CHAPTER II. Covfilnued.
I djd not arguo with him, for, after
that Saturday's outburst, I had mado
up my mind to avoid Btirring Bob up
unnecessarily. Also, I had to admit to
myself that the things he had then
said had raised somo unucomfortablo
thoughts in me, thoughts that mado
me glance less confidently now and
then at the old sign of Randolph &
Randolph and at the big ledger which
showed that I, an ordinary citizen of
a free country, was the absolute pos
sessor of more money than a hundred
thousand of my fellow beings together
could accumulatet in a lifetime, al
though each had worked harder, long
er, more conscientiously, and with
perhaps more ability than I.
As to how Beulah Sands code had
affected my friend, I was ignorant.
For the first time in our association 1
was completely in the dark as to what
ho was doing stockwise. Up to that
Saturday I was the first to whom ho
would rush, for congratulations when
ho struck it rich over others on the
exchange, and he invariably sought me
for consolation when the boys "upper
cut him hard," as ho would put it.
Now he never said a word about his
trading. I saw that his account with
the house was inactive, that his bal
ance was about the same as before
Miss Sands' advent, and I came to
the conclusion that he was resting on
his oars and giving his undivided at
tention to her account and the exe
cution of his commissions. His hand
ling of the business of the house show
ed no change. He still was the best
broker on the floor. However, know
lng Hob as I did, I could not get it
out of my mind that his brain was
running like a mill-race in search of
some successful solution of the tre
mendous problem that must bo solved
in the next three months.
Shortly after the October 1 state
ments had been sent out, Bob dropped
in on Kate and me one night. After
she had retired and we had lit our
cigars in the library ho said:
"Jim, I want somo of that old-fashioned
advice of yours. Sugar is sell
ing at 110, and it is worth it; in fact
it Is cheap. The stock is well dlstrib
uted among investors, not much of
it floating round 'the street.' A good
big buying movement, well handled,
would jump it to 175 and keep It there.
Am I sound?"
I agreed with him.
"All right. Now what reason is
there for a good, big, stiff uplift? That
tariff bill is up at Washington. If it
goes through, sugar will be cheaper
at 175 than at 110."
Again I agreed.
" 'Standard Oil' and the sugar peo
pie know whether it Is going through
for they control the senato and the
house and can induce the president to
be good. What do you say to that?'
"O. K.," I answered.
"No question about it, is there?"
"Not the slightest."
"Right again. When 2G Broadway
gives the secret order to the Washing
ton boss and he passes it out to the
grafters, there will be a quiet accumu
lation of the stock, won't there?"
"You've got that right, Bob."
"And the man who first knows when
Washington begins to take on sugar is
the man who should load up quick
and rush It up to a high level. If ho
does it quickly, the stockholders, who
now have it, will get a juicy slice of
the ripening melon, a slice that other
wise would go to those greedy hypo
crltes at Washington, who are always
publicly proclaiming that they are
there to servo their fellow country
men, but who never tire of expressing
themselves to their brokers as not be
ing In politics for their health."
-so iar, goou reasouing, i com
mented.
"Jim, the man who first knows when
the senataors and congressmen and
members of the cabinet begin to buy
sugar, is the man who can kill fou
birds with one stone: Win back
part of Judge Sands' stolen fortune
Increase his own little pile against the
first of January, when, If the little Vlr
ginian lady Is short a few hundred
thousand of the necessary amount, he
could, if he found a way to Induce her
to accept It, supply the deficiency
fatten up a good friend's bank account
a million or "so, and do a right goo
turn for the stockholders who aro
about to be, for tho hundredth time
bled out of profit rightfully theirs."
Bob was afire with enthusiasm, tho
first I had seen him show for three
months. Seeing that I had followed
him without objection so far, ho con
tlnucd.
"Well, Jim, I know tho Washington
buying his begun. All know I hav
dug out for myself and am freo to use
t any way I choose. I havo gone ovor
the deal with Beulah Sands, and wo
lave decided to plunge. She has a
balance of about $400,000, and I am
going to spread It thin. I am going to
buy her 20,000 shares and take on 10,
000 for myself. If you wont in for 20,
000 more, it would give me a wldo sea
to sail in. I know you never spectt-
ate, Jim, for tho house, but I thought
you might in this case go in person
ally."
