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diff --git a/old/51943-0.txt b/old/51943-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 0bf6f5a..0000000 --- a/old/51943-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3777 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Golden Flood, by Edwin Lefevre - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you’ll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: The Golden Flood - -Author: Edwin Lefevre - -Illustrator: W. R. Leigh - -Release Date: May 2, 2016 [EBook #51943] -Last Updated: November 10, 2016 - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GOLDEN FLOOD *** - - - - -Produced by David Widger from page images generously -provided by Google Books - - - - - - - - - -THE GOLDEN FLOOD - -By Edwin Lefevre - -Illustrated By W. R. Leigh - -New York - -McClure, Phillips & Co. - -1905 - - -TO - -DANIEL GRAY REID - - - - - -PART ONE: THE FLOOD - -The president looked up from the underwriters’ plan of the latest -“Industrial” consolidation capital stock, $100,000,000; assets, for -publication, $100,000,000 which the syndicate’s lawyers had pronounced -perfectly legal. Judiciously advertised, the stock probably would be -oversubscribed. The profits ought to be enormous. He was one of the -underwriters. - -“What is it?” he asked. He did not frown, but his voice was as though -hung with icicles. The assistant cashier, an imaginative man in the -wrong place, shivered. - -“This gentleman,” he said, giving a card to the president, “wishes to -make a deposit of one hundred thousand dollars.” - -The president looked at the card. He read on it: - -_MR. GEORGE KITCHELL GRINELL_ - -“Who sent him to us?” he asked. - -“I don’t know, sir. He said he had a letter of introduction to you,” - answered the assistant cashier, disclaiming all responsibility in the -matter. - -The president read the card a second time. The name was unfamiliar. - -“Grinnell?” he muttered. “Grinnell? Never heard of him.” Perhaps he felt -it was poor policy to show ignorance on any matter whatever. When he -spoke again, it was in a voice overflowing with a dignity that was a -subtle rebuke to all assistant cashiers: - -“I will see him.” - -He busied himself once more with the typewritten documents before him, -lost in its alluring possibilities, until he became conscious of a -presence near him. He still waited, purposely, before looking up. He was -a very busy man, and all the world must know it. At length he raised his -head majestically, and turned--an animated fragment of a glacier--until -his eyes rested on the stranger’s. - -“Good-morning, sir,” he said politely. - -“Good-morning, Mr. Dawson,” said the stranger. He was a young man, -conceivably under thirty, of medium height, square of shoulders, -clean-shaven, and clear-skinned. He had brown hair and brown eyes. -His dress hinted at careful habits rather than at fashionable tailors. -Gold-rimmed spectacles gave him a studious air, which disappeared -whenever he spoke. As if at the sound of his own voice, his eyes took on -a look of alert self-confidence which interested the bank president. -Mr. Dawson was deeply prejudiced against the look of extreme astuteness, -blended with the desire to create a favourable impression, so familiar -to him as the president of the richest bank in Wall Street. - -“You are Mr.----” The president looked at the stranger’s card as though -he had left it unread until he had finished far more important business. -It really was unnecessary; but it had become a habit, which he lost only -when speaking to his equals or his superiors in wealth. - -“Grinnell,” prompted the stranger, very calmly. He was so unimpressed by -the president that the president was impressed by him. - -“Ah, yes. Mr. Williams tells me you wish to become one of our -depositors?” - -“Yes, sir. I have here,” taking a slip of paper from his pocket-book, -“an Assay Office check on the Sub-Treasury. It is for a trifle over a -hundred thousand dollars.” - -Even the greatest bank in Wall Street must have a kindly feeling toward -depositors of a hundred thousand dollars. Mr. Dawson permitted himself -to smile graciously. - -“I am sure we shall be glad to have your account, Mr. Grinnell,” he -said. “You are in business in----” The slight arching of his eyebrows, -rather than the inflection of his voice, made his words a delicate -interrogation. He was a small, slender man, greyhaired and -grey-moustached, with an air of polite aloofness from trivialities. His -manners were what you might expect of a man whose grandfather had been -Minister to France, and had never forgotten it; nor had his children. -His self-possession was so great that it was not noticeable. - -“I am not in any business, Mr. Dawson, unless,” said the young man -with a smile that deprived his voice of any semblance of pertness or of -premeditated discourtesy, “it is the business of depositing $103,648.67 -with the Metropolitan National Bank. My friend, Professor Willetts, of -Columbia, gave me a letter of introduction. Here it is. I may say, -Mr. Dawson, that I haven’t the slightest intention of disturbing this -account, as far as I know now, for an indefinite period.” The president -read the letter. It was from the professor of metallurgy at Columbia, -who was an old acquaintance of Dawson’s. It merely said that George K. -Grinnell was one of his old students, a graduate of the School of -Mines, who had asked him to suggest a safe bank of deposit. This the -Metropolitan certainly was. He had asked his young friend to attach his -own signature at the bottom, since Grinnell had no other bank accounts, -and no other way of having his signature verified. Mr. Grinnell had said -he wished his money to be absolutely safe, and Professor Willetts took -great pleasure in sending him to Mr. Dawson. - -Mr. Dawson bowed his head--an acquiescence meant to be encouraging. -To the young man the necessity for such encouragement was not clear. -Possibly it showed in his eyes, for Mr. Dawson said very politely, in -an almost courtly way he had at times to show some people that an -aristocrat could do business aristocratically: - -“It is not usual for us to accept accounts from strangers. We do not -really know.” very gently, “that you are the man to whom this letter was -given, nor that your signature is that of Mr. George K. Grinnell.” - -The young man laughed pleasantly. “I see your position, Mr. Dawson, but, -really, I am not important enough to be impersonated by anybody. As for -my being George K. Grinnell, I’ve laboured under that impression for -twenty-nine years. I’ll have Professor Willetts in person introduce me, -if you wish. I have some letters----” He made a motion toward his breast -pocket, but Mr. Dawson held up a hand in polite dissent; he was above -suspicions. “And as for my signature, if you will send a clerk with me -to the Assay Office, next door they will doubtless verify it to your -satisfaction; I can just as easily bring legal tender notes, I suppose. -In any case, as I have no intention of touching this money for some time -to come, I suppose the bank will be safe from----” - -“Oh,” interrupted Dawson, with a sort of subdued cordiality, “as I told -you before, while we do not usually take accounts from people of whom we -know nothing in a business way, we will make an exception in your case.” - That the young man might not think the bank’s eagerness for deposits -made its officers unbusinesslike, the president added, with a -politely explanatory smile: “Professor Willetts’s letter is sufficient -introduction. As you say you are not in business--” - -He paused and looked at the young man for confirmation. - -“No, sir; I happen to have this money, and I desire a safe place to -keep it in. I may bring a little more. It depends upon certain family -matters. But that is for the future to decide. In the meantime, I should -like to leave this money here, untouched.” - -“Very well, sir.” The president pushed a button on his desk. -A bright-looking, neatly dressed office-boy appeared, his face -exaggeratedly attentive. - -“Ask Mr. Williams to come in, please.” The office-boy turned on his -heels as by a military command, and hastened away. It was the bank’s -training; the president’s admirers said it showed his genius for -organization down to the smallest detail. Presently the assistant -cashier entered. - -“Mr. Williams, Mr. Grinnell will be one of our most valued depositors. -We must show him that we appreciate his confidence in us. Kindly attend -to the necessary details.” Mr. Dawson paused. Perhaps his hesitancy -was meant as an invitation to Mr. George Kitchell Grinnell to vouchsafe -further information of a personal nature. But Mr. Grinnell said, with a -smile: “Many thanks, Mr. Dawson,” and Mr. Dawson smiled back, politely. -As the men turned to go, he took up the underwriting plan and forgot -all about the incident. It was a Thursday. It might as well have been a -Monday or a Tuesday; but it was not. - -Mr. Williams called up Professor Willetts on the telephone, who said he -had given a letter of introduction to George K. Grinnell. He described -Grinnell’s appearance, and added that Grinnell had been one of his -students, and was quite well up on metallurgy, but was not, so far as -the professor knew, engaged in active business. He thought Grinnell had -some private means. The Assay Office people had identified Grinnell and -his signature. It was not much information, but it was enough. - -On the following Thursday, after the close of the business day, Mr. -Dawson, reading over some routine memoranda submitted by the cashier, -found his gaze arrested by a line that told of the deposit of $151,008 -by “George K. Grinnell.” He sent for the cashier. - -“What about this $151,000 deposit by George K. Grinnell?” he asked. - -“He deposited an Assay Office check, the same as he did last week.” - -The president frowned. He was puzzled. - -“If he should happen to make any further deposits of this character, -tell the receiving teller to say I should like to see him, please.” - -“Very well, sir.” - -The president turned to his desk again, and promptly forgot the -incident--forgot it for exactly one week. On the following Thursday, -shortly before noon, Williams, the assistant cashier--a short, stout -man, with an oleaginous smile--approached his feared chief. - -“Excuse me, Mr. Dawson,”--the assistant cashier’s habitual attitude -before the president was one uninterrupted apology for existing at -all--“Mr. Grinnell is here.” - -“Grinnell? Grinnell?” mused the president, frowning. - -“He has just deposited $250,000--an Assay Office check, the same as last -Thursday. You said if he should----” - -“Yes, yes, I know,” said Mr. Dawson sharply. “Tell him to be kind enough -to come in.” He muttered to himself: “That makes half a million in -gold in a fortnight. H’m!” When Mr. Dawson h’mmed to himself it meant -business--usually, woe to the vanquished! - -He rose to greet the h’m-compelling depositor. - -“How do you do, Mr. Grinnell?” He smiled with a cordiality that was more -than mere affability and extended his hand. The president’s grasp was -firm. Wall Street said that his soul had been in cold storage some -thirty thousand centuries before it came down to earth to animate -the body of Richard Dawson. But Mr. Dawson, just as there are men who -endeavour to seem honest by habitually looking you straight in the eyes, -believed that strong pressure must indicate genuine friendliness in a -hand clasp. - -Mr. Grinnell smiled. There was not the faintest trace of hostility in -the young man’s smile; but it was not a fatuous smile, nevertheless. - -“The cashier said you----” - -“Yes; I told him to ask you to be good enough to see me. I hope I am not -inconveniencing you?” - -“Not at all. But I fancy you are very busy.” - -The president smiled in self-defence. - -“Mr. Grinnell,” he said, with a sort of quizzical joviality, “you have -been a source of some--I’ll own up”--with the amused smile of men when -they confess to an essentially feminine sin--“curiosity. I tell you -frankly that I’d very much like to know more about you--what you are -doing, what you have done, what you intend to do. In the past fifteen -days you have deposited with us a half-million in gold.” He again -smiled; this time interrogatively. - -“Mr. Dawson,” the young man answered, very seriously, though not in the -slightest degree rebukingly, “really I can add nothing to what I told -you when I first had the pleasure of seeing you. As I said then, I have -not the slightest intention of disturbing the account, not to the extent -of one cent, so far as I can see now. Indeed, you may safely assume that -this money will remain untouched for an indefinite period. I’d rather -keep the money here than in a safe-deposit vault. Still,” with a smile -for the first time, “if you think I’d better transfer my account to the -Eastern National, or the Marshall National, to save you further----” - -“Oh, my dear Mr. Grinnell!” in a tone that conveyed to a nicety his -shock at being misunderstood, “I merely wished to learn more about you -from a natural business curiosity. We certainly are satisfied if you -are.” - -“Well,” Grinnell said, smiling again, “I am twenty-nine years old, -single, an orphan, a graduate of the School of Mines. I live with my -sister at 193 West 38th Street, and I believe in a republican form of -government under a Democratic administration.” - -“My dear Mr. Grinnell,” said the president, with a look of regret to -hide his annoyance, “pray do not imagine for an instant that I had any -desire to pry into your personal affairs. You know, we like to take an -interest in our depositors, just as we wish our depositors to take -an interest in us. Your bank president should be your business father -confessor. The time may come when we may be of use to you. I shall be -glad to give you my best advice, should you ever care for it. And, Mr. -Grinnell,” with a smile, paternal to the last eighth, “I am a month -or two older than you. I have had some experience in many lines of -business,” excepting that of Mr. George K. Grinnell, who did not accept -the subtle invitation to confide. Then, with a final smile, putting his -hand on the young man’s shoulder: “As for your account, Mr. Grinnell, -may it continue to grow! We can stand it if you can.” - -“I am glad to hear that; very glad indeed, I may take you at your word. -Being young, I am, of course, very wise, Mr. Dawson. But I have hopes -of getting over it. When my account becomes really respectable, I, -doubtless, shall be more than glad to avail myself of your advice. I -shall value it highly.” - -“It is yours at any time, Mr. Grinnell,” said the president, shaking -hands. He did not show any surprise at the intimation of greater -deposits in the future. It was as well that he did not. On Thursday of -the following week, Mr. George K. Grinnell deposited an Assay Office -check for $500,000 lacking a few cents. It made a million of gold -bullion which the young man had sold to the United States Assay Office, -and of which he had deposited the proceeds in the Metropolitan National -Bank. The president did not forget the incident when the cashier sent in -a memorandum, but promptly summoned the official. - -“Mr. Grinnell has become quite a depositor, I see,” he said. - -“Every Thursday he comes with an Assay Office--” - -“Yes, I know. It seems to be a habit with, him. If he should come in -next Thursday, or at any time, let me know at once. Don’t ask him to -come into my office, but let me know he is here, at once. Has he drawn -any checks on us?” - -“No, sir; not one.” - -“If he does, let me see it.” - -“It is--er--rather curious,” ventured the cashier. - -“Not at all,” said Mr. Dawson curtly. The cashier left him without -another word. - -The advent of the strange depositor was curiously awaited by the tellers -to whom the cashier had spoken. The cashier himself offered to bet his -assistant that Grinnell would not deposit more than $500,000. The fat -assistant decided to lose a five-dollar hat to his superior, and then to -ask that same superior for an increase in salary. He bet that Grinnell -would deposit a million. - -“You see,” he said, with a look of intense astuteness, that his device -of intentionally losing the bet might not be too obvious, “he deposited -first a hundred thousand, then a hundred and fifty; then two-fifty; then -he doubled and deposited five hundred thousand. I think he will double -again and deposit a million.” - -“Millions don’t grow on bushes. I’ll take the bet,” remarked the cashier -stingingly. His subordinate covered a chuckle of success by a woeful -smile of self-depreciation. But his exultation over the increase in -salary to follow the artistic loss of a five-dollar hat did not endure -long. Grover, one of the receiving tellers, on Thursday hastily sent him -word that Mr. Grinnell had deposited $1,000,000, and was being delayed -at the teller’s window on a