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o'clock this morning! That tells the story. It can't be done just

now--not unless you gentlemen are prepared to go much further than

you have yet gone. If we could organize a pool to take care of

fifteen thousand more shares--"

Mr. Stackpole paused, for Mr. Hand was holding up a fat, pink digit.

" No more of that, " he was saying, solemnly. " It can't be done.

I, for one, won't sink another dollar in this proposition at this

time. I'd rather throw what I have on the market and take what I

can get. I am sure the others feel the same way. "

Mr. Hand, to play safe, had hypothecated nearly all his shares

with various banks in order to release his money for other purposes,

and he knew he would not dare to throw over all his holdings, just

as he knew he would have to make good at the figure at which they

had been margined. But it was a fine threat to make.

Mr. Stackpole stared ox-like at Mr. Hand.

" Very well, " he said, " I might as well go back, then, and post a

notice on our front door. We bought fourteen thousand shares and

held the market where it is, but we haven't a dollar to pay for

them with. Unless the banks or some one will take them over for

us we're gone--we're bankrupt. "

Mr. Hand, who knew that if Mr. Stackpole carried out this decision

it meant the loss of his one million five hundred thousand, halted

mentally. " Have you been to all the banks? " he asked. " What does

Lawrence, of the Prairie National, have to say? "

" It's the same with all of them, " replied Stackpole, now quite

desperate, " as it is with you. They have all they can carry--every

one. It's this damned silver agitation--that's it, and nothing

else. There's nothing the matter with this stock. It will right

itself in a few months. It's sure to. "

" Will it? " commented Mr. Hand, sourly. " That depends on what

happens next November. " (He was referring to the coming national

election. )

" Yes, I know, " sighed Mr. Stackpole, seeing that it was a condition,

and not a theory, that confronted him. Then, suddenly clenching

his right hand, he exclaimed, " Damn that upstart! " (He was thinking

of the " Apostle of Free Silver. " ) " He's the cause of all this.

Well, if there's nothing to be done I might as well be going.

There's all those shares we bought to-day which we ought to be

able to hypothecate with somebody. It would be something if we

could get even a hundred and twenty on them. "

" Very true, " replied Hand. " I wish it could be done. I, personally,

cannot sink any more money. But why don't you go and see Schryhart

and Arneel? I've been talking to them, and they seem to be in a

position similar to my own; but if they are willing to confer, I

am. I don't see what's to be done, but it may be that all of us

together might arrange some way of heading off the slaughter of

the stock to-morrow. I don't know. If only we don't have to

suffer too great a decline. "

Mr. Hand was thinking that Messrs. Hull and Stackpole might be

forced to part with all their remaining holdings at fifty cents

on the dollar or less. Then if it could possibly be taken and

carried by the united banks for them (Schryhart, himself, Arneel)

and sold at a profit later, he and his associates might recoup

some of their losses. The local banks at the behest of the big

quadrumvirate might be coerced into straining their resources still

further. But how was this to be done? How, indeed?

It was Schryhart who, in pumping and digging at Stackpole when he

finally arrived there, managed to extract from him the truth in

regard to his visit to Cowperwood. As a matter of fact, Schryhart

himself had been guilty this very day of having thrown two thousand

shares of American Match on the market unknown to his confreres.

Naturally, he was eager to learn whether Stackpole or any one else

had the least suspicion that he was involved. As a consequence

he questioned Stackpole closely, and the latter, being anxious as

to the outcome of his own interests, was not unwilling to make a

clean breast. He had the justification in his own mind that the

quadrumvirate had been ready to desert him anyhow.

" Why did you go to him? " exclaimed Schryhart, professing to be

greatly astonished and annoyed, as, indeed, in one sense he was.

" I thought we had a distinct understanding in the beginning that

under no circumstances was he to be included in any portion of

this. You might as well go to the devil himself for assistance

as go there. " At the same time he was thinking " How fortunate! "

Here was not only a loophole for himself in connection with his

own subtle side-plays, but also, if the quadrumvirate desired, an

excuse for deserting the troublesome fortunes of Hull & Stackpole.

" Well, the truth is, " replied Stackpole, somewhat sheepishly and

yet defiantly, " last Thursday I had fifteen thousand shares on

which I had to raise money. Neither you nor any of the others

wanted any more. The banks wouldn't take them. I called up Rambaud

on a chance, and he suggested Cowperwood. "

As has been related, Stackpole had really gone to Cowperwood direct,

but a lie under the circumstances seemed rather essential.

