and it is the +experience of mankind that mystery, as a rule, goes hand in hand with +danger. You may not be satisfied with things as they are, but do not +forget that nothing is ever so bad that you cannot make it still +worse. Therefore you will be wise to drop the whole affair, once and +for all." + +Thus argued Decency and Caution, but opposed to them, in Bellingham's +troubled mind, were another pair of powerful allies, Desperation and +Curiosity. Clamored Desperation, "If you cannot find the money to pay +your debts, your creditors will very shortly complain to Mr. Hamilton. +There is no doubt of that; the proof of it lies in black and white on +the table in front of you. And when Mr. Hamilton learns of your +financial condition, he will discharge you at once; that is one point +about which he is most particular. You will lose this position, and +you will have difficulty in finding another; and thus you will drag +through life a failure, with the millstone of debt bound fast around +your neck." + +So, with pitiless candor, spoke Desperation, and Curiosity, knowing +the glamor of adventure and the charm of the unknown, added +alluringly, "This is no ordinary mystery; Marshall Hamilton and Cyrus +McKay are two of the biggest men in New York. Opportunity, they say, +knocks but once, and this may be your life's turning-point. You cannot +disregard it." + +Thus the secretary gave ear to all these arguments in turn, but in the +end it was the promptings of Caution that he heeded most, for the +primary instinct of self-preservation told him that life, even to a +man hampered by his debts, was still much to be preferred to death and +oblivion. Yet it was hard for him to think of wholly abandoning the +undertaking, and presently it occurred to him that there was more than +one method of solving the mystery, and that a compromise was not in +the least impossible. It was true that Marshall Hamilton had vanished +through a picture in the wall, but it was also true that Cyrus McKay +had disappeared into the woods adjoining the links; and while Caution +counselled him to avoid the gallery, Curiosity, on the other hand, +persistently insisted upon a vicarious pursuit of McKay. + +Nolan, of course, was clearly the man for the job. He drove his +employer to the golf course; therefore he had the opportunity. He was +physically strong and courageous; therefore he would not shrink from +danger. And he was pleasure-loving and always in debt; therefore a +reward would be certain to appeal to him. Beyond question, Nolan was +the man. + +"But is it right," asked Decency, "to send someone else where you +would not venture yourself?" To which query Desperation promptly +answered, "Oh, in this world you can't be too particular; it's a case +of each man for himself. There probably isn't any danger, anyway, and +if you should get hold of anything really valuable, you can make it +right with Nolan later." + +Thus the discussion ended. "I'll try it," decided Bellingham, and +taking the receiver from the hook he telephoned to the stables and +ordered the motor in time to catch the next train for town. + +An hour later, he emerged from the subway, and made his way rapidly +down the street in the direction of the garage where Nolan kept his +car. A sense of guilt oppressed him, and though he realized that his +fears were wholly groundless, he could not prevent himself from +casting occasional furtive glances to left and right, as though +apprehensive of pursuit. + +At length he came to the garage, and hailing the first workman whom he +met, inquired if Nolan were around. The man jerked a thumb over his +shoulder. "Back of the shop," he answered briefly. "Sixth floor. +Freight elevator. Run it yourself." And went on with his task. + +Bellingham made his way in the direction indicated, entered the +elevator and pulled the rope, and began his leisurely ascent past +floor after floor littered with cars--cars new and old, cars good and +bad, cars whole and cars dismembered--until he came to the sixth +story, where he stopped the elevator and to his joy discovered Nolan, +cigarette in mouth, seated placidly upon a bench at the end of the +room, superintending repairs, real or imaginary, upon Mr. McKay's +machine. Thrilling with renewed excitement, the secretary walked over +to him, and Nolan, when he recognized his visitor, greeted him +cordially. + +"Hello, Mr. Bellingham," he cried. "Didn't expect to see you quite so +soon." + +"Oh, just a little business matter," the secretary replied, trying +hard to make his voice sound nonchalant and under control. "Walk over +as far as the window, and I'll tell you what I want." + +Nolan rose at once, and as soon as they were safely out of earshot, +Bellingham continued, "Look here, Jim, do you want to make some easy +money?" + +The chauffeur grinned, and for answer inserted thumb and forefinger in +the pocket of his coat, exposing the empty lining. "Ah, say," he +rejoined, "don't ask me none of those easy ones. Try me with something +hard." + +Bellingham felt his spirits rise. "That's the way to talk," he said, +"and here's what I want you to do. You remember taking Mr. McKay out +to Mr. Hamilton's day before yesterday to play golf. Well, he didn't +play; I know that for a fact. And what is more, I believe that he and +Mr. Hamilton have some kind of secret meeting-place near the golf +links. So the next time you go out there, I want you to drive away as +usual, and then, after you round the first curve in the road, you can +stop your car, double back along the wall, and trail after him to see +where he goes. And for your trouble, Jim, I'm going to be just fool +enough to give you fifty dollars." + +Nolan deliberated. Fifty dollars was worth making, but his job was a +good one, and he had no wish to lose it. "Well," he answered at last, +"here's one trouble, right away. The boss is a pretty wise old guy, +and this trailing business is a new game for me. The betting is that I +trip over a tree, go on my nut, and when his nibs turns around and +asks me what the devil I'm doing there, why where's my alibi?" + +"Alibi?" echoed the secretary. "Why, that's easy; there's nothing to +that at all. Mr. McKay keeps his clubs in the machine, doesn't he?" + +"Yes, always," rejoined Nolan. "They're in there now." + +"Then that settles it," said Bellingham. "All you need to do is to +take out his putter and hide it under the seat. Then when you start +after him, take the putter with you, and if by any chance he sees you +coming after him, just wave it around your head and tell him it +dropped in the car and you knew he needed it. How about that?" + +"That," agreed Nolan, "is certainly good. Pretty smooth, I call that." + +"Then you'll do it?" asked Bellingham eagerly. + +The chauffeur did not hasten his reply. "Well," he said at length, "I +suppose I'm taking chances, after all, and I figure that if the job's +worth fifty dollars, it's worth a hundred." + +The secretary did not stop to argue. "Very well," he assented, "a +hundred it is." + +"And it's also worth," the chauffeur continued, "just about twenty +dollars down, to bind the bargain." + +Bellingham drew out his pocket-book; then hesitated in his turn. "But +how do I know," he objected, "when you will be going out there again?" + +"That's easy," Nolan answered, "because we're going this very +afternoon. So you're bound to get some action for your money, all +right." + +Bellingham felt his nerves tingle with excitement, and without further +protest he handed the money to the chauffeur. "Good for you, Jim," he +said. "I'll be here to-morrow, at this same time, and I'll give you +the balance then." + +"I'll be here," Nolan agreed, "and now I must get back and see that +those strikers don't put my car to the bad. If she don't run perfect, +I'll get it from the old man. So good-by, Mr. Bellingham." + +"Good-by," echoed the secretary, and descending as he had come, he +walked quickly away up the street, greatly wondering what news Nolan +would have for him on the morrow. + +Promptly at half past two, that afternoon, Cyrus McKay's motor stopped +at the gateway leading to the links, and as before McKay alighted, +took his clubs from the machine, and said to the chauffeur, "Four +thirty, Jim." + +There was no sign of anything unusual in Nolan's manner. "Yes, sir, +four thirty," he answered, and touching his cap, he turned his car and +sped briskly away for the city. Yet no sooner had he turned the curve +of which Bellingham had spoken, than he began swiftly to execute his +plan. Drawing in to the side of the road, he shut off his power, +extracted his employer's putter from under the seat, and tossing his +cap, with its conspicuous black visor, into the car, he vaulted the +wall and began to work back toward the path. Fortune favored him, for +the underbrush had gained no hold upon the smooth masonry, and he was +able to make rapid progress, so that only a short time elapsed before +he regained the entrance to the links. His next task was to find some +trace of his employer, but a quick glance down the path revealed +nothing and Nolan, puzzled, walked straight ahead toward the links, +casting quick glances to right and left of him as he advanced. +Presently, halfway down the trail, a twig snapped to his left, and +quickly turning his head, he saw McKay slowly forcing his way through +the bushes in the direction of a circle of huge firs. At the sight, +Nolan's usual calm deserted him, and his pulse beat faster. "There +_is_ something queer, then," he thought, and bending low he crept +stealthily after his employer, like a hunter stalking his game. + +Little by little, favored by his slighter build, he gained upon McKay +until the distance between them had been decreased one-half, whereupon +he tried to gain no more but was content simply to keep pace with the +man whom he was trailing. Straight onward toward the firs McKay made +his way, and when he reached them, instead of turning aside, he +stooped and began to seek an entrance through their branches' +barricade. + +Nolan felt his wonderment increase. "The Devil," he murmured, and +fearful lest he might lose sight of his employer, he sacrificed safety +to speed, and stole rapidly onward until he too had reached the border +of the trees. Ahead of him, he could faintly discern his master's +form, and the continual snapping of twigs made it evident that he was +still advancing. For a moment Nolan stood motionless, uncertain what +to do. His heart was beating violently. If he continued to follow, the +pretext of the forgotten putter could hardly serve him as an excuse; +if he went on from this point, it was at his own risk. And suddenly, +for no apparent reason, fear seized him. In the shelter and silence of +the forest, he seemed to himself to shrink and grow small; the +solitude oppressed him; and he stood like a man in a dream, scarcely +breathing and noting, subconsciously, the beauty of the rifts of +sunlight which filtered through the trees. "I guess," he muttered, +"I'll be getting back." But even as he spoke the words, there sounded +behind him a faint twang, as of a cord released-- + +He was running, running and leaping magnificently, running as he had +never run before. Whither he was going, he could not tell, for the +power of sight had left him, but he felt that he was travelling +through space with incredible speed. A singular buoyancy had permeated +his whole being, so that it seemed to him that he was no longer upon +the earth, but was whirling over sea and land and sky. Onward he +swept, still onward-- + +But now, little by little, he could feel that his speed diminished, +and that he was struggling upward, like some submerged and drowning +swimmer, from darkness toward the light. Slower and slower he ran, +more slowly still-- + +His eyes opened. He was lying among the bushes, flat upon his face, +and he realized that he was in frightful pain, and that he gasped +painfully for breath; something was choking him; throat and lungs were +filled with it. And as his brain cleared, suddenly he knew, although +too far spent to conjecture what had befallen him, that he was very +near to death. He tried to move-- + +There was a trampling in the bushes, and a man in faded green stood +over him. Then he felt himself roughly seized by the chin, his head +was bent back, further, further--something gleamed and glittered in +the sunlight-- + +Calmly, and without emotion, the huntsman stood looking down upon the +murdered man. "Only three," he murmured, "in all these years. One in +my father's time; two in mine." And after a pause, he added, "How +could this man have known? And is he the only one, or will others come +to tempt their destiny?" + + + + + CHAPTER VI + + Misery Meets Company + + +Daylight was fading; the shadows of the trees lengthened upon the +grass; yet Atherton made no move to leave the park, but still sat +motionless, oblivious to everything except the turmoil of his +thoughts. + +From the office of Holt and Henderson he had walked blindly along, +heedless of his destination, until as he had neared the lake a sudden +weariness had seized him and he had sunk down upon a bench to rest. +For a time, he could scarcely convince himself of the reality of what +had occurred; seen in retrospect, it all appeared fantastic and of the +texture of a dream. But at length, as the afternoon wore on, and the +shrill clamor of the newsboys filled the park, he purchased a paper +and when he read, in black and white, the story of the day's decline, +his last hope vanished and he knew that this was no nightmare, but +reality, and that financially he was a ruined man. + +At first, the burden of his calamity seemed too hard to bear. Fifty +thousand dollars! While he had possessed it, never dreaming of its +loss, he had not appreciated its magnitude, but now that it was gone, +he realized what a sum of money it was. So marvellously easy to lose; +so tremendously difficult to regain. But presently, since he was +young, and by no means a coward, he managed to recover his courage. He +had made a bad mistake, but so had other men; he had a difficult task +before him, but others had faced problems still more difficult, and +had triumphantly solved them. Therefore he resolved that beginning +with to-morrow he would put the past behind him, and would think only +of the future; but this afternoon he would not try to plan--his brain +was weary and the tragedy of the day was still too recent and too +deeply in his thoughts. And suddenly, as he lived over again the past +few weeks, it dawned upon him that he had been quite mad, and not he +alone, but all these other men who had sat and talked and laughed +their futile laughter while the narrow ribbon of the tape spelled ruin +for them before their very eyes. How had he dared, he wondered--how +did any of them dare--to speculate in stocks? What did they know of +real conditions throughout the world? In the papers they read bits of +news, already stale and cold, and this news they swallowed and +assimilated until at last they mistook its effect upon their minds for +the process of original thought. So it had been with him. Over and +over again, for days, he had read, first in one form, then in another, +the news that Steel was going up; until he had ended by believing it +with a fervor that nothing could shake; imagining, moreover, that he +had shrewdly reasoned this out for himself, that he was a good judge +of commerce, finance, trade--that because of his ability he could make +a fortune in stocks--he laughed ironically; disillusionment had been +absolute, complete, a hammer stroke--"The Boy Gambler," he murmured to +himself, "A Story of Punctured Pride." + +Twilight deepened; the night breeze, grateful and refreshing, swept +across the water, and all at once Atherton remembered that he had not +eaten since his ill-omened luncheon and that he was ravenously hungry. +"It's lucky," he reflected, "that I've enough left for a meal," and +forthwith made his way toward the Sign of the Peacock, a cafe where he +knew that evening dress was not required, and where food, wines and +music vied each with the other in excellence. + +The head waiter greeted him with his customary smiling welcome. "All +alone to-night, Mr. Atherton?" he inquired; and Atherton, answering +mechanically, "Yes, for one, please," was shown to a table near the +window, but no sooner had he seated himself than Henri, the second in +command, came bustling up to him. "Ze zhentlemen," he explained, +"across ze room--zey ask ze honnaire--" and he waved his hand with a +gesture deprecatory but inviting. + +Atherton glanced in the direction indicated, and immediately +recognized the two men as friends and classmates of his college days. +Blagden, tall, dark, good-looking, had been one of those attractive +but unreliable students who are more brilliant than successful, more +admired than liked, so that on the whole his University course had +been more spectacular than satisfying. But though open to plenty of +criticism on other grounds, no one had ever denied him the qualities +of courage, coolness and "nerve," and these had won for him outdoors +the title of tennis champion, indoors the still more valuable +reputation of being the best poker player in college. The other man, +thickset, solid, rosy, with the neck of a bull, was "Tubby" Mills, +guard upon the eleven for three seasons; never quite of "All-America" +timber, but steady, dependable, and always managing to let the man +opposed to him in the line realize, before the game was ended, that he +had been through an afternoon of exercise perhaps more strenuous than +beneficial. Stolid but likable, "Tubby" made up in genial good nature +what he perhaps lacked in brains. + +Atherton rose at once, crossed the room and took the vacant chair at +their table. + +"Well, well," Blagden greeted him, "how goes it, old scout?" And so +strong is the force of habit that Atherton, despite the day's +reverses, rejoined, "Oh, first-rate, thanks. How is it with you?" + +"Fine," Blagden responded, "couldn't be better. Everything lovely." + +"And you, Tubby," said Atherton, turning to Mills. + +"Oh, pretty good," the chubby one answered, and pushing the bill of +fare toward Atherton, he added, "Here, what will you have? This is on +me. Better try a porterhouse with onions; we've ordered some fizz." + +Atherton followed his advice, and the talk, running back to college +days and college classmates, dealt for a time wholly with the past +until at last, after a pause, Blagden asked the question that Atherton +had been expecting, "And what are you doing with yourself now?" + +Atherton hesitated; then, inspired perhaps by the comforting influence +of the steak and the "fizz," he answered impulsively, "Oh, I might as +well tell you the truth. I've been playing the market, and like a fool +I got in so deep that this drop to-day wiped me out. So I'm +practically busted, and wondering what I'm going to do next." + +Having finished his disclosure, he awaited the conventional +expressions of sympathy from his friends, but to his surprise neither +of them spoke, and Blagden stared at Mills, and Mills at Blagden until +presently, somewhat to Atherton's resentment, both of them began to +grin broadly. + +"Shall we tell him, Tubby?" asked Blagden at length. "Sure thing," +responded Mills briefly. "He told _us_." + +Blagden turned to Atherton. "Well, then," he observed, "to borrow a +phrase from the unregenerate and indefensible game of poker, this +appears to be a case of three of a kind. Last week, I was long of +twelve thousand bales of January cotton, and they dropped the market +on me one hundred and fifty points in two days, and beggared me to the +tune of about ninety thousand dollars. To-day Tubby, who has been a +terrible bear on wheat, and was short up to his eyebrows, got forced +out on the rise, and was stung for--how much was it, Tubby?" + +"Oh, about thirty-five thousand," answered Mills regretfully, "between +thirty-five and forty. I bit off more than I could chew." + +In spite of himself, Atherton smiled in his turn. "Well, I'll be +damned," was his first rejoinder, and then, as the real significance +of the coincidence dawned upon him, he cried, "What's the trouble with +this speculative game, anyway? Why on earth can't anyone beat it? +We're not all fools. Suppose a hundred men start speculating on the +same day? You'd naturally suppose, on some kind of law of averages, +that half of them would win and half would lose. But what's the +answer? The answer is that the whole darned hundred lose. I never knew +it to fail. And I'd like to know why. It can't be true that everybody +who invests money in cotton and grain and stocks is stark, staring +crazy. There must be some men who understand conditions, who possess +ability enough to calculate and plan; there must be some winners. But +if they are, I never heard of 'em. It's a mighty funny game." + +"You're right," Blagden assented. "I've been doing some thinking +myself since last week; I've been asking the very questions you're +asking now. I can't find the answer, but I've got this far; I know why +poor idiots like you and me and Tubby get it in the neck. It's because +we play the game single-handed. And look at what we're up against. +This is an age of consolidation and co-operation. It's so in business +and it's so in the markets. Pools--that's all you hear nowadays--pools +in leather, copper, oil, cotton, corn. And we're fools enough, with a +few thousand dollars, to go into a game where you need millions. And +as for talking about understanding conditions, and calculating what +the market ought to do, why good Lord, Atherton, you ought to know +better than that. Speculation is only another way of spelling +manipulation. Prices don't _go_ up--they're forced up; they don't _go_ +down--they're jammed down, and sometimes most curiously far, too. But +as for planning, calculating, reading, studying conditions--good +night!" And he refilled his glass. + +There was a thoughtful silence. Atherton, pondering on what Blagden +had said, and remembering, also, what the trader at Holt and +Henderson's had told him, felt that his ideas of speculation had +undergone a violent change. So that at length he answered reluctantly, +"Well, it looks as though you were right. But I wish we'd thought of +this before. Now it's a case of 'They've got the money and we've got +the experience.'" + +Mills leaned forward, planting his elbows comfortably upon the table. +"That's so," he agreed, "I never could see much sense in this _post +mortem_ business. The point is: What are we going to do next? And I +for one wish it distinctly understood that I refuse to be licked. I +started out to make a million dollars, and I'm not going to quit until +I'm put away in a box underground. You two fellows were considered +rather clever when you were in college, so instead of all this sob +stuff why don't you furnish some practical wisdom? What are we going +to do? How are we going to get our money back?" + +Atherton gazed at his stocky friend, not without admiration for his +grit. "Blagden," he answered, "has made one mighty good suggestion. +Whatever we do, let's not continue this 'lone hand' business; let's +take his tip that this is an age of consolidation, and let's pool our +resources, such as they are, and see if we can't manage to do a little +better." + +Mills grunted approval. "Good scheme," he assented. "We'll be a +regular trust. But when you say, 'resources, _such as they are_,' +you've put your finger on our weakest spot. If we have resources, +they're not in cash. What shall we call ourselves? 'The United +Brotherhood of Down and Outs'? Or is that too severe?" + +But Blagden, the imaginative, suddenly caught fire at the idea. "No, +no," he objected, "nothing as crude as that. Give a dog a bad name and +hang him. I'll tell you what we'll call ourselves. 'Gentlemen +Adventurers.' That has the proper ring. Every morning we'll start +forth on a tour of discovery; then we'll meet and compare notes and +see if we can't combine our experiences to our mutual advantage." + +"That sounds fine," Mills agreed, "but what kind of adventures are we +going to have?" + +"Oh, Tubby, Tubby," cried Blagden. "If there's a more prosaic man in +the world than you are, I'd like to see him. Why, you miss the point +of the whole thing. If we knew just what was going to happen to us, +every day of our lives, where would the fun be? Where would be the +romance, the thrill? If you could see an adventure coming half a mile +down the road, then it wouldn't _be_ an adventure; it has to bump into +you from right around the corner. Do you get the idea?" + +"Oh, sure," retorted Mills. "At least, I get what you think is the +idea. But that is the trouble with you poetical chaps; you can't +understand that this is a practical world, especially the dollars and +cents part of it. And if you're proposing that we leave here to-night +and start looking for adventure, why we'd better raise an emergency +fund at once. Because instead of finding money, we'll be losing it. +I've started looking for adventure lots of times in my life, and I +always bring up in one of two places--the police station or the +hospital." + +"Oh, I don't mean that kind of adventure," Blagden hastened to +explain. "I mean the 'New Arabian Nights' sort of thing. We'll meet +princesses and potentates and you may take my word for it that it +won't be long before we're on the trail of some real money. We'll get +back all we've lost and more too." + +He spoke persuasively, but Mills remained unconvinced. "Oh, it's easy +enough," he objected, "to talk like that in here, with the lights and +the music and a couple of glasses of champagne under your belt. But +nothing will really happen. We'll go out of this place and walk +peacefully home again, and in the morning we'll wake up and laugh at +ourselves. I only wish your dreams would come true, Blagden, but they +won't; they're all moonshine. The only real thing is that we're +broke." + +But Blagden, always at his best under fire, rallied vigorously to the +support of his theory. "Nonsense," he cried, "you ought to be ashamed +of yourself. One minute you claim to be a fighter and the next you're +ready to quit cold. Why, the trouble with you--the trouble with all +three of us--and the reason we think there's no romance left in the +world is simply that we've gone stale--stale from sitting over the +ticker day after day, without a thought of anything else on earth +except the ups and downs of the market. I would gamble my last cent +that there's waiting for us, right here in this city, adventure enough +to fill a thousand books; adventures of riches and of poverty, of +romance and reality, of battle and murder and sudden death. Here's the +test. What day is this? Tuesday. Friday night, at nine o'clock, we'll +meet in my rooms and compare notes. We'll all three try our best in +the meantime and if by Friday no one of us has had an adventure worthy +of the name, no one of us has chanced on the slightest idea, the +faintest clue, that spells money, then I'll admit that I'm wrong and +that Tubby's right. Now then, you fat guzzler, isn't that fair?" + +"Oh, sure, that's fair enough," Mills was forced to agree, "but I +don't believe--" + +He stopped abruptly, gazing straight before him, and then, under his +breath, he murmured, "Great Heavens, what a peach!" + +The girl who had entered the cafe and taken a seat at a table not far +from their own surely merited his praise. She was tall and slender, +faultlessly gowned in black, and her face, under the broad picture +hat, was of exceptional beauty, yet with an expression of mingled +indifference and assurance that bespoke a plentiful knowledge of the +world. She gave her order, began leisurely to remove her gloves, and +presently, as she glanced about the room, Atherton perceived, to his +surprise, that her eyes remained fixed upon their table with a +singular intentness. Nor was he the only one to notice this, for +immediately Mills observed, "By Jove, one of us seems to have made a +hit. Do you know her, Atherton?" + +Atherton shook his head. "No, I haven't the pleasure," he answered. +And as the girl's eyes were suddenly averted, he added, "There was +something, though, about our table, that seemed to attract her. And +reasoning by the process of elimination, I conclude that it must be +Blagden." + +"You flatter me," Blagden calmly rejoined. "Just my luck, though, to +be seated with my back to the lady. Is she really so charming?" + +"Charming?" Mills echoed fervently, in a tone which answered Blagden's +question in ardent affirmative. And Atherton supplemented, "Yes, if +anybody happens to fancy that particular type, I should almost say +that she is as pretty a woman as I ever saw in my life." + +"Why, this is wonderful!" cried Blagden. "This calls for personal +investigation. I don't suppose I can deliberately turn around and +stare, but we might as well be going, anyway, and I must see her, if +only as we depart." + +They rose, and as they started to leave the table, Atherton noticed +that the girl's eyes were again turned in their direction, and almost +simultaneously was aware of a smothered ejaculation from Blagden. "So +you know her?" he whispered. + +Blagden did not answer directly. "Just a moment," he muttered, "I'll +be right back." And walking swiftly over to the table, he exchanged a +few brief words with its occupant, and then rejoined his companions, +his face eager and expectant. + +"I'll see you fellows later," he hurriedly explained; adding hastily, +"What do you think of my theories now. Didn't I tell you this was the +city of adventures. And mine is going to begin right here." + +Mills grinned. "You always were a lucky devil," he cried enviously. +"Well, all I can say is that if this is the form our adventures are +going to take, they can't come too fast for me." And he and Atherton +walked slowly in the direction of the door, while Blagden turned and +made his way toward the girl who awaited him. + + + + + CHAPTER VII + + The Adventure of Blagden + + +"It was two years ago," began Blagden, "on the beach at Trouville. I +shall never forget it. The sea and the sky were blue; the sands were +silver; and you were a marvelous mermaid, in gold and crimson, basking +on the shore. When I saw you, I felt such emotion that I began at once +repeating whole stanzas of Swinburne, appropriate to the occasion, and +rivalling the day in warmth. I hoped--" + +But she interrupted him. "It is pathetic," she said, "that a memory so +tenderly poetical should be so much at fault. I am grieved for myself; +I thought I had made a more lasting impression." + +"But my memory," he protested, "is not at fault. I remember perfectly. +It was a wonderful costume, almost worthy of its wearer. It was gold, +pale gold--" + +"Oh, stupid man!" she cried, "we are not talking of costumes; what do +they matter? We are talking of our first meeting, and that was not at +Trouville at all. Trouville, although delightful, came later. Our +first meeting was at the races--" + +"By Jove," he ejaculated, "you're right. So it was--Deauville races. +And you were in the grandstand, in the very first row--" + +"That's better," she exclaimed. "Your memory is improving. I was +watching the horses parade before the opening race, and was suddenly +smitten with the charms of a beautiful bay named _Voyageur_. +Immediately I knew that I must bet five hundred francs on _Voyageur_. +The time was short--" + +"And so," he smiled, "you made appealing eyes at me--" + +"No, no," she contradicted, "I did not. Or if I did, I was quite +justified. You had been staring at me very rudely for some time." + +"That is true," he admitted. "I couldn't help myself. But in any +event, we became acquainted, and I placed the money on your favorite. +I recall that distinctly. And I remember thinking, 'Poor girl; poor +lovely girl; she will surely lose.' And then _Voyageur_--" + +She in her turn took up the tale. "Oh, wasn't it splendid?" she cried. +"A furlong from home, and we thought that he was beaten, and then, +like a flash, up he came, out of the ruck, past the leaders, won under +wraps, with his jockey sitting still, and both of us shrieking, +'_Voyageur_! _Voyageur!