pretext of attending to some clerical -detail. The assistant cashier straightway walked into the president’s -room. - -“Mr. Grinnell is outside, sir. He has just deposited one million.” - -“Very well, Mr. Williams.” - -The president walked out of his private office, through the corridor, -into the main office of the bank. On one side there was a long, marble -counter, surmounted by a bronze railing, having windows barred like -those of a jail, behind which were imprisoned the tellers and the -clerks; on the other, the plain walls, with the long panels of polished -marble, and the high, little upright desks over the steam radiators at -which the customers made out the deposit slips or signed checks. It -was not unlike a church, this temple of Mammon, known in Wall Street -as “Fort Dawson.” It had a look of austerity that impressed people. -The clink of gold was aristocratically inaudible; the clerks habitually -spoke in whispers, and outsiders felt this and lowered their voices -instinctively. A bank which tolerated boisterous humour would not -have been quite safe enough. This one repelled levity, and attracted -deposits; it had nearly $150,000,000 of other people’s money. Great was -Dawson and his golden fort! - -The president walked, hatless, through the corridor as though he were -going to another department and met, quite accidentally, Mr. George K. -Grinnell, who happened to be there. - -“How do you do, Mr. Grinnell? I’m glad to see you,” he said cordially. -There was no pretence about his cordiality; the man had on deposit two -millions. But it was not this particular man’s deposit which caused the -busy clerks to make mistakes in adding their rows of figures; they were -accustomed to the fluctuating, semi-fictitious millions of the great -stock-gamblers. It was that Mr. Dawson should be so cordial to any man. - -“I am very well, thanks,” said the young man. “So are you, I can see.” - -“You have good eyes. Well, what have you done now?” asked the president -playfully. - -“Deposited a little more.” It was said calmly, not with theatrical -nonchalance. - -“How much?” The president, naturally, was asking for information he -could not be expected to have. - -“A million this time.” - -The president put his hand chummily on his customer’s shoulder. “Young -man,” he said, in mock seriousness, “when will this nefarious work -cease?” - -“I’ll stop when you tell me you’d rather I went to some other bank,” - answered Grinnell, smiling. - -The president shook his head as if in despair. - -“You are incorrigible. Well, come early and often. Drop in on me -whenever you feel like it; glad to see you at any time.” - -“Thanks, Mr. Dawson,” he nodded, smilingly, but Mr. Dawson felt -non-committally. Mr. Dawson thereupon became serious-He could not help -it, try as he might. He drew the self-possessed young man aside. - -“My dear Mr. Grinnell, it is a great deal of money to have idle and, -naturally, it is impossible for me to think it businesslike. If you -contemplate employing it in the near future, of course, it alters -matters. But, if we are to allow you interest on it, why--” - -“Mr. Dawson, pardon me for interrupting you. As I said to you before, -I have not the slightest intention of disturbing this account for some -time to come. I am not bothering about investments. They can wait. And -I am willing to waive the interest. This may be unbusinesslike, but I am -engaged in--ah--other matters, of greater importance.” - -“Yes?” with an inviting inflection. - -“Yes; I am in love.” - -Both laughed. Then the discomfited president said jovially: “I don’t -blame you, then. Love before business, by all means.” And with a final -warm hand-shake, he passed on. But he resented what he considered the -jocular evasion of the young man. - -On the following Thursday, Mr. George K. Grinnell deposited two and a -half millions--an Assay Office check in payment of gold bars weighing -120,543 ounces three pennyweights. - -The president was disturbed. It was one thing to mystify the Street, and -quite another to be himself mystified. He did not love such mysteries. -They might be dangerous if left unsolved. He sent for the bank’s chief -detective, a man of much experience and ingenuity; really a confidential -agent. - -“Costello, on Thursday there will probably come to deposit some money -with us a young man by the name of George K. Grinnell. He lives uptown -somewhere. Ask Mr. Williams for his address. Learn all you can about -him. Stay here all day Thursday. I’ll come out and talk to him. Report -at once whatever you may learn.” - -“Yes, sir. For the preliminary work I’ll put John Croll on the case. -Then I’ll take it up myself. Have you any reason to suspect anything -wrong, sir?” - -“I have no reason to suspect anything. I wish to know who and what he -is, what he does, and, especially, you must watch the Assay Office. He -deposits large amounts of gold there. I want to know where that gold -comes from. Find out all you can from the Assay Office people. See the -truckman. Probably it comes from some mine. He brought me a letter from -Professor Willetts, of the Columbia School of Mines. Say nothing to any -one of this.” - -“Very well, sir.” - -Thursday came. A stock operator, famous for his keen reading of -conditions, which came from his possession of a marvellous imagination -combined with logical reasoning power, walked into the bank, and was -impressed by the vaguely uneasy something in the air. He at once called -on his friend, and occasional accomplice, Dawson. The president assured -him that he had no news; wherefore, the imaginative plunger reasoned: -“If it were good news he’d let me know, because it would help him to -have me know it. The news, whatever it is, must be bad,” and left -the bank hurriedly. A few minutes later the stock-market became very -weak--the suspicious gambler was selling stocks to be on the safe -side. But the president paid no attention to the whirring ticker in the -corner. He was waiting for the arrival of Mr. George K. Grinnell. At one -o’clock the president was angry. At two o’clock the clerks began to call -the bets off; they had a pool on the amount Grinnell would deposit. At -half after two Mr. Grinnell walked in, wrote out his deposit slip very -deliberately, and presented it, with a check and his passbook, at the -receiving-teller’s window. - -“You are late to-day, Mr. Grinnell,” incautiously said the teller. - -“Oh, you expected me?” - -Grover was made uncomfortable. “You see, Mr. Grinnell, you’ve been -coming here on Thursdays so regularly that we’ve--” He stopped abruptly -as he looked at the slip, and the Assay Office check for five millions -of dollars. He credited the amount on the pass-book very slowly. - -Mr. Dawson came out of his private office. One of the clerks, who had -been stationed at the door, had notified him of Mr. Grinnell’s arrival. - -“How do you do?” said the president cheerfully. “You are a little late -to-day.” - -“So the teller was just saying.” - -The president was annoyed, exceedingly, that Grinnell should have -learned that his arrival had been expected; but he explained smilingly: -“Well, you have been so punctual on Thursdays that, I fancy, we’ve -grown rather into the habit of looking for you. What have you done to us -to-day?” - -“Five!” There was a curious suggestion of defiance in the young man’s -tone. - -“Five millions?” incredulously. - -“Yes.” Grinnell looked at Mr. Dawson calmly. - -“Well, Mr. Grinnell--” The president paused. - -“Well, Mr. Dawson?” returned the young man. - -“Really, really,” said Dawson, more excited than any of the clerks -remembered ever to have seen him, “this is most extraordinary. -It’s--most extraordinary! Won’t you please come into my office a -moment?” - -“With pleasure, Mr. Dawson.” - -They faced each other by the president’s desk. Dawson did not know how -to begin. Perceiving that the silence was becoming embarrassing, he -said: “Kindly be seated, Mr. Grinnell,” and himself sat down. In -some curious way, no sooner was he in his chair than he felt calm, -self-possessed. It was his throne. There, seated, he heard the speeches -of men as from a height. Mostly he had heard suppliants for his mercy or -for his favour. It had given him, through the sense of mastery, a great -confidence in himself. It returned to him as he leaned back in the -chair. - -“Let us speak with perfect frankness. You have now on deposit in this -bank--” - -“I’ll tell you exactly,” said Grinnell, consulting his pass-book. -He added the figures with the tip of a lead-pencil. “Exactly -$9,537,805.69.” - -He looked at the president. Mr. Dawson bowed his head, as though -thanking him for the information. There was a pause. Then the president -went on, slowly: “That is a great deal of money, Mr. Grinnell, to have -deposited in less than two months. It is more ready cash, with one, or -possibly two exceptions, than any individual has on deposit in any one -bank in the United States.” - -“Indeed?” There was genuine astonishment in the young man’s voice. -Dawson felt it unmistakably. - -“Yes.” - -“But there are so many very rich men.” - -“Yes; but their riches are not in the shape of hard cash at the bank. -The interest on that sum at the current rate is more than a thousand -dollars a day. It is what makes your case so remarkable--a young man, -unknown in the business world, the possessor of a vast fortune in gold. -It is bound to excite extraordinary interest.” - -“Then I am glad,” said Grinnell, almost apologetically, “that I did not -deposit more.” - -“What?” He was startled out of his bank presidentness, and stared at the -young man with quite human amazement. - -“Yes, sir. I was thinking that I would bring in ten millions next -Thursday.” - -[Illustration: 0053] - -“Good Heavens!” - -“You see,” explained the young man, very earnestly, “I thought that -since this was the bank with the greatest deposits, after I had, as -it were, accustomed you to this sort of business, it would be less -noticeable than if I went elsewhere.” - -Mr. Dawson rose. - -“This cannot go on. I must know where this gold comes from!” He glared -at the young man menacingly. His face had grown pale. Grinnell rose -deliberately. He looked at the president so seriously as to produce the -impression of a frown, though there was none on his face. - -“Mr. Dawson,” he said, in a voice that betrayed displeasure, “as I told -you before, I have no intention of disturbing this account. As far as I -can see, it will remain here indefinitely. I do not ask you to allow me -interest. Should I change my mind, I will give you ample notice. If you -wish me to relieve you of this burden, which you appear to regard as -excessive, I beg that you will say so, and I shall go elsewhere. I bring -this money here because I feel it will be safe. My private affairs, I am -sure, can be of no interest to any one. You have but to say the word and -we part--the best of friends.” - -The president drew in a deep breath. - -“I beg a thousand pardons,” he said with an attempt, not -over-successful, at contrition. “You may forgive me, but I never shall -forgive myself. But are you sure, Mr. Grin-nell, that you can tell me -nothing of your--er--fortune? Remember, I have no desire to pry into -your private affairs.” He had a way of being polite, as though his very -thoughts were punctilious. Wall Street distrusted his self-possession. -People who have others completely in their power, and are -self-possessed, are too dangerous for comfort. - -“Well, Mr. Dawson, the fortune happens to be one of them,” said the -young man. - -“So, you see, I can only regret that I cannot answer you.” - -“I will not press you, Mr. Grinnell. Ah! of course, I would hold in the -strictest confidence anything you might see fit to tell me.” He smiled. -His smile, often, was that of a diplomat at a reception. His attitudes, -the absence of nervous gestures, the poise of his head, all bespoke -self-control. But he could not always control his eyes. When he was -not sure of his expression he half closed his eyelids, and spoke very -gently. - -Grinnell shook his head. The president, at a loss for words, held out -his hand. - -“You’ve forgiven me?” said Grinnell smiling, as in relief. - -“Mr. Grinnell,” with a mournful shake of the head, “that is unkind of -you.” - -“Oh, but I mean it! Good-afternoon, Mr. Dawson.” - -The president escorted the young man to the door. - -“Good-afternoon, Mr. Grinnell. By the way, are we to expect you again -soon?” - -“Next week, if I live,” and with a final smile that gave his serious -face the indeterminately youthful look of people who have a keen sense -of humour, Mr. Grinnell left the Metropolitan National Bank, faithfully -“shadowed” by Mr. John Croll, formerly one of Pinkerton’s “star” men and -general sleuth. - -Croll reported daily to his chief, Edward Costello, who in turn -submitted a written report to Mr. Dawson. The young man had gone -straight to his house, 193 West 38th Street, a four-story-and-basement -brown-stone front, purchased by George K. Grinnell on March 8, 1899, -from Mary C. Bryan, widow of Mitchell J. Bryan. He had staid indoors all -day. In the evening went out for a walk, accompanied by a fox terrier, -and returned at ten o’clock. On the following morning at 8:30, -accompanied by the same dog, took a long walk in Central Park; returned -at ten. Did not leave the house until five o’clock, when he went to the -office of Dr. Coster, the well-known eye-specialist. Returned to his -house and took the customary walk in the evening. He lived with his -sister, very quietly, according to the domestics of the neighbouring -houses. They paid no social calls and received none while under -observation. The household supplies were purchased from shops in the -vicinity, and paid for always in gold. On Monday, at 10 a. m., two heavy -trucks owned by William Watson drove to the house and took each a load -of bullion bars, painted black to disguise their nature, and weighing -about two hundred and fifty pounds each, which the men brought out -through the basement entrance, and carried to the Assay Office. -Mr. Grinnell drove in a public hansom behind them, accompanied by a -powerfully built man-servant, who lived in Mr. Grinnell’s house. A -second trip was made. The daily movements of Mr. and Miss Grinnell, of -the two women servants and the body-guard then were given in detail. -They revealed absolutely nothing. On Thursdays, it had been learned, Mr. -Grinnell went to the Assay Office, shortly after midday, and received a -check for the gold bullion deposited on the previous Monday. The clerks -there had been requested by Mr. Grinnell not to give any information, -but Mr. Grinnell’s name--an undecipherable signature--appeared several -times on the register of certificates for the payment of bullion -deposits. By crediting him with various amounts instead of one lump sum, -no comment was excited, nor had the interest of the newspaper reporters -been aroused. But they said at the Assay Office it could not go on -unnoticed very much longer, unless Mr. Grinnell took bars instead of -checks for his gold. They thought it an unusual case; but the employees -of the Federal Government are not supposed to have any imagination -during business hours. It is against the rules. - -On Thursday Mr. Grinnell sent in his card to Mr. Dawson before calling -on the receiving teller. He was admitted at once. - -“Good-morning, Mr. Dawson. I have brought you--” he took two bits of -paper from his pocket-book, fingered them uncertainly, and finally -returned one to his pocket. He went on: “Ten millions.” - -“Is that all to-day?” The president not only was not nonplussed, but -actually smiled. - -He was a great man. Even his enemies acknowledged it. - -“That’s all. You see, I’ve been depositing a little every week in the -Eastern National Bank. But I’ve decided to increase it to a million a -week, and I wanted to ask you if the Dry Goods National also is to be -trusted.” - -“Great Heavens, man! When are you going to stop? Where is the mine? -Can’t I buy stock in it?” The president spoke jocularly. He had, on -hearing the young man’s words, determined to solve the mystery if it -took fifty thousand dollars. It had ceased to be merely a mystery. It -had become a menace. This made him calm. - -“I don’t own a share of mining stock. Do you think mines are good -investments?” But the young man asked this altogether too innocently. - -“_Your_ mine would be.” The president gazed fixedly at the spectacled -eyes. Grin-nell hesitated. - -“I’ll deposit this, then,” he said. “Good-morning.” - -But Mr. Dawson, thinking of disturbing possibilities, did not answer. -The young man with his deposits of nineteen and one-half millions--and -more to come--troubled the president. With that much cash, Grinnell -already was a potential disturber of finance. With much more he could be -infinitely worse--to the public and to the great moneyed interests. He -could call suddenly upon the bank for his entire account, some day when -money was tight, and stock pools needed it as a man’s lungs need air, as -a man’s heart needs blood; and the stock-market would be convulsed, and -guiltless millionaires suffer. Or, he could mistakenly lend it at such -low rates of interest as would “break” the money-market, and help fools -or gamblers, but grievously reduce the bank’s profits. Or, he could so -misuse it as to foil some stock-market plan of Mr. Dawson’s, or of his -associates. There was no limit to the possibilities of mischief from an -unknown but even greater supply. Money is a commodity, governed, like -all other commodities, by certain conditions. Fancy a man who suddenly -announces--and proves it conclusively--that he has an unknown number of -millions of bushels of excellent wheat; imagine the effect not only on -unfortunate bull gamblers on the Board of Trade, but also on thousands -of hard-working farmers. But the young man’s case was far worse. It -was not alone his possession of much money; it was his having the gold -itself! Money is only money, but gold is more: it is the measure of -value. To disturb that was to disturb finance, commerce, and industry. -The working-world would cease to labour, cease to breathe. In what would -a millionaire’s affluence or a labourer’s poverty be measured; in what -would men buy and sell, pay and be paid, if the young man’s supply of -gold should be so great as to disturb the value-measure of civilized -people? No world-disaster in all history could compare with this! - -Dawson’s mind, keen, imaginative, was made feverishly active by the -stimulus of fear. Clearly, there was but one thing to do--important, -urgent, vital!