" Rambaud! " sneered Schryhart. " Cowperwood's man--he and all the

others. You couldn't have gone to a worse crowd if you had tried.

So that's where this stock is coming from, beyond a doubt. That

fellow or his friends are selling us out. You might have known

he'd do it. He hates us. So you're through, are you? --not another

single trick to turn? "

" Not one, " replied Stackpole, solemnly.

" Well, that's too bad. You have acted most unwisely in going to

Cowperwood; but we shall have to see what can be done. "

Schryhart's idea, like that of Hand, was to cause Hull & Stackpole

to relinquish all their holdings for nothing to the banks in order

that, under pressure, the latter might carry the stocks he and the

others had hypothecated with them until such a time as the company

might be organized at a profit. At the same time he was intensely

resentful against Cowperwood for having by any fluke of circumstance

reaped so large a profit as he must have done. Plainly, the present

crisis had something to do with him. Schryhart was quick to call

up Hand and Arneel, after Stackpole had gone, suggesting a conference,

and together, an hour later, at Arneel's office, they foregathered

along with Merrill to discuss this new and very interesting

development. As a matter of fact, during the course of the afternoon

all of these gentlemen had been growing more and more uneasy. Not

that between them they were not eminently capable of taking care

of their own losses, but the sympathetic effect of such a failure

as this (twenty million dollars), to say nothing of its reaction

upon the honor of themselves and the city as a financial center,

was a most unsatisfactory if not disastrous thing to contemplate,

and now this matter of Cowperwood's having gained handsomely by

it all was added to their misery. Both Hand and Arneel growled

in opposition when they heard, and Merrill meditated, as he usually

did, on the wonder of Cowperwood's subtlety. He could not help

liking him.

There is a sort of municipal pride latent in the bosoms of most

members of a really thriving community which often comes to the

surface under the most trying circumstances. These four men were

by no means an exception to this rule. Messrs. Schryhart, Hand,

Arneel, and Merrill were concerned as to the good name of Chicago

and their united standing in the eyes of Eastern financiers. It

was a sad blow to them to think that the one great enterprise they

had recently engineered--a foil to some of the immense affairs

which had recently had their geneses in New York and elsewhere

--should have come to so untimely an end. Chicago finance really

should not be put to shame in this fashion if it could be avoided.

So that when Mr. Schryhart arrived, quite warm and disturbed, and

related in detail what he had just learned, his friends listened

to him with eager and wary ears.

It was now between five and six o'clock in the afternoon and still

blazing outside, though the walls of the buildings on the opposite

side of the street were a cool gray, picked out with pools of black

shadow. A newsboy's strident voice was heard here and there calling

an extra, mingled with the sound of homing feet and street-cars

--Cowperwood's street-cars.

" I'll tell you what it is, " said Scbryhart, finally. " It seems

to me we have stood just about enough of this man's beggarly

interference. I'll admit that neither Hull nor Stackpole had any

right to go to him. They laid themselves and us open to just such

a trick as has been worked in this case. " Mr. Schryhart was

righteously incisive, cold, immaculate, waspish. " At the same

time, " he continued, " any other moneyed man of equal standing with

ourselves would have had the courtesy to confer with us and give

us, or at least our banks, an opportunity for taking over these

securities. He would have come to our aid for Chicago's sake.

He had no occasion for throwing these stocks on the market,

considering the state of things. He knows very well what the

effect of their failure will be. The whole city is involved, but

it's little he cares. Mr. Stackpole tells me that he had an express

understanding with him, or, rather, with the men who it is plain

have been representing him, that not a single share of this stock

was to be thrown on the market. As it is, I venture to say not a

single share of it is to be found anywhere in any of their safes.

I can sympathize to a certain extent with poor Stackpole. His

position, of course, was very trying. But there is no excuse--none

in the world--for such a stroke of trickery on Cowperwood's part.

It's just as we've known all along--the man is nothing but a

wrecker. We certainly ought to find some method of ending his

career here if possible. "

Mr. Schryhart kicked out his well-rounded legs, adjusted his

soft-roll collar, and smoothed his short, crisp, wiry, now

blackish-gray mustache. His black eyes flashed an undying hate.