_' like mad." + +"It was glorious," he agreed. "And after that do you remember the race +for two-year-olds, and my theory that in an untried field the odds +were all against the favorites winning? I suggested that we buy a +ticket on every horse in the race; you assented, and the theory proved +a magnificent success. We won a thousand francs--" + +"And that night," she reminded him, "flushed with victory, we played +roulette. It was I who invented the system then, and unlike yours, it +cost us every cent we had made, and much more besides. Do you remember +that?" + +"Of course I do," he answered. "It was the old story; we were winners, +but didn't know when to stop. But it was worth it; those were royal +days." + +"And then," she continued, "came our ventures in the market. The rise +in rails that made us rich; and the cotton corner that beggared us. +You haven't forgotten those?" + +"Forgotten them?" he echoed. "Could I forget? Ah! what times those +were!" + +There was a pause. At length she said musingly, "Two years ago. Two +long years. And how has Fortune treated you? Bountifully, I hope." + +Blagden smiled. "I was just complaining to my friends," he said, "that +she had deserted me. And now--she resumes her favors." + +She bowed, half in earnest, half jestingly. "You are too kind," she +answered, "but seriously, I am sorry if you have not prospered." + +"To be candid," Blagden admitted, "I have not. But I am not +discouraged. Being a Goddess, it is her privilege to be fickle; that, +I suppose, is her real fascination. But tell me how the years have +gone with you. Have you lived as you planned to live?" + +She regarded him steadily, and without emotion. "Exactly," she +answered, "as I planned." + +He was silent, returning her gaze. "Well," he rejoined at length, "if +it is a matter for congratulation, then I congratulate you. Is he +rich?" + +"Oh, very," she responded. "You need hardly have asked me that?" + +"Quite true," he answered. "Forgive my stupidity. And are you happy?" + +"Why--yes," she replied more doubtfully, "I suppose so. I have a great +deal. I desire more." + +"That," he said, "is the chief trouble with all of us. That, in fact, +was the reason for my recent undoing. I risked a moderate capital to +gain a fortune, and was wiped out. I lost everything--hook, line and +sinker." + +"I am so sorry," she answered. "Was it in stocks?" + +"Next door to it," he responded. "It was January cotton. By every test +in the world, by reasoning, by statistical information, by the opinion +of the trade, by the advice of brokers, by every known method of +determining values, January cotton was the greatest purchase in the +universe. It had to go up, that was all there was to it. It was +mathematically impossible for it to stay down. So I bought it, bought +it up to my eyebrows; and so, I imagine, did every Tom, Dick and Harry +in the Street. Result, a hundred and fifty point drop, swift and +sudden as a hurricane, and when it was over, scattered heaps of +financial corpses, of which I had the honor to be one. I had money, +desired more; and got--what I deserved." + +She sighed sympathetically. "I only wish," she murmured, more to +herself than to him, "that I had known." + +He regarded her with frank amazement. "What could you have done?" he +queried. "Prevented me from losing?" + +"Yes," she answered gravely, "I think that I could. I, of course, know +nothing, but it happens that my friend is a great authority upon the +markets. He is never wrong." + +Blagden smiled indulgently. "Oh, I've heard of those fellows," he +responded. "Don't think I'm rude, but there's no such thing in the +world as a man who's never wrong on speculation. He simply doesn't +exist." + +"But you don't understand," she insisted. "He _really_ knows." + +"Pure coincidence," he retorted lightly. "I've known of such cases. He +might hit it three times, four times, a dozen times, but nobody can be +consistently right. It's humanly impossible." + +"It was over six months ago," she rejoined with conviction, "that he +told me to make my first trade. At my cottage he has had installed +tickers for all three of the markets. If he is there between ten and +three, he keeps close watch of them. And every so often he will say, +'Would you like some pin money?' And always I win, and never lose." + +"Well," said Blagden lightly, "we won't quarrel over it. If you say +it's so, it's so. But why do you say that you 'desire more?' I should +consider you a very fortunate lady. If I could win every time I +gambled, I don't think I'd require anything else." + +"Oh, yes, you would," she promptly answered. "If you were only allowed +to play every week or two, and in a very limited way, and under the +direction of another person, would that satisfy you? Of course not. +The point is here. I am only allowed to meddle with stocks as an +amusement--a plaything. But I want to know how he does it. Then I +should be satisfied, for I could make all the money I wished." + +"But why so eager about money?" he queried. "You never used to be." + +"In two years," she answered, "I have changed a great deal. I am +older; I hope wiser. I know that youth fades, that life itself is +brief. And before I die, I wish to realize a dream--a vision. I wish +to have the finest pleasure yacht in the world and to voyage north, +south, east, west, until I have seen all that there is to see upon +this earth. Hence my desire for money." + +"Now I understand," he replied. Then added, more lightly, "You say you +'want to know how he does it.' Does it appear to be a kind of magic? +Does he make his profits in the same way that a conjuror extracts +rabbits from a hat?" + +His levity nettled her. "You are provincial," she retorted sharply. +"You reason that because you have lost money in stocks, everyone must +do so. Often it is foolish to believe too much; but sometimes one may +believe too little." + +He hastened to make amends. "I apologize," he said. "You are perfectly +right. And I am really immensely interested in your story. You think, +then, that he speculates with some sort of system?" + +"I am sure of it," she answered with conviction, "and when I saw you +here to-night, I suddenly remembered many things that you had told me +about the market, and I wondered if you could not aid me now." + +"If I may help," he assured her, "I am wholly at your service. Though +I fear I am somewhat at a loss as to how or where to begin." + +"And yet," she rejoined, "there is a starting-point. I am confident of +it. Are you at liberty this evening?" + +"Never more so," he answered. + +"Then come with me," she said. "I have a taxi waiting." And Blagden, +assisting her to put on her wraps, escorted her to the motor, which +whirled them away from the city, mile after mile, until it finally +stopped at a pretty cottage, far out in the country, isolated and half +hidden in a miniature forest of trees, shrubs and flowers. + +A trim maid answered her mistress's ring, then discreetly vanished. +"Now," she said, "I will show you what I mean," and leading the way to +the study on the floor above, she turned the switch and flooded the +room with mellow light. Blagden looked about him with interest. As she +had told him, over against the wall stood the three tickers, side by +side, and beyond them a desk and a telephone switchboard. In spite of +himself, Blagden was impressed. There was an orderliness, an +indefinable businesslike touch to the room and its contents which +seemed to make it evident that its owner was a man of affairs. + +"Well," she queried, "do you believe me now?" + +"Oh, it's not a question of belief--" he began, but she suddenly +exclaimed, "Wait a moment; I forgot," and hurriedly leaving the room, +she returned almost instantly with a small memorandum book in her +hand. "Now," she said, "look at this." + +Blagden took the book and scanned the entries with care. Here was +fifty Reading bought at ninety-three and sold at ninety-eight; and +here one hundred bales of May cotton sold at eighteen, fifty-six, and +bought in at seventeen, fifty-two. A little further on were ten +thousand bushels of December wheat bought at a dollar, fifty-four and +closed out at a dollar, fifty-seven. Sometimes the gains were large, +sometimes small, but invariably, as she had claimed, each transaction +showed a profit. Blagden gazed, fascinated. + +"Now," she said, "isn't it wonderful?" + +"Wonderful," he echoed. "It's more than that. It's a miracle. If I had +met you six months ago, where would I be to-day? I'd be rolling in it; +I'd be worth a million." + +Her face was as covetous as his. "You've been in the market for +years," she said. "Haven't you any way of finding out?" + +"I don't know," he answered slowly. "Did you tell me in the cafe you +had a clew?" + +She hesitated. "It sounds rather ridiculous," she answered, "but do +you think it's possible that the time of day can have anything to do +with the strength or weakness of stocks?" + +He looked disappointed. "Oh, I've heard that talk down town," he +responded. "There are as many theories of speculation as there are +speculators. Everyone agrees that there's manipulation--flagrant +manipulation--though of course this is indignantly denied by everybody +connected with the Exchange. But how this manipulation is managed, no +two men agree. I've heard what you hint at, that the future course of +stocks is determined by their artificial strength or weakness at +certain hours of the day; two o'clock, some people think is the +significant time. Personally I never believed in it at all. Why do you +ask?" + +"Because," she answered, "when he stands here by the tickers, he is +continually looking at his watch. I am not supposed to know this; in +fact, between ten and three I am excluded from this room; but I have +devised means of watching, and that is the peculiarity I have noticed; +that, and the jotting down in his notebook of memoranda which he +apparently copies from the tape." + +Blagden looked puzzled. "I should be very slow," he said, "to believe +anything of the kind. And I should think you could manage this affair +without my aid. Considering your relations with this man, considering +your very obvious attractions, I should think the stage was all set +for a modern version of Merlin and Vivien." + +She smiled a trifle bitterly. "I will confess to you," she answered, +"that the same thing occurred to me. In fact, I attempted it; and +failed utterly. Compared with this--" she indicated the tickers--"I am +the proverbial dust beneath his feet." + +There was silence. At length Blagden spoke. "This fascinates me," he +said. "At first, I wholly disbelieved your story; now I do believe it. +And upon one condition, I will devote my time, my energy, my best +endeavor to the solving of this mystery. But the condition is +important." + +She regarded him curiously. "Name it," she said. + +He rose from his seat, and stood looking at her appraisingly, a cold +flame gleaming in his eyes. "It is this," he answered. "You liked me, +I think, in the old days, but I was a poor man. I am a poor man +to-day. But if we fathom this secret and gain the keys to Paradise, +then let us make the building of your yacht a joint enterprise, and +let us make the cruise--together." + +She too had risen and now stood looking at him with a faint smile upon +her lips. "Ours," she responded, "is a quite exceptional friendship. +You are a man and I am a woman, and yet we have the great advantage of +thoroughly understanding one another. If you can grant me my desire, I +will reciprocate. I accept your offer, and I wish you success." + + + + + CHAPTER VIII + + The Adventure of Tubby Mills + + +At the street entrance to the cafe, Mills and Atherton came +momentarily to a halt. "Well," observed the stout one, "we've got to +hand it to Blagden. He's what you might describe as the original +Tabasco. Yet it's no credit to him that he finds adventures; they just +naturally come his way. He couldn't dodge 'em if he tried. See what's +happened to him now; do you suppose either of us is going to run into +anything like that?" + +Atherton, still under the spell of Blagden's eloquence, was gazing +forth upon the crowded thoroughfare, with its hurrying throngs of +pedestrians, and its multitude of motors, passing and repassing +incessantly under the glare and brilliance of the bright white lights. + +"I think," he slowly answered, "that anything is possible. Blagden is +right. Ninety-nine men out of a hundred live and die in a rut. It has +to be so; that is life. But if the hundredth man is so situated that +he may range the world at will, with eyes open and every sense alert, +I believe, with Blagden, that he will find adventure awaiting him at +every turn in the road. It's tremendously exhilarating. Here we take +leave of each other; you go one way, I go the other, and what we may +discover we haven't the shadow of an idea. I think we ought to thank +Blagden for waking us up. I haven't felt so keen about living since I +can remember." + +"Blagden," said Mills, "is a queerer combination than most of us. He's +an artistic sort of chap, with all the merits and defects of the +artistic temperament. He always makes me think of an airship with its +steering gear shot away; he goes like the very deuce, but you can't +tell what his destination is, or at what moment a gust of wind may +veer him from his course. Prince or pauper; he may become either; but +he'll never be one of your commonplace mediocrities." + +"You're right," Atherton agreed, "and to-night, at least, I envy him, +though I imagine that in the end your plodder is perhaps the happier +man of the two. He may get less out of life, but he risks less. +Thrills and ills are apt to go together." + +His companion laughed. "Well, we've got to risk it," he answered. +"We're committed now to a life of adventure, whether we like it or +not. I'm going to vary your phrase. 'Thrills for Mills' is going to be +my motto. And we must make a start, Atherton; our time is short. +Good-night and good luck; we'll see each other Friday." + +He raised his hand in farewell, and started leisurely down the street. +People by tens and hundreds and thousands surrounded him, enveloped +him on every hand, yet of all the multitude he seemed to be the only +wayfarer who was not hurried, preoccupied, intent upon his own +individual affairs. "This," he concluded, "is too much like the middle +of the stream; what I want is some quiet backwater, where there's a +chance to pause and breathe." + +Leaving the main street, he walked east for several blocks, and +turning again parallel to his original course, found himself in one of +the poorer residential districts of the city. As he had divined, here +there was incident to be encountered, but of too sordid a nature to +bear the remotest resemblance to genuine adventure. Old men, ragged, +unkempt, muttered requests for a night's lodging, for food, or more +openly for the price of a drink. Younger men, of sinister exterior, +eyed him as he passed and noting his bulk, allowed him to go on his +way unmolested. Women of the street, in gaudy finery, their white +faces daubed with scarlet in ghastly mockery of health and beauty, +ogled him leeringly, and Mills, sophisticated city dweller though he +was, felt his heart sicken at the thought of their venal trade. "If +there was some attraction," he thought, "some seduction, that would be +one thing. But these wrecks--these walking corpses--it's horrible." + +By this time, he had traversed several blocks, and the chances of +adventure seemed each moment to be growing slimmer. "I'll go home," he +reflected, "and go to bed. And in the morning I'll make a round of the +brokers' offices; perhaps I'll be able to pick up news of something +really good." And having thus allowed his mind to return to the +subject of the market, he began to dream, like all defeated gamblers, +of some wonderful way of "getting square with the game." "Cotton," he +mused. "A man could make money in cotton. I got in too deep; that was +all. If a fellow would only stick to small lots, and regular rules--" + +A touch upon his arm aroused him, and he wheeled to confront a girl of +a very different type from those whose demeanor had so disgusted him. +She was evidently of the working class, but she had the instinctive +good taste to dress according to her station, leaving to others the +garish footgear, the semi-nudities of costume, and the overpowering +stench of cheap perfume. And thus, in comparison with her companions +upon the street, she looked so refreshingly youthful and ingenuous, +and her big eyes were so appealingly pathetic that Mills, for the +first time, began to feel that an adventure, even in this locality, +might be both possible and enjoyable. + +"I ask your pardon," she said, "for speaking to you, but I am in great +trouble, and I thought that perhaps you would be willing to help me." + +Mills, still only half aroused from his meditations, stared at her +uncomprehendingly, and as he did so was struck afresh by the girl's +air of innocence. Her eyes still gazed trustfully into his, her hold +upon his arm was not relaxed, and as a result Mills presently found +himself replying guardedly, "Why, I might. What's wrong?" + +She gave a sigh of relief. "Oh, you are so good," she cried. "I was +sure of it when I saw you. And I need someone to help me so badly. +Only--" she added shyly, "let's not stand here. It's so conspicuous, +and this is a horrid neighborhood; people are always talking. Just +come with me; it's only a step--" + +Mills hesitated. Perhaps, if he had taken a little less wine, he might +have been more suspicious; possibly, if she had not slipped her arm +confidingly through his, he might have been less avid of adventure; +but as it was, he yielded, and as they walked along she lost no time +in acquainting him with the story. It was not she herself, it +appeared, who was in trouble, but a friend of hers named Rose, who was +only eighteen years old and as beautiful as a picture. Rose, it +appeared, had been sought by a policeman on the beat, but being as +virtuous as she was pretty, she had indignantly rejected the overtures +of this immoral man. Whereupon he had threatened to "get" her, and +promptly made good his threat by employing a skillful shoplifter to +"plant" some articles of jewelry upon the person of the persecuted +Rose. She had been arrested; her case was coming up for trial +to-morrow; and alone in the world, she did not know, in her +predicament, where to turn for aid. Thus her friend had been prompted +to go forth and look for help, and had been attracted by the +prepossessing exterior of Mills. "I knew you looked good, the moment I +saw you," she repeated, and as she uttered the words, her voice was +tremulous either with grief or with some other emotion. Mills was +frankly puzzled. The tale struck him as extremely wild and improbable, +but on the other hand he was enjoying the society of his guide, and +the opportunity of seeing the lovely Rose strongly appealed to him. +Just how this meeting was to benefit the Order of Gentlemen +Adventurers was perhaps not quite clear, but Mills' mind was not, by +this time, working along the lines of strict logic; emotion, rather +than pure reason, was in the ascendant. And in any event, he would +have had little time to ponder the matter, for the walk, as his guide +had promised, was a short one, and he presently found himself +following her into a tenement of rather dubious exterior, and up +countless flights of stairs whose atmosphere wholly failed to appeal +to Mills' somewhat fastidious nostrils. More than once, during the +climb, strong suspicion assailed him, and his better judgment +counselled flight, but the fear of being a "quitter" restrained him, +and he continued his ascent until presently he surmounted the final +flight, and found himself in a room somewhat barely furnished, but +with an air of comfort and refinement which renewed his confidence in +his guide. + +She laid aside her hat and coat, and as she turned toward him, he +observed with pleasure that she was really exceedingly pretty. "Rose +will be here right away," she observed; then, listening for a moment, +she added, "There she is now," and Mills, listening in his turn, could +hear a light footfall ascending the stair. But in another instant his +companion's face turned white. "My God!" she cried, "it's my husband. +I thought he was out of town. What on earth shall I do? He mustn't +find you here." + +Mills gave her one searching glance, muttered grimly to himself, +"Well, I'll be damned," and making no effort to escape, sat motionless +in his chair, his eyes fixed upon the door, which opened the next +moment to admit a small, sinister looking man, who gazed at the couple +before him in a manner forbidding and malevolent. Nor were his first +words reassuring. "What the hell is this?" he cried, and advancing +toward Mills, he demanded truculently, "What the devil are you doing +here?" + +The girl sprang forward. "Don't hurt him!" she cried. "It's my fault. +I oughtn't to have listened to him. But he wanted to come. He said +he'd pay me well--" + +Her words acted as an infuriant upon this slender but dangerous +looking man. "I'll teach you swells--" he hissed, and like a flash he +whipped a pistol from his pocket and levelled it at the head of the +unfortunate Mills. + +For an instant the victim gazed stolidly at the menacing circle of +steel; then, with an air of complete detachment from his surroundings, +he made an equivocal and wholly unlooked-for rejoinder. "Got a +cigarette?" he asked. + +The outraged husband glared. From past experience on many such +occasions he was quite prepared for men who grovelled and begged for +mercy, and once in a great while he had learned to look for a man who +showed fight, but a retort like this was distinctly a novelty. And +since the question scarcely admitted of a direct reply, he responded +with a snarl, "Now don't get gay, young feller, don't get gay." + +Mills turned to the girl. "I call that tough," he observed +conversationally. "Here I want to register courage, and the only real +way to do it is to light a cigarette. I love to see 'em do it on the +stage, and now when I have a chance myself, all I can do is just say +I'm not scared. But it's not the same thing; it ruins the effect." + +The girl eyed him keenly, her face noncommittal, expressionless. The +man continued to glare. Mills did not look like a lunatic, and the +girl, as a rule, managed to "pick them" to perfection. Yet this time +it appeared as though she had made a mistake, and while he hesitated, +uncertain as to his next move, Mills obligingly relieved his +embarrassment by continuing, "What you want, of course, is to get +money out of me or else to damage my reputation. But unfortunately for +you, I have neither reputation nor money. As far as reputation goes, +I'm a small town guy, unknown in New York, and as for money, I've been +playing the wheat market, and if you're looking for my coin, why, as +the funny man says, 'I'll help you look.' I'm sorry to be such a +disappointment--" he turned once more to the girl--"but this is the +time you got the wrong pig by the ear." + +The pseudo husband stared fixedly at Mills as if trying to make up his +mind as to the truth of his story; then evidenced his belief by +abruptly returning his pistol to his pocket, and to relieve his +feelings began to vent his indignation upon the girl. "By Gad, you're +clever," he exclaimed, and since he did not possess a large vocabulary +and depended principally upon repetition for his effects, he added, +after a momentary pause, "You're clever, by Gad." + +The girl's brow darkened. Evidently she did not take kindly to +criticism, and casting about for some means of defence, she jerked her +head in Tubby's direction. "Well," she countered, "look at him." + +Her four words worked wonders, for Mills, quick to perceive their +point, first grinned, then laughed, and finally, partly as a relief +for overstrained nerves, partly because the true humor of the whole +affair now suddenly dawned upon him, fairly shook with merriment, +while the girl, watching him, forgot her resentment and relaxed, until +finally she too joined in his mirth, and even her saturnine companion +permitted himself the luxury of a grin. + +"But see here," cried Mills at last, "I'm not stuck on my looks, or my +shape, but the old badger game--why that's positively an insult. Why +didn't you sell me a gold brick and be done with it? You must have +thought I was a cinch." + +"I did," she retorted, "but don't you care, Fatty, you're all right. +The joke's on me; I'm sorry I tackled you." + +"Well, it's on me, too," he admitted. "You did a good job. Let's call +it square, all around." + +The man with the pistol had come forward as they talked, and now stood +directly in front of Mills, regarding him with a fixed and searching +gaze. "Just one minute, now," he cautioned. "A square answer to a +square question. There's no double cross to this? You're not going to +leak to the bulls?" + +"Not much," Mills answered. "Live and let live. I've no kick coming." + +Apparently the man was content. "Then see here," he continued, "if +you're busted, I can find you a job. My name is Stoat. This old +badger stuff isn't my regular line; in my day I was called the best +second-story man in New York, and I could turn a good trick now if I +needed to. But there's safer games than that; I've had a fake +promoting scheme under my hat for a long time, and with your front we +could make a killing. With a few little changes you'd be the honest +miner to the life you and I and the kid here could work the thing to a +frazzle. What do you say?" + +Mills hesitated. The change from full pockets to empty ones had +wrought a distinct alteration in his moral code. Yet partnership with +Stoat was not an attractive prospect. "I don't believe," he +temporized, "I'm the man you want. I never mixed up in anything like +that." + +Stoat yawned audibly. "Well, it's late," he said, "and I'm most +cursedly sleepy. I was sitting into a game all last night, and I've +got to get to bed. Think this thing over, and if you want to give it a +go, drop around to-morrow sometime. You'll be making no mistake; it's +safe as can be, and there's big money in it, too." + +Mills got up and started for the door. "All right," he agreed, "I'll +think it over. Much obliged for the offer." And to the girl he added, +"Good night. When you see Rose, remember me to her." + +She laughed. "Say," she answered, "you fell for that easy, like all +the rest of 'em. It's a shame to do it. But you're a pretty good guy. +You come around to-morrow and we'll talk business." + +Once more upon the street, Mills gazed around him with fresh +appreciation. How near he had been to death he could not guess; his +knees felt as they used to at the finish of a three-mile run. To the +lights, the noises, the people on the street, he warmed with a new +affection. "I'm mighty glad," he muttered, "that I'm still in the +picture." And more pensively than was his wont, he turned his steps +toward home. + + + + + CHAPTER IX + + A Message from the Past + + +Bellingham for the twentieth time consulted his watch, and finding +that it