--to learn all about the young man, and the source and -extent of his gold; to make him an ally; to share in that wealth; and, -in the meantime, to reduce to a negligible minimum the possibilities -for mischief against the bank which that young man and that wealth had -created. - -The last check for ten millions would not go through the Clearing House -but, in order to arouse no suspicions as to the unusually heavy Treasury -operations with the New York banks, Mr. Dawson would send the check to -the Sub-Treasury and get gold certificates. The amount would be put -in as a special deposit. It would not appear in the regular bank -statistics, and would be locked up in the vaults, which would keep, for -publication, the reserve down and money rates up--a favourite practice -of this king manipulator of the money-market--as well as strengthen -the bank against Mr. Grinnell, should the young man suddenly decide -to withdraw several millions at once. He attended to this and other -business details and then sent for Costello. - -“I must have the full history of Mr. Grinnell. Don’t come to me without -it. It is of the utmost importance. Go to work at once. I’ll see -Professor Willetts myself. Drop everything else. Spare no expense and -use any means. Understand? Report at once anything you may discover, -however trivial.” - -Costello was impressed. He had worked, in his life, on cases involving -enormous sums, ingenious swindles, thefts and defalcations which had -never appeared in the newspapers, the unprintable side of vast financial -deals. But never before had he been dazed, as now, by the suppressed -excitement of the man, steel-nerved and ice-hearted, who presided over -the destinies of the greatest bank of America, of a power so vast that -it was scarcely second to that of the Government of the United States. - -The bank’s detective staff, the existence of which was unsuspected by -the world at large, was marvellously well organized. Mr. Costello’s -reports were lengthy. Summarized, they told the president something like -this: - -George K. Grinnell was under the strictest surveillance, his daily -movements being given in detail in the reports of John Croll and William -F. Kearney; but they afforded not the slightest clue to the young man’s -business. His daily walks in Central Park with his fox terrier--once -with his sister--helped the investigation no more than the fact that he -spent most of his time indoors. The furniture of the first floor of the -house was described at great length by Mr. Kearney who, in the guise -of a book agent, memorized it (Report D). Mr. Grinnell had three -servants--one man and two maids. Every delivery wagon, and every person -that had called at 193 West 38th Street had been shadowed--they were -all tradespeople. One wagon was from Wilkins & Cross, the dealers in -chemical and laboratory supplies. The driver, John C. Plummer, who was -interviewed by Kearney and then by Costello, vouchsafed the information -that Mr. Grinnell had a chemical laboratory, and for years had purchased -supplies from the firm. Lately the supplies had consisted chiefly of -crucibles, charcoal, coke, bone-ash, litharge, adds and other articles -used by assayers and refiners. Plummer was promised $250 for a complete -transcript of Mr. Grinnell’s purchases from Wilkins & Cross from -the first, which he agreed to obtain, and was now at work on. The -biographical data, obtained from divers sources, most ingeniously, -showed that George Kitchell Grinnell was born in Middletown, New -York, on January 1, 1873. His father was Frederick Hobart Grinnell, a -druggist, who died in 1898. His mother died in 1889. He had one sister, -two and one-half years younger; name Ada. The father left property -valued at about $40,000, chiefly real estate in Middletown, New York. -So far as friends of the family knew, it was all the property owned by -George Kitchell Grinnell and his sister. The rents were collected and -remitted to New York by Frederick Kitchell Carpenter, attorney-at-law, a -first cousin of Grinnell. By Middle-town people, George K. Grinnell -was believed to be an analytical chemist in New York, with a fairly -lucrative practice. Grinnell entered the School of Mines, Columbia -University, 1891; was graduated in 1895 with the degree of Bachelor -of Metallurgy. According to his professors he was a good, but not -exceptional student. But had improved with age, one of them said, and -was very well up on radium--perhaps better than any one else in America -excepting the professor himself. Was popular among his fellow-students, -according to some of his classmates; was president of his class in his -junior year; was an editor of the Columbia Spectator two years. After -leaving college, spent a year in Middletown, in his father’s pharmacy. -In October, 1896, came to New York City. Was employed as assayer in the -laboratory of Bangs & Wilson, 35 John Street. Left there the following -year to return to Middletown, his father being ill. Was considered a -competent and careful assayer and analytical chemist. A fellow employee -and he were interested in an electrical furnace. But no patent had ever -been taken out in either of their names. Remained in Middletown until -after his father’s death. In 1898 came back to New York. Lived at Mrs. -Scott’s boarding-house, 169 West 48th Street. Purchased the house, 193 -West 38th Street, in March, 1899, from Mary C. Bryan. His sister came -from Middletown in the fall of 1899. They had lived there quietly -ever since. On Monday two trucks--the same he had employed for some -weeks--came twice and took bars of gold bullion to the Assay Office. He -had deposited to date gold valued at $36,807,988. He had accounts, -also, at the Agricultural National and Eastern National Banks, but there -nothing was known of his business. His deposits at all these banks had -been in the shape of Assay Office checks, and also in Assay Office bars, -which made the bank people think he was a mining man. - -Professor Willetts could not tell Dawson much. He knew Grinnell as he -had known hundreds of other students. He had never heard that Grinnell -was wealthy, certainly not wealthy enough to be a worthless student. -He remembered having recommended Grinnell to Bangs & Wilson as a -good as-sayer. The young man’s graduating thesis had been on -electro-metallurgy. He was a pleasant enough chap. The president, on -hearing Willetts’s words, felt it wise to say nothing of Grinnell’s -enormous gold supply. The less people talked about it the better it -might be for the bank, if things did not go right afterward. - -On Thursday, shortly after midday, Mr. Grinnell sent in his card to the -president. Mr. Dawson greeted him at the door. “Come in, Mr. Grinnell.” - -“How do you do, Mr. Dawson?” - -“I am worried, Mr. Grinnell. Very much worried.” The president looked -it. He always made it a practice of looking the way he said he felt. -This time he did not have to act. - -“Indeed? I’m very sorry to hear it,” answered Grinnell--with a very good -simulation of concern, the president thought. - -“You will be sorrier to hear, Mr. Grinnell, that you are the cause of my -worry.” - -“I?” The astonishment was not so great as a sort of uneasiness, which -did not escape the older man. - -“Yes, Mr. Grinnell, you. Have you deposited any more--” - -“Oh! I can withdraw it, if you don’t care to have it.” - -“How much?” - -“The same as last week.” Grinnell said it diffidently, uncomfortably, as -if he felt guilty of taking undue advantage of the president’s kindness. - -“Ten millions?” Mr. Dawson gasped slightly. - -“Ye-es, sir,” doubtfully. He evidently would have denied it if he could. - -The president took a cigar and contemplated it a long time. A boy -entered with a card. The president said sharply: “I can’t see any one.” - He threw the unlit cigar on the desk. - -The office-boy hesitated; then, with a pale face, said, “It’s Mr. -Graves.” - -“I’m not in, hang it!” shouted Mr. Dawson, whose voice, habitually, was -so carefully modulated. “Go away!” - -He arose and walked up and down the room. From time to time he snapped -his fingers with a sharp sound. Grinnell looked on uncomfortably. At -length Mr. Dawson ceased his walk, picked up his cigar, inserted it, -very deliberately, into an amber cigar-holder, and lighted it. He faced -the young man and said with composure: “That makes thirty millions of -gold in two months.” - -“Twenty-nine and a half,” corrected Grinnell, as if in self-defence. - -“In round numbers, thirty millions. You have, also, on deposit in other -banks, some six or seven more.” - -“I--I think,” said Grinnell dubiously, “that it is less than seven. Let -me see,” eagerly, as if anxious to show that he was not so black as Mr. -Dawson would paint him. “It’s--it’s--” - -The president waited. - -“It _is_ about seven,” confessed Grinnell regretfully.. - -“Mr. Grinnell, I don’t know whether you are familiar with finance.” The -president spoke quietly, twirling his cigar-holder, and looking at the -ashes critically. - -“Not very,” hastily apologized the young man. - -“You will pardon me for telling you that through ignorance of the -responsibilities of your position you can inflict serious injury to -the entire business community--injury, Mr. Grinnell, which, reduced to -dollars and cents, might be many times thirty millions.” - -“I think,” said Grinnell, a trifle dubiously, “that I can see ways in -which vast sums of money would do harm if wrongly used.” - -“_Unwisely_ used, Mr. Grinnell. And now, in view of this, I should be -grateful to you from the bottom of my heart, if you could enlighten me -as to how this gold came into your possession.” He looked at the young -man anxiously. - -“Mr. Dawson,” Grinnell answered, with a determined earnestness, “that is -something I must refuse to discuss. I am sorry.” - -“Not so sorry as I. But I’d be even more grateful if I could know how -much more gold if any, you have, not on deposit with any bank.” - -“At this moment?” - -“Yes.” - -“Well, I can’t tell, exactly.” - -“Approximately?” - -“Really, I don’t know, Mr. Dawson. I may as well tell you frankly that -this subject--” - -“Is of great importance to me, sir, as the president of this bank.” - -“By withdrawing the account, then, I--” - -“You would not help the situation which you have created, Mr. Grinnell. -Have you much more gold?” - -The young man looked straight into the president’s eyes. He said: “If it -will relieve your mind, I can assure you that I have not much more.” - -“Everything is relative. What do you consider much?” - -“What do you?” - -“Say, twenty or thirty millions more.” - -“Oh, no! I haven’t thirty millions more.” - -“Have you twenty?” persisted the president. - -“Twenty?” The young man thought a moment. “No, I haven’t.” - -“Ten?” - -“I’ll tell you what I’ll do, Mr. Dawson,” the young man said, as if -jumping at a decision, “I’ll deposit fifteen millions more in this bank -and then I’ll stop. It will give me forty-five millions, and I’ll never -bother you again; unless,” he added, almost pleadingly, “you let me.” - -The president stared electrically. - -“You mean,” he said sharply, “that you can get more?” - -“You asked me how much more I had at present and I told you.” - -“I beg your pardon; you didn’t tell me exactly. I should have asked how -much more in all you expect to have.” - -“Mr. Dawson,” ignoring the president’s last words, “it seems to me that -if I scatter the deposits among other banks in the city, I can’t do much -harm. In fact,” he added, brightly, as if at a new idea, “I could open -accounts with banks in Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston, St. Louis, and -other cities, where they would not be noticeable. And even in Europe. -You could transfer some of the funds I have here to the big cities -there, and then I could deposit an equal amount here, so that my account -with you would never be above forty-five or fifty millions, and--” - -“My God, man! Don’t you know that--” Dawson checked himself abruptly. -He went on very quietly. “Am I to understand that your supply is not -exhausted?” - -“I won’t deposit any more of it here,” said Grinnell conciliatingly. - -“How much more is there in the mine?” - -“There is no mine,” answered Grinnell. The president felt he spoke the -truth. - -“Do you make it, then?” - -Grinnell laughed. “That would be funny, if you thought I made it.” The -condition of the president’s nerves was responsible for the wild thought -that lodged in his mind. - -“You are a chemist, a metallurgist? And you have studied the phenomena -of radium?” - -“Yes.” Grinnell looked surprised, but not exactly guilty, the president -admitted to himself. - -“Have you discovered a method for changing other metals into gold, or -for extracting it out of sea-water?” - -Grinnell laughed again. “I am glad,” he said, “that you are not worried -now.” - -“Oh, but I am!” - -“Mr. Dawson,” said the young man, once more serious, “I am not such a -very rich man as rich men go to-day. You, yourself, if what I read in -the newspapers is true, have more than I.” - -“I wish I did.” - -“So do I. You probably would know how to deposit your money properly. At -any rate, I can name a dozen men who have over fifty millions, and--” - -“I doubt it.” - -“And half a dozen who own over a hundred. The Waldorf family certainly -do. Mr. Angus Campbell, of Pittsburg, is said to have three hundred. -Your friend, Mr. William Mellen, of the International Distributing -Syndicate, is supposed to have five hundred at least. Why should a -fortune of even a billion dollars raise a rumpus these days? It was -inconceivable a few years ago, but it does not seem out of the way now. -I realize perfectly how the sudden increase in the gold supply of this -country could produce an inflation that might, in the end, prove highly -detrimental to general business. As I understand it, certain financial -laws cannot be disturbed with impunity, however praiseworthy the -financial law-breaker’s motives may be. But a billion dollars would not -make such an awful lot, especially if it should be turned into -circulation gradually.” - -“It would mean an increase per capita of forty per cent. It would be -terrific,” said the president earnestly. “Your argument is utterly -unsound unless by ‘gradually’ you mean fifty years.” - -“I certainly don’t mean any such thing. Supposing new and enormously -rich goldfields were discovered, would that upset the financial -equilibrium of the world?” - -“It is conceivable that it could easily do so.” - -“I think that the world would adjust itself to the new conditions very -quickly. Just now, the South African mines are not producing. Suppose -that a new source of supply should yield one to two hundred millions a -year? Or, five hundred, if it were distributed among all the civilized -countries? I’d be the last man to make gold as cheap as pig-iron, I can -assure you. But--” - -The president’s face was livid. Dark rings had appeared, as by a stage -trick, suddenly under his eyes. Wrinkles showed about his nostrils, like -those seen in invalids after prolonged pain. - -“Mr. Dawson, are you ill?” asked Grin-nell anxiously. - -“No, no,” said the president, with a pale smile. “Your views are--er--I -mean no offence, Mr. Grinnell, but they show that a little knowledge is -a dangerous thing.” - -“I have been studying this matter for some weeks, Mr. Dawson,” Grinnell -said, with a complacency that almost made the president shudder. There -was no telling what the young man might not do in his ignorance. - -“Pray proceed,” said Mr. Dawson, with an effort. - -“As I was saying, I have been depositing gradually--” - -“Thirty-seven millions in two months!” - -“I have not yet enough money to be classed among the really rich men -in this country. But I am young,” with a smile that set a-shivering the -gold-enwrapped soul of Mr. Richard Dawson. “I am keenly alive, I think, -to the obligations of really great wealth, and I trust to do as much -good in the world as I can. I mean to be a very rich man, Mr. Dawson. -Of course, I could live comfortably on the income of forty or fifty -millions; but I am going to do more than live comfortably. Man owes -certain duties to his fellow-men which are neglected too often. Why,” - enthusiastically, “the possession of unlimited wealth in worthy hands -would mean the realization of the beautiful dreams of those unselfish -men whom you, doubtless, call Utopians, and Socialists, and visionaries. -They are the men who believe that mankind, at heart, is good. They are -the men who will revolutionize the world!” - -“Revolutions mean disaster,” said Mr. Dawson half angrily. - -“Possibly disaster to a few individuals at first, but, in the end, -happiness to the community,” said the young man, with an inspired air. - -“It is a question whether the price paid would not be disproportionate -to the good obtained.” Mr. Dawson spoke as though he would dissuade -the young man, but not too strongly, for fear his words might intensify -obstinacy. It was, unwittingly, a subtle admission that he thought -the young man did not lack the power to make his dream an actual -catastrophe. - -“Whatever means the greatest good to the greatest number is necessarily -good,” retorted Grinnell, in a tone that permitted no contradiction. “A -revolution, Mr. Dawson, is achieved by three things: By time, which is -too slow; by blood, which is revolting; and by gold, Mr. Dawson, _BY -GOLD!