At this point Mr. Arneel, with a cogency of reasoning which did

not at the moment appear on the surface, inquired: " Do any of you

happen to know anything in particular about the state of Mr.

Cowperwood's finances at present? Of course we know of the Lake

Street 'L' and the Northwestern. I hear he's building a house in

New York, and I presume that's drawing on him somewhat. I know

he has four hundred thousand dollars in loans from the Chicago

Central; but what else has he? "

" Well, there's the two hundred thousand he owes the Prairie

National, " piped up Schrybart, promptly. " From time to time I've

heard of several other sums that escape my mind just now. "

Mr. Merrill, a diplomatic mouse of a man--gray, Parisian, dandified

--was twisting in his large chair, surveying the others with shrewd

though somewhat propitiatory eyes. In spite of his old grudge

against Cowperwood because of the latter's refusal to favor him

in the matter of running street-car lines past his store, he had

always been interested in the man as a spectacle. He really

disliked the thought of plotting to injure Cowperwood. Just the

same, he felt it incumbent to play his part in such a council as

this. " My financial agent, Mr. Hill, loaned him several hundred

thousand not long ago, " he volunteered, a little doubtfully. " I

presume he has many other outstanding obligations. "

Mr. Hand stirred irritably.

" Well, he's owing the Third National and the Lake City as much if

not more, " he commented. " I know where there are five hundred

thousand dollars of his loans that haven't been mentioned here.

Colonel Ballinger has two hundred thousand. He must owe Anthony

Ewer all of that. He owes the Drovers and Traders all of one

hundred and fifty thousand. "

On the basis of these suggestions Arneel made a mental calculation,

and found that Cowperwood was indebted apparently to the tune of

about three million dollars on call, if not more.

" I haven't all the facts, " he said, at last, slowly and distinctly.

" If we could talk with some of the presidents of our banks to-night,

we should probably find that there are other items of which we do

not know. I do not like to be severe on any one, but our own

situation is serious. Unless something is done to-night Hull &

Stackpole will certainly fail in the morning. We are, of course,

obligated to the various banks for our loans, and we are in honor

bound to do all we can for them. The good name of Chicago and its

rank as a banking center is to a certain extent involved. As I

have already told Mr. Stackpole and Mr. Hull, I personally have

gone as far as I can in this matter. I suppose it is the same

with each of you. The only other resources we have under the

circumstances are the banks, and they, as I understand it, are

pretty much involved with stock on hypothecation. I know at least

that this is true of the Lake City and the Douglas Trust. "

" It's true of nearly all of them, " said Hand. Both Schryhart and

Merrill nodded assent.

" We are not obligated to Mr. Cowperwood for anything so far as I

know, " continued Mr. Arneel, after a slight but somewhat portentous

pause. " As Mr. Schryhart has suggested here to-day, he seems to

have a tendency to interfere and disturb on every occasion.

Apparently he stands obligated to the various banks in the sums

we have mentioned. Why shouldn't his loans be called? It would

help strengthen the local banks, and possibly permit them to aid

in meeting this situation for us. While he might be in a position

to retaliate, I doubt it. "

Mr. Arneel had no personal opposition to Cowperwood--none, at

least, of a deep-seated character. At the same time Hand, Merrill,

and Schryhart were his friends. In him, they felt, centered the

financial leadership of the city. The rise of Cowperwood, his

Napoleonic airs, threatened this. As Mr. Arneel talked he never

raised his eyes from the desk where he was sitting. He merely

drummed solemnly on the surface with his fingers. The others

contemplated him a little tensely, catching quite clearly the drift

of his proposal.

" An excellent idea--excellent! " exclaimed Schryhart. " I will join

in any programme that looks to the elimination of this man. The

present situation may be just what is needed to accomplish this.

Anyhow, it may help to solve our difficulty. If so, it will

certainly be a case of good coming out of evil. "

" I see no reason why these loans should not be called, " Hand

commented. " I'm willing to meet the situation on that basis. "

" And I have no particular objection, " said Merrill. " I think,

however, it would be only fair to give as much notice as possible

of any decision we may reach, " he added.