still lacked ten minutes of midnight, he rose, walked over to +the window, and stood looking out into the night. In the distance he +could see the bulk of the stables looming through the darkness, and +near at hand the huge lone pine tree towered in silhouette against the +sky; yet his mind was not fixed upon what was before him, but was +reviewing once again the events of the day, events which had occurred +scarcely twelve hours ago, but which seemed, in retrospect, to have +taken place ages since, in the shadow of some dim and distant past. + +He could see himself, a distinct and separate entity, leaving the car +and hurrying toward the garage, alert, expectant, eager to find Nolan +and hear what he had to say. From the same man whom he had seen before +he had sought to discover if Nolan was in, and the man had nodded with +a curt "Yep," but when Bellingham was half way to the elevator his +informant had called him back to explain, "Say, hold on a minute; I +forgot; Nolan's quit his job." + +The secretary could feel again the sinking of the heart, the shock of +disappointment the words had caused. "Quit?" he had repeated, and the +man had replied, "Yep. He's quit. New man on the car; a Swede. He's up +there if you want to see him." But Bellingham had muttered something +about its being a personal matter, and still in a daze, had made his +way out of the garage, perplexed and disheartened, and vainly +wondering what could possibly have happened to the chauffeur. + +It was not an easy problem to solve. Certainly the money he had +advanced could have been no temptation to Nolan; twenty dollars was +nothing compared with the keeping of a good position. And if the +chauffeur's abandonment of his job had not been voluntary, of +necessity it must have been involuntary; it appeared as though he must +have been detected in his pursuit of his employer, and met with a +summary dismissal. Yet if this were so, why could he not still have +kept his appointment with the secretary. There seemed to be no +satisfactory solution, yet as a practical matter none was necessary; +of what importance were theories when he knew that the actual result +was a complete failure of his plans to gain information through the +instrumentality of Nolan. And as a result he would now be forced to +act himself; no choice was left to him; whether he liked it or not, he +must assume the risk. + +Thus, throughout the remainder of the day, he had laid his plans, and +now was decided as to his course. But the hour for action had not yet +arrived; two o'clock in the morning was the time he had chosen; and +thus he lighted his spirit lamp, made and drank two cups of coffee, +and then, setting and muffling his alarm clock, he lay down, fully +clothed, upon the bed, to gain a little rest before setting out upon +his tour of exploration. But before many moments passed, he realized +that the setting of the clock was a needless precaution; the strain he +was under added to the stimulant he had taken made sleep an +impossibility. And curiously enough his brain, which should have been +intent upon the adventure before him, now cast back through the years, +and as he lay there he could see, projected against the curtain of the +dark, pictures long since forgotten, detached and yet connected, +leading with merciless precision to the miserable predicament of his +latter days. + +Behind the house lay a broad expanse of meadow, gay with flowers and +traversed by a brook which had its source in the hills adjoining the +farm. Hither, in his boyhood, he made an almost daily pilgrimage, but +not to gather the violets and the buttercups which lined its banks, or +to hunt for blackbirds' nests in the swamp below. The attraction for +him had been altogether different. With his jack-knife he would +fashion boats from shingles, imagine them in his mind to be racing +yachts, under clouds of sail, and starting them, with scrupulous +fairness, amid the ripples of the stream, he would run headlong down +the field, just able to keep pace with the current, and watching with +breathless interest the outcome of the contest, as the tiny craft +swept around promontories, skirted the shallows, and finally crossed +the finish line, to be rescued with a forked stick, and carried back +up the meadow to race and race again. How had he come to play this +game? No one, as far as he could remember, had taught it to him; he +had been only six or seven at the time, but the memory persisted, the +thrill of the struggle, the eager brook and the no less eager boy-- + +The scene shifted. Some one had given him a game of "steeplechase," +and a new world was born. As clearly as if it had lain on the bed +beside him, he could see the oval of the board, the horses, bay, +black, white and gray, and he himself, cheeks flushed, heart +throbbing, sitting entranced hour after hour, casting the dice, and +watching and recording the result of every race. Later had come his +college days, with the thrill of real racing; the Futurity, the +Suburban, the scramble of dainty thoroughbreds with the bright silks +of their jockeys gleaming in the sun. But before this he could dimly +recall his first knowledge of the stock market, when his father, +forbidden for a time to use his eyes, had asked his son to read to him +the quotations in the evening paper. Bellingham could remember that he +had made sorry work of it, so that his father, usually the kindest of +men, had lost his temper and had soundly berated him for his +stupidity. Other days, too, he could remember, of alternate exaltation +and depression until the afternoon when he had come home to find his +mother in tears, and his father had taken him by the shoulder and said +gravely, "Hugh, you must promise me one thing. Never, so long as you +live, must you have anything to do with the stock market. It has been +the curse and ruin of my life. It must not ruin yours, too." Boylike, +he had promised, but a dozen years later, when the lure of the Street +had bewitched him, he had not regarded his promise, and with the few +thousands at his command, had started to make his fortune. How he had +despised the men who traded in ten-share lots; "pikers," he had called +them; for it had seemed to him that to deal in hundred and two hundred +share lots, on a slender margin, was evidence of true gameness and +grit. But this period had not lasted long; soon the ten-share lots +became a necessity, and finally an impossibility, until the fatal day +when he had borrowed money on a story that was two-thirds a lie, and a +week later had seen a quiet, lagging market suddenly declined with +incredible rapidity, leaving him hopelessly in debt, and now at the +mercy of his long-suffering creditors. + +So passed the pictures before his eyes, from the boy running beside +the brook to the desperate, harried man. Inheritance or not, here had +been the keynote of his life--the love of a contest, a race, a +struggle, the thrill of the unknown gamble, the possible chance. And +in other ways he had been sane and normal; as men go, a decent sort of +man. A sense of injustice surged within him. Was it fair? If a good +God ruled the world, why did he implant these fierce desires in the +breasts of his children? Why did he change a world of joy and beauty +into a hell of discontent? Why did he-- + +With a start, he came to himself. How long, he wondered, had he been +dreaming? The flashlight showed ten minutes of two, and silencing the +alarm, he rose, and in his stocking feet crept cautiously to the door +of his room and out into the hall. For good or ill, his hour had come. + +The 'house was absolutely still. And suddenly, oppressed with the +strain of the day, unnerved by the strangeness of his errand, he +seemed to himself to be moving in some fantastic nightmare, and he was +seized with a panic of fear, so that he could scarcely control his +impulse to return as he had come and to abandon his reckless quest. +But after an instant, he managed to conquer his quivering nerves, and +concentrating all his energies upon his task, he stole down the +hallway like a shadow, entered the gallery, and found himself standing +before the portrait through which the banker had made his unexpected +exit three days before. Copying, as well as he could recall it, the +posture of his employer, he pressed with his forefinger here and there +upon the canvas, but without result until he reached the hilt of the +pictured sword, when almost before he realized what was taking place, +the portrait, as before, swung back, and the gateway of adventure lay +open before him. + +A hundred times, during the day, the secretary had made his plans, and +thus, without losing an instant, he entered the orifice, drew his +knife from his pocket, and wedging the narrow space between the +portrait and the wall so that his retreat would not be closed to him, +turned to examine the staircase that lay at his feet. + +It was a slender spiral of steel, apparently extending downward for an +indefinite distance, and so narrow that there was scarcely an inch of +superfluous space on either hand. Without hesitation, Bellingham +started to descend, listening from time to time and hearing nothing, +until at length he reached the bottom and found himself in a low +passageway, with a door at the end. The secretary's heart sank. +"Locked," he thought to himself, but equally to his surprise and his +delight, the knob turned in his hand, and he entered a small chamber, +with a second door at the further end. This additional exit, however, +was securely barred, and finding his progress cut off in that +direction, Bellingham turned his attention to the room itself. + +A first glance afforded him small encouragement. To open the massive +safe was clearly impossible; the sideboard was empty; and the desk in +the corner, though it appeared, at first sight, to be a promising +hiding place, proved, on closer examination, to contain nothing. The +secretary's heart sank. Evidently his hopes were vain; his dream of +romance gave place to prosaic reality; and with a pang of keenest +disappointment he stood ready to admit defeat. Yet since he had risked +so much, he decided that before leaving he would make one final +search, an investigation of the room so careful and minute that he +would be certain that he had overlooked nothing. + +Accordingly, he first approached the sideboard, hunting around, behind +and under it, removing and replacing each drawer in turn. Yet his +efforts were in vain, and when he next transferred his attentions to +the desk and began a similar exploration there, he met with no better +success until he had removed the last drawer of all, and then, for the +first time since he had entered the chamber, he experienced a +momentary thrill as the flashlight revealed a crumpled paper which had +fallen between the back of the drawer and the rear wall of the desk. +Inserting his arm, he brought it forth to find that it was torn, faded +and yellow with age, with some words quite illegible and others +missing altogether. Yet piecing it together as best he could, he made +an attempt to decipher its contents, and the next moment, so intense +was the shock, so overpowering the revulsion from despair to +exaltation, that he found himself staggering backward as if from a +blow, grasping at the table behind him to save himself from actual +physical collapse. But the next moment, as his heart once more sent +the blood coursing through his veins, he rallied, and without losing a +second he returned the drawer to its place, glanced hastily around to +make sure that he had left no traces of his visit, and then made his +way as quickly as possible up the staircase, through the opening in +the wall, and once more regaining his room, he locked the door, lit +his reading lamp, and began a systematic study of his prize. + +It took only a few moments to make him realize that the task of +deciphering the document was to be one of almost insuperable +difficulty, but at the same time it became increasingly evident that +he had made a discovery the importance of which could scarcely be +exaggerated. The paper was a plain sheet of foolscap, apparently a +rough draft of a final copy,--torn into eight pieces, of which to +Bellingham's chagrin it now appeared that two--the lower rectangle on +the right and the third from the top on the left--were missing. In the +upper right-hand corner of the paper was the date, January 1, 1882, +and beneath, in the middle of the sheet was a heading of which the +first word was almost wholly obliterated, but the remaining four, "of +the Money Gods," were comparatively clear and distinct. Under this +heading were five sub-divisions, the numerals 1, 2, 3, and 5 showing +plainly at the left, while the missing 4 would evidently have been +written on the first of the two pieces which were lacking. And now, +patiently and with infinite effort, straining his eyes over the dull, +discolored paper and the faded ink, Bellingham succeeded in bringing +out a word here and there until under the first numeral he had an +actual sentence, though still with gaps where the wished-for word +stubbornly resisted his search. "Most men ---- fools ----blers by +nature ---- easiest way ---- to ---- in stocks." + +The second sentence, for some reason or other, was much more +distinctly written, and in a short time the secretary had produced, +"Fundamental plan; bull market, sell ---- top; depress; bear ----ket; +buy at bottom; give shorts ----." + +But it was the third sentence which proved to be the most startling +of all. It was very brief, containing only eight words, of which part +of the first and the last four were all that the secretary could +read. But they were quite sufficient to make him gasp. "Communi---- +---- signals on the tape." The letters, pregnant with meaning, stared +him in the face, and made his breath come quick and fast as he threw +an apprehensive glance into the darkness behind him, as though +dreading the wrath and vengeance of some ghost from another world. + +Almost beside himself with excitement, he toiled on. But the fourth +sentence, with its missing fragment, told him little, for while the +words were clear enough to the eye, they conveyed no message to his +brain. On the upper line were the words, "On the watch," and directly +beneath them, "for these signals," but the loss of the left hand +paper, and the absolute impossibility of conjecturing what other words +completed the sentence, made this portion of the message apparently +valueless. + +Equally tantalizing was the message under the figure five. The +sentence began clearly enough, "The basis will be 1/4 3/8 1/4 if ----" +and then came the blank occasioned by the second missing fragment of +paper; while the sentence, resumed on the left-hand portion of the +document, continued, "5/8 1/2 5/8 if down. Buying and selling ----" +then once more the inevitable hiatus, and finally the three words, "on +a scale." And this was the end. + +The secretary sat gazing straight before him, his brain in a tumult. +Coincidence well nigh incredible had led to this discovery, and now +left no doubt in his mind that rumors which had been current in the +Street for years, but always laughed to scorn by the whole fraternity +of brokers, were true, after all. And suddenly, with irresistible +conviction, facts, remarks, events, never before understood, now +crowded to his mind, clear as crystal in the light of his present +knowledge. Signals on the tape. More than once he had heard the story, +told with bated breath under pledge of strictest secrecy. But here was +proof. And for him, individually, this ancient document revealed all +the glories of a new world. And thus, bending once more over the +paper, Bellingham toiled until the first light of the dawn crept in at +the windows, and rising unsteadily from his desk, he saw staring at +him from the mirror a worn and haggard face which he could scarcely +recognize as his own. + + + + + CHAPTER X + + The Adventure of Atherton + + +Atherton stood on the steps of the cafe watching Mills' departure +until his friend's broad back and sturdy shoulders were swallowed up +in the crowd; then, descending to the street, he strolled leisurely +away in the opposite direction. But although, as he had just said to +Mills, Blagden's enthusiasm had inspired him, he now concluded that it +was not at this particular moment that he desired adventure, for there +is a limit to human endurance, and the experiences of the day had left +him exhausted both in body and mind. So that in spite of Blagden's +counsel as to keeping constantly on the alert, he threaded his way +through the throng absent-mindedly, his thoughts, through force of +long habit, reverting instinctively to the ticker, whose sudden plunge +downward had proved so ruinous to all his hopes and plans. + +At length, however, as he turned aside from the main thoroughfare, he +was roused from his abstraction by the sight of an automobile standing +motionless at the curb, while the chauffeur cranked away manfully, but +without result, and a tall, well-built man of middle age, evidently +the owner of the car, stood looking on with a frown upon his brow. The +whole affair was commonplace enough, and presumably Atherton would not +have given it a second thought, if it had not been for the girl who +stood at the man's side; but at the sight of her, her beauty and the +charm of her radiant youth suddenly made him forget everything else in +the world, and under the pretense of looking into a neighboring +window, he lingered for the pure delight of stealing an occasional +glance at her, already determined that as soon as the car took its +departure he would contrive to note its number, so that he might learn +its owner's name. + +But a still better opportunity was to present itself, for presently +there came an explosion, not from the car but from its owner. "That +will do," he said crisply. "You can't run an automobile, and never +could. You're discharged. Go to the garage and tell them to send for +the car, and come out to-morrow for your pay and your clothes." + +Without protest, and almost as if glad to escape thus easily, the +chauffeur vanished around the corner, and immediately Atherton, lover +and master of motors, saw the Goddess of Adventure beckoning to him +alluringly. At once he stepped forward, and asked, "Beg pardon, but +may I help you?" + +The owner glanced at him sharply. "That depends," he retorted, "on how +much you know about a car. I doubt if you could know any less than the +idiot I was fool enough to hire. If you want to try, go ahead." + +Without the loss of an instant Atherton began his investigations. +"Spark's all right," he muttered; then, sniffing the air suspiciously, +he added, "but I can smell gas; she must have sprung a leak." And +inserting his hand under the carbureter, he brought it forth again, +his palm dripping with gasolene. "Feed pipe," he decided, but shrewdly +surmising that the owner would care more for results than for +explanations, he kept his knowledge to himself, and drawing his knife +from his pocket, he dropped on his knees beside the car and after a +few moments' deft manipulation, rose, walked forward, and gave the +crank a vigorous turn. There followed two or three spasmodic reports, +after which the engine, once more receiving its normal supply of gas, +settled down to work and began to whirr away in perfect and melodious +rhythm. Whereupon Atherton, who by this time was beginning to find +enjoyment in the situation, approached the owner of the car and +touching his cap, reported, "All right, sir; she'll run now." + +The owner eyed him keenly. "Good," was his brief comment; then added +in a tone that was half a statement, half a query, "You're not a +professional chauffeur?" + +There was a moment's silence before Atherton, seized by inspiration, +answered, "Well, not exactly, sir; not at present. The fact is, I'm +looking for a situation." + +Again the keen appraising glance, followed by question and reply. + +"You're a good driver?" + +"Yes, sir, I can drive a car." + +"My name is Hamilton. I live near Rosecroft, about twenty miles out of +town. Do you want to drive me there?" + +This time Atherton did not hesitate. At once he recognized his +patron's name, and became aware that here was a genuine adventure, an +opportunity not to be disregarded. And accordingly, striving to adopt +a tone appropriate to his new employment, he responded respectfully, +"Yes, sir, I'd be glad to." + +Hamilton turned to the girl. "Jump in, Helen," he said, and to +Atherton, in the manner of a man thoroughly accustomed to giving +orders, "Now find the nearest telephone; ring the Central Garage and +tell them that I shan't need them, after all. Do it as quick as you +can, and then come back here." + +He stepped into the motor, and Atherton, smiling to himself, hastened +to carry out the banker's orders, and then returned to the car, eager +to discover what the outcome of this adventure would be, and +determined to show his passengers that he had not overstated his +ability as a chauffeur. + +Nor did he disappoint them, although as a matter of fact he had every +opportunity for producing a favorable impression. The roads were +perfect, the car behaved splendidly, and aided by occasional brief +instructions from Mr. Hamilton, in a little over an hour from their +departure he entered the winding driveway, experienced a momentary +glimpse of wide lawns, shrubbery and stately trees, and brought the +car to a halt beneath the portico. Immediately the door opened, and a +dark, dapper-looking little man in livery came down the steps to meet +them, alertly enough, yet as it seemed to Atherton with the air of one +a trifle unaccustomed to his surroundings. And that this impression +was correct became evident when Mr. Hamilton, alighting, looked at the +servant in some surprise and then as if suddenly recollecting said, +"Oh yes, you're the new second man. Where is Martin?" + +"Martin, sir," the man answered, "has retired. Shall I tell him that +you are here?" + +"No, never mind," answered Mr. Hamilton. "Ask the housekeeper to get +us something to eat." And turning to Atherton, he added brusquely, +"You said you were looking for a situation. Do you want this one?" + +The question, under the circumstances, was not wholly unexpected, and +Atherton, during the drive, had had ample opportunity to make up his +mind as to his answer. So that now he replied promptly, "Yes, sir. +Very much indeed, sir." + +"Satisfactory references?" asked the banker, and Atherton, knowing a +number of men upon whom he could rely, responded, "Yes, sir." +Whereupon the financier, without further questioning, observed, "Very +well then, you're engaged on trial." And to his daughter, "I'm going +to ask Bellingham to show him to his room. By the way, what's your +name?" + +"Atherton, sir," answered the new chauffeur. + +"Very well," said Hamilton again. "Wait here." + +He disappeared within the house, but Helen Hamilton, instead of +following him, remained standing on the porch, and presently, with +frank approval, she remarked, "You drive a car very well indeed. Much +better than the other man." + +At her words, Atherton felt as if the genial warmth of his romance had +suffered a sudden chill. The other _man_. He did not care for the +term, for it made him realize that although he had obtained a foothold +in the Hamilton family, he had gained it by means of the rear entrance +instead of the front. He was a servant, Mr. Hamilton's _man_. But +though at first resentful, he soon had the grace to perceive that +after all his position was of his own choosing, and accordingly he +answered deferentially, "I thank you, miss, very much indeed." + +There followed silence, and Atherton, fearing that she would depart, +was racking his brains to discover some method of prolonging the +conversation, when she solved the problem for him by continuing, "I am +really very glad that we met you to-night." + +Immediately, Atherton felt a glow of joy, only the next instant to +have his hopes again dispelled as she added, "It is an excellent +chance for you. Mr. Bellingham will give you all the details, but I +know that for one thing if you suit my father he always allows his +chauffeurs two sets of livery free." + +Atherton gazed at her, wondering if any object underlay her words. Her +glance was sincerity itself; her tone seemed blandly philanthropic; +yet Atherton could not make himself believe that the daughter of +Marshall Hamilton would stand upon the porch of her house at midnight, +discussing the terms of his employment with an unknown chauffeur. No. +Even if he flattered himself unduly by the assumption, he imagined +that she must have detected at least a trace of the gentleman in his +demeanor, and was trying to draw him out. Yet despite his blind and +adoring infatuation, he promptly decided that if this were her +purpose, he would give her no satisfaction, and therefore with assumed +eagerness he answered greedily, "That's very generous of him, miss. +And I hope, miss, he don't object to something with a bit of life to +it. A purple, miss, with a red stripe, is tasty; very rich and tasty +indeed." + +If she was puzzled by his reply, she did not show it, but whether at +the vision of the "tasty" suit, or for some other reason, she broke +forth into silvery laughter, so bewitching that the enraptured +Atherton, in another moment, might have capitulated and revealed to +her the secret of his identity, if the door had not opened to announce +the return of Mr. Hamilton, followed by a good-looking young fellow, +apparently some four or five years Atherton's senior. + +"Bellingham," said the banker, "this is Atherton, who is to take +Rawlings' place, temporarily at least, perhaps permanently. I wish you +would show him his room, and explain to him the customary routine. +Have the car ready at half past eight." + +Bellingham acknowledged the introduction with a nod, jumped into the +car, and they started at once for the stables. Atherton's first +impression of his new acquaintance was not particularly favorable, for +the secretary was evidently preoccupied and hardly spoke until he had +conducted the new chauffeur to his pleasant and comfortable room in +the upper portion of the stables. But here, as he lit the light and +for the first time had a fair chance to see what the new arrival +looked like, a sudden change came over him, and after a somewhat +prolonged scrutiny he suddenly exclaimed, "Well, I may not be in a +class with the well-known Mr. Holmes, but if descriptions and family +resemblances count for anything, I should say the odds were about a +hundred to one that you were a cousin of Billy Atherton, Princeton, +'12." + +It was Atherton's turn to stare. "Right you are," he answered. "Do you +know Billy?" + +"More or less," responded Bellingham. "We roomed together for four +years." + +And suddenly Atherton remembered. "What a fool I am!" he cried. "Hugh +Bellingham, of course. I never thought of it. Why, I've heard about +you from Billy time and again." + +They stood gazing at each other, and at precisely the same moment +both of them began to grin. "I suppose," said Atherton, a trifle +sheepishly, "that you're wondering about this fool chauffeur +business--" + +But Bellingham cut him short. "My dear fellow," he rejoined, "I'm not +wondering at anything. It's none of my business what you are. And as +far as that goes, you have an equal right to wonder at my job; I fear +it's not a very exalted one for a college graduate to hold. But we're +neither of us on the witness stand. All I can say is that I'm glad +you're here, and if there's anything I can do to make you comfortable, +or anything I can tell you about the household, why just fire away and +ask me what you please. I'm quite at your service." + +There was a sincerity in his tone that Atherton appreciated. "You're +mighty good," he answered, "and there are some things I'd like to +know, but first, if you don't mind, I'd like to explain my being +here." And forthwith, while Bellingham seated himself on the side of +the bed and listened attentively, Atherton briefly recounted his +misadventures in the market, his meeting with Mills and Blagden, and +his subsequent search for adventure, with its most unlooked-for +ending. + +When he had finished, Bellingham sat for some moments in thoughtful +silence before he replied, "Atherton, we're getting pretty +confidential on short acquaintance, but of course it's not as though +we were absolute strangers. And I want to take a liberty, and give you +a piece of advice. The man who does that is usually a fool, but you +will understand me better if I follow your example, and tell you just +why I am in my present position. When I was a year or so older than +you are now, I made the same mistake that you have just made. I went +broke in the stock market, tried for over six months to land a job, +and finally found employment with Mr. Hamilton, and have been here +ever since. So at all events there is a bond of sympathy between us." + +"By Jove, I should say so," Atherton answered, "and I imagine, if we +knew the truth, we could find a long list of fellow sufferers." + +"Not a doubt of it," replied the secretary, "and that leads up to what +I wish to say. If you're like me, if you're like ninety-nine men out +of a hundred, you'll find that after a while you'll forget your +lesson, and you'll rake and scrape to get money together to go back +into the game again. And what I want to urge upon you, most earnestly, +is just this: Don't do it. I'm not at liberty to tell you all I know, +but I can tell you this: You can't beat the game, and to go on trying +is nothing more nor less than dashing your head against a wall. It's +suicide