_” - -The young man was looking sternly at Mr. Dawson, who stared back so -fixedly as to be painful. On the president’s brow appeared a microscopic -dew; you would have said his brain was shedding tears of agony. He had -visioned, not the revolution of mankind, but his own ruin! - -“Mr. Grinnell,” he said, with a curious, little indrawn gasp, “I -can only pray you to go slow. Don’t let your enthusiasm lead you to -precipitate an appalling crisis. You can do all the good you wish if -you consider carefully all sides of the question. But, as you value the -welfare of humanity, go slow, Mr. Grinnell. In God’s name, go slow.” - -“Oh, yes!” said Grinnell. “I’m in no hurry. We will discuss these -matters from time to time. In the meanwhile,” he took from his -pocket-book another check--the same as he had taken out and replaced at -the beginning of the interview--“I’ll deposit this additional five and -one-half millions, making thirty-five in all, and--” - -“Tell me, Mr. Grinnell,” interrupted Mr. Dawson, with a calmness -unpleasantly suggestive of desperation, “is your secret known to -others?” - -“Which secret?” - -“The source of your gold?” The intensity of Mr. Dawson’s _gaze_ had in -it something ominous. - -“No one knows.” - -“Ah!” The president drew in his breath sharply. He paused, growing -visibly calm, the while. - -“If anything happened to you?” he said. He meant his voice to show -solicitude. It betrayed merely a strange and not kindly curiosity. - -“My sister would know,” answered the young man. “I’ve provided for that, -of course. She would continue my plans, with which she is in sympathy, -though she does not know the extent of my resources.” - -“H’m!” - -“If I died suddenly, either from natural causes or as the result of -some accident or violence, she would devote her life to carrying out my -plans. She is really a remarkable woman. If she too should die suddenly, -Mr. Dawson,” looking unflinchingly at the bank president, “my secret -and my history would be given to the world. It would make interesting -reading; particularly to financiers, Mr. Dawson. I have written -full instructions. The average man could not be trusted with such an -opportunity to become enormously wealthy, but I have a friend who -is above the temptation of sudden riches, who would be my literary -executor”--with a faint smile, as at the hidden humour of the -phrase--“_He_ is a real socialist. He’d give you trouble, Mr. Dawson. -And if he dies, there are three others who would then know the means by -which I came to be one of your depositors.” - -“And your deposits?” - -“If I died before I carried out my plans, what need to worry about this -gold? If my sister died, she wouldn’t care what became of it either. -I fear, Mr. Dawson,” he finished, very slowly, “that the gold we left -behind us would do neither good nor harm to the world.” The president sat -down. - -“Yours is a remarkable story, Mr. Grin-nell, which I am compelled to -believe. I must see you again.” - -“Next Thursday?” with a smile. - -“Very well. I thank you for your confidence. I beg that you will not -speak of your affairs to any one.” - -“I’m not likely to. I didn’t expect, when I came here, to tell you as -much as I have. Good-morning, Mr. Dawson,” and he walked briskly out of -the office. - -The president gulped, as though swallowing a dry and obdurate morsel. - -“We are undone!” he muttered. - -He rose and stood by his desk, supporting himself as though the -office floor were unstable and staring unseeingly at a painting on the -wall--the portrait of his predecessor. He nodded toward the portrait and -muttered drunkenly: “Absolutely at the mercy of one man!” - -He nodded again. Then he said to the portrait: “I must see Mellen!” - -He blinked his eyes as at a strong light. Of a sudden he pulled himself -together, put on his hat, and hastily left the room. - -He walked quickly up Wall Street to Broadway, turned southward, and -entered the huge home of the International Distributing Syndicate. - -“Eighth floor!” he said to the elevator man. The sound of his own voice, -husky almost to inaudibleness, startled him. - -“Eighth floor,” he repeated, very distinctly. - -Walking straight to a door at the end of the hall, marked “Private,” he -entered. The burly man at the gate of a railing said: “Good-morning, Mr. -Dawson,” and obsequiously opened the gate. But Mr. Dawson made no reply; -whereat the burly man wondered, for Mr. Dawson was a polite man. - -The president passed, unchallenged, through two rooms, in which clerks -worked at desks, and finally confronted the head of the syndicate, who -sat at a flat desk. Before him was a sheet on which he had been making -calculations with a lead-pencil. - -“How do you do, Richard?” said the richest man in the world. He was a -middle-aged man, quiet-spoken, brown-eyed; a face quietly alert rather -than over-shrewd. His head was curiously shapen, broad above the ears -and tapering slightly, though noticeably, at the top. Phrenologists -spoke delightedly of the abnormal development of his bump of -acquisitiveness, because they knew who he was; and of the absence of the -other bumps, for the same irrefutable reason. But the very shape of it -conveyed an impression of an unusual brain within it, though, perhaps, -people who did not know who he was might not have been so susceptible to -the impression. Great leaders seldom look like their imagined portraits. - -“William,” said the president of the Metropolitan National Bank, “we are -confronted by the greatest crisis in the history of the world!” - -Consternation appeared on the face of the richest man in the world, -as though it had been flashed upon it by a stereopticon. It was not -pleasant to see. His photograph, taken at that moment, would have -impressed a stranger as being that of an amateur actor, inartistically -expressing dismay--it was so exaggeratedly frightened. - -“What has happened, Richard?” he asked tremulously, rising from his -chair. - -“William,” answered Mr. Dawson, as though he expected unbelief: “listen -calmly. Ruin stares us in the face--you, and me, and everybody!” - -[Illustration: 0095] - -“What have you done?” cried the richest man in the world. - -“Listen. Calm yourself.” - -“Are you--ill?” - -“Oh, I’m not crazy! If I were, I’d tell you that a man is manufacturing -gold at this very minute. And yet, that is what I think.” - -“What is the matter, Richard?” There was merely impatience now, in Mr. -Mellen’s voice. - -“There is a man who has discovered an inexhaustible supply of gold. He -will not stop until he has a billion dollars. He is a Socialist--” - -“What are you saying?” - -“William, the man already has on deposit at the bank thirty-five -millions, and he’s been only two months at it. He has at least seven -millions on deposit at other banks in this city. We must do something,” - and Mr. Richard Dawson told his friend and associate the entire story of -Mr. George K. Grin-nell. The richest man in the world listened with his -very soul. There was danger of his being no longer the richest man in -the world. - -“And now,” finished Dawson, “we must think, William. What are we to do?” - -“It can’t be true!” frowned Mellen. Then into his eyes came a frightened -look. It passed and he said: “Absurd! It can’t be true.” - -“It _is_ true. The gold comes from his house, his laboratory.” - -“It’s some trick, a plot.” The richest man in the world had imagination, -and was partial to schemes. “We must prevent him from going too far,” - as though that were the first thing to do before satisfying a merely -personal curiosity. - -“How?” The president was growing calm. If he was ruined, so was the rest -of the world. He did not care for the rest of the world, but the thought -braced him. - -“Some legal action--” - -“Out of the question. There is no ground. Besides, the less publicity -the better, William, we are in his power. But nobody knows it, not even -he. Therein lies our safety. In the meanwhile we must--” He paused. - -“What?” - -“It is, obviously, the only step we can take.” There was no one else, in -the room, but Mr. Dawson drew near and whispered into his friend’s ear. -His friend nodded from time to time. - -“That,” said Mellen quietly, with a sort of convictionless acquiescence, -as Dawson concluded, “we must not do until we are certain that he -can swamp the world with gold!” He picked up the sheet full of -lead-pencilled figures and began to tear it into small bits. - -“Confound him!” said the president angrily. - -“Yes, Richard,” agreed Mellen, with at air that had a suggestion of -conscious guilt. He never swore. It was a sin. He was the richest man in -the world. - - - - - -PART TWO: THE GOLD - -On Thursday--the president, a keen psychologist, to reassure the -richest man in the world, had jocularly called it Consternation Day--Mr. -William Mellen and Mr. Richard Dawson entered the bank. They had ridden -from Mr. Mellen’s house in Mr. Mellen’s brougham. They had discussed -Mr. Grinnell at great and painful length many times in that week. In -the carriage, on the way downtown, they had talked of nothing else. -The president was certain that the mystery no longer was a mystery. -The burden of his argument had become that a condition, not a theory, -confronted them. The time for idle speculation had passed. It behooved -them to act. The lingering indecision of Mr. Mellen did not come from -inability to change his lifetime’s plans in the twinkling of an eye, -but from unwillingness to accept at second-hand the inevitableness of -something unspeakably disagreeable. All great business generals are -opportunists. But at times the greatest minds work femininely. - -“The question of whether he makes his gold or not, or how he gets it, -now has merely an academic interest, William. The thing is, that he has -the gold.” Dawson said it in a playfully exaggerated pedagogical air, -yet ready to become deadly earnest in a twinkling. - -“I don’t see it,” said Mellen seriously. “We must find the explanation. -What he can do, we can do.” - -“We have tried.” - -“We must succeed.” - -“Your coachman says to himself: ‘If Mr. Mellen has made five hundred -millions of dollars in thirty years, what he can do, I can do. Do you -see him doing it? I tell you the man has the gold. He isn’t trying to -sell us any secret. All he asks is to be let alone. That is the alarming -thing. - -“It must be a mine. Where else could so much gold come from?” Mellen’s -thoughts were on the source of the gold. - -“My dear William, we can account for every ounce of gold produced in the -world. There is no mine capable of producing such a quantity secretly.” - -“He may have hoarded it; accumulated it for months.” - -“If a mine produced a thousand ounces a month We’d know it; and Grinnell -has deposited in our bank and others, as far as I have been able to -trace, at the rate of a million ounces a month. He is too young to have -hoarded it for years. He has no accomplices. That is certain. He visits -nobody, but stays home. His father did not leave it to him. He has not -unearthed any secret treasure, and, moreover, there never was or -could be a hidden treasure of such magnitude. Why, his gold must weigh -something like seventy-five tons! Nobody could have given it to him, -for nobody had it to give except our bank or the Commercial, and we -certainly didn’t. The Assay Office say Grinnel’s is not quite like any -of the other bullion that goes to the Assay Office. Its only impurity -is a little platinum, and it isn’t always present. We know, within a -negligible quantity, where almost every ounce of gold in the world is, -and who holds it. There is not a bank or a bullion dealer anywhere whose -supply is not known, approximately, to us. It’s my business to know. -There’s no mystery about that. The mystery is Grinnell’s gold supply. -He cannot store vast quantities in his house. Our men have been in every -room in it. Costello, disguised as a driver from the dealers from whom -Grinnell buys his chemical supplies, says there is no place for vaults. -The only alterations made in the house since Grinnell bought it, that he -can see, were to transform the basement into a metallurgical laboratory. -We can say almost certainly that the gold is melted in his electric -furnace. But all that we know positively is this: _NOTHING GOES IN, -AND GOLD COMES OUT!