"Don't say anything more, Bob," I
replied. "This time tho rule goes by
the board. But I will do bettor; I'll
put up a million and you can go as
high as 70,000 for me. That will give
you a buying power of 100,000, and I
want you to use my last 50,000 shares
as a lifter."
I had never speculated in a sharo
of stock since I entered tho firm of
Randolph & Randolph, and on general,
special, and every other principle was
opposed to stock gambling, but I saw
"I Have Gone Over the Deal with
Plunge."
how Bob had worked It out, and that
to make the deal sure It was necessary
for him to have a good reserve buy
ing power to fall back on it, after he
got started, the "System" masters,
whose game he was butting in to and
whoso plans ho might upset should
try to shako down tho price to drivo
him out of their preserves. Bob
knew how I looked at his proposed
deal and ordinarily would not have al
lowed mo to have the short ond of it,
but so changed had ho become in his
anxiety to make that money for the
Virginians that he grabbed at my ac
ceptance. "Thank you, Jim," he said, fervent
ly, and he continued: "Of course, I
see what's going through your head,
but I'll accept the favor, for the deal
is bound to be successful. I know
your reason for coming in Is Just to
help out, and that you won't feel bad
ly because your last 50,000 shares will
bo used more as a guarantee for the
deal's success than for profit. And
Miss Sands could not object to tho
part you play, as she did at tho un
derwriting, for you will get a big profit
anyway."
Next day sugar was lively on tho ex
change. Bob bought all In sight and
handled the buying in a masterly way.
When the closing gong struck, Beulah
Sands had 20,000 shares, which aver
aged her 115; Bob and I had 30,000 at
an average of 125, and the stock had
closed 132 bid and in big demand.
Miss Sands' 20,000 showed $310,000
profit, while our 30,000 showed $210,
000 at tho closing price. All tho
houses with Washington wires woro
wildly scrambling for sugar as soon
ns it began to jump. And It certainly
looked as though the shares were goal
for tho figures set for them by Bob,
$175, at which price tho Sands' profits
would bo $1,200,000. Bob was beside
himself with Joy. He dined with Kato
and me, and as I watched htm my
heart almost stopped beating at tho
thought "if anything should happen
to upset his plans!" Ills happiness
was pathetic to witness. Ho was liko
a child. Ho Hirow away all tho reserve
of tho past threo months and laughed
and was grave by turns. After din
ner, as we sat in tho library over our
coffee, ho leaned over to my wlfo and
said:
"Katherine Randolph, you and Jim
don't know what misery I havo been
in for three months, and now will to
morrow never come, so I may got Into
the whirl and clean up this deal and
sond that girl back to her father with
the money! I wanted her to tele
graph tho judge that things looked
like she would win out and bring back
tho relief, but sho would not hear of
it. . Sho Is a marvelous woman. Sho
has not turned a hair to-day. 1 don't
think her pulse is up an eighth to
night. Sho has not sent homo a word
of encouragement sinco she has been
here, moro than to tell her father sho
is doing well with her stories. It
seems they both agreed the only way
to work tho thing out was 'whole
hog or none,' and that sho was to say
nothing until she could herself bring
tho word 'saved or 'lost.' I don't know
but she is right. Sho says If she
should ralso her father's hopes, and
then bo compelled to dash them, the
effect would bo fatal."
Bob rushed the talk along, flitting
from one point to another, but invaria
bly returning to Beulah Sands and to-
Beulah Sands, and We Are Going to
morrow and Its saving profits. Final
ly, ho got to a pitch where it seemed
as though he must take off the lid, and
before Kato or I realized what was
coming he placed himself in front of
us nnd said:
"Jim, Kate, I cannot go into to-mor
row without telling you something
that nolther of you suspect. I must
tell some one, now that everything Is
coming out right and that Beulah Is to
be saved; and whom can I tell but
you, who have been everything to me?
1 lovo Beulah Sands, surely, deeply,
with every bit of me. I worship her,
I toll you, and to-morrow, to-morrow If
this deal comes out as It must come,
and I can nut $1,500,000 Into her
hands and send her home to her fa
ther, then, then, I will tell hor I love
hor, and Jim, Kate, if she'll marry me,
gootl-by, good-by to this hell of dollar-
hunting, good-by to such misery as I
have been in for three months, and
home, a Virginia home, for Beulah and
me." He sank into a chair and tears
rolled down his cheeks. Poor, poor
Bob, strong as a lion In adversity,
hysterical as a woman with victory in
sight.