in either case." + +Neither his earnestness nor his good-will could be misunderstood, and +Atherton was quick to respond, "I don't doubt that you're right, and +I'll surely remember what you say. But I don't think I'm going to be +tempted again; I believe I know when I've had enough." + +The secretary was silent. Presently he rose from his seat and +nervously paced up and down the room before he finally came to a halt +in front of the new chauffeur. + +"Atherton," he said, "doubtless you'll think I'm crazy, but I assure +you that I'm not. And you can't appreciate what a godsend it is to me +to have you here. I want to ask two favors of you, and I repeat that I +was never more serious in my life. Do you mind letting me tell you +what they are?" + +The events of the day--and night--had been so many, so varied, and so +nearly akin to those of a "movie show," that Atherton had reached a +point where he felt really incapable of experiencing surprise at +anything. And therefore he simply responded, inelegantly but heartily, +"Why, sure, fire ahead." + +"Then first," said the secretary, "if at any time during your stay +here you think you discover anyone in the household, from Mr. Hamilton +down, trying to spy upon me, either by daylight or dark, I want you to +promise that you will let me know as soon as you possibly can. Are you +willing to do that?" + +"Of course I am," responded Atherton. "I'm afraid I'm not worth much +in the detective line, but I'll keep my eyes open, and let you know if +I see anything out of the ordinary. That settles number one; what's +number two?" + +"This," Bellingham answered. "If I had to leave very suddenly, could +you give me an address in the city where I could go and stay for a +little while, in case I wanted a temporary hiding-place? I mean a +house where I could be sure that I could trust the occupants; the +quieter the locality, the better for me." + +Atherton pulled out his memorandum book, tore out a page, and scrawled +Blagden's address across it. "Here's the very place," he answered. +"And if I find that you've left, I'll get in touch with Blagden at +once and tell him to be on the lookout for you. The neighborhood is +just what you're after; old-fashioned and peaceful." + +Bellingham took the paper and thrust it into his pocket. "That's +fine," he said with evident relief, "and thank you for being willing +to take me seriously. Perhaps some day I can explain everything to +you; I might even be able to reciprocate your kindness." + +Atherton smiled. "You can reciprocate right now, if you'd like to," he +responded. "I'd like to ask you just one question. Is Miss Hamilton +engaged to be married, or anything like that?" + +Bellingham stared; then smiled in his turn. "So that's it," he +rejoined. "Well, now the chauffeur business becomes clear. And I'm +glad that I may relieve your mind. No, there have been plenty of +applicants, but I don't think the right one has yet appeared. I +believe she is still heart whole and fancy free." + +Atherton heaved a sigh of relief. "I'm glad to hear that," he +answered, and unable to remain quiet, he leaped to his feet, and in +his turn began to pace the room. "Bellingham!" he cried, "she is--she +is--" but the words would not come, and his very silence bore witness +to the fervor of his love. + +Bellingham, in spite of his worries and anxieties, threw back his head +and laughed aloud. "My dear fellow!" he cried, "you're certainly hard +hit. But let me tell you this. I've known Miss Hamilton for three +years, and I can testify that no finer girl ever lived. I wish you +luck, Atherton, although I must say that just at present I should +think you were laboring under quite a handicap." + +At the thought of his poverty, Atherton's face fell, but the next +moment he regained his confidence. "A handicap," he retorted, "makes a +fellow do his best. If I hadn't lost my money, I should never have met +Miss Hamilton; and by Jove, Bellingham, it's worth the price. I don't +regret it." + +At this reasoning, the secretary smiled, but he answered kindly, +"Well, I think you deserve to succeed. But I'll leave you now, for +it's late, and you must be tired." + +They parted at the door, and Atherton, left alone, began slowly to +disrobe, reflecting earnestly upon the events of the last twelve +hours. "Some day," was his conclusion. "Some hectic day." And at the +thought of his friends and the meeting in the restaurant, he added, +half aloud, "I'll have to admit that Blagden is a wonder. 'Adventure' +is certainly right." + + + + + CHAPTER XI + + A Fresh Start + + +"But I shouldn't think," said Helen, "that you would be satisfied to +remain a chauffeur. There's no future in it; it's only rather an easy +way of earning a living." + +Atherton was silent. He had risen early and thoroughly overhauled his +engine, and on his appearance at the house had discovered, to his +delight, that Helen had decided to accompany her father on his trip to +town. They had left Mr. Hamilton at his office, and after making some +purchases in the shopping district, Helen had taken her place beside +him on the front seat of the car, and they had started for home. + +Quite evidently, thought Atherton, feminine curiosity was still +unsatisfied. She had begun, with the elaborate and obvious artifice of +the sex, to talk on general subjects, gradually, however, narrowing +the scope of the conversation until it had centered upon Atherton +himself. But while, on the one hand, she had the advantage, by thus +taking the offensive, of being able to direct the talk as she pleased, +Atherton, on the other, through his inferior social position and +through the necessity of managing the car, was able to present a +strong defence, and contrived, by answering her queries either in +monosyllables or with evasion, to leave her as much in the dark as +ever. + +To this course he had steadily adhered, for while he had no real +objection to telling her the true state of affairs, yet he feared that +if he did so she might repeat the story to her father, and that +Marshall Hamilton might regard his past with disfavor and forthwith +give him his discharge. And this was the last thing Atherton desired, +for with the coming of morning he had grown each moment more eager to +retain his "job." In the first place, after his long sojourn in the +city, his surroundings themselves delighted him. The song of birds +which had awakened him, the fresh, pure air, the radiant sunlight, the +soft green of the fields, all the sights and sounds of the country +seemed to refresh and reinvigorate him. Then, too, there was his +acquaintance with Bellingham, and a natural curiosity regarding the +mystery which surrounded the secretary's actions and the strange +requests which he had made. And finally there was the novelty of the +whole situation; the charm of feeling himself disguised, of playing a +part, put him on his mettle to do it well, and the ordeal of breakfast +below stairs, with the august Martin presiding at the head of the +table had kept him on the alert in his anxiety neither to overdo nor +underdo the role of chauffeur. There was distinctly a spice of +excitement about the whole affair; he was still young enough to enjoy +it as a "lark." A pretty housemaid had made admiring eyes at him; less +pleasantly, he had imagined that once or twice he had detected +Jenkins, the new second man, eyeing him with concealed but deliberate +scrutiny. On the whole, it seemed to him that he had acquitted himself +well, and thus he still had courage, even with so charming a +cross-examiner, to continue to enact the part of Atherton the +self-satisfied chauffeur, and not of Atherton the gentleman in +adversity. And accordingly, after thoughtful consideration of her +remark, he answered perversely, "Well, miss, there's many advantages +to a chauffeur's job. It's apt to be steady, and it's considered very +genteel, miss; very genteel, indeed." + +The girl's expression, he thought, showed disappointment at his reply, +but before she could answer they swept around a turn in the winding +road, and the beauty of the scene before them was sufficient to make +them, for the moment, oblivious of all else. A broad blue stream of +troubled water, fed by many a clear and sparkling mountain brook, +rushed headlong down the valley, its whirling eddies gleaming with the +silver of dashing spray and the gold of dancing sunbeams. Above the +bridge which lay in their path the river was wide and comparatively +shallow, but below the bridge the banks narrowed sharply; the water +deepened; and a couple of hundred yards further down went roaring and +booming over the falls which furnished power for the mill whose +machinery hummed and whirred beside the eddies of the foam-flecked +pool. And to complete the picture's charm, in the middle of the bridge +a boy leaned against the railing, casting his line into the stream +below, while by his side two little girls romped and played with a +half-grown puppy of some nondescript breed which wriggled and leaped +and whirled hither and thither, in pure delight at being alive to +enjoy the wonders of such a delightful and interesting world. + +To avoid all chances of injury, Atherton brought the car down to a +snail's pace, and thus they crossed the bridge in safety, but as the +wheels of the motor struck the road upon the further side he heard +behind him a sharp and terrified yelp from the dog, followed almost +simultaneously by a shrill cry of anguish from his playmates. +Instantly Atherton's hand was on the brake; the car jerked jarringly +to a standstill; and in another second he had leaped out and had +regained the middle of the bridge. + +What had happened was only too evident. The puppy, in the course of +his mad gyrations, had approached too nearly the edge of the bridge, +had lost his balance, fallen, and was now being swept rapidly away +down stream. For the little girls, it was plain that the end of their +world had come; after their first instinctive cry, they stood +motionless, with parted lips, their faces white and rigid with grief +and terror. There was no time for reasoning or for counting the cost; +no time for anything but instant action; and with the speed of +lightning Atherton stripped off his coat, poised for an infinitesimal +moment, and then plunged, head foremost, into the flood. The impetus +of his dive carried him under, but as he came to the surface and shook +the water from his eyes he saw that his aim had been true, for the +puppy was only a few feet away from him, its head just visible above +the rush of the waves, as it battled valiantly, but vainly, for its +life. A couple of quick strokes and Atherton had grasped it with his +left hand, and thanking fortune that he could use the English side +stroke, he struck out as best he could with his unencumbered arm. Nor +did he save his strength, since a quick glance above and below showed +him that his task would be no easy one, for the speed of the current +was tremendous, and already the bridge seemed far away, and the brink +of the falls loomed ominously near. Yet on the other hand the stream +was narrow, and once freed from the burden of the dog, he could have +reached the shore in a dozen powerful strokes. But as it was, with his +left arm useless, it was hard to keep his head and shoulders clear of +the water, and half blinded, he struggled on, never dreaming of +releasing his hold upon the puppy, but fully conscious that at best it +was going to be a case of touch and go. The seconds passed, the roar +below him grew louder, and at length, taking time for one quick +glance, he saw that the falls were less than fifty feet away, and that +just at their brink, before the downward rush of the river began, a +jagged rock jutted out from the shore into the stream. Here, then, was +his chance, though but a slim one, for swimming is one of the most +taxing exercises in the world, and his long hours beside the ticker +had softened him and relaxed his muscles so that now, just when he +needed it most, his lack of condition told upon him and began steadily +to wear him down. And thus, summoning every remaining ounce of energy, +he lashed through the water until as though through a mist he saw the +rock come into view just below him. One stroke more and it was +abreast--the boom of the falls deafened him--he choked, gasped--now +his moment had come--he reached desperately for the rock, grasped it +only to have his clutch torn loose--he had missed it, his chance was +gone--he had lost his fight-- + +Down the bank flashed headlong a gleam of white; the girl's lithe form +was thrown prostrate upon the rock; her arm leaped out, her hand +caught his, and she braced herself, every muscle stiffening under the +strain; then slowly, inch by inch conquering the force of the current, +she drew man and dog to safety, and a moment later bent over them as +they lay prone upon the bank. + +Atherton's eyes were closed; his breath came in quick, uneven gasps. +"Are you all right?" she cried, and although he made no direct reply, +he contrived a vague gesture toward the draggled ball of yellow fur at +his side. "Look after--pup," he managed to articulate, and was +satisfied to lie still, while the sunshine whirled dazzlingly about +him, and the baffled river roared past at his feet. + +But the dog needed little help. Nervous shock--if puppies are subject +to nervous shocks--seemed to be all that ailed him, and presently he +sat up, very moist and somewhat dazed, to greet the children who now +came tearing down the bank, their grief changed suddenly to wild +delight. For the little girls, the dog was all that mattered; and +gathering him, all dripping as he was, into their arms, they loaded +him with caresses and endearments, and without a thought of Atherton, +bore him away toward home. But the boy, old enough to be a hero +worshipper, lingered to gaze admiringly as Atherton at length sat up +and began to wring the water from his clothes. "Say, mister," he +volunteered, "you done that slick," and abashed by the sound of his +own voice, hastily departed to see that the incident was adequately +described at the farmhouse. And thus Helen and Atherton were left +alone. + +Little by little, Atherton's composure returned. The world ceased +revolving; his heart beats steadied; and immediately he was admiringly +conscious of the girl's courage and skill. So that presently, +forgetting for the moment his efforts at disguise, he exclaimed with +all sincerity, "I don't see how you did it! There's no doubt you saved +my life!" + +But the girl was evidently not thinking of her own share in the +rescue. "If I did," she answered, "I am glad. But you were very brave. +It was a great risk to take for a dog." + +"Well, I always liked dogs," he pleaded in extenuation, "and he was a +cunning little rascal, too. He looked so tiny and helpless down there +in the water; it didn't really seem quite fair." + +There was silence. For Atherton, the world had suddenly taken on new +and brighter colors, for the girl's expression plainly showed her +admiration for his act. And at length, summoning all his courage, he +asked, "If I should ask you a truthful question, would you give me a +truthful answer?" + +Far down in the depths of her eyes there gleamed a sparkle of +merriment, but otherwise her face was quite grave as she responded, +"Of course." And with the slightest possible accent upon the pronoun, +she added, "_I_ am always truthful." + +But he did not choose to notice the implication. "Then," he asked, +"when you saw me last night, did you think I appeared to be an +ordinary, everyday chauffeur, or did you notice any signs of--what +shall I call it--of a gentleman in reduced circumstances?" + +"As for reduced circumstances," she answered promptly, "I never gave +that a thought, but as for thinking you were a gentleman, yes, that +certainly occurred to me. And really, Mr. Atherton--" again, though +ever so slightly, she stressed the "Mr."--"I fear that the theatre +isn't your vocation. Your conception--that is the word, isn't it--your +conception of the chauffeur's part is very crude indeed. It is a quite +frightful combination of a stage Englishman and a vaudeville butler." + +His face fell. "Now isn't that too bad!" he exclaimed ruefully, "and I +thought I was doing it so well. I am terribly discouraged." + +"Oh, but you needn't be," she responded. "To be an actor is a fine +thing, but there are other things even better. For instance, to be a +life-saver is infinitely nobler." + +She spoke between jest and earnest, and Atherton, for the first time +since his ducking, laughed. "Considering the size of the pup," he +answered, "the title is far too grand. But I'll accept it, just the +same, to save my pride. And if you don't mind, I should like to +explain this business of the chauffeur," and very briefly, and without +the mentioning of names, he ran over the adventures and misadventures +of the preceding day. "And so," he concluded, "you can see that I've +made rather a mess of things. But I wish--I'd like to--" he began to +flounder helplessly, then got himself once more in hand, and went on +steadily, "You'll think I'm an awful bounder for saying this, but I'll +probably never have another chance, and coming so near to the edge of +things as I did just now seems to make life a lot more real. I want to +say just this; that I admire you tremendously, and I wish I'd had the +good luck to meet you before I made ducks and drakes of all my +prospects in life." + +And now, having had his say, he was suddenly amazed at his own +temerity, and did not dare look at her until at length, as she +remained silent, he ventured to steal a glance at her face, and was +relieved to discover that she did not appear to be displeased. She was +gazing straight before her into the whirling eddies of the river, and +presently she turned her head and answered him, and as she did so he +was struck afresh by the simple charm and directness of her manner. +"If you admire me," she said, "I am very glad, and I assure you it is +quite mutual. I like a man to be brave, and even more, I think, I like +him to be kind. And as for your misfortunes, I don't think you should +regret them. You see, I know something about stocks, and the +market--my father and I have always been great pals--and I'm sure the +game isn't worth the candle. I'm sure that every man who possibly +can should be doing some hard, honest work--work that will somehow +count--and stock gambling most emphatically doesn't count. So I +believe your losses are a blessing in disguise." + +He knew that she spoke the truth, and hastened to acknowledge it. "You +are quite right," he admitted, "but it's sometimes hard to live down a +reckless past. I should like nothing so much as a fresh start, but can +I get it? I don't think it will be easy." + +She meditated. "The question is," she said slowly, "what can you do +best?" And with a gleam of mischief, she added, "We'll omit the stage, +but all the rest of the world remains." + +He smiled a trifle grimly. "I'm badly equipped, I know," he responded. +"The usual college education, and that is about all. But I am a fair +mechanic. Motors especially. I've always loved them, and sometimes I +can make them do things that other people can't. I believe, if I could +get a chance in the automobile business, I could make good." + +She thought again. "I see a way," she said at length. "My father, as +you perhaps know, is a man of wide interests. Among other things, he +and his friends have just taken over two or three big motor companies, +and are going to consolidate them. I'll arrange an interview for +to-night; you can tell father your story, and perhaps he'll help you. +At any rate, I'll tell him what you did this morning; that ought to +show him that you have courage, and that you know how to make up your +mind." + +Atherton stared. There was a business-like directness about her which +made him realize that she was a true daughter of Marshall Hamilton. +"You're very good," he answered gratefully. "I'd like nothing better +than a chance like that." + +"I'm happy to help," she said, and as she rose to her feet, she added, +"And now, if you've recovered, we must be going. I've a luncheon +engagement that I mustn't miss." + +He jumped up at once, his knees still a bit unsteady, but his heart as +light as a feather, and feeling, as they made their way back toward +the motor, that the falling of the dog into the water had sufficed to +change the whole course of his fortunes. + +That night, at eight o'clock, he was received in Marshall Hamilton's +study, and for twenty minutes was subjected to a rapid fire of +questions, searching but not unfriendly, and aimed with a skill that +made Atherton understand and appreciate why his employer was a +successful man. To the matter of his stock losses Mr. Hamilton came +back more than once, but apparently he was willing to forgive this +indiscretion, for at the end of their talk it was arranged that +Atherton should continue as chauffeur until Monday night, and should +then be given a chance in one of the factories of the new company to +see whether he could reascend the ladder from which he had been so +rudely displaced. + +So his opportunity had come to him, and as he left the house and made +his way back to the stables, bright visions of the future filled his +brain, and he dreamed over and over again, as young men have dreamed +since the beginning of time, dreams of youth, dreams of fame, and +above all else, dreams of love. + + + + + CHAPTER XII + + The Flight of Bellingham + + +On the narrow balcony outside his room Atherton sat alone in the +darkness, looking forth upon the splendor of the night. Above him +stretched the velvet blackness of the heavens, jewelled with bright +and luminous stars; from the distant woodland sounded, in ceaseless +iteration, the music of the whippoorwills; while from the meadows the +south wind, bearing the fragrance of the fields, stirred the ivy on +the stable walls and murmured nocturnal melody among the branches of +the slumbering pines. Beauty everywhere, on earth and in sky; beauty, +it seemed to Atherton, in perfect unison with the thoughts which +filled his brain. + +"Ye shall be born again." The old Biblical phrase, long forgotten, +echoed and re-echoed in his mind. And in his case he knew that it was +true; that the events of the last three days had altered the whole +current of his being. Already the old life--the feverish hours around +the ticker, the crowd of gamblers, the close, stale air of the +customers' room, the glare and dazzle of the lights--all of these +things seemed part and parcel of another world. Now they were gone, +and gone, too, was that horrible concentration on points and +fractions; quarters and eighths; to Atherton, gazing upon the calm and +silent glory of the night, it seemed incredible that he could ever +have lived through times like these. + +Midway in his mind, between that past hell and this present heaven, +lay the memory of his meeting with Blagden and with Mills. And once +again, as he recalled that evening, it seemed to him impossible that +he could have been a party to the compact they had made. Like a +drunkard only half sobered after a debauch, he knew now that although +he had not realized it he had still been under the spell of the +market, a beaten gambler, yet in the grip of the lure and lust of the +game. Yet his agreement caused him no real uneasiness, for though at +the time Blagden's magnetism and his ready eloquence had made all that +he had said seem plausible and sane, now, viewed from this distance, +the idea of three young men, without money and without influence, +solemnly banding together to defy the world, appeared quite childish +and absurd. And yet, so far as he was concerned, he was compelled to +admit that in one particular Blagden's judgment had certainly been +correct; a true adventure had awaited him. How, he wondered, had Mills +and Blagden fared. It was difficult to imagine Tubby in any very +melodramatic role, but Blagden, after his meeting with his fair +acquaintance, seemed destined inevitably to encounter some sort of +romance or intrigue. And as Atherton thought of the woman at the cafe, +with her splendid beauty so flauntingly for sale, a sudden sequence of +comparisons and contrasts flashed through his mind. There was the life +of the ticker, feverish, fascinating, fruitless, ringing empty and +hollow when set over against the sane and wholesome life of the man +who works for his livelihood. And in like manner there was this +traffic and barter of illicit love, morbid, exotic, supersensual, +paling to quivering shame when compared with true love, something so +earthly and yet so celestial, so passionate and yet so ethereal, so +bewildering and so enthralling that it would not let him sleep, but +kept him here in the darkness, while the clocks struck twelve, and +half-past, and one-- + +Among the shadows surrounding the house occurred a subtle +transformation--a change half sound, half motion, and so faint +and evanescent that Atherton, still partly in dreamland and only +semi-conscious of the real world about him, regarded it incuriously, +oblivious of its real significance. But an instant later he became +thoroughly awakened as he saw one of the shadows detach itself from +the rest and begin to move, cautiously and without noise, in the +direction of the stable. Atherton looked on with interest. "Now who +the dickens," he wondered, "can that be? And what in the world is he +after? This is a cheerful hour for a man to be taking a walk for his +health." + +The general attitude of the figure, indeed, suggested secrecy, if not +something still more sinister. Slowly and warily it advanced, but the +stable was evidently not its destination, for as it passed the huge +pine in front of the house it approached it, little by little, until +at last the shadow of this nocturnal prowler became lost and merged in +the lower branches of the tree. At once Atherton's curiosity +increased. "I'd better have a look at this," he decided, and stepping +into his room, he slipped his revolver into his pocket, passed quietly +down the stairs and began making his way toward the tree. At the edge +of its lower branches, which swept the ground, he paused to listen, +and heard above him faint sounds which seemed to indicate that this +midnight marauder was ascending the tree. Completely mystified, he +dropped on hands and knees, and as he crawled inward, an occasional +descending branch or bit of bark made it evident that his supposition +was correct. + +Atherton's wonderment increased. "Must be a lunatic," was his first +thought, but this seemed scarcely possible. Then why, he reflected, +should a person wish to climb a tree at this time of night? To signal? +For what purpose, and to whom? To keep some kind of a watch, or +lookout? This seemed more likely. Could the man be a burglar, with a +confederate working in the house? "If I go up after him," he thought, +"he'll surely hear or see me. And if I hail him when he comes down, +I'll probably get into trouble right away. If he _is_ a burglar, he's +doubtless a good shot and a quick one, too. I think I'll play this +safe." And climbing up some eight or ten feet from the ground, he +found a place where two huge limbs grew close together, and working +out as far as possible from the trunk of the tree, he stretched +himself out at full length and waited. Occasional faint sounds reached +him from above and presently the figure again descended, passing so +near him that even in the darkness Atherton gained the impression that +the man was of slender stature, somehow suggesting vaguely the +identity of Martin's new assistant. Waiting until it seemed safe, +Atherton slipped down to the ground in his turn and reached the +circumference of the branches just in time to see the shadow once more +disappear upon the veranda. Presumptively, then, the man was not a +burglar, but an inmate of the house. + +But for what purpose had he climbed the tree? "I believe," concluded +Atherton, "that I'll go up myself. Must be a bully view, if nothing +else." + +Accordingly, he began his ascent, memories of similar climbs in +boyhood coming vividly to mind as he mounted higher and higher. The +first part of his journey was made in darkness so profound that there +was no possible chance for observation, but when he reached a height +about two-thirds of the way to the top the branches began to shorten +rapidly so that presently he found that he could command a view of the +stable upon one hand and of the house on the other. The stable was in +total darkness, but when he turned his attention to the house he at +once discovered that one window was brightly lighted and his heart +quickened at the sight, for there was now at least a possible +explanation of the mystery. Who's room was it, he asked himself, and +although totally unfamiliar with the interior arrangement of the +house, he felt that considering the secretary's story everything +pointed to Bellingham as its occupant. Again he started upward, but it +now became a question whether or not he could obtain a glimpse of the +room, for he had reached an altitude where the trunk of the pine had +decreased dangerously in size, so that every puff of wind swayed him +giddily to and fro. Undoubtedly, his predecessor's lighter weight had +been an advantage, but Atherton's curiosity was thoroughly aroused and +setting his teeth he advanced foot by foot until at length, with one +arm clasped tightly around the trunk of the pine, he had gained a +height whence he could view, through the open window, the interior of +the room. + +As he had expected, it was Bellingham's apartment. The secretary, a +green shade over