_ Grinnell is making it, I tell you.” The president -turned to his morning mail. Mellen stopped him. - -“But that is impossible. You know it is.” - -“It is a scientific impossibility; but it is also an actual fact. -Maybe it isn’t gold at all. But the Assay Office and chemists who have -analysed samples I secured from the Assay Office say it is. Where can he -get it? Not from a mine outside of New York, for we could easily trace -it, no matter how long ago it came. Not from a mine in Thirty-eighth -Street, or we’d know it. Not from sea-water. I even had the street torn -up in front of Grin-nell’s house under pretence of fixing the gas-main. -He can’t get it from the air. The whole thing is impossible. That’s why -I’m afraid.” - -“If he makes it he must make it out of something,’’ said Mellen -controversially. - -“Wilkins & Gross, the chemical people, say that last year Grinnell -bought large quantities of iridium, osmium, ruthenium, and other metals -of the platinum group. They understood that he had been experimenting -with an electrical furnace. Costello saw a gas-engine and a dynamo in -the laboratory, and a lot of electrical apparatus. That’s his specialty, -it seems. And the Columbia people say he is quite an authority on -radium. I tell you the man makes it; at least, to all intents and -purposes he does. Perhaps it’s radium rays applied to some base metal in -some way which he has discovered accidentally. Wait till you see him,” - and Mr. Dawson began composedly to rip the edges of the envelopes with a -long, sharp paper-cutter. - -The richest man in the world walked up and down the office. Once his -lips moved. Dawson, who happened to look up from his work at that very -moment, asked him: “What did you say, William?” - -“The government would be justified in stopping him.” - -“If the world knew the secret of making gold what would be gained? He -has us in his power. No sense to blind your eyes to it.” - -The face of the richest man in the world flushed. He said, with an -impressive, because calm, determination: “He must be stopped!” He -paused. Looking at his friend steadily, he repeated, very quietly--too -quietly: “At any cost!” - -“If we can stop him by fair words, all right. No use to try anything -else. He has provided against everything!” - -The richest man in the world stared at his friend; his head was bent -forward as if to listen better. At Dawson’s last words he resumed his -pacing. The pattern of the big Oriental rug consisted of ornate squares -surrounded by a profusion of arabesques. Mel-len, his gaze fixed on the -rug, stepped on alternate squares as he walked up and down the room. The -president began to read his mail. From time to time he looked up and saw -the richest man in the world striding up and down the room, carefully -stepping on alternate squares in the rug. - -An office-boy entered. - -“Mr. Grinnell is here, sir,” he announced. - -The richest man in the world halted abruptly and waited, his eyes on the -door. - -“Show him in at once. Ah, good-morning, Mr. Grinnell.” The president -rose and walked toward the young man with outstretched hand. - -“Good-morning, Mr. Dawson,” said Grinnell cheerfully. He became aware of -Mr. Mellen, who was staring at him unblinkingly, and hesitated. - -“Mr. Grinnell, let me introduce my friend, Mr. William Mellen.” - -“How do you do, Mr. Mellen?” said Grinnell. Mr. Mellen shook hands and -Grinnell gazed attentively at the richest man in the world. After a -slight pause, he added deprecatingly, as if to explain his scrutiny; -“I have read so much about you, Mr. Mellen. I hope you will pardon my -rudeness.” - -“I am very glad to meet you, Mr. Grinnell. I have heard a great deal -about you, lately.” Mellen said this almost impatiently. He was a man -whose business soul was dark and tortuous, like his methods. His speech -was habitually non-committal, and he had won more battles and more -millions by patience than by aggression. But now he was eager to plunge -into a cross-examination of the young man before him. Yet, he looked ill -at ease. Perhaps he feared to find that Dawson was not mistaken in his -wild surmises. - -“Yes,” put in the bank president, with an ingratiating smile at the -young man, “I have taken the liberty of speaking to Mr. Mellen about -you.” A slight frown appeared on Grinnell’s face. The president hastened -to add: “He is the only soul on earth to whom I have spoken. You see, -Mr. Grinnell, I was very anxious to bring you two together. Yours is an -extraordinary case; and Mr. Mellen is not only a director of this bank, -but I consider him, as a business man and financier, one of the--” - -“Never mind all that, Dawson,” interrupted Mellen, with a curious -mixture of habitual smoothness and an unwonted sharpness, as if -deprecating flattery, and at the same time resenting the president’s -apologetic attitude. “Mr. Grinnell, I am sure you must realize that you -have created a condition which may become of national importance, since -it contains a dire menace to this country’s business.” He assumed, -toward the end of his speech, or his voice and manner did, that Mr. -Grinnell and he were in accord on that point. - -Grinnell looked distinctly surprised. When he spoke, both his hearers -felt absolutely assured that he wished to gain time, to plan a defence. - -“I certainly do not realize anything of the kind, Mr. Mellen.” - -“Then, sir, it is high time you did,” returned Mellen. His face was -composed, but in the composure there was menace. Mr. - -Dawson made haste to offset the effect which he feared Mr. Mellen’s -words might have on Mr. George K. Grinnell. He said, with flattering -deference; “As I explained to you, Mr. Grinnell, the money-market is a -delicate piece of mechanism. Unusual shocks produce unusual -disturbances; and all disturbances are highly detrimental to business.” - He smiled deprecatingly but forgivingly: the money-market was a -pampered child; no need to be too harsh. - -“Yes, I know that. But what unusual shock have I given to the delicate -mechanism of the money-market?” Grinnell’s effort to conceal his -annoyance was apparent to the two capitalists. - -“You have not yet, sir; but what assurance have I, have all business -men, that you will not?” The richest man in the world asked this with a -frown, as if Mr. Grinnell had not met him half-way and might as well now -throw off his mask and reveal himself frankly, as the criminal disturber -of the world’s business peace, to be dealt with accordingly. - -“Assurance that I will not? Why should I disturb the money-market? -The money-market does not disturb me.” Grinnell said it not at all -jocularly, but very calmly, as if he meant it literally. - -“But you will disturb it if you keep on,” said Mellen, drumming with his -finger-tips on the top of the president’s desk. He perceived this and -ceased with an abruptness that betokened remorse over the absence of -self-control. He was an introspective man. - -“There is nothing unusual going on, is there? No stringency anywhere; -in fact, I gather from the newspapers that money rates are very low,” - Grinnell went on. - -“Your deposits are, in some measure, responsible for it,” said Dawson, -with a placating smile. - -“I am glad of it,” said the young man simply. “It is a good thing that -people should be able to borrow money cheaply, isn’t it?” - -“Not too cheaply.” Mr. Dawson shook his head and smiled, as at a -favourite son who is in error, but is young. - -“Oh, I know what you mean. It isn’t profitable for the banks with money -to lend; it makes the supply greater than the demand, and you get lower -interest rates on your loans; and then it is apt to be a sign that -business is slack, and people have no need to borrow. But just now, -unless all the newspapers lie, business is quite active in all lines -and--” Grinnell’s speech savoured slightly of the pedagogical, like -a school-boy enunciating obvious truths, but using his teacher’s -professional solemnity. - -“That is not the point,” interrupted the richest man in the world. - -“What is the point, then?” asked Grin-nell, with an air of forgiving -Mellen’s impoliteness. - -“Do you propose to flood the world with gold?” Mr. Mellen’s voice rang -out rather unpleasantly. - -“That,” said the young man slowly, “is a very remarkable question, Mr. -Mellen.” - -“Mr. Grinnell”--Mr. Dawson spoke with a half-jocular voice--“I have told -Mr. Mellen of your extraordinary deposits, and he naturally wishes to -know if you are ever going to stop.” - -“Yes, Mr. Dawson, I am going to stop at once. I shall transfer my -account to another bank. Will you be good enough to--” - -“No, no, no! You misunderstand me.” - -“Mr. Dawson, I have told you several times that if the fact that I was -one of your depositors disturbed you, you could rid yourself of your -suffering by telling me to seek some other bank. The reason why I -selected this one was because it was the richest and, I supposed, the -most ably managed in the country. Nothing but the fear of arousing a -curiosity I could not gratify made me deposit my gold gradually. If a -man deposited fifty or a hundred millions at once, and everybody -knew it, he could not live in peace in this country. The sensational -newspapers would hound him to death. You know what my views are, and -that I hope to do some good to my fellow-men in this world. But I see -that I was mistaken in my assumption that I could deposit some of my -funds with you. To prevent further--” - -“Mr. Grinnell, I beg that you will not close your account with us. Your -money is yours to do with as you see fit; but don’t withdraw it because -of a misunderstanding. We are very glad indeed to have your account. But -really, my dear Mr. Grinnell, you must see how natural it is that we -should wish to know, not so much the source of your gold, but the -quantity controlled by you.” - -“And the source too,” said the richest man in the world, in a tone that -showed there should be no argument about a purely family matter. “Where -does it come from?” - -“Mr. Dawson,” said Grinnell, distinctly ignoring Mellen, “Mr. Mellen is -one of your largest depositors, is he not?” - -“Yes; he--” - -“Do you insist upon his telling you where he gets the money that he -deposits here?” - -“Mr. Grinnell----” - -“Is my gold any different from his gold? Is an Assay Office check not -as good as an International Distributing Syndicate check? I don’t mean -ethically, but financially.” - -Mr. Mellen flushed. Mr. Dawson said with the dignity of suppressed -anger: “It is not that; but if gold is to become as cheap as -pig-iron----” - -“Why should it?” interrupted Grinnell idly. “Does Mr. Mellen intend to -give all his money to the poor?” - -“This is----” began Mellen, in a rebuking voice. - -“Mr. Grinnell,” said the president, still with much dignity, “we have -no desire to pry into your private affairs. But great wealth means great -responsibilities, and what is permissible to a pauper is not permissible -to you. You must admit that there is no limit to the harm that can be -done from a too rapid increase in the gold supply of the world.” - -“I realize that. You agreed with me that an increase of one hundred -millions a year, in addition to the normal output of the mines now in -operation, was not excessive. Since I saw you I have carefully -studied the matter”--Grinnell’s voice and manner showed profound -conviction--“and I have come to the conclusion that the world could not -only stand two hundred and fifty millions more than it is now getting, -but be all the better for it. That is only a billion more in four years. -Four years is a long time.” He looked pensive--as if he were thinking -how very long that would be. - -Mr. Mellen started. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but Grinnell -went on quickly: “Tell me, Mr. Dawson, is it not true that the expansion -in business all over during the past few years, while it has been -followed by a great expansion in bank credits, has not been followed by -a proportionate increase in the supply of actual cash? That being the -case, why couldn’t it be possible to add two hundred and fifty millions -a year without disturbing business, by distributing one hundred millions -among banks in Germany, France, and England, and scattering one hundred -and fifty millions among banks in various sections of the United -States?” - -“Do you propose to do this?” Mr. Dawson was looking at the young man -with an intentness which he could not help tinge-ing with anxiety. - -“That isn’t the question,” said Grinnell, a trifle impatiently, as if -unwilling to lose the thread of his argument. “Do you deny that such a -thing could be done?” - -“Yes, I do! It would mean wild inflation; it would lead to a world -panic!” said Mellen, not altogether composedly. - -“Do you think so, Mr. Dawson?” Grin-nell persistently ignored Mr. -Mellen. - -“I think,” replied the president, nervously, “that $250,000,000 in gold -a year more than the world is now getting would be too much. Without -definite knowledge of the source and limit of the new supply, sentiment -would become so alarmed that it would mean a disastrous panic, probably -the worst in the history of humanity, since there would be the keenest -apprehension over the possibility of gold being demonetized. An -inexhaustible supply of gold could lead to nothing else; and then--God -help us all!” The president was so impressed by his own words that his -face grew livid. Mr. Mellen was breathing quickly. - -“Who said anything about an inexhaustible supply of gold?” said Grinnell -angrily. “I, of all people, do not wish gold to be demonetized. What -would my gold be worth if that happened?” - -“Precisely; that’s why we wish you to confide in us,” said Dawson, with -a very friendly smile. - -“But I still believe,” said Grinnell doggedly, “that two hundred and -fifty millions a year would not do harm. I have made up my mind on that -point, and I will not change it. Mr. Dawson, you have asked me several -questions. Now, let me ask you one: Do you, or do you not, wish me to -make any additional deposits in this bank?” - -“Certainly I wish you to if you do.” - -“Very well.” The young man took from his pocket-book a package of slips. -He read one after another--the bank president could see that they were -Assay Office checks--and finally selected one. He said, “Here is a -check for eleven millions two hundred thousand,” and returned the -others--there were at least eight--to his pocket-book. “I shall deposit -this.” - -Mellen walked over to the desk and took the slip from Mr. Dawson’s hand -with a calm authoritativeness, as though the bank president were his -clerk, which, indeed, was what Wall Street thought, though erroneously. -Then he turned to Grinnell. - -“What assurance will you give that you will do nothing to ruin us? If -the world knew your secret it would mean ruin for all, absolute ruin!” - The sound of that word, uttered by himself, seemed to shake Mellen’s -composure. He glared at the young man. - -“Mr. Mellen,” said Grinnell, very quietly, “you are an older man than I. -I shall try not to forget it.’” - -“I must know! At once! Do you hear me?” said Mr. Mellen loudly. It was -not exactly anger which burned in his eyes, but a sort of overgrown -petulance at being baffled. There was an obstacle; it might be -insurmountable. The uncertainty was in itself a check. An invincible -pugilist had been knocked down for the first time in his career as -champion. - -“William!” said Mr. Dawson, approaching his friend; “you are excited.” - Then to the young man, apologetically: “He has been under a severe -strain for some time past.” - -The richest man in the world grew composed as by magic. For the first -time that day he became his normal self. He had crushed all opposition -to his Syndicate twenty years before by the exercise of stupendous -will-power. For a decade he had not been called upon to weigh his words -or his actions. Through disuse the qualities that had made him the -richest man in the world had atrophied. But now he was again the William -Mellen his competitors had feared. - -“Mr. Grinnell,” he said, with a politeness that was not excessive, “I -apologize. I beg that you will forgive the nerves of a man who, as you -say, is much older than you, and has many more troubles.” - -“Have you thought of any investment yet, Mr. Grinnell?” interposed -Mr. Dawson. It was to change the conversation. At the same time the -answer would be interesting, possibly valuable. Mr. Mellen sat down and -listened attentively. - -“No, I have decided to wait until my deposits at the various banks are -larger.” - -“How much do you propose to deposit with us?” - -“Oh,” said Grinnell, with a smile full of an ingratiatory humour, “if -you are still frightened I’ll only deposit a million a week. I suppose I -ought to start a bank of my own.” Mr. Dawson and Mellen exchanged quick -glances, unperceived by the young man, since the young man continued to -smile, almost boyishly. - -“Yes; you must not dream that you can produce two hundred and fifty -millions a year,” said Mr. Mellen, ignoring the last bomb, about the -bank. “That would not do at all.” - -“I think it would. Even at that rate it would take a man some time to -catch up with your fortune, Mr. Mellen.” - -“It isn’t a question of my fortune, Mr. Grinnell,” Mellen said in a -kindly voice, “but of the fortunes of all the world; yours as well.” - -“I have no objections to seeing my fortune many times larger than it is, -I assure you.” - -“Neither have we, provided you take your time about it, said Mr. Dawson -earnestly. - -“I know I am young, but there are many things I wish to do before I die. -Life is uncertain.” - -“Yes, it is. And if you died?” asked Mellen. He leaned forward slightly -as he spoke, his eyes on the young man’s. - -“My sister would do what she could.” - -“And if she dies?” - -“_AFTER US_,” said the young man, “_THE DELUGE!