The next day sugar opened with a
wild rush: "25,000 shares from 140 to
152." That Is tho way it came on tho
tape, which meant that tho crowd
around tho sugar-pole was a mob and
that tho transactions were so heavy,
quick and tangled that no one could
tell to a certainty just what tho first
or opening price was; but after tho
first lull, after tho gong, there woro of
ficially reported transactions aggre
gating 25,000 shares and at prices va
rying from 140 to 152. I was over on
the floor to see tho scramblo, for It
was noised aoout long ucroro ten
o'clock that sugar would open wild,
and then, too, I wanted to be handy If
Bob should need any quick advice.
A minuto boforo the gong struck,
there wore 300 men jammed around
tho sugar-pole; men with sot, deter
mined faces; men with their coats
buttoned tight and shoulders thrown
back for tho rush to which, by com
parison, that of a football team is
child's play. Every man In that
crowd was a picked man, picked for
what was coming. Each felt that
upon his individual powers to keep a
clear head, to shout loudest, to forget
nothing, to keep his feet, and to stay
as near tho center of the crowd ns pos
sible, depended his "floor honor," per
haps his fortune, or, what was moro
to him, his client's fortune. Noarly
every man jit them was a col lego
graduate who had won his spurs at
athletics or a seasoned floor man
whoso training hnd been oven moro
severe than that of tho collego camp
us. When It was known boforo tho
opening of tho exchange that there aro
to be "things doing' in a certain
stock, it is the rule to sond only tho
picked floor men Into tho crowd.
There may bo a fortune to niake or to
lose in a minute or a sliver of a min
ute. For instance, the man who that
morning was able to snatch tho first
5,000 shares sold at 110 could havo
resold them a few minutes afterward
at 152 and secured $G0,000 profit. And
tho man who was sent Into tho crowd
by his client to sell 5,000 shares at tho
"opening" and who got but 140, whan
the price would be 152 by tho time ho
reported to his customer, was a man
to be pitied. Again, tho trader who
the night before had decided that
sugar had gono up too fast, and who
had "shorted" (that Is, sold what ho
did not have, with the intention of re
purchasing at a lower price thnn ho
sold It for) 5,000 shares at 140 and
who, finding himself in that surging
mob with sugar selling at 152, could
only get out by taking a loss of $G0,-
000, or by taking another chance of
later paying 102 such a trader was
also to be pitied.
('L'lJ Broadway" Ih tho Wall Htreet 11k-
uro of Hpcocli for "Standard Oil," which
Huh ItH Homo mure.)
(TO D13 CONTINUED.)
SQUAW A NEAT HOUSEKEEPER.
She Must Live In a Tent, However.
to Prove This.
Put tho squaw in a topeo and sho la
the neatest of housekeepers, says tho
Denver Republican. Everything in
one of these big, roomy tents is in
apple-pie order, l no ulnnkolB aro
neatly rolled and stowed, away undor
tho edge of tho tepee, leaving tho cen
ter clear. Bright-colored blankets
and flno fur robos aro spread nbout,
and a wonderfully beaded danco drum
hangs from one of tho poles. But, on
tho other hand, put a squaw in a
house and she is anything but a suc
cess. (Jo into one of tneso hamo
houses and you will find tho mat
tresses laid along tho floor, with tho
whole family sprawling thereon. Tho
cracked cook stove will bo in tho mid-
dlo of tho floor, with anything but
agreeable odors coming therefrom
while tho meal is In progress. Out
side tho bedsteads and springs will bo
used as chicken roosts. But the squaw
doesn't let her housekeeping short
comings worry hor. When sho puts
on an elk-tooth robe, valued at any
thing from $1,000 to $3,000, and rides
to the fair or to tho agency on a Sun
day astrido a beaded saddle, she is a
picture of contentment that any of her
whito sisters might envy.
Keyhold Tenure In England.
The curious custom of keyhold ten
ure still prevails at Crowland, the
famous abbey town in tho Lincoln
shire fetiB, where there are a number
of cottages which are neither copy
hold, freehold nor leasehold. They
were originally built on waste land,
and in ench case the possessor of the
key holds an undisputed tenancy. Al
though some of the occupiers have re
placed tho mud and thatched dwell
ings of antiquity with brlok and slated
bulldlngB, they have no power to sell
or will them away, for thoy have no
deeds. On a tenant dying tho first
person to cross the threshold takes
his place, if he so desires. Many de
vices have been resorted to to obtain
the keys. The properties carry a
county vote, but the poor law guar
dians always refuse to grant relief to
the tenants. London Globe.