his eyes, sat at his desk, working with concentrated +absorption upon the papers before him. To his right and left were +scattered about the room what at first appeared to be streamers of +white ribbon, but which Atherton presently recognized as the paper +"tape" which supplies the tickers and upon which are recorded the +daily transactions of the Exchange. + +"A chart fiend," thought Atherton to himself, "working in secret, as +they always do. I wonder, though, why anyone should be spying on him; +he can't be harming anybody but himself. I wonder if it's possible--" + +But at this point a gust of wind, unusually severe, interrupted his +reflections, swinging him back and forth so dizzily that when it had +subsided he was glad enough to begin his descent from his airy +altitude. Once safely back upon the ground, he paused to think. His +first impulse was to return to his room and wait until morning before +informing Bellingham of what had occurred. But on second thought +various circumstances seemed to combine to render haste imperative. +For one thing, there was the manner in which the secretary had acted; +for another, there was the unmistakeable earnestness of his appeal; +and to lend color to his fears there was this singular nocturnal +observation of his labors. Surely, no ordinary servant would have had +the wish, the courage or the skill to make this dangerous ascent, and +in addition to this there was the added fact that this arboreal spy +was in the employ of Marshall Hamilton, one of the financial leaders +of New York. All in all, the matter assumed serious proportions. But +how, at this hour of the morning, was he to make his way to +Bellingham's room? Doors and windows were locked; no water pipe or +sturdy vine adorned the walls. "A bow and arrow," he thought to +himself, "might do the trick." And although such a weapon was not +available, the idea suggested another, and making his way back to the +stable, he unearthed, in the loft adjoining his room, an old discarded +tennis set, and abstracting three of the balls, returned to his room, +slit them with a knife, and hastily penned three notes, "Man has been +watching you from top of pine tree. If you leave, meet me at address +given to-morrow night, eight o'clock." Then, inserting one of these, +with a corner projecting, in each of his missiles, he once more +retraced his steps toward the house. + +If possible, he would have preferred to make his attempt from the +ground, but the height of Bellingham's room made the angle so +difficult that he wisely decided there would be no use in attempting +this method of communication. "I might shoot away all night," he +reflected, "and never hit the window at all. I'll have to take another +climb." And accordingly, travelling with the added speed acquired by +familiarity with his surroundings, he soon regained the top of the +pine. + +To his relief, the window was still open, and the secretary was still +pursuing his labors with undiminished ardor. "This," thought Atherton, +"is the time to 'groove' one," and taking one of the balls from his +pocket, he waited for a lull in the wind, and calculating, as well as +he could, the required elevation, he let fly with so good an aim that +the ball struck fairly on the window ledge, bounced over and +disappeared within the room. + +Immediately Atherton saw the secretary start, look around him with an +expression of amazement, and then rise hastily from his seat. A few +moments later he reappeared at the window, gazing forth in the +direction of the pine tree with every evidence of terror and +consternation; then abruptly closed the window and lowered the shade. +For an instant Atherton could see him moving hurriedly about the room; +then the light was suddenly extinguished, Bellingham's apartment was +engulfed in the black bulk of the house; and Atherton, feeling that he +had done everything in his power, again descended and made his way to +his room, wondering greatly what would be the outcome of the night's +events. + + + + + CHAPTER XIII + + The Great Secret + + +An unexpected trip in the motor had delayed Atherton's departure for +town, and it was after nine o'clock when he ran quickly up the stairs +which led to Blagden's room, confidently expecting to find Bellingham +there before him. The morning had dawned, revealing no trace of the +secretary, and Atherton had taken advantage of an errand in the +village to telephone Blagden to be on the lookout for the fugitive in +the neighborhood of eight o'clock. But now, to his disappointment, he +entered the room to find Blagden and Mills alone, Blagden lying on the +couch, eyes half closed, pipe in mouth, Mills sprawling in the easy +chair, extracting minor chords of unspeakable melancholy from +Blagden's guitar. Both were clearly bored, and glad of a chance to +vent their indignation upon Atherton. + +"You're an idiot of a fellow," observed Blagden. "Where's this friend +of yours? We've been here since seven o'clock." + +"Yes," added Mills. "Hurried our dinner, too. Worst thing in the world +for a man. We thought from your telephoning that it must be +important." + +Atherton, weary from loss of sleep, dropped into a chair. "Well, I +imagine it is important," he rejoined. "He'll be here, I'm sure. +Unless--" he added thoughtfully, "something may have happened to him. +I shouldn't be greatly surprised if that was the trouble. But you +fellows needn't make such a row about it. It hasn't done you any harm. +We were supposed to meet to-night anyway." + +Mills laid aside the guitar. "That's right," he assented, "this was to +be the experience meeting. And as you are the originator of the whole +thing, Blagden, you'd better begin. How did you get along with the +lovely lady? Was it a real adventure?" + +Blagden puffed thoughtfully at his pipe. "Yes," he at length replied, +"It surely was. The lovely lady is interested in stocks and she has +a--what is the technical word in such cases--friend, isn't it? +Gentleman friend? Yes, that's it. She has a gentleman friend who gives +her tips on the market and--" he paused dramatically--"whose tips are +always right. She never loses, and _always_ wins." + +Both of his hearers laughed. "You mentioned the 'Arabian Nights' that +evening in the cafe," scoffed Mills. And Atherton added, "That's just +like a woman. Why did she pick out the one impossible story in the +world? Anything else I'd have believed, out of compliment to her good +looks. But a friend who beats the stock market. Never. That's +incredible." + +"Yes," Blagden admitted, "on general principles, I'd agree with you. +And yet I must say that her story was most convincing. I saw the house +where she lives; saw the tickers, large as life, installed by her +friend; saw her very dainty little account book, with its record of +six months' trading in cotton, grain and stocks, and with every +transaction showing its profit--a clean slate." + +There followed silence. Then Atherton asked, still unbelievingly, "But +why does she confide in you? If she's got such a good thing--the tips, +I mean, not the gentleman friend--why isn't she satisfied? Why does +she tell _you_ her troubles?" + +Mills laughed. "It's his personal charm," he volunteered. "He always +scores with the ladies. They'll tell him anything." + +"Oh, shut up, Tubby," Blagden retorted, "this is a serious matter." And +then to Atherton, "The answer is as old as the time of Bluebeard, as +old as Eve and the serpent. Curiosity, that is the trouble with my +charming friend. It seems that she's not satisfied merely to make +money; it's the secret of making it she's after. And her benefactor +won't tell it to her. He lets her play with the market as a child +would play with a toy, and that's all." + +"But how does she know," queried Mills, "that there is any secret? It +may be nothing but luck." + +"Yes, that's possible," admitted Blagden, "but according to our +experience, it's very unlikely. No man's luck would hold in all three +markets for six months without a break. Besides, she's intelligent +enough, and she's convinced that he plays on a regular system. Her +theory is that there's some kind of inside manipulation by which +stocks are put up at certain hours of the day and put down at others; +frequently, she says, he consults his watch before making a trade. +Rather an ingenious idea." + +"Humph," ejaculated Mills, "I should say it was. Sounds pretty +reasonable to me. First time I ever heard of it." + +"Well," demurred Blagden, "it's barely possible, but I doubt it. In +fact, I don't take the whole story very seriously. And yet--it's +curious. But in any event, I fear I didn't help her much. If there is +a secret, it's not an easy one to solve." + +He was silent. "Anything else?" asked Atherton, after a pause. + +"No," Blagden answered, "that's the whole story. And now you fellows +can tell your troubles. How about you, Tubby? Any adventure?" + +Mills chuckled at the remembrance. "Oh, rather," he replied. "I too +met a lady, only she wasn't quite in a class with yours. She was a +pretty little minx, though, at that, and after she had decoyed me to +her home with a most pathetic story, she and her running mate, a most +villainous looking individual named Stoat, tried to hold me up with +the old badger game." + +"Good Lord!" cried Blagden, "That wasn't any joke, Tubby. It may be an +old game, but it's as dangerous as it ever was. Weren't you scared?" + +"Sure was," admitted Mills. "Couldn't have been scareder, but Nature +having blessed me with a placid exterior, I managed to get by without +their knowing it. And finally we wound up by becoming great pals; I +never made such a hit in my life. In fact, good old Stoat, who appears +to be quite a noted criminal, offered me a partnership on the spot. As +near as I could make it out, he was drawn to me by my appearance of +respectability. It sounds conceited of me to repeat it, but he assured +me that with the proper training, I had all the qualifications for a +most successful criminal." + +Atherton laughed. "Some compliment," he commented dryly, but Blagden +heard the news with perfect seriousness. "I believe he was right, +Tubby," he cried. "If he seemed to be a pretty smooth proposition, why +don't you go in with him? We might get hold of something big, and +without any risk to it, either." + +"Oh, thanks," retorted Mills with unwonted asperity, "why don't you +try it yourself? I'll introduce you with pleasure. But none of the +Jesse James stuff for me, please. Jails and electric chairs never +appealed to me in the least." + +Blagden grinned. "Oh, I haven't your peculiar beauty of face and +form," he rejoined. "I'm sure I wouldn't suit your friend. You're +missing a great chance, Tubby; you'd better reconsider." + +"Not on your life," answered Mills with conviction, "but if you ever +require the services of a first-class robber, second-story man and I +dare say murderer, why he kindly gave me his name and address, and I +shall be delighted to bring two such congenial spirits together." + +"All right; I'll remember it," said Blagden. Then, turning to +Atherton, he asked, "How about you? Anything doing?" + +Atherton smiled. "Why," he responded apologetically, "after all this +spotlight melodrama of yours and Tubby's, I'm afraid my experience +will sound pretty tame. In fact, when you learn the truth, you may +expel me from the United Order of Gentlemen Adventurers. It's a +shameful confession, but I'm working for my living. I am--" he paused +a moment properly to emphasize the announcement--"a chauffeur." + +Both his hearers shouted with laughter. "Oh, fine!" cried Blagden, +"that's the best yet. Go on. Give us the details. I'll bet it's a lady +you're working for. Some rich old spinster, I hope. She might adopt +you." + +"No," Atherton answered, "no lady in this at all. But I'm working for +a man you may have heard of. His name is Marshall Hamilton." + +His hearers suddenly sobered. "The deuce!" cried Mills, and Blagden +added, "Well, there's a chance to get some real tips on the market. +Perhaps you have some already." + +"No, no such luck," responded Atherton, "but I have come across +something curious connected with the stock market. Mr. Hamilton has a +secretary named Bellingham, a very decent chap indeed--he's the one I +telephoned you about this morning. Now Bellingham, it appears, is a +chart fiend, or something of that sort; he has the tape sent to him +and works at it nights, puzzling out some sort of a system of his own. +But the singular thing is that he's been mortally afraid of being +detected; we got chummy the first night I met him, and he told me all +his fears, and asked me for some safe address where he might go if he +had to leave on the jump. And last night the very thing happened that +he'd been dreading; some one was spying on him; I got wind of it and +let him know, and advised him to come here to-night. So with the +dawning of the morning, friend Bellingham had disappeared, and that is +why I expect him here." + +There was a moment's silence. Then Blagden cried, triumphantly, +"Didn't I tell you fellows the truth? Didn't I say that we were +stagnating over the tickers when there was plenty of adventure left in +the world if we only had enterprise enough to go out and look for it? +And just see what we've discovered in the first few days." + +"Yes, that's true," agreed Atherton. "We'll give you credit for that. +But don't forget that there's something else you haven't proved to us. +You claimed that somehow or other we were going to be able to combine +our experiences to our mutual advantage, and I can't quite see how +we're going to do it. You have made the acquaintance of a lady who +knows how to beat the stock market; Mills knows an expert criminal; +and I am driving a car. But how is all this going to make us rich? +Explain that to us, Blagden." + +"Oh, well," Blagden retorted, "what do you expect? That fortunes are +made over night? Of course not. Give us a chance. We'll accumulate +more knowledge as we go along, and presently we'll strike a winning +combination. Just consider what's happened to us already. Why, if we +can keep up this gait, we'll need a card catalogue to keep track of +our adventures. You're unreasonable, Atherton; we've made a start, and +that's the principal thing." + +As he finished speaking, the bell, as if to punctuate his words, rang +sharply. Atherton leaped to his feet. "Bellingham," he cried, and +strode hastily to the tube. "Who is it?" he asked, and as he had +expected, the answer came back in low but hurried tones. "It's I; +Bellingham. Let me in, Atherton, quick!" + +Atherton pressed the button, threw open the door, and an instant later +there came the sound of rapid footsteps on the stairs, and Bellingham +came into the room, pausing on the threshold to close and lock the +door behind him, as though fearing pursuit. The secretary's appearance +had changed greatly for the worse. His face was pale; dark circles +ringed his eyes, and acknowledging Atherton's introductions to the +others with a nod, he sank heavily into a chair with the air of a man +thoroughly exhausted and spent. Blagden eyed him keenly for a moment, +then rose, walked over to the sideboard, poured some brandy into a +glass, and handed it to him. Bellingham drained the glass, and almost +immediately the red began to creep back into his cheeks. "Thanks," he +said, "that's better," and turning to Atherton he added, "I've had an +awful day. I've been shadowed; I'm sure of it. But I managed to give +them the slip about an hour ago. I wanted to see you before I leave." + +Atherton did not know how to interpret his words. "Before you leave?" +he echoed. "Have you made up your mind to that?" + +"Yes," Bellingham answered, "it's the only thing I can do. I've taken +a risk. I've played for big stakes--and lost. If I stay here, I won't +live another twenty-four hours. I've booked passage for South America; +the steamer sails at seven o'clock to-morrow morning; and I shan't +feel easy until I've gone aboard to-night and locked my stateroom door +behind me. Then I believe I have a chance. But if I do get away +safely, I owe my life to you, and I wanted to see you and tell you +so." + +"But you shouldn't have risked it," cried Atherton. "It wasn't worth +while. I don't deserve any thanks, anyway; I acted on the impulse of +the moment; that was all." + +Bellingham gazed at him abstractedly, as if scarcely heeding his +words. "Time is short," he said, "and I've a good deal to say. We've +got to think quick." Then, with a glance at Mills and Blagden, he +added, "I understand that you three fellows have pooled your fortunes. +What I say to one, I can say to all." + +"That's correct," Atherton assented, and the secretary continued, +"Then here's the story. By the merest accident, I've stumbled on a big +secret, the biggest secret in the world. Financially speaking, you +can't overestimate its importance. If a man can solve it, he can make +all the money he wants--nothing can stop him. But if it becomes known +that he has solved it, or if he is detected in the attempt, he might +as well have written his own death warrant. I want to do the right +thing by you fellows; if you care to have me do it, I'll tell you what +I know. Or if, on the other hand, you don't feel like tempting fate, +well and good; I dare say I'll only be doing you a bad turn by telling +you. Take your choice; I leave it to you to decide." + +Blagden, whose eyes had never left the secretary's face, was the first +to speak. "We'll take a chance," he answered coolly. "Isn't that +right, boys?" + +"Sure thing," assented Mills, but Atherton did not immediately +respond. Three days ago, he would not have hesitated, but his meeting +with Helen Hamilton had made all matters connected with money assume a +secondary place, and life itself, with so much to live for, now seemed +a possession too precious to be risked. Yet it was difficult to take +Bellingham's words seriously; he must be exaggerating. And finally +curiosity turned the scale, and he answered briefly, "All right; go +ahead." + +Bellingham leaned forward in his chair, his eyes bright, the liquor +loosening his tongue. "Then here is the story," he cried. "For years, +every one has claimed that the stock market is an unbeatable game. Man +after man tries it; goes into it sanguine, confident; and emerges +broken in purse and spirit. Isn't that so?" + +There was a murmur of assent. "And why it is so," went on Bellingham, +"is a mystery. You can't say that all men are fools. They're not. +Men play the stock market who have succeeded brilliantly in other +lines--men who have never made a failure in their lives--but the stock +market beats them as it beats any novice. I think you'll bear me out +in that." + +Again his hearers signified assent, and Bellingham, lowering his +voice, continued, "Then what is the answer? All my life I've lived in +the atmosphere of the Exchange; all my life I've heard the legends and +the rumors that surround it; but never, until three days ago, have I +even suspected the truth. There's no need for me to tell you how I +came by this knowledge; it's enough for me to say that a paper, +accidentally discovered, has so filled the gaps in what I knew before +that now I can make something more than a guess at the real mystery of +the Stock Exchange. And this is what I know. Forty years ago, four +men--the wealthiest, ablest and shrewdest men of their day--met +together and founded the most wonderful secret order in the world. +This was their plan--to form and perfect an organization so powerful +that by means of it they could govern the course of the stock +market--could actually raise or lower prices as they chose." + +Blagden, who had been listening with constantly increasing attention, +now broke in, more to himself than to the others, "Just what I said. +Combination; cooperation; it's the only way." + +Bellingham turned to him. "Exactly!" he cried. "And what was the first +requisite for their plan? Money, of course; money unlimited; not money +as we understand it, in hundreds and thousands, but money in millions, +in tens of millions, in billions. And that is what these four men, +with their resources and connections, were able to achieve. They +labored until they had ready at their command what was practically an +inexhaustible reservoir of gold. That was the first step. The next was +to perfect the army of men who were to carry on this financial war. At +its head were seven commanders-in-chief, the four I have mentioned, +and besides them one in England and two on the Continent. These were +the true insiders, the sole possessors of the secret, sworn by the +most solemn of oaths to guard it from all the world excepting +themselves and their successors in office. They were the leaders, but +under them were colonels and captains and privates in the ranks, each +man of proved ability, and each with his special duty to perform. And +thus, fully equipped with men and munitions, they were ready to take +the field." + +Mills had been gazing at him, wide-eyed, absorbed in the secretary's +story. Now he could contain himself no longer. "I don't care much," he +cried, "for your comparison. You keep talking about a war. I should +call it a slaughter. With most of the money in the world behind you, +how can you help but lick the other fellow. War! Do you talk about a +war between a boa-constrictor and a rabbit?" + +"You're right," assented the secretary. "Quite right. And I'll drop +figures of speech altogether. When these men had everything in +readiness, then began the cold-blooded, systematic despoiling of the +people. For one thing, they had--and have--the finest publicity +department in the world. The heads of it know all the weaknesses of +human nature, know every detail of the psychology of the so-called +average man. They know how to arouse his interest in the market, how +to whet his appetite for speculation, how to get him to invest his +money, and most important of all, once he has taken sides as a bear or +a bull, they know how to publish the forecasts and the information +that will make him stick to his position until they have extracted the +last cent of the last dollar that he can afford to lose. That is what +the publicity department can do, and aiding and abetting them at all +times are the sleek and smiling brokers--financial courtezans--genial, +jovial men, bidding you welcome to the warmth and light and luxury of +their offices; joking with you, advising you, humoring your wild ideas +and your crazy theories of speculation, gathering their commissions as +their pay and knowing, in the bottom of what they call their hearts, +that once you are in their clutches, you won't escape while you have a +penny to your name. That is your average broker--a licensed thief, a +man of ill-fame, a speculative prostitute." + +There followed momentary silence. Then Atherton remarked, "I don't +doubt the truth of what you say. But admitting that it's so, still you +haven't shown us why a man can't sometimes win." + +"But I have!" cried Bellingham, "or if I haven't, it's because I +haven't made myself clear. Don't you understand? It's nothing more nor +less than highway robbery. The insiders play against the public; the +insiders with their eyes open, the public blindfolded. Or, to vary the +figure, the insiders hold their cards in their hands, while the public +lay theirs face up on the table. There's only one result. It's open +and shut--cut and dried. Why, at any moment of the day these men have +access to the books of any bank or any broker's office in America; +they can tell, at a second's notice, just what proportion of the +public is long of stocks and just what proportion is short. They know +the name and trade and record of every speculator in the market; they +know his resources, his commitments; and if they wish to 'get' a man, +it is just like some millionaire strolling down with a net to his +private fishpond, and picking out some particularly plump fish for his +dinner. As a matter of fact, mighty few individuals are successful +enough so that it is worth while to go after them, but if the insiders +decide to do it, why--snap--and it's all over; not even a ripple comes +to the surface. And if it's a pool they decide to swallow--some +combination of foolish millionaires who have grown suddenly +rich--then it becomes a very pretty game, like shooting or fishing +or bull-fighting or any other so-called sport where the odds are all +one way. It takes a little longer--the death struggle is more drawn +out--sometimes a bubble or two does come to the surface--but the +result is always the same. You must see it now; I'm sure you do. It is +the absolute quintessence of simplicity." + +Atherton sat silent for a moment; then, as the true significance of +the secretary's story dawned upon him, he murmured to himself, slowly +and with infinite meaning, "Well, by _Heck!_" + +Bellingham glanced at his watch; then drew from his pocket a packet of +papers and a sealed envelope, and handed them to Atherton. "I can't +stay much longer," he said, "but here is the proof of my story; the +papers are the results of my experiments; the envelope contains the +holy of holies, the key to the whole mystery. I can give you the gist +of the matter now. The greatest achievement in their whole wonderful +system is their method of communicating their plans. You can see how +necessary it must be; they are dealing with a hysterical public, who +in time of panic follow each other like sheep. Therefore, when some +unexpected event occurs--the Northern Pacific corner, war, disaster of +any kind--if these men cannot consult together almost instantly, they +may face ruin, even for individuals as powerful as themselves. How +then will they communicate? By cable? Telegraph? Telephone? Too +cumbersome. Too many people to handle the messages. Simpler far a +code, a cipher, so that what appears to be an ordinary transaction +recorded on the tape becomes in reality a piece of information that +shapes the destiny of the market, and of the thousands who vainly seek +to fathom the secret of its ups and downs. To issue these is the +special duty of one man. I know that all this is true, and I fear that +they suspect that I possess this knowledge. In any event, the game is +too big for me; I would rather be a live dog than a dead lion." + +He paused for a moment, but though the three faces bent on his were +tense and rigid with excitement, no one spoke, and presently he +continued, "But besides being their greatest strength, you can see how +this wonderful system might be their greatest weakness as well. And +when I say this, I refer to the possibility of the system's being +discovered. Now the originators of this plan were men of intelligence +and ability; they must have seen this danger, and the necessity of +safeguarding their secret in every possible way. And they did so. But +Fate is stronger than man, and through a trick of Fate they have been +found out." + +As he finished speaking, he rose from his seat. "I dare not stay +longer," he said, "and for the sake of all three of you, I prefer not +to go from this house directly into the street. Isn't there some way, +Blagden, by which I could go along the roofs and down by some other +exit?" + +"Yes," Blagden agreed, "we can do that." And with a handshake the +secretary took his leave of Mills and Atherton, and followed Blagden +up the ladder, along the chimney tops, until an open skylight at the +end of the block furnished them their opportunity, and at the foot of +the stairs Bellingham, after carefully reconnoitering, made ready to +depart. + +"If it's necessary to see you again," whispered Blagden, "what is your +boat, and when does she sail?" + +"The _Pernambuco_," Bellingham answered. "She leaves at seven o'clock +to-morrow morning. Good-by and good luck." And the next instant he had +slipped out into the street, and had disappeared from sight. + + + + + CHAPTER XIV + + A Triple Discovery + + +Blagden returned as he had come, quickly remounting the stairs of the +lodging house, ascending the ladder and crossing the roofs, and at +length, with a feeling of relief, clambered down into his own +dwelling, and re-entered his apartment, to find Mills and Atherton +seated at the table, busily examining the documents which Bellingham +had left behind him. + +"Now then," said Blagden brusquely, "leave those papers alone a +minute; there's time enough for them later. But here's the question to +settle first. We've been listening to the damndest yarn I ever heard +in my life. And what I want to know is this. Do you fellows believe +it, or don't you?" + +"I don't," Mills answered readily. "Not for a minute. Bellingham +appeared to be a very decent chap, but I don't consider him sane. I +think he's gone crazy over this thing. It's too tough a story to +swallow." + +Blagden smiled. "Tubby," he rejoined, "you were born a doubter. You +may suffer from other faults, but your imagination will never be your +ruin; I'm sure of that. What do you say, Atherton? Do you believe it?" + +"Yes, I do," Atherton promptly rejoined. "You see, Tubby," he added, +turning to Mills, "I've had the advantage of knowing Bellingham before +he knew he was being watched, and he was as sane a man then as you +would wish to see. Of course he's a nervous wreck now, but who +wouldn't be? He must feel like a hare with the hounds after him. I +hope he gets away all right." + +"Oh, nonsense!" cried Mills unbelievingly, "he'll get away. I don't +believe he's being followed at all." + +"Well, I do," Atherton retorted. "You can bet that fellow who was +after him was no ordinary detective, and if he had the enterprise to +be climbing pine trees at two o'clock in the morning, to get the goods +on Bellingham, I don't believe he's going to let him escape if he can +help it. What's your opinion?" he asked of Blagden, who stood by the +mantel piece, smoking furiously, his brow contracted as he pondered +over the amazing story to which they had just been listening. + +Blagden laid aside his pipe and began pacing up and down the room. +"Frankly, Atherton," he confessed, "I'm puzzled. I'm half inclined to +believe the whole thing is true; it would explain practically +everything about the market which has perplexed us for so long. And +yet it's such a romantic, impossible sort of a tale that I can't +convince myself it's so; at least, not without further proof. But I'm +sure of one thing; we ought to investigate with all the care in the +world; it may be the opportunity of a lifetime. Can you make anything +out of his figures?" And he motioned toward the papers on the table. + +"Not a great deal," Atherton answered. "I should say he was still in +the experimental stage; he's guessing at different theories, and then +seeing how they fit the facts. But of course, unless you've got the +whole code at your fingers' ends, you couldn't expect to follow the +ups and downs of the tape intelligently. He has made a beginning; it +remains for us to try to complete it." + +"And what was the other paper he spoke of?" asked Blagden. "What did +he call it? 