_” - -A deluge of gold; a deluge of ruin, devastation, and misery! financial -anarchy; commercial chaos! thought the richest man in the world. He -leaned back in his chair and breathed a bit quickly. - -“Mr. Grinnell,” said Mr. Dawson, “your fortune already makes you -independent. But I think Mr. Mellen will join with me in saying that -if you care to consider a working alliance with us, commercial or -financial, we should be glad to have your co-operation.” - -Mr. Mellen was again leaning forward, almost as if ready to shake hands -with his dear friend and comrade, Grinnell, to whom he would be as a -father whose love made him over-indulgent. - -“Mr. Dawson, you will realize how little of a business man I am when I -tell you that I desire to stand alone. If it were a question of doubling -a fortune of ten or fifteen millions I suppose I’d be only too glad. But -I must work out my salvation unaided. You will grant that the possession -of such money as I have deposited in this bank may conceivably kill the -desire for more, unless it is to be used in carrying out plans nearer to -the heart than mere physical comforts. There are many things I’d like -to do which, with my present capital, I am not yet able to do. So I’ll -choose those that I can and let the others wait. For example, do you -deny that, if a man had two or three hundred millions of dollars and -started a bank with that capital he could solve many problems of vital -importance to the community?” - -“I see great possibilities for evil--appalling possibilities for harm,” - said Mr. Mel-len, with impressive solemnity. - -“Infinite possibilities for good also, Mr. Mellen,” said the young man, -a trifle sternly. “A bank designed, not so much to pay big dividends to -its stockholders, but to protect the public and to help business men and -the entire community in time of distress. An income of a quarter of a -million a year is sufficient to gratify the most luxurious tastes of any -man. It’s much more than enough for me. The rest might be devoted to the -good of humanity.” - -“Is that one of your plans?” asked Mr. Dawson very quietly. - -“Not at present. I realize that more is required than merely honest -motives. I may have the will to do good as the president of such a bank, -but I lack the ability and experience to conduct it. I am content to see -Mr. Dawson,” with a pleasant smile, “at the head of the richest bank in -America.” - -“Thank you, Mr. Grinnell,” returned Mr. Dawson, with the cordiality of -immense relief. “What are your plans, then?” - -“My first plan is to make more--ah--to make arrangements to deposit more -gold.” - -“You were going to say ‘make more’ something--when you stopped,” said -Mel-len, with a sort of nonchalant curiosity. At least, that is what he -meant it to look like. - -“I was going to say,” answered the young man, very quickly, “make more -deposits.” - -“I thought,” said Mellen with a smile, though his eyes were serious, -“that you were going to say ‘make more gold,’” He was speaking in -the quiet, self-possessed way that had so impressed the Congressional -Committee which had “investigated” his Syndicate’s business and its -violation of the law, because it so resembled the self-possession of -an utterly honest man to whom there had never come a thought of the -possibility of a doubt of the righteousness of his every action. It -made logical the impression that the richest man in the world believed -himself the instrument of Providence. - -The young man laughed. “That would be dreadful. We’d be in a terrible -fix if we had to re-create the science of chemistry. It would mean a -scientific panic, a slump in the molecular theory market.” He laughed -again as if pleased at the application of Wall Street phraseology to -chemical science. - -“Don’t you make it?” persisted Mellen; his voice had an insinuating -quality, as though he were inviting spiritual confidences. He was not a -persuasive man, but he often looked so much as though he had persuaded -himself, that it had the effect of persuasion--on stubborn and misguided -competitors. - -Grinnell looked at the richest man in the world seriously. “It is -perfectly astonishing,” he said, musingly, “how many people still -believe in alchemy. That comes from the tommy-rot they read in the -Sunday newspapers about scientific discoveries.” - -“You haven’t answered my question.” Mellen’s persistence was not -offensive. He might have been a Sunday-school teacher trying to make a -shy boy tell how good he was. - -“Mr. Mellen, the chemical laboratory which you built for the Lakeside -University is the finest in the country. Professor Ogden is one of our -foremost scientists. Ask him if it is possible for any living man to -make gold.” - -“I’d rather ask you if you make it?” The voice was still of the -Sunday-school, and Grinnell the favourite but shy scholar. - -“If you insist upon asking such questions I insist upon refusing to -answer them. If I did make it, would I tell you? You’d tell everybody.” - -“Indeed not!” exclaimed Mellen eagerly. - -He could not help it. He was almost human. - -“Well, Mr. Dawson,” turning to the president, “I’ll deposit these eleven -millions.” - -“You have more gold with you?” asked Mr. Dawson. - -The young man felt in his vest pockets, ostentatiously, one after -another. Then he shook his head and said: “No.” - -Mr. Dawson smiled to hide his anger. “I meant Assay Office checks,” he -explained. - -“I’m going,” confessed Grinnell, “to make some deposits with -the Eastern, Agricultural, and Marshall National banks. But the -Metropolitan,” he added with a pleasant smile, “is my first love. -Good-morning, gentlemen.” He turned to go. - -“Mr. Grinnell, one moment, please. I should like to ask a favour. -I think you are depositing too much. Ten millions a week means five -hundred millions a year.” - -“So it does. But I thought----” He checked himself; and then went on: -“What is the favour you were about to ask?” - -“Could you abstain from depositing any more gold in any bank for, say a -month or two?” - -The young man’s eyes were thoughtful for a moment. - -“Well, I have some gold I must deposit, as I have no facilities at -present for storage, save in bank vaults. You see, I had not figured -upon--well, one does not always think carefully enough in advance of -what he is going to do, and he finds himself confronted by conditions -he had not reckoned on. How was I to tell I couldn’t deposit even fifty -millions without disturbing you? I fear I must deposit a little more. In -fact, I can’t stop, even if I wish to. But I’ll think over what you have -said.” - -“Have you much more on hand?” - -“Quite a chunk of it!” - -“How much?” asked Dawson. The richest man was leaning forward again, -his eyes fixed on the young man because the young man was not looking at -him. - -“I don’t know. I haven’t weighed it,” answered Grinnell. - -“You are commencing to disturb the money-market. People have begun to -wonder where the gold is coming from. The newspapers will take it up. -You will find the financial reviews already speaking about it. It is -lucky a lot of Klondike gold has been coming to New York lately. But -unless you let up, there will be glaring headlines, and then--” - -“The newspapers must not take it up,” said Mellen, almost tenderly. -“That must be seen to, Richard. It must be stopped at any cost.” The -president nodded. - -The young man was thinking. He turned a perplexed face to Dawson. - -“How long must I stop depositing my gold?” - -“It isn’t so much a question of stopping as of reducing the amounts -deposited.” - -“I can’t reduce them. I must deposit several millions a week or stop -altogether. My arrangements are peculiar because--” he paused; then -went on quickly, with a smile as if pleased at being able to cease to -flounder--“because I don’t like half-way measures. But I think I can -stop for a month.” He thought for a moment. Somehow Mr. Mellen felt as -if the young man were speaking of a factory. “Yes,” finished Grinnell, -“I can stop for a month, Mr. Dawson, out of regard for what you say.” - -“Thank you. I appreciate it more than I can say.” - -“Then say nothing. I’ll make another deposit in a day of two, and then -I’ll give you a nice long rest. How does that please you, Mr. Dawson?” - -“Very much. Only be sure to do the same by all the other banks.” Dawson -tried to show gratitude, but the anxiety was uppermost. - -“I will.” - -Mr. Grinnell extended his hand. The president grasped it; his own -was very cold--and very dry. Mr. Mellen was gazing intently at the -arabesques in the rug at his feet. He did not answer when Grinnell said -“Good-morning.” - -As the door closed, Dawson rose and approached Mellen. - -“William?” he said. - -Mellen did not look up. Dawson laid his hand on his friend’s shoulder -and repeated: “William!” - -Mellen turned an expressionless face to the president. - -“He makes it!” said Dawson. - -“He makes it!” repeated the richest man in the world, hypnotically. - -“Do you feel certain of it?” Dawson’s voice betrayed his eagerness to -find comfort in Mellen’s assent. - -Mellen’s mind awoke. “What’s that? Certain of what?” But he still looked -blankly puzzled. It made the president uncomfortable. He repeated: - -“That he is making gold.” - -“It can’t be,” said the richest man in the world. “It can’t be. Of -course not. And yet--” He paused. He clenched his hands; his lips were -pressed tightly together. Into his eyes there came a straining -look. Gradually the tense lines about his mouth relaxed. He murmured -doubtfully: “But he might as well make it. Perhaps he does. He has the -gold. He will have more.” - -“I am sure of that,” agreed Dawson, not over-cordially, but still as if -that were his firm conviction. - -“We must find out more about him. Are we going to take his word for all -he says? Even if he made it he must make it out of something. Where does -the gold come from? How does it come?” - -“It comes from his furnace. Costello all but saw it. He--” - -“Why didn’t he see it?” interjected Mel-len, glaring at Dawson. “Why -don’t you put a hundred men at work? Is that all you can learn about -this man?” - -Dawson had never before seen his financial backer display vehemence, -ever so slightly, for the power of fabulous wealth had given an almost -pious severity to Mellen. The years of golden invulnerability seemed -to have rolled away from the richest man in the world, and left him an -impatient youth, crossed in some cherished plan, exasperated, after long -and soothing immunity from attack, at being forced into defenciveness. -The president said to him, not servilely at all, but nevertheless with -more than a suggestion of self-defence: - -“We have done all that men could do. Grinnell had been at this work only -eight or ten weeks, and he already has fifty millions in cash. It it -were not for that you might call him a charlatan, a trickster of some -sort. You believed what he said when he spoke of his plans; you did not -think he was lying. You know men as well as I do. What impression did -he produce on you? The gold comes out of his house. His servants won’t -talk. I told Costello to offer them any price for information. But he -was convinced it could not be done without Grinnell’s learning of it, -and we don’t want him to know; or, how do we know what complications -might follow? Costello doesn’t think they know anything, anyhow. The -house is guarded day and night. Costello himself went into the cellar -with a load of coal. There is no doubt that Grinnell takes no gold into -the house, and that the gold comes out of the electrical furnace. He has -fifty millions now, and he won’t rest until he has a billion. That is -his minimum. And, in the meantime, if somebody learns his secret--” - -“We must find out,” shouted the richest man in the world, shaking his -fist wildly in the air. “A billion in gold. What will become--” He -checked himself as he caught Dawson’s half-frightened look. He drew in -a deep breath, and began to walk to and fro. At length he stopped by -Dawson and said, more composedly: “Richard, I think as you do, yet it -doesn’t seem right; but I can’t tell what is wrong. If he produces gold -at will, and we knew how he did it, we’d still have to sell our bonds. -It is better to prepare for the worst now. Begin at once. Sell those -that are in my box, here. You have the list. Tell Thompson to bring you -the list of those in the safety vault at the office.” - -“Yes,” said Dawson, with less relief in his voice than might have been -expected. “We’ll have to be very careful. The market won t-- - -“This is no time to think of eighths and quarters,” said Mellen with -decision. “If we are right, of what use are our bonds? If we are making -a mistake--” He hesitated. Doubt again showed in his face. Dawson -hastened to speak: - -“If we could be perfectly sure he’s not going to--” - -Mellen’s doubts and convictions came and went like irregular -pulse-beats--he had been disturbed to his very depths, and his mind did -not work with its normal precision. He became calm again, and he spoke -with quiet decision: “This young man means well. That is what makes -him dangerous. He will flood the world with gold, and think he is doing -good. Yes. Sell the bonds.” - -“Very well,” Dawson sighed. It came easier to him to believe the worst; -he had seen more of Grinnell. But he knew the bonds would have to be -sold at grievous sacrifices. - -“It’s the only thing we can do,” the richest man said, almost -consolingly; he knew Dawson’s thoughts. “But,” he added, “you must keep -on trying to find out where he gets the gold. Send Costello to me. And -you must buy stocks.” - -Bonds are payable, principal and interest, in gold coin of the present -standard of weight and fineness. If Grinnel’s operations made gold as -cheap as pig-iron, each $1,000-bond would be worth fifty ounces of -iron, and no more. If some other metal took the place of gold, the -corporations would take pains to be paid in the new coin, whatever that -might be, and they would pay dividends on their stocks in the same. -But the interest on bonds they must pay in gold. Bondholders would be -ruined, and stockholders would profit by the others’ losses. All -this Dawson and Mel-len had realized on their first interview; it was -perfectly obvious. The president of the Metropolitan National Bank -merely had wished the richest man in the world to be as certain of the -existence of the Grinnell gold-factory as he himself had become, before -selling bonds and buying stocks. - -“Which stocks?” asked Dawson. - -The richest man in the world did not answer. He was looking at Dawson, -meditatively. At length, he said, musingly: “If he dies? And if his -sister dies? ‘_After us, the deluge._’ he said. The danger lies in that -man’s secret becoming known. Yes. We have no time to lose.” - -In winning his fabulous fortune, the richest man in the world had -gambled stupendously. His stakes had been hundreds of fortunes, -thousands of lives. But after the first hundred millions he always had -gambled calmly--he had grown to think he was doing his duty, and that -Providence, whose confidential servant he was, had dealt cards marked -for his benefit. What had unnerved him was the sudden realization that -his financial life hung by a thread. The armour in which thirty years of -success had encased him had been broken. It had fallen from him. He had -acted as he might have acted at the time when he was not the richest man -in the world. - -He went to the president’s desk and wrote out a long list--all stocks of -steam and street railroads, gas companies, and industrial concerns. His -writing was very even, and the letters were small, but the figures were -very plain. - -“It’s only a question of time,” he told Dawson, as he finished, “when -Grinnell’s gold process will be known to the world.” He rose, and -seeing the president’s serious look, he said, with an air of conscious -jocularity (for he did not jest often, and when he did he had -to announce it beforehand, with his face, that there might be no -misunderstanding): “Cheer up, Richard. The worst is still to come!” - - - - - -PART III: THE PARADOXICAL PANIC - -Wall STREET was suffering from its worst disease--dullness. The -public--the only genuine octopus--did not find the menu printed on the -ticker-tape at all appetizing. It was hard at work in its office, miles -away from the Stock Exchange, out of hearing of the ticker, scanning the -financial pages of the newspapers only on the street-cars to pass away -an irksome half-hour. Months before, the fumes of the wine of gambling -had gone to its head; and then the public had been made sober suddenly -by the “shrinkage in quoted values,” otherwise the shearing. Since then -the public had grown a new fleece, though it was not yet itself aware of -it. - -It was a delicate task, before the president of the Metropolitan -National Bank. He was a resourceful stock-market manipulator, though -he would have resented being called a thief not half so hotly as being -called a speculator, because that sounded worse in a bank president. He -desired the public to buy bonds; not necessarily at high prices, but at -any prices. It was purely philanthropy on the face of it. That is why -the task was delicate. You can disarm suspicion if you are bad, in -Wall Street. But, if you are good, the hopelessness of it is appalling. -Moreover, there was no time for finesse or subtle strategy or ingenious -experiments with the elemental psychology of stock gamblers. The -occasion called for broadly-painted effects. - -The first thing he did was to offer bonds to savings-banks and trustees -of estates all over New England and New York, at concessions too slight -to arouse suspicion, but substantial enough to tempt purchasers. This -through the best bond “drummers” in the land. Then he sought the Stock -Exchange. - -The bond-market, which had slumbered profoundly for months, suddenly -awoke. Gilt-edged issues were pressed for sale, not violently at all, -but insistently. They came from many sources, the Street thought, not -knowing the full contents of the huge strong box of the richest man in -the world. The fortunes of the ordinary multi-millionaires grow faster -in the newspapers and in club-comers than in reality. This fortune was -even greater than the gossip of it. Mellen spent time in making people -look at his wealth through a reversed telescope, that it might be -diminished in the public’s estimate. That is all he had ever done to -diminish it, being a practical man. - -The bond “specialists” felt faintly