Growing Old.
It Is ten p. m. They aro Beated In
the parlor. "No," she says, bowing
her head: "Pa says I am too young
to become engaged." It Is Just 1:30
a. m. They aro still seated In tho
parlor. Suddenly, from somewhere
upstairs, a gruff voice shouts. "Hen
rietta, If that fellow waits a llttlo
longer you'll bo old enough to accept
his proposal!" Woman's Homo Com
panion.
Women always fool tho deepest
pity for tho happy woman who would
be unhappy If sho know tho truth
about her husband.
Tho be3t preparation for tho future
Is tho present well seen to. Georgo
Kacdouald.
A TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE.
How a Veteran Was Saved the Ampu
tation of a Limb.
B. Frank Doremus, veteran, of
Roosovelt Ave, Indlannpolis, Ind.,
says: "I had boon
showing symptoms of
kidney troublo from
tho timo I was mus
tered out of tho army,
but In nil my life I
never suffered as in
1807. Headaches, diz
ziness and sleepless
ness, first, and then
dropsy. I was weak
and helpless, having
run down from 180 to 125 pounds. I
was having terrlhlo pain In tho kid
neys, and the secretions passed almost
involuntnrily. My left leg swelled un
til it was 31 inches around, and tho
doctor tapped it night nnd morning
until I could no longer stand It, and
then ho advised amputation. I refused,
and began using Doan's Kidney Pills.
The swelling subsided grndually, tho
urine became natural and all my pains
and aches disappeared. I havo been
well now for nlno years sinco using
Doan's Kidney Pills."
For salo by all dealers. 50 cents a
box. Fostcr-Mllburn Co., Buffalo, N. Y,
IN THE NAME OF CHARITY.
Jack London's Story Carries Sting of
Truth and Pathos.
'Jack London's famous definition of
chnrity 'sharing a bono with a dog
when you'ro as hungry as tho dog'
recalls a story about charity," said a
magazlno editor, "that I heard Mr. Lon
don tell at a farcwoll dinner in Now
York before ho sailed away on tho
Spark.
"Mr. London said two old mon woro
smoking and drinking together after
dinner.
"Tho host rang tho boll and an old
woman appeared.
"'Confound you, stupid!' said tho
host. 'Didn't I tell you I wanted tho
Scotch? Tako this back, and bring
what -I asked for, you old fool !
" 'Come, come,' said the guest, after
tho old woman had hurried away In a
great fright. 'Come, come, my friend,
don't you think you aro rather too
sharp with your old servant?'
" 'Oh,' said the other, 'sho's not a
servant. Sho's only a poor rolatlon
I'm keeping out of charity.'
"Tho guest looked relieved.
" 'That alters tho case, of course,' ho
said." Washington Times.
Social Rank.
At a country danco in a southern
town, when tho fiddlers had rosined
their bows nnd taken their places on
the platform, the floor manager rose.
"Got yo' partners for a cotillion!" ho
shouted, imperiously.
"All you ladies an' gommen dat
wears Bhoes an' stockings tako yo'
places in do mlddlo ob do room. All
you Indies an' gommen dat wears
shoes an' no stockings tako you' places
lmmejltly bohin' dom. An' you baro
footed crowd jest jig it roun' in do
corners." Youtn s companion.
A Wife's Letter.
"My darling George, I have received
your nice letter, and I hope you will'
send mo a check by return. You
wouldn't believe it, dearie, but for tho
life of me I can't think of anything
else to write about!"
High-Priced Meat
may be a
Blessing
If it gives one the chance to
know the tremendous valuo of
a completo change of diet.
Try this for breakfast:
A Little Fruit
A dUh of Crape- JV 'at and Cream
A SofWBoiled Egg
Some JVice. Crisp Toast
Cup of tOcll-madc
Vostum Food Coffee
That's all, and you feel comfortablo
and well-fed until lunch.
THEN REPEAT,
And at night havo a liberal meat and
vegetablo dinner, with a Grape-Nuts
pudding for dessert.
Such a diet will make a chango in
your health and strength worth trial.
"There's a Reason."
Heiul "The Howl to Wellvllle," lu pttg.