" Why not send for the various bankers now, " suggested Schryhart,

" and find out exactly where he stands, and how much it will take

to carry Hull & Stackpole? Then we can inform Mr. Cowperwood of

what we propose to do. "

To this proposition Mr. Hand nodded an assent, at the same time

consulting a large, heavily engraved gold watch of the most ponderous

and inartistic design. " I think, " he said, " that we have found

the solution to this situation at last. I suggest that we get

Candish and Kramer, of the stock-exchange" (he was referring to

the president and secretary, respectively, of that organization),

" and Simmons, of the Douglas Trust. We should soon be able to tell

what we can do. "

The library of Mr. Arneel's home was fixed upon as the most suitable

rendezvous. Telephones were forthwith set ringing and messengers

and telegrams despatched in order that the subsidiary financial

luminaries and the watch-dogs of the various local treasuries

might come and, as it were, put their seal on this secret decision,

which it was obviously presumed no minor official or luminary would

have the temerity to gainsay.

Chapter XLIX

Mount Olympus

By eight o'clock, at which hour the conference was set, the principal

financial personages of Chicago were truly in a great turmoil.

Messrs. Hand, Schryhart, Merrill, and Arneel were personally

interested! What would you? As early as seven-thirty there was a

pattering of horses' hoofs and a jingle of harness, as splendid

open carriages were drawn up in front of various exclusive mansions

and a bank president, or a director at least, issued forth at the

call of one of the big quadrumvirate to journey to the home of Mr.

Arneel. Such interesting figures as Samuel Blackman, once president

of the old Chicago Gas Company, and now a director of the Prairie

National; Hudson Baker, once president of the West Chicago Gas

Company, and now a director of the Chicago Central National; Ormonde

Ricketts, publisher of the Chronicle and director of the Third

National; Norrie Simms, president of the Douglas Trust Company;

Walter Rysam Cotton, once an active wholesale coffee-broker, but

now a director principally of various institutions, were all en

route. It was a procession of solemn, superior, thoughtful

gentlemen, and all desirous of giving the right appearance and of

making the correct impression. For, be it known, of all men none

are so proud or vainglorious over the minor trappings of materialism

as those who have but newly achieved them. It is so essential

apparently to fulfil in manner and air, if not in fact, the principle

of " presence" which befits the role of conservator of society and

leader of wealth. Every one of those named and many more--to the

number of thirty--rode thus loftily forth in the hot, dry evening

air and were soon at the door of the large and comfortable home

of Mr. Timothy Arneel.

That important personage was not as yet present to receive his

guests, and neither were Messrs. Schryhart, Hand, nor Merrill.

It would not be fitting for such eminent potentates to receive

their underlings in person on such an occasion. At the hour

appointed these four were still in their respective offices,

perfecting separately the details of the plan upon which they had

agreed and which, with a show of informality and of momentary

inspiration, they would later present. For the time being their

guests had to make the best of their absence. Drinks and liquors

were served, but these were of small comfort. A rack provided for

straw hats was for some reason not used, every one preferring to

retain his own head-gear. Against the background of wood panneling

and the chairs covered with summer linen the company presented a

galleryesque variety and interest. Messrs. Hull and Stackpole, the

corpses or victims over which this serious gathering were about

to sit in state, were not actually present within the room, though

they were within call in another part of the house, where, if

necessary, they could be reached and their advice or explanations

heard. This presumably brilliant assemblage of the financial

weight and intelligence of the city appeared as solemn as owls

under the pressure of a rumored impending financial crisis. Before

Arneel's appearance there was a perfect buzz of minor financial

gossip, such as:

" You don't say? "

" Is it as serious as that? "

" I knew things were pretty shaky, but I was by no means certain

how shaky. "

" Fortunately, we are not carrying much of that stock. " (This from

one of the few really happy bankers. )

" This is a rather serious occasion, isn't it? "

" You don't tell me! "

" Dear, dear! "

Never a word in criticism from any source of either Hand or Schryhart

or Arneel or Merrill, though the fact that they were back of the

pool was well known. Somehow they were looked upon as benefactors

who were calling this conference with a view of saving others from

disaster rather than for the purpose of assisting themselves.

Such phrases as, " Oh, Mr. Hand! Marvelous man! Marvelous! " or,

" Mr. Schryhart--very able--very able indeed! " or, " You may depend

on it these men are not going to allow anything serious to overtake

the affairs of the city at this time, " were heard on every hand.

The fact that immense quantities of cash or paper were involved

in behalf of one or other of these four was secretly admitted by

one banker to another. No rumor that Cowperwood or his friends

had been profiting or were in any way involved had come to any one

present--not as yet.