'The holy of holies'?" + +Atherton started to draw it from his pocket; then, with an apologetic +half laugh, thrust it back again, walked to the door, and cautiously +reconnoitered. But no one was in sight, and accordingly he rejoined +his friends, again pulling the envelope from its resting place, while +Mills and Blagden peered eagerly over his shoulder. The first envelope +contained a second one; the second a third. "April fool," muttered +Mills. "I told you he was crazy," but was suddenly silent as Atherton +drew from the third envelope the paper, faded and yellow with age, +which Bellingham had found in the vault, and with it a typewritten +copy, explaining its contents as far as the secretary had been able to +decipher them. No faintest sound disturbed the stillness of the room +as they read, and as they finished, they remained motionless, staring +at each other, with all trace of levity or disbelief gone suddenly +from their faces. Then Mills, like a man awakening from a trance, +slowly passed his hand across his forehead. "He couldn't have faked +that paper," he murmured. "That's the real thing." + +But the others scarcely heard him. "Then it _is_ true," said Atherton +at length. "Everything we've heard and guessed at, but never honestly +believed. There is a 'Money Trust,' there _is_ a 'System.' Good Lord, +it's like a dream!" + +"A nightmare," responded Blagden grimly. "No wonder we couldn't win. +And now let's take our time, and go over it again. I should say that +'holy of holies' was right; I believe this scrap of paper is just +about the most important document in the world." + +Side by side, they seated themselves at the table, and word by word +began their study of the cryptic talisman. Half way through Atherton +called a halt. "So far, so good," he observed. "As Bellingham told us, +it's the very height of simplicity. They feed the public with good +news, bait them with bull tips, and then when a sufficient number have +loaded up at the top, they break the market and incidentally break +the fools who have been caught. Then begins the campaign of bad +news--famine, pestilence and sudden death--then arrive the bear tips, +and when all the longs have been driven out and a new crop of suckers +have gone short at the bottom, then comes the accumulation by the +Money Gods and up goes the market for them to sell on to the next crop +of idiots who will never buy except at the very top, after stocks have +advanced from ten to twenty points. But all that doesn't help us much, +unless we can tell what is the bottom and what is the top. What we +want to know is about these signals. Signals on the tape. What a +wonderful scheme! When Bellingham found this paper, he must have felt +as if he had happened upon a ton of dynamite." + +"Dynamite," said Blagden, "is a very happy word. If we could prove the +authenticity of this paper, we could just about blow this old country +sky-high. We could close every stock exchange in America, and drive +the Money Gods into exile for their health. Oh, 'dynamite' is too mild +a word; this would be a higher explosive than that." + +As he finished speaking, Atherton was conscious of a sudden chill of +dismay. Rightly or wrongly, he had no desire to see harm befall Helen +Hamilton's father, and was correspondingly relieved to hear Mills +exclaim, "Yes, but we don't want to do anything like that. The only +time to be reformers is when we've made all the money we can use. We +want ours, Blagden, so for Heaven's sake don't think of blowing this +thing until we've had a chance at it." + +Blagden smiled at the stout man's earnestness. "Oh, don't worry," he +reassured him. "I was only emphasizing the importance of the paper. +You are quite right, Tubby; let the Money Gods live and wax fat. All +we want is a few of the crumbs that fall from the master's table." + +"Sure thing," Atherton assented with relief, "we're all agreed about +that. And now let's examine the rest of the paper. The signals +themselves; that's what interests us." + +Once more they bent to their task. "On the watch," read Mills, "for +these signals. Now what is the sense in that? Of course they would be +on the watch for them. They would be fools not to." + +But suddenly Blagden gave a cry of amazement, and his companions, +gazing at him, saw his face go white, and then flush with crimson. He +sprang to his feet. "I've got it," he exclaimed, half incoherent with +excitement. "Don't you see? _On the watch!_ It doesn't mean _be_ on +the watch; it means the watch itself. It's the missing words that +spoil the sense. It isn't a verb; it's a noun. _A_ watch. The watch a +man carries in his pocket. That's where the key to the cipher is, and +there couldn't be a better place. No one would suspect it, and it's +always at hand. That's what the girl told me; don't you remember? +Always looking at his watch, when she spied upon him by the tickers. +She is right. Her friend is one of these men. Just think of it. No +wonder she always won. And see what it means for us. Monte Cristo +wasn't in it. We've got a fortune in our grasp." + +He paused, his eyes gleaming, his whole face tense with excitement. +Then, going over to the sideboard, he poured for himself an even +stiffer drink than he had prepared for Bellingham, and hastily gulped +it down. "I needed that," he said. "Some excitement to-night. This is +probably the wildest day of our bright young lives." + +Atherton had remained seated, still intent upon the paper before him. +"Steady, Blagden," he objected. "You're jumping at conclusions. This +may be all coincidence. But your theory is ingenious. And if you +_should_ be right--" + +He did not finish his sentence, letting his imagination dwell upon the +possibilities of the future. + +"If I _should_ be right," echoed Blagden reproachfully. "Why Good +Lord, man, of course I'm right. If Tubby had doubted me, I could have +forgiven him, but you ought to have the vision to piece the thing +together. Oh, God--" he flared forth again, "what a bully old world it +is. Checkered, but never dull. Here we were, two days ago, busted like +a flat tire, and now the lamp of Aladdin awaits our touch. And all--" +he added suddenly, "because we cooperated. I'd forgotten that in the +excitement. I guess I'm the original little cooperator, all right. +Just think what's coming to us, boys. Steam yachts, motors, women--" + +He smacked his lips, but Mills, the practical, now questioned, "Yes, +but what about getting the watch of this eminent but erring financier? +Are you going up to him to ask the time of day, and then will you grab +it and run? What's he going to be doing? Naturally he's no spring +chicken." + +"Oh," Blagden answered with confidence, "that's merely matter of +detail. Once we know who the man is, we'll get the watch. Just look at +our advantage. We know what he's got, and he doesn't know that we +know. That gives us the whip hand, right away. As a matter of fact, I +dare say the lady could help us." + +Mills brightened. "That's a good idea," he agreed. "Something like the +panel game. I believe that would work." + +"But there's one thing," suggested Atherton, "that we ought not to +neglect. If Bellingham intends to leave the country, never to return, +we ought to be sure that we have everything he knows. Let's go over +these papers of his now, and make a list of anything we don't +understand. We could see him in the morning and have a last word with +him before he sails." + +"You're right," Blagden cried, "but wait a minute first. There's +something else I want to see about." + +He disappeared into his bedroom, from whence they presently heard the +tinkle of his telephone. Shortly he returned. "Now then," he said +briskly, "luck is still with us. I rang up the girl, pretending that I +wanted to see her to-morrow evening, and she told me that she was +engaged and that I must be sure and not come to her house. That, of +course, means only one thing. You, Atherton, meet me at Hillcrest +Station to-morrow night at eight, and we'll do a little detective +work. And you, Tubby, get up at five thirty to-morrow morning and go +over to the _Pernambuco_ with a list of questions that we'll make out +now. While everything is going our way, we'll lose no time." + +For an hour or more they worked, and finally disbanded, Mills going to +his room to set his alarm clock and then, his brain on fire with +excitement, to toss restlessly about for the balance of the night, +with a hundred wild dreams and visions disturbing his rest. With the +first whirr of the alarm he was out of bed, and disposing of a cup of +coffee and a roll, he sallied forth to obtain the final information +from Bellingham. The good weather of the day before had vanished; the +morning was thick and foggy, and as he neared the wharves Mills found +himself inclined to shiver, half with the chill of the wind, half from +the over-excitement of the preceding night. He found the vessel +without trouble, a big, old-fashioned, somewhat dingy craft, and with +an inquiry or two made his way readily enough to Bellingham's cabin. +His knock, however, brought no answer, and after a moment's hesitation +he tried the door, found it unfastened, and walked in. The secretary's +bag lay open on the table, its contents tossed about in confusion, and +the secretary himself lay in his bunk, sound asleep. "Tired out," +thought Mills, and crossing the cabin, he extended his hand to awaken +Bellingham, and in doing so inadvertently brushed with his fingers the +cheek of the slumbering man. The flesh, to his touch, was cold as +marble, and on the instant sudden dread gripped him by the throat as +he nerved himself for the ordeal and slowly withdrew the bedclothes +from Bellingham's face. + +There followed a ghastly moment, and he found himself staggering back +across the cabin, faint and sick with horror, and with blotches of +crimson flashing and wheeling before his eyes. Then, by a mighty +effort recovering his control, he made his way, like a man in a dream, +on deck, back to the gang-plank, and thus to the shore, thanking +Heaven for the pall of fog which still enshrouded land and sea. Like a +criminal, he crept back to his lodgings, and like some hunted +fugitive, he kept all day to his rooms, a great dread in his heart as +he pondered on the craft and power of these unseen foes against whom +he and his friends had dared to wage unequal war. + +And thus the long day passed, dark and lowering, with occasional +spurts of rain. But toward sunset the wind veered to the west, +scattering the clouds across the sky, with gleams of sunshine +filtering through the rifts, and by the time Atherton and Blagden met +at the station, clear stars were shining overhead and a crescent moon +gave promise of fair weather to come. + +"Did you have any trouble getting away?" asked Blagden, as they +tramped up the narrow and deserted road. + +"No," Atherton answered, "things have been quiet all day, and to-night +Mr. Hamilton was called to the city on business, and fortunately for +me he decided to go by train, so there was nothing to detain me. But I +don't mind telling you, Blagden," he added, "that I'm not a bit keen +about this whole business. Eavesdropping isn't a pleasant task, at +best, and if by any chance we should be caught, it would be a +humiliating experience." + +"No fear," Blagden answered. "There's a hedge around the house thick +enough to hide a regiment. We'll creep into it, one each side of the +path which leads to the house, and there's an electric light across +the street that ought to make it easy enough to get a look at our man. +Tracing him afterward may be a more difficult matter, but I don't +think so. Naturally, he won't be suspicious, and that is a point in +our favor. Here we are, now, right ahead. Just before we reach the +drive, you duck into the hedge, and I'll walk by and then do the same +on the other side. Between us, we'll get a glance at him, and follow +him if we can." + +Five minutes later, Atherton was comfortably ensconced in his hiding +place, and had settled down to what proved to be a tiresome vigil. Ten +o'clock came and went, half past ten, and then, at last, the sound of +an opening door, a glimpse of a man and woman in the dimly lighted +hall, a farewell embrace, the door closed and a man's figure came +leisurely down the path. + +Atherton, with beating heart, strained his eyes upon the spot where +the man must pass. Now the footsteps came nearer, and nearer still; +now the man's figure was plainly visible in the radiance of the light; +and all at once Atherton was hardly able to repress a gasp of +amazement and consternation. For the face of the man was one that he +knew well. It was the face of Marshall Hamilton. + + + + + CHAPTER XV + + Thrust and Parry + + +The atmosphere of Blagden's room was tense with uncertainty. A storm +seemed imminent; danger signals filled the air. Blagden himself, the +embodiment of nervous energy, paced continually to and fro; Atherton +sat at the table, mechanically tracing aimless figures on the pad +before him; while Mills, the taciturn and phlegmatic, instead of +reclining, as usual, in the easy chair, sat bolt upright, balanced on +its edge, his expression eloquent of anxiety. + +The temporary silence was broken explosively. "Damnation, Atherton," +cried Blagden, "can't you see that such a thing would never happen +again in a million years. As a rule, I'm not religious, but I tell you +this has made me believe that we're chosen as the instruments of +Providence. I believe there's a 'system' in Heaven as well as on +earth, and I believe that God Almighty has picked us out to break the +power of the Money Gods for the rest of time." + +Atherton smiled, a little wearily. "When Fate is on your side," he +answered, "and you can see millions ahead of you, then it's an easy +matter to believe in God." + +"But who wouldn't," Blagden insisted. "Less than a week ago three +penniless adventurers meet in a cafe, and go blindly forth to seek +adventure. Each of them follows a separate strand of incident, which +is apparently quite independent of the other two, until suddenly, like +magic, the three strands meet and unite in one. Why, we have the whole +story now. Even with what Bellingham told us, we knew almost enough, +and what we saw last night gives us the key to the whole affair. +Here's our man, our big market operator, carrying upon his person the +ultimate cipher of the code. All we have to do is by hook or crook to +gain possession of his watch, and we'll have the chance that will +never come to three men again as long as the world lasts. So don't +stand in the way, Atherton; be a sport." + +"It's a simple matter," Atherton replied, "to say, 'get possession of +his watch,' but haven't you read stories of treasure chests guarded by +some secret contrivance which meant death to those who tried to open +them? That's the kind of thing we're up against. Bellingham tried to +solve the mystery, and Bellingham is dead. And do you suppose for one +instant that if his story is true--if these men have the power he says +they have--that we are going to meddle with their secrets and escape +unscathed? If you do think so, you were never more mistaken in your +life. Why, rather than go ahead as you want us to do, I would take my +chance on walking into a powder factory, with a lighted pipe in my +mouth and the wind blowing a gale." + +Mills nodded solemnly. Life to him was something precious; many +delights lay before him through the placid years. "You're right, +Atherton," he agreed. "It's tremendously tempting, but this putting +your head into the lion's jaws is a dangerous game; if he happens to +close them, why--good-by." + +Blagden, the dynamic, exploded again. "Oh, you quitters!" he +vociferated, "why do you stand in such awe of this gang. I tell you +they're only human. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Under +ordinary circumstances, I'll admit that we'd have no show. But see +what Fate has done for us. Here is Atherton, in the employ of Marshall +Hamilton. Here's Mills, pals with the celebrated Stoat, who claims to +be the best little housebreaker in New York. What could be easier than +for Atherton to leave a window open, so that Stoat could slip into the +house, make his way into Hamilton's bedroom, and get possession of the +watch? Easy? Why, it would be child's play." + +"But that," objected Mills, "would be only the beginning. Even +assuming that we got the watch, as soon as it was missed there would +be the devil to pay. Every speculator in the country would be a marked +man. We might have the knowledge but would we dare to use it?" + +"Tubby," retorted Blagden savagely, "you make me tired. I've +considered all the possibilities, and I've decided that there's just +one way for us to succeed. Stoat must get the watch, copy the cypher, +and then return it again before it's missed. In that way we'll be +doing no harm to anyone, and we'll be absolutely safe. Nobody can have +the slightest ground for suspicion." + +"Oh, that's different," Mills assented. "If we could do that, we'd be +all right." But Atherton promptly demurred. "Blagden," he said firmly, +"you've got to realize that my position in this whole affair has +changed. I'm working for Mr. Hamilton; he has treated me well; and I +can't help you out on any such plan as this. It wouldn't be the decent +thing." + +"Oh, decent be damned," rejoined Blagden with heat. "You went in with +us on this adventure scheme; we agreed to stick together; and now that +our chance has really come, you refuse to take advantage of it. I +don't consider, Atherton, that you're playing square with us." + +Atherton's eyes gleamed. "Oh, come," he remonstrated, "I'd go slow +with that kind of talk. We went into this together, as you say, but +that doesn't mean that we're bound to stick through thick and thin, +regardless of whatever circumstances may arise. What do you say, +Tubby? Isn't that stretching things beyond all reason?" + +"Oh, of course," Mills agreed, "there's a limit somewhere. But I can't +see why you should worry about Marshall Hamilton. Apparently, he's +nothing but a plain, ordinary robber; the only difference between him +and other criminals is that he operates on a larger scale. I don't see +where he comes in at all. And as Blagden says, it isn't as though we +were harming him. Suppose we get what we're after. All we want is to +be let alone until we've made our fortunes; then we can decide whether +we dare expose the crowd or not. But for the present, no harm is +coming to Hamilton." + +"How do you know it isn't?" Atherton insisted. "You're assuming that +everything is to result as you plan it. But you can't tell. Even for +Stoat, admitting that he's as skillful as we think he is, this is +going to be a delicate job. Suppose he makes his way successfully as +far as Hamilton's bedroom, and then suppose that Hamilton awakens, +that there's a fight, and that Hamilton is killed. What are we then? +Murderers, aren't we? Not legally, perhaps, but morally." + +"Oh, rot!" cried Blagden contemptuously, "that's not a fair way to +argue. Supposing--supposing--why, if you once begin, you can suppose +anything you please. We've got to figure on probabilities, not +possibilities. And tell me this, Atherton. I don't admit for an +instant that you are right, but assuming that you are--assuming the +very worst that can happen--why are you so solicitous about Marshall +Hamilton? What's his life to you? He is protected by respectability, +and that's all. Apart from that, he's a robber, a common plunderer; +he's got your money and Tubby's money and mine. He takes the risks of +his profession; he can't complain. So I ask you again, why the devil +are you so afraid of his being harmed?" + +Atherton hesitated. Naturally honest and straightforward, he knew +perfectly well in his own mind what his real reasons were--that it was +not so much consideration for his employer that influenced him as the +fear that something might happen to distress Helen herself. Yet he was +loth to admit this, until all at once the keen-witted Blagden, +noticing his confusion, suddenly leaped to the correct conclusion. + +"I have it!" he cried. "It's not Marshall Hamilton at all; he has +nothing to do with it. It's his daughter." And as Atherton's +expression confirmed his conjecture, he added savagely, "Look here, +man, what a hypocrite you are. Here you pose as a moralist, and all +the time you're laying your plans to marry Hamilton's daughter, become +independent for life, and then leave Tubby and me in the lurch. That's +a pretty trick." + +He was thoroughly angered, and like most angry men, had gone too far. +Atherton leaped to his feet. "Stop it," he cried, with ominous calm. +"Stop it right away. What you're saying is nonsense, every word of +it." + +"Every word of it," repeated Blagden. "Do you deny that you would like +to marry Miss Hamilton?" + +Atherton did not hesitate now. "There is no question of marrying +anybody," he answered. "I'm not in a position, financially, to think +of marriage. If you ask me whether I'm in love with Miss Hamilton, +I'll tell you that I most certainly am. But when you talk about +marrying and becoming independent, and when you talk about my going +back on you and Tubby, then you're simply ranting about what isn't +true." + +There was a pause, the two eyeing each other like wrestlers about to +come to a grapple, while Mills, the lover of harmony, gazed miserably +from one to the other, in distress at this sudden disagreement. + +"Well," said Blagden at length, "I don't see that your reasons make +any difference, anyway; I made a mistake when I brought them into the +discussion. But the practical result is that you decline to help us +with this scheme. Isn't that the long and short of it?" + +"Yes," Atherton admitted, "it is. It's too risky, and it's criminal, +and altogether it's a poor game to mix up in. I'm sure we'll do better +to let it alone." + +"And in the next place," went on Blagden, "to make use of Biblical +language, which you, as a moralist, will undoubtedly approve, if you +are not with us, are you against us? Will you remain neutral, and let +Tubby and myself go ahead with this plan ourselves?" + +Atherton shook his head. "No," he replied, "if this were simply a case +of robbery, I suppose, under all the circumstances, I shouldn't object +to it, but the trouble is that you can't tell where you are going to +stop. Therefore, I'm opposed to any such attempt as you propose." + +"Very well," said Blagden, "now we know where we stand. Only please +don't think you have a monopoly of all the brains in this crowd, +because you haven't. And now I'm going to ask you another question. +Has it occurred to your pure and youthful mind that the events of last +night may have some bearing oh the situation?" + +Atherton started. Such a possibility had not occurred to him. "What do +you mean by that?" he demanded in his turn. + +"Just this," retorted Blagden. "That if worse comes to worse, I mean +to take a parting shot at our friend Hamilton by letting his wife know +of this little affair of his. His wife--and his daughter." + +Atherton's heart sank. "But listen, Blagden," he cried, "you wouldn't +do that. Why, that would be rotten, sneaking blackmail. No gentleman +could stoop to that." + +Blagden grinned. "Then I'm not a gentleman," he scoffed. "How +interesting these distinctions are. Your prospective father-in-law is +a robber and is unfaithful to his wife, and yet he is a gentleman. +It's quite an elastic term. But I'm not proud. I'll forfeit my title +to being one. But gentleman or not, if you say that you are going to +interfere with my plans, I'll make things hum in the Hamilton family." + +"But Mrs. Hamilton," objected Atherton, "is an invalid. News like that +might easily kill her. You have no right to make her suffer." + +"Oh, that's not my lookout," disclaimed Blagden airily. "Blame her +husband, or Fate, or anyone else, but not me. So on the whole, +Atherton, don't you think you'd better withdraw your opposition, and +let us go ahead?" + +Atherton, realizing the difficulty of his position, made no answer. To +allow wife and daughter to know of Marshall Hamilton's double life was +unthinkable; better far, it seemed, to risk the danger of the attempt +to rob the banker of his watch. But while he pondered, suddenly, to +his amazement, Blagden's whole manner underwent a complete change, and +he burst into laughter. + +"Heavens, man, but you take things seriously!" he cried. "I didn't +mean what I said. I was only seeing how far I could push the argument. +You're quite right; we couldn't take the risk. We'll give up the whole +affair, and wait for a better chance." + +Atherton stared at him, relieved and yet incredulous. Nor did Mills +appear to know whether to believe this sudden change of front was +simulated or sincere. + +"Good Lord!" he exclaimed, "do you mean you're going to stop now? +After all we've been through? That doesn't sound like you, Blagden; +you never were a quitter." + +Blagden threw him a glance of veiled meaning. "Oh, I don't mind +quitting when I have to," he answered. "Atherton's right, and that +settles it." He strolled across the room as he spoke, and in his most +winning manner laid his hand on Atherton's shoulder. "But you must own +up, old man," he said, "that you owe a good deal to me. You seem to be +on the crest of the wave now, but don't forget who launched you from +the shore. When you're happily married and settled down, I shall come +around to the back door and expect a cold meal if I need one." + +At once Atherton melted. "I realize everything," he responded, "and if +it hadn't been for your energy, I don't know what I should be doing +now. I don't want to seem ungrateful, but you can see that I'm in a +hard position. I want to do the decent thing by everyone, if I can." + +"That's right," Blagden agreed heartily, "and something else is bound +to turn up soon. Where can I get hold of you if I want you? How much +longer do you stay as chauffeur?" + +"Only till Monday," Atherton answered. "After that, write me at the +Standard Motor Works till further notice. And now I must be getting +home; there's no train for two hours if I miss the next one. No hard +feeling, Blagden?" + +"Not a bit," Blagden answered. "You're quite right. I didn't agree +with you at first, but I do now. Good-by and good luck." + +His tone was cordiality itself, but when he had regained the street, +Atherton began to wonder whether or not his friend was speaking the +truth. As Mills had artlessly phrased it, it "didn't sound like" +Blagden; Blagden the bold, the tenacious and the daring. "I'll take no +chances," he reflected, "I owe him a great deal, as he said, but I can +still keep my eyes open." And if he could have looked back into the +room he had just left, and could have heard the flood of vituperation +which streamed from Blagden's lips, he would have realized the wisdom +of his resolve. + + + + + CHAPTER XVI + + The Final Effort + + +The clock in the village struck two, and Atherton, crouching in the +darkness amid the shrubbery on the lawn, hailed with relief the +distant coming of daybreak. + +Unable, upon reflection, to credit Blagden's sincerity, he had left +the employ of Mr. Hamilton on Monday, as agreed, but before beginning +work at the factory had asked for, and obtained, a three days' leave +of absence. And now, for the third successive evening, he had come to +stand guard, trusting that if Blagden tried to carry out his plan, he +could at least prevent danger of injury to the inmates of the house. + +Between midnight and three o'clock in the morning; this, he had +decided, would be the time for any such attempt, for before midnight, +the house had scarcely settled down to slumber, and after three the +first faint light of the midsummer dawn began to brighten in the sky. +The first two nights had passed without incident, and of this, the +third and last, only an hour remained; yet Atherton experienced no +sense of relaxation from the tension of his vigil, for if the trial +was to be made at all, now seemed to him the fitting time. The night +was overcast; a fresh damp wind blew from the south; and a veiled moon +and scuds of flying cloud portended rain. "If I were a housebreaker," +thought Atherton, "I should call this my chance. You couldn't see a +man to-night until he was right on top of you--My God, what's that?" + +Not twenty feet away from him, a shadowy figure glided, ghost like, +through the shrubbery, bent low and travelling so rapidly that before +Atherton had time fairly to collect his senses, the man's form was +again invisible in the darkness. Atherton's heart-beats quickened. +That this was Stoat he had no doubt whatever, and now, for the first +time, he realized the difficulties of his task--an unskilled amateur +attempting to shadow one of the best professional burglars in New +York. Yet whether he liked it or not, the moment for action had come, +and acutely conscious of the awkwardness of his movements, he crept as +best he could after his predecessor. An open window on the veranda +showed him where the thief had entered, and with hammering pulses +Atherton followed suit, and automatic in hand crept cautiously up the +staircase to the second floor, and at the head of the stairs crouched, +listening, in the shadow of the hall. Marshall Hamilton's room lay to +the left. Helen's was directly opposite the stairway, and from the +right, where Mrs. Hamilton slept, he could hear stifled breathing and +an occasional low moan which told him that her malady was at its +worst. Far away, at the end of the hall, a single light burned dimly, +and presently, without the slightest sound, he saw the housebreaker's +sinister and shadowy form coming stealthily, with the same rapid +gliding motion, down the hallway toward the stairs. Clearly, thought +Atherton, Stoat had accomplished the first part of his mission in +safety, and he had just begun to experience a sensation of relief when +all at once, to his consternation, came the very sound he had been +dreading, the faint tinkle of the bell which connected Mrs. Hamilton's +room with her daughter's, and by means of which the elder woman was +accustomed to call the younger to her aid. Stoat, too, must have heard +it, for he stopped instantly, and for a few breathless moments all was +silence. Then the shadowy form once more advanced, and had almost +reached the head of the stairs when the door of Helen's room was +suddenly thrown open, and the girl, clad in her wrapper, stepped +quickly forth into the hall. + +What followed occurred with the rapidity of lightning. Simultaneously +the girl detected the presence of the housebreaker, and Stoat sprang +forward with upraised arm; and in the next fraction of a second--a +space too short to permit the use of his revolver--Atherton too had +leaped, and the blow of the blackjack, meant for Helen, struck him a +glancing blow on the head, and sent him reeling to the floor, while +Stoat, at headlong speed, made off down the stairs. Yet he was not to +escape scotfree, for through the haze that blinded him, and despite +the agony of pain, Atherton contrived to raise himself on one elbow, +and steadying himself with a mighty effort, sent a shot down the +staircase after the fugitive. Then the lights that flashed before his +eyes seemed to recede and to grow faint; darkness descended upon the +world; and he fell back unconscious, a creeping trickle of red bearing +witness to the power of the burglar's blow. + +Meanwhile, in the trees near the turn of the road, Blagden and Mills +waited anxiously, gazing at the outline of the house, filmed dimly +against the sky. Here at last was the climax of their adventure; if +Stoat lived up to his reputation, success was almost within their +grasp. And thus, although the night was mild, Blagden was aware that +he was trembling with excitement, and even the phlegmatic Mills was +moved beyond his usual calm, and fidgeted uneasily as the moments +passed. + +Still came no sign of their accomplice, and at length Blagden turned +the flashlight on the dial of his watch. "He's been gone twenty +minutes," he muttered. "Pretty nearly time for him now." + +"Yes," Mills assented, "he said he meant to do a quick job. But I +suppose it all depends on the watch; whether he can get it and how +much is on it. _Great God!