At eight-thirty exactly Mr. Arneel first ambled in quite informally,

Hand, Schryhart, and Merrill appearing separately very shortly

after. Rubbing their hands and mopping their faces with their

handkerchiefs, they looked about them, making an attempt to appear

as nonchalant and cheerful as possible under such trying circumstances.

There were many old acquaintances and friends to greet, inquiries

to be made as to the health of wives and children. Mr. Arneel,

clad in yellowish linen, with a white silk shirt of lavender stripe,

and carrying a palm-leaf fan, seemed quite refreshed; his fine

expanse of neck and bosom looked most paternal, and even Abrahamesque.

His round, glistening pate exuded beads of moisture. Mr. Schryhart,

on the contrary, for all the heat, appeared quite hard and solid,

as though he might be carved out of some dark wood. Mr. Hand,

much of Mr. Arneel's type, but more solid and apparently more

vigorous, had donned for the occasion a blue serge coat with

trousers of an almost gaudy, bright stripe. His ruddy, archaic

face was at once encouraging and serious, as though he were saying,

" My dear children, this is very trying, but we will do the best

we can. " Mr. Merrill was as cool and ornate and lazy as it was

possible for a great merchant to be. To one person and another

he extended a cool, soft hand, nodding and smiling half the time

in silence. To Mr. Arneel as the foremost citizen and the one of

largest wealth fell the duty (by all agreed as most appropriate)

of assuming the chair--which in this case was an especially large

one at the head of the table.

There was a slight stir as he finally, at the suggestion of

Schryhart, went forward and sat down. The other great men found

seats.

" Well, gentlemen, " began Mr. Arneel, dryly (he had a low, husky

voice), " I'll be as brief as I can. This is a very unusual occasion

which brings us together. I suppose you all know how it is with

Mr. Hull and Mr. Stackpole. American Match is likely to come down

with a crash in the morning if something very radical isn't done

to-night. It is at the suggestion of a number of men and banks

that this meeting is called. "

Mr. Arneel had an informal, tete-a-tete way of speaking as if he

were sitting on a chaise-longue with one other person.

" The failure, " he went on, firmly, " if it comes, as I hope it

won't, will make a lot of trouble for a number of banks and private

individuals which we would like to avoid, I am sure. The principal

creditors of American Match are our local banks and some private

individuals who have loaned money on the stock. I have a list of

them here, along with the amounts for which they are responsible.

It is in the neighborhood of ten millions of dollars. "

Mr. Arneel, with the unconscious arrogance of wealth and power,

did not trouble to explain how he got the list, neither did he

show the slightest perturbation. He merely fished down in one

pocket in a heavy way and produced it, spreading it out on the

table before him. The company wondered whose names and what amounts

were down, and whether it was his intention to read it.

" Now, " resumed Mr. Arneel, seriously, " I want to say here that Mr.

Stackpole, Mr. Merrill, Mr. Hand, and myself have been to a certain

extent investors in this stock, and up to this afternoon we felt

it to be our duty, not so much to ourselves as to the various banks

which have accepted this stock as collateral and to the city at

large, to sustain it as much as possible. We believed in Mr. Hull

and Mr. Stackpole. We might have gone still further if there had

been any hope that a number of others could carry the stock without

seriously injuring themselves; but in view of recent developments

we know that this can't be done. For some time Mr. Hull and Mr.

Stackpole and the various bank officers have had reason to think

that some one has been cutting the ground from under them, and now

they know it. It is because of this, and because only concerted

action on the part of banks and individuals can save the financial

credit of the city at this time, that this meeting is called.

Stocks are going to continue to be thrown on the market. It is

possible that Hull & Stackpole may have to liquidate in some way.

One thing is certain: unless a large sum of money is gathered to

meet the claim against them in the morning, they will fail. The

trouble is due indirectly, of course, to this silver agitation;

but it is due a great deal more, we believe, to a piece of local

sharp dealing which has just come to light, and which has really

been the cause of putting the financial community in the tight place

where it stands to-night. I might as well speak plainly as to

this matter. It is the work of one man--Mr. Cowperwood. American

Match might have pulled through and the city been have spared

the danger which now confronts it if Mr. Hull and Mr. Stackpole

had not made the mistake of going to this man. "

Mr. Arneel paused, and Mr. Norrie Simms, more excitable than most

by temperament, chose to exclaim, bitterly: " The wrecker! " A stir

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