_" + +Across the silence of the night, sharp, unmistakable, ominous, sounded +the report of a pistol. Blagden uttered an oath. "Damnation," he +cried, "they've got him." + +"Perhaps he fired himself," suggested Mills. + +"I don't believe it," returned Blagden. "I told him not to shoot, +except as a last resource. Listen. What's that?" + +They paused, every nerve on the alert, but Blagden had been mistaken, +and for some moments they heard nothing. Then, at last, far away up +the road, there sounded through the stillness the sound of rapid +footsteps. "He's got away," cried Mills. "Thank Heaven for that." + +"I don't care a hang for _him_," returned Blagden brutally, "if only +he's got what we want. We'd better be ready. They'll be after him." + +More and more distinctly sounded the footfalls, and presently a dark +figure became visible. Mills started from the bushes, but Blagden laid +a restraining hand upon his arm. "Careful," he cautioned. "Let's be +sure it's Stoat." + +But in another moment it was evident that it was their accomplice. And +evidently, too, he was either hurt, or spent with running, for they +could distinguish his hurried, gasping breaths, and could see that he +appeared to be advancing aimlessly, zigzagging from one side of the +road to the other. + +Blagden stepped forward, "Here," he called sharply, "this way." And at +the sound of his voice Stoat turned and staggered toward them. He was +in sore straits. His head swung back and forth like that of an athlete +exhausted in a race, and keeping to his work only by a sheer effort of +the will. At once, Blagden put his arm around him, and half drew, half +carried him into the bushes, but at the contact the housebreaker could +not keep back a groan. "They--got me," he whispered haltingly. "I'm +all in. Guess--I'm going to croak." + +As he uttered the words, Blagden suddenly felt his burden relax in his +grasp, and picking the man up bodily, he retreated still further into +the woods, and laid him down upon the ground. Then, examining him with +the flashlight, he ripped open his coat and vest and saw that his +shirt was stained with blood. "Here's a mess," he murmured, and made +his way back to Mills. "Keep a good lookout," he directed, and +returned to Stoat, who lay without sound or motion on his bed of +leaves and moss. + +"Done for," reflected Blagden. But it was not Stoat's condition that +disturbed him; his mind was set wholly on the success or failure of +his mission. And accordingly he stooped, ran his fingers quickly over +the housebreaker's person, felt something in one of the pockets of his +vest, and with fingers which trembled drew forth an old-fashioned +watch which he felt instinctively could be no other than the one he +sought. Without the loss of a second, he threw open the case, and +hardly daring to look for fear of a crushing disappointment, beheld, +to his delight, row after row of tiny figures, interspersed with +arrows pointing up or down. Patient delving among Bellingham's papers +had made him familiar with the theory of the symbols, and instantly he +realized that here, as plain as print, lay the precious key to the +whole vast mystery. And then, in a flash, it came over him how +wonderfully Fate had played into their hands, and though every moment +was of value, yet he felt certain, with the gambler's instinct, that +he must take an added risk, and once again hastened back to Mills' +side. + +"If you hear anyone coming," he whispered, "let me know instantly. +Otherwise keep quiet until I return." And once more regaining the +housebreaker's side, he drew a notebook from his pocket, and with +scrupulous care transferred the table of figures from the case. This +accomplished, he replaced the watch in the pocket of the injured man, +and bending over him with the hope that Stoat was either dead or +dying, he asked, "How do you feel?" + +But to his dismay the housebreaker showed a wonderful vitality and +tenacity of life. "Better," he gasped. "I believe I could walk, if +you'll give me a lift." + +Blagden, calculating the future with a heart of steel, nerved himself +for the task before him. "All right," he answered soothingly, "I'll +help you. Lie still a minute." Then, with a movement quicker than +thought, which caught Stoat wholly off his guard, he threw himself +across the burglar's body, with one hand over his mouth and with the +other gripping his nostrils in an iron clasp. Galvanized into life, +the housebreaker, with the instinctive effort of self-preservation, +for a moment struggled desperately, while horrible choking gasps were +muffled in his throat, but his injury, his weakness, and Blagden's +terrible grip made the encounter all too unequal, and presently there +came a quick collapse, and his writhings ceased. Blagden rose to his +knees, and lifted one of Stoat's arms. It fell back limply. Then, with +a shudder of disgust, he picked up the body in his arms and bore it +rapidly toward the road. + +He found Mills standing where he had left him, listening intently. "I +think they're coming," he whispered. + +"So much the better," answered Blagden grimly. And advancing from the +bushes, he placed the body of the dead man face downward in the road, +and as his ears caught the sound of an approaching motor, he leaped +back to shelter and grasped his companion by the arm. "Come on!" he +cried. "We must get away from here as quickly as we can." + +A moment or two after they had vanished into the depths of the woods, +the headlights of a motor, driven at slow speed, brightened the road, +and presently a man's voice cried sharply, "There he is. Right ahead." +Immediately Marshall Hamilton leaped from the car, ran forward, and +precisely as Blagden had done, began hastily to examine Stoat's +clothing. Instantly his fingers closed on the object he sought, and +with a gasp of relief, he drew it forth and returned it to his own +pocket. Then, without a glance at the housebreaker, "Saved," he +murmured. "Thank God." + + + + + CHAPTER XVII + + The Power and the Glory + + +Mills drained his second cup of coffee, lit a cigarette, and rising, +walked over to the window and gazed forth across the square. "A funny +little town," he observed, half to Blagden and half to himself. "The +buildings are low and the brows of the citizens are high--or supposed +to be." Then, turning, he continued, "Blagden, there's undoubtedly a +touch of humor to all this. Here we are, breakfasting in a private +room in Boston's most exclusive hotel, like a couple of millionaires, +and after we've begged and borrowed, raked and scraped, the sum total +of our wealth amounts to just six thousand dollars. I call it a case +of make or break." + +"Make or break," Blagden assented, "is right. But I'm not worrying. +We're going down into State Street with the best chance that two +fellows ever had in this world. And I believe we're going to get away +with it." + +"I hope so," said Mills somewhat dubiously, "but oughtn't we to wait a +while longer? It's only three days since we got what we went after. I +should think it might be safer to lie low until everything has blown +over--long enough so that no possible suspicion could attach to us." + +"No," Blagden answered, "emphatically not. In the first place, +everything broke just right for us. They must have found Stoat with +the watch in his pocket, and that is proof positive that he tried to +escape with it and failed. How can they connect us with him?" + +"Through Atherton, of course," responded Mills. + +"It's true," Blagden agreed, "that Atherton might impart his +suspicions to Hamilton, but the betting is all the other way. In the +first place, if Atherton accuses us, he is obliged to confess to +knowing a lot more than he is supposed to know, and considering what +happened to Bellingham, I imagine that might be equivalent to a sudden +and unpleasant death. Now if he's in love with Hamilton's daughter, +that is the last thing he's going to do. And besides, what does he +gain? Nothing. And even if he could keep himself clear of danger, he +must realize that it's too risky to try to hurt us while we're holding +our blackmail threat in reserve. No, we've nothing to fear from +Atherton, and as for the rest of it, there's no reason under the sun +why we should be thought of for a moment." + +"I believe you're right," Mills admitted. "But I'll feel better if we +find our system really works." + +"I haven't a doubt of it," Blagden asserted, "but we'll soon know. In +any event, we have the code by heart. I could say it backwards and +forwards; up and down." + +"So could I," answered Mills. "Where did you say you were going to +trade?" + +"I've found the very place," responded Blagden. "Floyd & Meredith, in +the Exchange Building. They are thoroughly reliable, and the office is +precisely the right size. It's big enough so we won't attract +attention--they have perhaps fifteen or twenty customers in the +office, on an average. And it's small enough so that we can always +have a place at the ticker, and see our stuff as it comes." + +Mills stared out into the sunshine. "And what sized lots," he asked, +"are you going to trade in?" + +"I shall take no chances," Blagden answered. "I am going to be over +cautious, for if anything happens this time, it will surely be our +finish. I'm going to play in three lots of a hundred shares each, +which will give us twenty points margin on each lot. That's +conservative, isn't it?" + +"Sure," Mills grinned. "After some of the shoestring margins I've +played on, twenty points sounds like the Bank of England, with certain +portions of Broadway thrown in. And whether you buy or sell, I suppose +it will be on a scale, up or down." + +"Exactly," Blagden assented. "That is the way the big men do it; we +know that now for a certainty. And what is good enough for them is +good enough for us." + +There was silence for a moment; then Blagden continued earnestly, +"Tubby, if we are right, can you imagine what this is going to mean? +Think of it. Actually to win, instead of losing. No more horror of +sudden bulges or drops. No more nightmares of dwindling margins. No +more agony of stop orders caught and accounts wiped out. To think of +piling up gold, steadily, unceasingly, till we have all we want. +Honestly, it seems too good to be true." + +Mills sighed. "That's what I'm afraid of," he rejoined. "I've been a +lamb--or a goat, whichever you choose to call it--so long, that I +can't make myself believe we can ever take money out of the market. +But there's one comfort; we've always lost before, so if we lose again +this time, it won't be a new experience, and we really can't +complain." + +Blagden rose from his seat. "We mustn't turn faint hearted now!" he +cried. "We've been through a good deal in the last ten days, or our +nerves would be in better shape. Come on, let's get down to State +Street and have it over with. As you say, we can't do more than lose." + +A half hour later, they had entered the Exchange Building, ascended to +the office of Floyd & Meredith, and were cordially greeted by Farwell, +the amiable, bald-headed and inoffensive customers' man. It was still +a few minutes to ten; a dozen speculators talked, read, or studied the +"dope" in letters, telegrams and financial papers of all descriptions. +Bearishness was in the air. "They're a sale." That was the slogan on +every lip; that was the message, express or implied, upon each printed +page. From the firm's correspondents in New York came the word, "Sell +them on the bulges; don't buy them at any price." + +Blagden strolled over to where Farwell was standing. "Not a very +bullish crowd in here," he observed. + +"You're right, they're not," the customers' man replied. "They're all +bears now. And I believe they're right. I think this market is going +to break wide open." + +"What's a good stock to sell?" asked Blagden. + +"I think," Farwell answered, "that the rails will be the most +vulnerable. Take Union Pacific, now. Last months' earnings were very +poor, and there is talk of labor troubles; I understand they're facing +a serious situation. The industrials ought to go down, too. In fact, I +think the whole market is a sale, but I believe the rails will drop +the most." + +Blagden walked over to where Mills was seated, reading the "Boston +News Bulletin." "Well," he queried, "what seems to be the big idea?" + +Mills looked up from his reading. "The idea," he answered, "is that +the country is in a bad way. There's an article here on Union Pacific; +it says that in all probability the dividend is going to be cut. If +these were the old days, Blagden, and I was relying on my own +judgment, I know mighty well what I'd do. I'd sell my head off. The +short side looks like a cinch." + +"Yes," acknowledged Blagden, "it does. And yet, reasoning from what we +know, isn't this the very time to be suspicious?" He turned as he +spoke and indicated the little knot of gamblers around the ticker. +"Now," he continued, lowering his voice, "according to what Farwell +just told me, practically every man there is short of the market. And +I suppose this office is only a sample of a great many others; I +suppose that it is fair to guess that the majority of traders are +short at this moment. Then comes the question: Are they going to win? +And if looks are any indication, I judge they're not." + +Mills gazed at the group. "Blagden," he confided, "I think I begin to +see a great light. I never studied a group of speculators before; I +was always so busy with my own troubles that I never thought of anyone +else. But it's just as you say; those men are a pretty futile looking +crowd. There isn't one of them who looks as if he possessed any real +ability. There isn't one of them whose judgment you would be apt to +trust. I believe we're having a unique experience. We're seeing the +game played from the inside." + +Ten o'clock came. The ticker whirred; the crowd pressed closer around +the tape; and presently Mills and Blagden strolled over and took their +places with the rest. Farwell looked up as they approached and with +extended forefinger pointed downward to indicate the trend. + +"They're weak," he told them. "Awfully weak. You can sell 'em right +here. And there's pressure on Union, all right. It's off a point and a +half." + +"Guess I'll have to sell some, then," said Blagden, and taking his +stand where he could read the tape he watched, outwardly calm, but +inwardly experiencing the thrill of excitement which comes to the man +who is watching the biggest game in the world. The market was active. +Quotation after quotation came whirring forth from the busy machine, +and then, all at once, appeared a heavy block of Union Pacific, the +figures tallying precisely with the symbols they had learned. Blagden +yawned, turned away from the ticker, and walked over to the window. +Presently Mills followed. "You saw it?" whispered Blagden. + +"Sure," Mills answered. "They're buying it, and after you left they +flashed again to buy Reading and then to buy Southern Railway." + +"Well," said Blagden, "there's no use waiting. Here's where we sink or +swim." And writing out an order to buy a hundred Union Pacific at the +market, he walked across the office to the order clerk, gave him the +slip of paper, and resumed his place at the tape. + +Yet the market continued to decline, and the crowd of traders became +jubilant. Eyes glistened, tongues were loosened, and as the paper +profits grew larger before their eyes, more than one speculator, +taking advantage of a fleeting rally, wrote out and handed in further +orders to sell. + +It was an exceedingly active day, and one of pronounced weakness as +well. In the course of another hour, Union Pacific had run off two +points more, and then, as a second flash appeared, Blagden bought a +second lot, and about two o'clock, as the whole market broke sharply +into a state of semi-panic, he purchased the third and last lot of one +hundred shares. "And now," he said as he rejoined Mills, "we've done +our best. As far as we can tell, we have done exactly what the big men +are doing, so if we don't win now, then we never will." + +"There's just one thing," rejoined Mills thoughtfully, "that makes me +think we will win. And that is this. I've been watching these fellows +all day, and I've noticed that while every one of them is ahead on +paper, there isn't one solitary man who has actually cashed in. +Everyone says the market is going lower; everyone believes it; some of +them claim it's going ten, twenty, thirty points below where it is +now. It's been a big day--nearly two million shares--and what I'm +asking myself is: If these men, and others like them, are doing the +selling, then who in the name of goodness is doing the buying?" + +Blagden nodded. "Tubby," he answered, "I've been thinking that same +thing. But all I'm wondering is, how much lower will they go? With our +margin, we ought to be safe for a long time yet, but I should think +the market ought to steady pretty soon." + +And indeed, about twenty minutes before the close, the decline ceased, +and after a brief period of uncertainty, prices actually began to +improve. "Only a rally," was the cry around the ticker. "A rally in a +bear market." But to Mills and Blagden, watching the tape with the eye +of omniscience, every sign and symbol spelt, "Buy! Buy! Buy!" And by +closing time the tone of the market had altered so perceptibly that +the enthusiasm of the bears was changed to uneasiness, yet still, so +firmly does the human mind cling to its cherished hopes and dreams, +that not a man covered, but waited, undecided and irresolute, to see +what the morning would bring forth. + +So the day ended. And for Mills and Blagden there followed an evening +of eager expectancy, and a sleepless night. The tone of all the papers +was still bearish and pessimistic; all the emphasis was laid upon the +decline, and none upon the rally. But when ten o'clock came around +again and the market opened, the tape itself told a far different +story, and Mills and Blagden, reading spellbound between the lines, +could see the mighty touch of a magician's hand. The attack at the +start was bold, direct, incisive. Stocks were up two to three points +all around. Then came a reaction; the market was made to "look weak"; +and bears regained their courage; and put out fresh lines of shorts; +then followed a space of comparative inaction, with prices holding +firm, and finally, in the noon hour, when most of the traders had gone +to lunch, there came a sudden upward spurt which carried quotations to +new high levels for the day. Then, with the bears securely hemmed in, +began a steady, ceaseless advance, irresistible as the sweep of the +incoming sea. Up a quarter, back an eighth; up another quarter, back +another eighth; so continued the advance. And just at the close, with +new bulls rushing in to buy, and terrified bears scrambling for +safety, with the market fairly boiling with excitement, suddenly, +before Blagden's watching eyes, appeared the flash to sell, and in a +twinkling, too eager for his profits to think of waiting to sell upon +a scale, he shot the three hundred shares of Union upon the market, +and sold them at the top price for the day. + +That night, over the most expensive dinner they could invent, the +pair, incoherent with happiness, reviewed the day's experiences, and +laid their plans for the morrow. + +"Seventeen hundred dollars, Tubby," Blagden repeated, over and over +again. "Can you grasp it? Seventeen hundred dollars in two days. And +that's only a taste; only first blood. Now we'll go short, and down +she'll go; then we'll load up again. A flood of gold, Tubby. What does +the Bible say? 'The earth is ours and the fullness thereof.'" + +And Tubby, his red face much redder even than usual, grew maudlin over +the champagne and the thoughts of the delights which awaited him until +at last grief assailed him, and he nearly wept as he uttered the +plaint of all the ages, "Sho much fun livin', it's shame to think +we're goin' die." + + + + + CHAPTER XVIII + + Fate is Fickle + + +In the dim light of the early summer dawn Marshall Hamilton paced +restlessly to and fro across his study floor. He had returned from the +pursuit of Stoat to find that Helen had summoned Doctor Rowland, the +local physician, and had herself superintended the removal of +Atherton's body to the room left vacant by Bellingham. Shortly +afterward, the doctor had arrived, and although at a first cursory +examination he had shaken his head ominously, he was now engaged in a +more careful study of the patient's injuries, to see if human skill +could restore to life the flame which alternately seemed to flicker, +and then to subside, in the breast of the erstwhile chauffeur. + +Yet it was not of the injured man that Marshall Hamilton was thinking, +for though he realized that it was to Atherton's bravery that he owed +his daughter's life, yet long years in the atmosphere of high finance +had so accustomed him to viewing the world in its immensity that +outside the scope of his own immediate family he had gradually become +a man of no emotions whatsoever. Mankind, to him, meant no longer the +isolated individual, but a vast, teeming mass of habits, customs, +tendencies; interesting, if studied in the bulk; wearisome and +insignificant, if reduced to a single microcosm. And Atherton, +therefore, was no more to him than any other pawn in the game; this +pawn had saved his Queen, and that was all. + +But with regard to the banker's own affairs, so strangely disturbed by +this mysterious sequence of events which had threatened the system of +which he was the chief, here the situation was disconcerting in the +extreme. Only once before, in the twenty years of his leadership, had +there been room even for a suspicion that their secret was in danger, +and then, without waiting to discover whether or not these suspicions +were well founded, the man who had been the occasion of them had +suddenly disappeared, and everything had continued as before. But this +recent chain of incidents had been infinitely more alarming, for there +had been a cohesion between them which seemed to indicate not the +haphazard gropings of a single individual, but the concerted effort of +a group of bold and intelligent men. + +To be sure, the attempt of McKay's chauffeur to follow his employer +had not caused them any great anxiety. Precautions, of course, had +been taken; among others, the placing of detectives at the houses of +both McKay and Hamilton; but no further trouble had been anticipated, +and the discovery by one of the detectives that Bellingham was +secretly working over the tape had come as an unwelcome shock, for the +incident of the chauffeur and the labors of the secretary had been so +closely connected in point of time that it seemed improbable that they +could have been merely a coincidence. And although, in the case of +Bellingham, further investigation might perhaps have shown that the +secretary was merely one of the many innocuous "chart fiends," and +that there was nothing sinister in his study of the tape, this +possibility was strongly negatived by Bellingham's sudden flight, an +event which had necessitated his murder upon the very eve of his +departure from the country. And here, with this double tragedy, the +banker had confidently expected the disturbance to cease, instead of +which had ensued, with almost incredible boldness, the events of the +night, and the endeavor, within an ace of being successful, at +capturing the cypher which held the key to the seemingly purposeless +fluctuations of the stock market. Thus the banker was most profoundly +disturbed. By what possible chance the secret could have been +fathomed--how the impregnable defence of forty years had all at once +been beaten down--was wholly incomprehensible. And yet, grave as the +situation was, there was still much for which to be thankful. For if +Atherton's bullet had not gone to its mark, and the marauder had +escaped with the watch, there might easily have resulted a scandal +which would have shaken the country from one end to the other. But as +it was, it appeared that although by the narrowest of margins they had +managed to escape, and the next task was to be on the alert to see +whether more attempts would be made, or whether this, as he most +devoutly hoped, would be the last. + +A knock at the door aroused him, and the imperturbable Martin stood +aside to admit Doctor Howland, gray-haired, a trifle bent, but still a +hale and vigorous man. + +"Well," asked Mr. Hamilton, "how do you find him?" + +"He's badly off," the doctor answered. "There's no doubt about that. +He is still unconscious, and his heart action is distinctly +unfavorable. In fact, Mr. Hamilton, to put it bluntly, I should say +that he is at the point of death. Your daughter is still with him; she +has been most helpful; but I have sent for a nurse, who will come at +once. We will do all we can, and of course, if you say the word, there +are other men whom you cay call in consultation. Charles Carrington, +for instance, has done wonders in these cases, and Kennedy is good, +also, though of the two, I believe Carrington is the more skillful." + +The banker nodded. "I see," he responded briefly. "Yes, I think we +should do what we can. By all means, I had better send for +Carrington." + +The doctor jotted a number on a scrap of paper, handed it to the +financier, and was about to leave the room when Helen Hamilton, her +face as pale as death, met him upon the threshold. "Quick, doctor," +she cried, "he's delirious, and trying to get up. I've left Martin +with him." And with a deep-drawn breath she added imploringly, "Oh, +isn't there anything that you can do?" + +The doctor, without replying, strode quickly up the stairs, the banker +following at his heels, while Helen, sinking into a chair, and +striving to keep back the tears, prayed imploringly to Heaven for the +life of the man she loved. + +They found Atherton tossing restlessly from side to side, his eyes +wide-open and glassy, the flush of fever in his cheeks. Martin was at +his side, but as they entered, the bell rang sharply and the butler +left the room, leaving Marshall Hamilton and the Doctor alone with the +injured man. + +Atherton was no longer violent, but plainly enough the events of the +last few weeks were passing, in chaos, through his disordered brain, +for he muttered to himself unceasingly, and presently, as his voice +gathered strength, they could distinguish clearly what he said, +although the words seemed ironically trivial. "I like dogs," he +whispered confidentially. "He's a good little pup. I'm glad he's all +right." + +Again Martin entered the room. "A telephone message for Doctor +Rowland," he announced. "They would like him to come to Mrs. Horton's +at once." + +The doctor turned to the financier. "A childbirth case," he explained. +"I must go, and as a matter of fact, there is very little that I can +do here. The nurse will arrive at any moment; I have explained to her +everything that is to be done. You had better get Carrington." And he +hastily left the room. + +"Shall I remain here, sir?" inquired the butler, but Hamilton shook +his head. "No, look after affairs down stairs," he answered, and +Martin withdrew, leaving the banker alone with the unconscious +Atherton. + +The mutterings ceased; then broke forth again; and presently, quite +clearly and with a note of surprise in his tone, the sick man +exclaimed, "Marshall Hamilton!" + +The banker started. His first thought was that Atherton had suddenly +regained consciousness, and involuntarily he stepped forward toward +the bed, but Atherton still gazed straight before him, with no sign of +recognition in his staring eyes, and whatever it was that had caused +the utterance of the banker's name, it was evident that in a few brief +seconds he had traversed countless miles of space and numberless hours +of time, for now he was talking earnestly with some one else, his +voice high-pitched and querulous with anxiety. + +"You can't do that, Blagden!" he cried. "That's blackmail. And +remember his wife is an invalid. It might kill her if she knew." Then +silence, and then again, "I tell you you can't, Blagden; I'll leave it +to Mills. How about it, Tubby; you wouldn't do that?" + +Again silence. In breathless amazement, Marshall Hamilton stood gazing +at the prostrate figure on the bed. He could not mistake the meaning +of the words; this message was for him; his sin, long cherished in +secret, had found him out. But before he could think or act, another +portion of the wild phantasmagoria flashed on the clouded brain, and +Atherton, trying hard to raise himself from the pillow, exclaimed +eagerly, "On the watch; on the watch for these signals. You're right, +Blagden, that's the whole question: verb or noun!" + +For the first time in many years, the banker wholly lost his +composure; his heart seemed suddenly to contract, and instinctively he +clutched at the chair beside him for support. Horror was being piled +on horror. Was his whole life an open book? Did the whole world know +his secret? In what possible way, after the strict precaution of +years, had he and his associates thus betrayed themselves, or been +betrayed? + +Atherton, exhausted, now lay without motion, breathing rapidly and +weakly, and presently, as the banker's glance fell upon the paper in +his hand, containing the number of the specialist, with a sudden +movement, as if seeking to take vengeance on an inanimate object, he +crumpled it and thrust it into his pocket. This man had saved his +daughter's life, and it was his bullet that had brought down the +escaping thief, but he knew far too much and therefore it was better +that he should die. + +Again footsteps sounded in the hallway; Martin ushered in the nurse; +and the banker, thus relieved, went slowly down the stairs to his +study, his mind in a turmoil of apprehension and of actual fear. Helen +stood awaiting him upon the threshold. "Is he better?" she cried. "Is +there any hope?" + +Even for Hamilton, with his thoughts intent upon other things, there +could be no mistaking the intensity of her tone. And since he was +genuinely fond of his daughter, he answered. "He's about the same." +And then without wasting words, he added, "Why? Do you care for him?" + +She stood regarding him gravely, and without a trace of false shame, +she answered simply, "More than for anyone in the world. I can't live +without him. Oh, father, he _must_ get well." + +Marshall Hamilton hesitated. Through and through, a man of large +affairs, he knew well the oath that he had sworn, long years ago; knew +it to be his duty to see that by fair means or foul Atherton's mouth +was closed forever. Yet knowing all this, here stood his only +daughter, agonized, beseeching. There was a moment's tense silence; +then the banker turned and pressed the electric bell. "We'll do what +we can, dear," he said, and as Martin, immaculate, unruffled and +debonair, answered his call, he handed him a crumpled bit of paper. +"Get Doctor Carrington at once," he ordered. "Tell him expense doesn't +matter; I must have him here at once. Tell him it's a case of life and +death." + + + + + CHAPTER XIX + + The Sowers of the Wind + + +All through the night and the early morning a summer northeaster had +lashed the city streets; the pavements glistened with moisture; the +hurrying rainclouds obscured the sun. But now, as the day advanced, +the wind veered to the north, and presently appeared patches of blue +sky, and a ray of sunshine, piercing its way through the curtains of +the room, fell upon the face of the slumbering Mills, as he lay +breathing heavily, mouth parted, and the mottled red and white of his +cheeks bearing witness to the excesses of the past two weeks. + +Presently, as the sunbeam reached the level of his eyes, he twitched +and stirred uneasily, and finally awakening, sat bolt upright with a +sound midway between a yawn and a groan, and extending his legs over +the side of the bed, remained inert, supporting his aching head in his +hands. Then, perceiving that Blagden still slept, he seized a pillow +and flung it with such certain aim that his companion, thus rudely +aroused, started up spasmodically from his couch and perceiving the +cause for his awakening, scowled savagely, growled, "Oh, don't act +like a damned kid," and tried to compose himself for further slumber. +But the shock had been effectual, and at length, realizing the +futility of the attempt, he assumed the same position occupied by +Mills, and heavy-eyed and blinking, the pair sat gazing at each other +across the room. + +"Blagden," said Mills solemnly, "do you care to know my genuine, +sincere opinion of life in general?" + +Blagden grinned faintly. "If you feel the way I do," he answered, "I +can guess it right now. But if it will cheer you up to get it off your +mind, why go ahead." + +Mills needed no further encouragement. "Life," he observed, "is a +fake; an ugly, rotten fake. There's no fun in it; there's no good in +it; there's no pleasure; there's no satisfaction. It's dust and ashes, +and I'm tired and sick of it." + +Blagden's smile broadened. "Well, of all the ingratitude," he +rejoined. "When we made our first clean-up, a fortnight ago, you told +me life was the most splendid, gorgeous, wonderful thing imaginable. +If things had gone against us since then, you might complain, but they +haven't; everything that could come our way has come our way. The +system is perfect; where we had six thousand dollars we have fifteen +thousand now; and in a year we'll have to hire a special safety +deposit vault. And in the meantime think of the pace we've set. Have +we been temperance advocates, preachers of the Gospel, haters of +women? The answer is; No, decidedly and emphatically, No. It has been +some fortnight; some happy little fortnight, Tubby, my boy." + +Mills groaned. "That's just the trouble," he complained. "All my life, +I've looked forward to the time when I could travel as fast as I +wanted to, without caring a hang for the expense. And now that I've +done it, what a mess it's been. I don't want to eat or drink again as +long as I live, and as for women--" he shuddered--"Good Lord, Blagden, +I can't bear the thought of them. Lumps of flesh, with wide-open +mouths, crying 'Give, give, give!' Beasts, that's all they are; ugly, +crawling beasts; to the deuce with the whole of them." + +He passed a shaking hand across his eyes, trying to brush away the +film of cobweb which hung there. But his hand passed through it, and +the film remained. + +Blagden looked at him curiously. "Better pull up a bit, Tubby," he +admonished. "You don't want a session with the D. Ts. I know just how +you feel, but wait till you've had a bath and a bracer, and you'll be +all right again. In fact, you've got to be all right again; this is +the night we're going out to Danforth's for a time with those girls +from the south. Had you forgotten?" + +"By Jove, I had," Mills acknowledged. But at the thought of Danforth +and the pictures he had shown them, the embers of gorged and glutted +lust began to glow again. "Well," he said more cheerfully, "this will +be a bit different from the usual thing. Besides that, we'll be in the +country. What a damnable place the city is. You know, Blagden," he +went on confidentially, gazing straight before him, "sometimes lately +I catch myself doing something I've never done before; I keep thinking +back to when I was a kid. I suppose that's a sign I'm growing old. +Why, darn it all, I can remember the room I used to have, and the +little white bed, and the long summer nights with the crickets singing +away outside in the moonlight, and there I'd lie awake, kind of +wondering what it was all about, anyway, and thinking how fine it +would be to grow up to be a man. And now--" + +His voice died away. "You've got the same idea," observed Blagden, "as +the man who said that the country boy comes to the city and works hard +all his days to earn enough so that at the end of his life he can go +back and live in the country again." + +"And he was right!" cried Mills. "That's the absolute truth. This +money game is all rot. I want the country again. The grass and the +brooks and the trees, the singing of the birds, the sweep of the sky +over the hills, sunrise and sunset--Oh God--oh God--" + +Once more he passed his hand over his burning eyes. Blagden, rising, +walked over and laid a hand on his shoulder. "There, there," he said +not unkindly, "I never knew _you_ had nerves. We'd better send you +away for a week; I can look after things here." + +With an effort, Mills regained control of himself. "Confound it all," +he cried, "I must be in poor shape to act like this. Excuse me, +Blagden, I'm all right now." Then, as another thought struck him, he +added, "But think of this fellow Danforth that we've been so thick +with. How on earth does he stand it? He's no athlete; he's not half my +size. But he's stayed with us for two weeks; drink for drink; girl for +girl. And I swear he's as fresh as when we started. How do you account +for that?" + +"This man Danforth," Blagden answered, "is a product of little old New +York. And that is half the battle. But even at that, he's a wonder. +All of him that isn't steel is whipcord and whalebone, and he carries +a copper riveted boiler where his stomach ought to be. In short, he's +a bear and a bird, and an all-around phenomenon, and as a physical +specimen I take off my hat to him. But as a speculator, Tubby, he's +the worst I ever saw. He's been losing money like water." + +"I know he has," Mills answered. "And it's a shame, too, because he's +an awfully decent little chap. I couldn't help tipping him off the +other day. He was long of stocks in a market that was just going to +break wide open, and I told him to get out. He did, too, and only just +in time. I saved him from a slaughter." + +Blagden looked troubled. "Be careful, Tubby," he admonished. "We don't +want to get the reputation of being money makers; that's our one +danger now. I'd rather act as if we were losing it; in fact, I think +we'd better lose occasionally just to cover up our tracks. However, I +guess there's no harm done. Danforth is harmless, and we owe him +something for the time he's going to give us to-night." + +An hour later they discovered Danforth, flower in buttonhole, spruce +and smiling after three hours' sleep, displaying to the customers at +Floyd & Meredith's a new buck-and-wing step in the centre of the +office floor. But he desisted to greet his friends. "It's all right," +he told them confidentially, "The girls got in this morning, and +to-night will be one great and glorious time. They are ladies, you +understand; as fine girls as you'd want to meet anywhere; but chock +full of the devil, and once in a while, on the quiet--well, you +understand. Take the five-thirty for Fairview; I'll meet you at the +station. There's the bell; I'm short of Steel and she's going up on +me. See you later." And he leaped for the ticker. + +That afternoon Mills and Blagden spent at the ball game, but managed +to reach the train in time, and Danforth, meeting them at their +destination, whirled them away in his motor along the winding country +roads through groves of pines, past fertile meadows, and by stretches +of marsh where the sunset stained the pools of water as red as blood. +"Lonely," said Danforth, "but I like it. And especially for a time +like this. Here we are, safe and sound." + +The motor drew up in front of the plain old country house, and as they +followed their guide into the hall, they could see through an open +doorway the table bright with silver and linen, set for six. "The +girls," Danforth explained, "have been spending the day at Eastfield. +They're coming over by motor; ought to be here any minute now. Just +let me show you your room." + +They followed him upstairs, and down the upper hall to the rear of the +house, where he flung open the door of the guest room, and stood back +for them to enter. "There," he said heartily, "make yourselves at +home. I'm just going to the kitchen for a minute to see that +everything's all right, and I'll be back again in no time." + +He departed, closing the door behind him, and Mills throwing himself +into an easy chair, gazed around him with approval. The room was +old-fashioned and low studded, but comfortably furnished, and the +drawn shades and the mellow light from the lamp on the table combined +to give it an appearance both homelike and inviting. Blagden, after a +similar appreciative glance, followed Mills' example, and both of +them, wearied after many days of tense excitement around the ticker, +followed by nights of wild carousal, sat in pleasurable silence, their +thoughts busied with visions of enjoyment to come. + +Presently they heard outside the throbbing of a motor. "There come the +ladies," hazarded Mills, but after his surfeit of dissipation, he did +not pay their fair companions the compliment of rising from his chair. +Nor did Blagden stir. Yet he listened keenly to the sound of the +motor, and suddenly observed, "That car wasn't coming, Tubby; it was +going. What do you suppose that means?" + +"Don't know and don't care," yawned Mills, stretching his huge arms +luxuriously above his head, "but I've one fault, though, to find with +Danforth's taste. He seems to have a prejudice against ventilation. +It's fearfully close in here." + +Blagden rose, with just the faintest shadow of anxiety upon his face. +"You're right," he agreed. "Let's have some air." + +As he spoke, he walked over to the window, snapped up the curtain, and +then gave a cry so sharp and so fraught with alarm that Mills +involuntarily leaped from his seat, and stood gazing with blanched +cheeks at the space where a window should have been, but which, +instead, was barricaded by a plate of solid steel. In spite of +himself, Mills felt as if the blood had ceased flowing in his veins, +and his voice sounded thick and strained as he cried, "What's this? +Some fool joke?" + +Without a word, Blagden had rushed to the other window, only to +encounter a similar barrier. And then suddenly, even in the midst of +his excitement, he was aware of a disagreeably penetrating odor in the +room. "Tubby," he cried, "it's gas; poison gas! He's trying to murder +us. Where does it come from?" + +But there was no time to search. Already they began to experience a +strange lightheadedness, a singing in the ears, and a numbing +heaviness in their limbs. Mills tried the door, found it locked, and +terrified and trembling, turned instinctively to his leader. +"Blagden," he gasped, "what can we do?" But there came no answer, and +he saw that his comrade had fallen and lay motionless upon the floor. +Thus thrown upon his own resources, desperation seized him, and a +blind fury at the treachery of the man whom they had trusted as their +friend. Hastily crossing the room, and mindful of the old savage drill +upon the football field, he ran full speed and hurled himself bodily +against the door. Before that terrific impact, the wood split and +splintered, and Mills, tearing wildly, with torn fingers, at the gap +thus made, managed to force an opening--only to see, shimmering in the +lamplight, again the glint of polished steel. And now despair, grim +and relentless, gripped his heart. To him, who had loved life so +ardently, and had lived it so emptily, appeared the shadow of Death. +Staggering, helpless, with blood trickling from nose and mouth, he +retreated once again; again, with a last flicker of energy, charged +the gate of steel; struck it, full force; fell reeling to his knees; +tried to rise, tottered, and then, slowly, like some giant tree +beneath the woodsman's axe, he crashed headlong, and lay still. + + + + + CHAPTER XX + + The End + + +The glory of the morning turned the world to gold, and presently +Atherton awakened, strengthened and refreshed, and for the first time +since his accident, feeling that he was really himself once more. +Consciousness, or rather semi-consciousness, had returned a week ago, +and since that time he had dwelt in a state of delightful +convalescence, sleeping, eating, sleeping again, his body slowly +regaining the energy destroyed by the ravages of the fever. He had +been forbidden to talk, and at first, indeed, his brain had been too +incurious for him to wonder greatly concerning the events of the night +on which he had been struck down. + +Helen herself was safe, for she had come often to relieve the nurse +and to sit by his side, while he had purposely feigned sleep for the +delight of watching her from half-closed eyes. And Mr. Hamilton was +unharmed, for he too had found time to make occasional visits to the +sick room. And therefore the success or failure of Stoat's mission had +seemed to him, at first, a matter of relative unimportance. But now, +as his strength returned, so did his interest in the whole affair, and +he found himself hoping that Stoat had achieved what he was after, for +that, he felt, would be the surest way of freeing the Hamilton +household from danger. And if successful, how, he wondered, were Mills +and Blagden progressing with their hair-brained scheme of acquiring +riches untold. + +His curiosity was soon to be gratified, for that afternoon, after the +doctor had made his visit, Marshall Hamilton came into the room, and +drew up a chair beside the bed. + +"Doctor Carrington informs me," he began, "that you are out of all +danger, and on the high-road to recovery." + +Atherton felt instinctively that there was something behind the words, +and that they were not the mere commonplaces they seemed. "Yes, +indeed," he answered. "I'm feeling very fit. Almost as well as ever." + +"That is good," the banker answered, "and I am doubly glad, because it +now becomes necessary for us to have a talk of some importance." + +It was coming, then. Atherton mentally braced himself for the ordeal. +"I am ready," he said. + +There was silence. Then, "You had two friends," said Marshall +Hamilton, "named Blagden and Mills." + +Atherton gave him a quick glance, but the face of the financier was +inscrutable. Yet Atherton was sure that the "had" was no mere slip of +the tongue, and the significance of the word was not lost upon him. +"Yes," he answered, "that is so." + +"They are dead," said Marshall Hamilton. + +Atherton drew a quick breath, and though he heard with emotions +strangely mingled, yet sorrow was uppermost in his heart. With Blagden +he had differed, and Blagden had played him false, yet he had admired +the man's courage, his energy, his enthusiasm, while as for Mills, +poor old Tubby had always been a genial, kindly boy. And there was +moisture in his eyes and a tightening in his throat as the financier +went on, "They played with fire, and the flame consumed them. Yet +through no fault of their own. They played boldly for a high stake and +they played well. They must have been brave, ingenious, shrewd--" + +He paused; then slowly and thoughtfully continued, "I have lived for +over fifty years. I have enjoyed this world. I have tried to observe +and study both myself and my fellow men. But to me the most +fascinating thing in life has been to watch Destiny play its game with +us all. Do you believe in God?" + +Atherton hesitated. "No," he answered, "I do not think that I do." + +"My own belief," said the banker, "is in a God, but not the God of the +Bible. Moore, the novelist, has described him in a phrase which I have +always admired. 'The Greater Aristophanes.' Isn't that perfect? He is +not the blameless, faultless God of Scripture, but infinitely more +human. He is a humorist; sometimes a grim one. Doubtless I appear to +you to be wandering, but I am not. Here is the point. This Greater +Aristophanes has played with us all--with you and your friends, +with me and my friends, with my family and with Bellingham, my +secretary--weaving us all into a strange, fantastic web, and always on +the side of your friends until the final moment. And then--a sudden +humor seizes him--he changes sides, and allows a blow to fall on your +head. You become ill--delirious--and in your ravings you lay bare the +whole mystery which has puzzled me for so long, and incidentally, +through no fault of your own, you sign the death warrant of your +friends." + +Atherton, overwhelmed, lay silent. "Then you know," he said at length, +"what the burglary was for?" + +For answer, the banker drew forth his watch, held it up before +Atherton's eyes, and replaced it in his pocket. "I know everything," +he said. "This was no time for half measures. Rightly or wrongly, your +belongings have been searched, and I have found the paper which +explains the whole affair." + +The pause lengthened. Apparently, it seemed to Atherton, the banker +was giving him time to assimilate this news, and surely he needed it. +And more and more, as he reflected, grew his wonder as to what his +position might be. Death had been meted out to Mills and Blagden for +their knowledge. Why should he escape? Instinctively he glanced at the +financier as if to read his thoughts, and as if he understood the +look--indeed, as if he had been expecting it--Hamilton spoke. + +"You are, perhaps, wondering," he said, "as to my attitude toward +you." + +"That," responded Atherton, "is precisely what I should like to know." + +"I have been," the banker answered, "greatly puzzled, but it has +seemed to me that we should have a moment's talk of a most +confidential nature. And I am not," he added grimly, "going to extort +any pledge of secrecy. Knowing the fate of Bellingham, of Mills and of +Blagden, you will understand why I deem that unnecessary." + +In spite of himself, Atherton shuddered. He felt weak, powerless, as +if he were lying bound in the path of some huge engine of destruction. + +"This system, of which you are cognizant," continued the financier, +"really exists. It is our policy to deny it, but with you that would +hardly serve. It exists. It has existed for forty years. It is +international in its scope, and although vague rumors are occasionally +heard regarding it, and it is periodically assailed upon suspicion, so +far our secrets have been so well guarded, and the punishment meted +out to those who have spied upon us, or even talked about us, have +been so crushingly severe, that we have maintained an impregnable +defence. The system is open to criticism; I do not deny that. To many +men and women it has brought disaster, ruin, and even death. Yet +people so constituted that they must gamble in the stock market would +probably be unsuccessful in any event in whatever else they undertook; +they are the world's weaklings, and their loss means little to the +world. Moreover, somebody must rule this country; that is our real +defence. Democracy is a farce, a failure, an idle dream. In any land, +there must be an aristocracy of brains. Therefore we rule, and on the +whole, I think, wisely. We permeate everywhere; we dominate +everything; Politics, Commerce, the whole domain of Trade, they are +all ours; we are the Country's uncrowned kings. Thus the market is +only one source of our revenue, though our most important source. +Without us, there would exist a state of chaos. For forty years, we +have averted panics; steered the nation through crisis after crisis; +our function is really that of a mighty balance wheel. In a word, we +do evil that ultimate good may come. Do I make myself clear?" + +Atherton had listened, spell-bound. At last doubt had changed to +certainty; the picture was complete. "Yes," he answered, "I +understand." + +"And now," continued Hamilton, "as to your position. By all the rules +of the game, you should have ceased to trouble us, two weeks ago. One +thing has saved you. Unfortunately for me, it appears that my daughter +cares for you. Though why," he added whimsically, "she could not have +fallen in love with someone else, is more than I can see." + +Atherton flushed. "I know," he began, "I'm not in the least worthy of +her--" But the banker cut him short. "There, there," he said, "I +wasn't really serious. I believe you are a clean and honorable young +man--you have shown that in many ways--and I think I may offer you a +choice. You may take a subordinate place in our organization. It will +have many attractions. You will prosper; you will make money; you may +rise, if you possess the ability, even to the greatest heights of all. +But you will give your undivided allegiance. You will rid yourself of +all emotions of pity. You will see the lambs led to the shearing; you +will help to lead them there. But you will gain the pride of place, +and glory in the eyes of men." + +Before Atherton's eyes swept a vision of the seething brokerage +offices, the eager crowds, the whirring, clicking tickers, the +dreamers of dreams that were destined never to come true. And +unhesitatingly he answered, "Mr. Hamilton, never again, as long as I +live, do I wish to see the inside of a broker's office; never again do +I wish to hear the opening bell, to see the tape begin to tell its +lying story. Let me be a poor man all my life; but let me do some +honest work, if it's no more than turning out bolts or nails on a +machine. Anything in the world but what you offer me." + +The banker regarded him, apparently not displeased. "I will not say," +he answered, "that you are unwise. We play a great game, but a +dangerous one. Our fortunes swell to the bursting point; labor watches +and threatens; the people are not blind; it is a condition which may +bring about its own cure. There may come revolution, death and +destruction--no man can tell. Therefore, you are perhaps wise to +choose the factory and the chance to rise through your own endeavors. +And that, I take it, is your choice." + +"There is nothing," Atherton answered, "that I should like better." + +"Very well," the banker responded, "but remember this." And as he +spoke, his voice became low and stern. "You have done me more than one +favor; I do you one now. But I consider that by doing so we are quits, +and more than quits. Forget what you have seen, what you have heard, +what you know. Think of it as a dream, dissolving into air. For if +ever in the future you breathe one word, one whisper, of what you have +learned, you are that moment a dead man, and mine will be the first +hand raised to strike you down." + +Atherton, without flinching, returned his gaze, realizing as never +before the power of this vast order which ruled with such an iron +hand, and realizing, too, his own insignificance, his utter +helplessness, his inability to do aught else than to comply. "I give +you my word," he answered. "What I know is forgotten." + +The banker rose. "Then the whole incident," he said, "is closed. I +wish you a speedy recovery, and now I think there is another visitor +waiting to see you, no doubt impatiently." + +He left the room, and Atherton, wearied, for a moment closed his eyes. +A splendor of sunshine flooded the world without; an oriole in the +swaying elm filled the air with song. All things spoke of youth and +life and joy. + +So softly did she enter that he did not hear her cross the room, and +it was only when he opened his eyes again that he knew that dream and +reality were one, and that before them lay the long, bright years, for +him and the girl he loved to traverse, side by side. + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Money Gods, by Ellery H. 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