alarmed; then they became exultantly -busy. It might be unwise to buy stocks the future market-career of which -was problematical; but everybody knew what Pennsylvania Central first -mortgage fives were. Not to buy them under 125 was to sin regrettably. -The bonds sold at 122. To abstain from purchasing them at 120 was -lunacy. And at 115 passivity became a crime against one’s family. Many -bought, but not enough; and because the supply was greater than the -demand the price shrank further. - -The Street held its breath and waited for stocks to follow. But, -simultaneously with the sales of the best bonds of the best railways in -the United States, came purchases of the stocks of the same railways, -and though prices of bonds declined, stocks did not. The Street felt -that to “trade” in such a market was like playing _rouge-et-noir_ in -an utterly dark room. What was the sense of betting on the black if the -bettor could not tell, because of the darkness, whether his chips were -on it or on the red? - -The newspapers, being puzzled, printed dozens of columns and hundreds of -explanations, all of them highly ingenious and uniformly incorrect. -In his Monday morning article, Philip King, of _The Sun_, compared the -bond-market to the old story of the great psychologist who, dressed as a -pedlar, offered on a Broadway sidewalk to sell five-dollar gold-pieces, -warranted genuine, to the passers-by at $3.98. Never a fool so foolish, -in the passing thousands, as to shake hands with fortune on the -psychologist’s coin-laden tray. Now they would not buy bonds. - -Of the millions of dollars of bonds that were sold, some were -registered in the name of William Mellen or Richard Dawson, or of known -stool-pigeons--clerks in their offices, etc. This became known in the -end, though Dawson delayed the inevitable as long as possible. Then, -of course, the mystery was solved: The “Fort Dawson” crowd was selling -bonds and buying stocks! The country was prosperous. There was no cloud -in the financial sky. Obviously, the greatest capitalists in the United -States were engineering a gigantic stock boom! - -The _Evening Scold_, the greatest journalistic exponent of the Undoubted -Wisdom of the Sneer, promptly filled itself with wrath and editorialized -its feelings, as follows: - -_The abnormal increase in the cash resources of the New York banks -during the past few weeks, was too good an opportunity for certain bank -presidents and their pals to neglect. The banks are not in Wall Street -to safeguard the interests and the cash of their depositors, but -obviously to help the directors and their schemes. In this instance, -the overgrown arrogance of the latest stock-market millionaires has -degenerated into imbecility, induced by protracted success in their -despoilment of the public. Fortunately, it should prove the undoing of -the financial Condottieri, for the stupid public surely cannot be stupid -enough to permit itself to be hypnotized into paying absurd prices for -brazenly manipulated insecurities like Transcontinental Air Line or -Great Southern Preferred, or into sacrificing gilt-edged bonds. Let the -would-be buyer of stocks, and the would-be seller of bonds, beware!_ - -But, after all, it was only the very wise--Messrs. Dawson and -Mellen--who bought stocks. Only a few foolish lambs sold stocks at the -high prices and bought bonds at the low! Also some of the alert-eyed -men over whose office doors were foreign names ending in “stein,” and -“baum,” and “berg,” and “mann.” The fools in their folly, and the shrewd -in their shrewdness, were helping the richest man in the world, and the -ablest bank president in the United States, during those stirring days -in Wall Street--shivering days when a great crash in the stock-market -was expected momentarily by so many that it did not come. - -The expected never happens in Wall Street. It can’t afford to. - -“How do we stand, Richard?” asked Mr. Mellen, as he walked into the -president’s office. - -“Almost there,” answered Dawson. “I have sold most of your -semi-speculative issues, and we are working off the last better than I -expected. You got the memorandum of stocks bought to-day?” - -Mellen nodded. Then he walked to the busy ticker in the corner, and -regarded the tape. - -“The newspapers have warned the public against buying inflated stocks, -or selling bonds at unreasonably low prices. A free press, Richard, is -the best safeguard of the liberties of a nation. We should be grateful -for this boon.” There was a trace of nervousness about his manner; but -it was a nervousness as of relief rather than uneasiness. - -Mr. Dawson laughed admiringly, and approached his friend. - -“Yes. I’ve sold them impartially all over New England, here, and in -London and Berlin. But the Governments--” - -“Never mind those. The Government will make good, somehow. We’ll keep -them to give us the right to agitate the matter later on. I am going to -tell my brother George. I told him to come here to-day at--How do you -do, George; I was just talking about you.” - -George B. Mellen, who had entered, was a strongly-built man, -white-haired and clean-shaven. His eyes were of a dean, turquoise blue, -that contrasted pleasantly with the white of his eyebrows. He was the -vice-president of the International Distributing Syndicate, and at least -the sixth richest man in the world. He nodded to his brother, and shook -hands with Dawson, who managed to convey the impression that he had -risen in order to greet affectionately the new-comer. That having been -done, the president returned to his desk. - -“George,” said Mellen looking up from the ticker, “I’ve sold every bond -I owned; or will have sold the last this afternoon.” He resumed his -scrutiny of the tape, very calmly. - -“Wh-a-at?” said his brother. - -“No obligations payable in gold will be worth anything in a short time. -There’s a man who has discovered the secret of making gold. And he’s -making it.” He said it in an utterly unexcited voice. - -“What are you talking about?” said George with an indecisive smile. His -brother was bent over the glass dome of the ticker, and George, still -smiling indecisively, looked at Dawson. - -An office-boy entered with a note which he gave to the president. -Dawson, as he saw the lad coming, instinctively picked up a dagger-like -paper-cutter from his desk. But when he glanced at the handwriting, -tore open the envelope with his fingers hurriedly, and read the slip it -contained. He rose and gave the paper to William Mellen, saying: “That -is the last of the bonds. They slaughtered prices, didn’t they? But,” - with a jovially apologetic smile, “it was the best that could be done.” - -Mellen read the memorandum of the bond sales and the prices received. - -“Why, Richard,” he said it with a sort of polite regret that ended with -a gentle sigh, “I should say they did slaughter them. It’s a loss of -about two millions on this lot, from last week’s prices.” He shook his -head several times as in sorrow over a fellow-Christian gone wrong: The -stock-market had sinned. Then he studied the busy ticker once more. - -“William, will you kindly explain this farce?” There was no sigh to -George Mel-len’s voice as he asked this. His frown was deep. - -“George, I’m not a fool, am I?” asked the richest man in the world, -very earnestly. He must be patient. It was his duty; and duty should be -everything to a man who, his friends thought, believed that the eyes of -Providence were fixed unblinkingly on the centre of his soul. - -“Just now, I should say--” - -“Well, just now, I certainly am not one. I’ve sold out all my bonds and -bought stocks. Yes, George. That,” gently, “is what I have done.” - -“And I’ve done nothing all week but buy bonds and sell stocks!” George’s -eyes took on a curious expression--the blue in them seemed to grow -strangely darker as he half-closed his eyelids. Often the brothers -disagreed. William was the abler. But George was the older; and he -could not forget the days when he lorded it over his slender brother by -physical might. - -“You probably bought my bonds, and I bought your stocks,” said William, -nodding as if solving a puzzle the solution of which called for no -exultation. “I am sorry, George. But you must at once sell the bonds and -buy stocks.” - -“Explain, hang you; explain!” shouted George Mellen angrily. - -“George, keep cool. Richard, will you kindly tell brother George all -about Grin-nell?” He looked at the ticker with an exaggerated air of -attention, to save further explanations. - -George looked from his brother to the bank president, and back to his -brother. - -“William,” he said at length, quietly. William did not look up from the -ticker. It made George Mellen angry and he said imperiously: “William, -listen to me! There may be a good reason why you have sold out all your -bonds. But there is none why you should not have told me before. Why -didn’t you?” - -“I never thought about it,” answered William simply. There was a -mild astonishment on his face, as if at his own forgetfulness of his -brother’s interest. - -“You didn’t, either, Dawson, did you?” said George coldly. - -“My dear George, I certainly thought William was selling for both of -you. He always does, you know,” said Dawson. - -“Oh, have it that way, George; have it that way if it will please -you.” Then to Dawson: “Sell George’s bonds, lump results and strike an -average,” said William Mellen resignedly. Then, with sudden irritation: -“It’s a case of life and death, not of a few dollars.” He began to walk -up and down the office, lost in thought. Mechanically he took a small -pad from the elaborately carved mahogany table in the centre of the -room, walked to an arm-chair by the farthest window, sat down and -presently began to jot down figures with a lead-pencil, while Dawson -told to George B. Mellen the story of Grinnell. - -“But the thing is impossible,” said George angrily. - -“Absolutely!” assented the bank president, almost amiably. “You are -right, George.” He looked at George with a subtle felicitation in his -eyes--at George’s intellect. “But,” he went on gently, “everything you -think we’ve already thought. We didn’t go off at half-cock, George. It -took facts to convince us. We know that the man can and probably will -flood the world with gold. I have no doubt of it. Neither has William. -Now, give me the list of your bonds and--” - -“And I thought I was getting bargains,” said George Mellen bitterly. -“I might have known William’s hand was in it. I thought people had gone -crazy, and were being prepared for a grand boom, manufactured on -the premises! I tell you,” he exploded suddenly, “there’s a trick -somewhere!” - -William Mellen looked up suddenly, and stared uncomprehendingly at his -brother, his mind still on his figures and calculations. - -“No,” went on George, “I don’t mean you. I mean in this Grinnell -affair.” - -“He has on deposit in this bank some forty millions, and about eight or -ten more with other banks.” - -“That’s the mystery,” said George musingly. His eyes, as he thought, -took on a straining look, as you see near-sighted people look when -they try, without their glasses, to read printed characters twenty feet -distant, in an optician’s shop. - -“I’d make haste, George,” interrupted William Mellen. “When you have -sold out all your bonds I will tell you a plan. The world will be told -of the Grinnell affair, and--” - -“You mean?” said Dawson, with a quick start. - -“After we have nothing to lose we have everything to gain.” - -“But it will--” began Dawson excitedly. - -“Don’t guess, Richard,” gently. “You don’t know the details of my plan.” - -George knew his brother. He said grimly: “The public doesn’t love the -International Distributing Syndicate; nor us.” - -“They’ll love Grinnell less. We are his victims, too; don’t you see? -That will comfort the public. Bloated bondholder will be a synonym for -pauper. They’ll pity us.” He said this with gentle dolefulness. - -“William, but our friends? They’ll be ruined,” said George Mellen -doubtfully. He knew his brother. - -“You can tell yours to sell out--after _you_ have sold out, not before; -and give no reasons to them, or--” His eyes, for the fraction of a -second, were menacing; he did not finish the threat orally. George -frowned; but he also checked the words that he would have uttered. - -“You’ll have my list in fifteen minutes,” George told Dawson. “Willie -will bring it over. Good-bye,” and without another look at either of the -two men he left the room. - -“George is--ah--” began Dawson, with a conciliatory smile. - -“He always was,” interrupted William Mellen, not unpleasantly; “from his -boyhood up.” - -“The public will have more bargains in bonds,” said Dawson. - -“Yes.” The richest man in the world smiled and went on musingly: “The -public is very wise. It is selling out its stocks because they are too -high, and buying bonds because they pay in gold. Now, my plan--” - -Williams entered. The president frowned, and stabbed the assistant -cashier through the heart with a stiletto made of a vocal icicle: “I am -engaged, sir.” - -“It’s--it’s Mr. Grinnell, sir. He insisted upon seeing you. And, I -think, sir, you told me that if he--” - -“Why didn’t you show him in at once?” The vocal stiletto was of -steel, and white hot. The timorous assistant cashier left as though a -stupendous draught of air had sucked him out of the room through the -door. The president arose and greeted Grinnell. - -“Walk in, Mr. Grinnell,” he said, and held out his hand. - -“Good-morning, Mr. Dawson. How do you do, Mr. Mellen?” said Grinnell -cheerfully. Mr. Mellen waved his hand in amicable salutation. It was the -first time that ever Mr. Dawson had seen Mellen indulge in such jovial -friendliness. - -“Quite exciting times lately in Wall Street?” said Grinnell -interrogatively, but obviously to make talk. “The people are going -stock-mad. I suppose there will be a smash.” - -“It is more than likely,” assented Mellen gravely. Had not Mr. Dawson -been a bank president, with a professional lack of the sense of humour, -he would have winked surreptitiously at his friend. - -“Well, if it is only the stock gamblers who suffer, I won’t worry. But, -possibly, small investors may become frightened by the decline in bonds -and sell out. They would be foolish, of course. But I have sympathy -for foolish people; a fellow-feeling, I suppose.” He smiled. Then, -seriously: “Why, do you suppose, there’s been such a slump in bonds?” - -“More sellers than buyers,” said Dawson, with a tentative grin. - -“Ah!” The young man smiled at the timeworn Wall Street phrase; he had -not heard it before. “But I think bonds are pretty cheap,” he persisted. - -“They certainly look so,” assented Dawson. - -“They certainly do,” echoed Mellen gravely. - -“That means you are buying them,” said the young man with a sort of -naive astuteness. Whereupon Dawson and Mellen congratulated themselves -with glances. Grinnell went on: “I feel like doing the same thing. -However, what I came to see you about is this: I promised not to deposit -any more gold for a month in any bank in New York, didn’t I?” - -“In the United States,” said Mellen quickly. - -“I don’t think I promised that, but I’ll let it go at that. My promise -certainly did not extend to banks in Europe.” - -“As to Europe,” said Dawson with a shake of his head, “I took it for -granted that--” - -“Never mind Europe,” interrupted Mellen with a benevolent air. “Are you -going to ship any gold across the ocean, Mr. Grin-nell?” - -“I’ve suspended my gold operations entirely, as I promised. That is, I -won’t ship any new gold. But you wouldn’t object to my drawing out some -of the gold I have here and in other New York banks, I suppose?” - -“Why--” began Dawson dubiously. - -He could not tell what this new move meant. - -“Certainly not,” said William Mellen decisively. He sided with Grinnell, -of whom, Grinnell must see, he thought highly. - -“Of course not,” echoed Dawson cordially, with an air of primal -authority. To show it was his own decision, he added: “We should be -delighted.” - -“I may draw on you soon,” said Grinnell. - -“We can sell you drafts on any part of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, -South America, and the Philippines,” Dawson told him, smiling. - -“I’ll think it over,” Grinnell said seriously. “It won’t prevent me from -depositing more gold when my time is up?” - -“Not at all,” said Dawson jovially. - -“How much will you deposit?” asked Mellen casually. - -“Not much;” the young man smiled. - -“No,” said Dawson, with playful sarcasm “not much; about a million a -minute.” - -“You’d object to a million a day,” Grin-nell shook his head dolefully. - -“He would not object to that,” interjected the richest man in the -world, “if he knew how many days you would keep it up.” There was -no playfulness in his voice, though he tried to speak in an easy, -conversational tone. - -“Well,” began Grinnell doubtfully. He went on quickly: “Oh, yes, he’d -object before the end of the first week. I know him.” He nodded toward -the bank president with a boyishly mischievous air. Dawson tried to -smile back; he said: - -“I’m getting to know _you_, too. I am going to be more generous in the -future.” - -“Good!” said Grinnell; he would take the president at his word when his -month was up. “Now, if I should want drafts on London and Paris in a day -or two--” - -“Mr. Williams will be at your service, at any time,” the president -assured him, as though Mr. Grinnell were an ordinary depositor -transacting ordinary business. “No notice is required in _this_ bank,” - with a curious suggestion of bravado. He pushed one of a row of electric -buttons on his desk. The assistant cashier, his fat face distorted -dismally into an anticipatory excuse, appeared. - -“Mr. Williams, Mr. Grinnell may call on us for drafts on Europe. You -will place yourself at his disposal, and give him your very best efforts -at all times.” - -“Certainly, sir,” said the assistant cashier, with a hasty deference. -“Very glad to do what I can, Mr. Grinnell,” he said, in a grateful -voice, to the young man. - -“That is all,” said the president. The assistant cashier apologized -facially, and left the room. - -Grinnell rose to go. “Good-morning, Mr. Dawson. I’ll be around when my -month is up. - -“You are not doing time, Mr. Grinnell,” smiled the president. - -“I feel like it. I don’t like idleness. Good-morning.” - -He didn’t like idleness! He would resume the manufacture of gold! Given -rope, the young man would hang himself and the bond-holding public. But -Dawson now had no bonds. When the discovery came, the community would be -convulsed. The bank was fortifying itself with legal tender notes. Gold -would have but little value when the crash came. There were various -points to study. In the entire affair there was but one danger. The -president voiced it. - -“William,” he said, “after the cat’s out of the bag, what’s to hinder -Grinnell, out of pure philanthropy, from stopping his production of gold -in order to avert a disastrous world panic?” - -“I’ve thought of that,” answered the richest man in the world, with -a calmness that came from previous meditation and settled conviction. -“He’s quite likely to cease his operations in new gold, as he calls -them. But not before there has been a crash, Richard. And we will then -be his principal advisers. I feel he will keep on until the mischief -is done. We are prepared now. And yet, somehow--” His face clouded with -doubt. - -George Mellen entered hurriedly. “Here, Richard, here are my bonds.” The -president looked at the long list. “Those I’ve marked with a cross -I’ve already ordered sold. Meighan & Cross, and W. A. Shaw & Co. are -practically giving them away at this moment,” finished George Mellen, -with a touch of bitterness. - -William Mellen approached the ticker, and passed the tape through his -fingers with a deftness that betrayed practice. - -“I think you are right,” he said softly. “Green River general 4s, 87!” - -“I should think the insurance companies--” began George Mellen. - -“Richard has already sold them all they can take,” returned his brother -kindly, as though he were anxious to please brother George. - -“Also the savings-banks, and about three hundred estates,” added the -president, with a slight touch of pride. - -“I’m going to tell Freer, Morrison, Stuyvesant, and one or two others,” - announced George Mellen with a trace of defiance. He anticipated -opposition, but the richest man in the world said: - -“I should tell them this much only: That for certain reasons you cannot -divulge, you are selling out your bonds, and that I’ve already sold -mine.” - -“The last is unnecessary. They’d guess it without my telling them,” and -George Mel-len left the room abruptly. Mr. Dawson began to write selling -orders, copying the names of the bonds from the list before him. Then -he summoned his trusty brokers and bond specialists, and gave them the -orders, exhorting them to use caution; also much haste. - -Under the new selling pressure the market acted crazily. The -inexplicable declines in bond prices of that memorable week had brought -into Wall Street deluded “bargain hunters,” who bought the securities -at “ridiculously low figures,” but, values went still lower, until the -bonds were so very cheap that they were dear--too dear for people to buy -who did not know why they should be so cheap. Therefore, the speculators -in bonds, who had bought, now sold at a loss, thereby adding to the -general uncertainty. But as some sold, others bought, and quotations of -gilt-edged issues, usually so staid and slow of movement, fluctuated -as violently as, in other times, the manipulated and highly speculative -stocks had been wont to do. On the whole, the public bought more bonds -than it sold, and sold more stocks than it bought. Yet, bonds fell, -and fell, and stocks rose and rose. And there still remained the pet -investments of George B. Mellen’s intimate friends; men who, accustomed -to risking much on the turn of the wheel of the ticker, yet kept a -portion of their fortune safe beyond peradventure by buying bonds which -were unassailable by demagogues and socialistic legislatures, unaffected -by hard times or strikes, or crop failures; absolutely safe just so long -as the United States remained a nation of Americans--or, until such time -as aërial navigation supplanted steam railroads. Also, so long as the -gold basis endured, _and no longer!_ - -Grinnell had stopped outside and spoken to the assistant cashier. - -“I think I should like to have a sight draft on London for two million -pounds sterling, Mr. Williams.” - -The assistant cashier opened his mouth. Remembering what the president -had said--and the tone of his voice--he closed it apologetically and, to -excuse himself said, very quickly: “Certainly, Mr. Grinnell, certainly.” - He busied himself with the expostulating head of the bank’s foreign -exchange department. It was an extraordinary transaction, but the -Metropolitan was an extraordinary bank, and Mr. Dawson was an -extraordinary man when vexed. - -He came back and asked: “Payable to whom, Mr. Grinnell?” - -“To my order, please.” - -“Yes, sir; yes, sir.” - -The bill of exchange for £2,000,000 was made out on Waring Bros., of -London, in favour of George K. Grinnell. Mr. Williams handed it to -Grinnell with an obsequious little flourish and said, “Thank you, Mr. -Grinnell.” - -“Thank _you_,” said Grinnell smiling. “Good-morning.” - -Mr. Williams bowed him out. - -Grinnell walked briskly up Wall Street to the Wolff Building, and -entered the office of Wolff, Herzog & Co. - -“I should like to see Mr. Isaac Herzog,” he told a spectacled, -middle-aged man who sat by a little table near the gate of a railing -on the other side of which was a half-door of ground glass marked -“Private.” - -The gate-keeper, incredibly myopic, peered at him through such thick -lenses that his eyes looked unpleasantly unnatural. - -“Vhat ees yoor peezness, pleaze?” - -“Tell Mr. Herzog that I come on a very important matter.” - -“Ach!” The middle-aged man shrugged his shoulders with a sort of -regretful despair, and then shook his head. Everybody that came there -always came on very important matters--including book agents and pedlars -disguised as gentlemen. - -“I’ve come direct from Mr. Richard Dawson, president of the Metropolitan -National Bank, to see Mr. Herzog. Tell him that--” - -“Pleaze sit down,” he opened the gate and pointed to a chair. Grinnell -obeyed and the man left. Presently he returned. - -“Mr. Herzog vill see you, sir,” and Grinnell was ushered into the office -of the head of the firm, for Mr. Wolff had been dead many years, and -his son-in-law and partner reigned in his stead--a far greater king of -finance. - -He was a little man, white-haired and patriarchially whiskered. His -features were of a pronounced Jewish type. His eyes were alert but -kindly--kindly rather than merely good-natured. The accumulated wisdom -of five thousand years was in this Hebrew banker’s business soul; and -with it that respect for the higher Law that has made Israel endure as -a nation through the marching centuries while other races have risen, -flourished, and disappeared, blended into the composite types of to-day. - -“Good-afternoon, sir. Mr. Dawson sent you?” asked Mr. Herzog, with a -strong German accent. He knew English thoroughly, like a scholar--a -German scholar. - -“He didn’t send me. I--” - -“You have been admitted under that impression,” Mr. Herzog said this -sternly--a rebuke for a falsehood rather than irritation over what -seemed likely to be the wasting of a very busy banker’s valuable time. -The young man before him did not look shabby enough to be a professional -mendicant, but there was something deferential about his manner that -might mean a more expensive appeal. Amateurs have exaggerated ideas. - -“Excuse me, Mr. Herzog. I told your man, when he thought you couldn’t or -wouldn’t see me, that I came from Mr. Dawson’s office to see you. It’s -true. I did leave him a few minutes ago. I know your reputation, Mr. -Herzog, and I have come to you because I am in need of help.” - -Mr. Herzog was famous as a philanthropist. He maintained at his own -expense a sort of personal charity bureau to which applicants for help -were referred, that he might give much but, above all, that he might -give intelligently. He spoke to the young man with cold austerity: -“I beg to refer you to Mr. Asiel, room 82, upstairs, sir. He will -investigate your case. But I do not like the way in which you have -gained admission to this office, sir.” He nodded dismissingly. - -“One moment, Mr. Herzog,” said Grin-nell, smiling. “I wish your help in -a business matter. I wish to buy one hundred million dollars of the best -railroad bonds.” - -A spasm of alarm contracted Mr. Herzog’s face. It passed and he said -soothingly, with an accent more Germanic than ever: “Why, yes, of -course. Yes, yes! I shall be very glad to do so. I will ask the -gentleman in charge of our bond department to do as you wish. He is -a very nice young man; a very competent young man. He knows all about -bonds. Will you allow me to go after him? I shall return directly.” - -Grinnell laughed out and out. It was a laugh unaffectedly merry. But Mr. -Herzog turned pale and breathed a bit quickly. - -The young man drew from his pocket-book some checks. - -“Here are four certified checks for one million dollars each, and a -draft on Waring Bros., of London, for two millions sterling. Won’t you -please look at them before you go for the nice young man in charge of -your bond department?” - -Mr. Herzog instead looked at the door; the young man barred his exit. -He was atavistically a fatalist. What was to be, was to be. Mr. Herzog, -calm now from resignation, turned to the checks. One look was enough. -His face changed, but having grown resigned to death, the banker did -not now sigh with relief. He merely said, very quietly, as if he were -resuming the thread of his conversation: “Perhaps you will tell me which -bonds you wish to buy?” - -“Yes, sir; but before I tell you that, let me tell you this: I come -to you because I have absolute confidence in your wisdom and in the -integrity of your firm. I wish to buy a hundred millions of bonds, -on margin--a margin of fifty per cent or more. None must know of this -transaction excepting yourself and those of your partners who must, in -the nature of things, know it. I require no pledge but your word.” - -“It is all the pledge we ever give, sir. It was unnecessary to speak -of it. Nevertheless, I thank you for your confidence in us. Will you be -good enough to proceed?” - -He was looking at the young man steadily. - -“I had on deposit at the Metropolitan National Bank this morning some -forty-six millions of dollars, of which I have drawn this £2,000,000. -Also with, other banks slightly more than six millions, of which those -are four.” - -Mr. Herzog nodded. He said meditatively: “You are, then, the gentleman -to whom those institutions owe their remarkable gains in gold during the -past few weeks?” - -“I don’t know whether I am or not.” - -“You are, sir.” - -“Then I must be.” - -“Pray proceed.” - -“Well, I propose to purchase one hundred millions of dollars par value -of bonds, carefully but steadily. Bonds are very cheap.” - -“Owing to circumstances not yet known to the community, or possibly to a -misapprehension of certain facts, they are cheap. Huge blocks have been -thrown on the market this past week. Prices have been sacrificed; you -doubtless know by whom?” His eyes interrogated as well as his voice. - -“I know nothing. I think the bonds are very cheap,” said Grinnell -impassively. - -“I think so too, sir, _now_. I had begun to fear that they were not -cheap, at any price, a few minutes ago.” - -“Indeed?” Grinnell was sincerely astonished. - -“Yes, sir,” said Mr. Herzog calmly. - -“I will give you a check or checks on the Metropolitan National -Bank--certified if you wish. Is fifty millions enough margin?” - -“We do not take speculative orders.” - -“Then, Mr. Herzog, I can only wish you good-morning, and request that -you mention this to no one,” and Grinnell rose. - -“In this case,” said Mr. Herzog, waving his hand and pointing to -the chair from which the young man had risen, “you are conducting a -financial operation unparalleled in our history. If you care to have -us associated with you in this matter, to share proportionately in the -profits--” - -“Thank you. We shall consider that later on. I should not be surprised -to see bonds rise to the level at which they were before they--ah--” - -“Before the misapprehension to which I referred?” prompted Mr. Herzog -gravely, but with intention. - -“Before they began to decline so inexplicably,” corrected Mr. Grinnell -with equal gravity. “Bonds are selling at par and under which should -command a great premium.” - -“Will there be additional deposits of gold by you at the Metropolitan or -other banks?” - -“I have not deposited any gold at any bank, Mr. Herzog.” - -“I mean Assay Office checks, sir.” - -“That is a matter, Mr. Herzog, which I must decline to discuss.” - -“Excuse me, sir. I did not know.” - -“But in justice to you, I will say that I have pledged myself not to -make any deposits whatever for a short time.” - -“Ah, that was William Mellen,” said Mr. Herzog with a positiveness that -startled Grinnell. - -“I mentioned no names, Mr. Herzog.” - -“No. But I know how his mind works.” - -“Now, what shall I do? Shall I give you a check on the Metropolitan -or--” - -“By drawing bills of exchange on London,” said the old banker musingly, -“Mr. Dawson will not know for some days what you wish the money for.” - -“Well, you have one there for £2,000,000 as a starter,” said the -young man calmly. Mr. Herzog looked at him searchingly; then he smiled -approvingly. - -“Good! I see!” - -“Well, sir?” asked Grinnell quietly. - -“We will sell bills of exchange on London, Berlin, and Paris to Mr. -Dawson’s bank. They will presently buy from us, thinking the high rates -of exchange tempt us to sell them. This is enough for this week. There -are still the bonds of the friends and of the friend’s friends to be -sold, Mr.--” The old man paused. “I do not know your name sir; but I -know _you._” - -“My name is Grinnell.” - -“Thank you. Of course, it was on the checks. And, if I may ask, sir, -what is your business, besides that of a great financier?” - -“I am a metallurgical chemist.” - -“Chemist?” The old banker started. He looked at Grinnell intently. -The young man’s face was impassive; perhaps too impassive. Mr. Herzog -blinked his eyes; not dubiously, but as some men will when their -thoughts are racing at a furious rate. His head was bent slightly to one -side as his alert, intelligent eyes looked and looked at the young man -from under the thick, shaggy eyebrows that so heightened the patriarchal -aspect of his face. At length he straightened his little body up as -though he were on springs, and began to rub his hands briskly. It was -imagination--Oriental imagination, more vivid, more opulent in detail -than the Occidental. - -“I see! I see! Good!” He arose and, unable to contain himself, extended -his hand and said: “Mr. Grinnell, I am certain you are a great man. I -am proud to have your confidence. Bye-and-bye, when it does no harm, you -will tell me all, and I shall see if I am right?” - -“Some day we shall both see whether we are right or not,” said Grinnell -composedly. - -“Yes, yes. Now answer me: Do you find that great wealth is also a great -temptation?” - -“I do not,” answered Grinnell frankly. - -“There are many things you would not do for money if you were penniless, -much less would you do them, having fifty or a hundred millions. Is it -not so?” - -“There are many things I should like to do if I had a thousand -millions,” said Grinnell, very earnestly. - -“Precisely. That’s what you told them. Ah, William Mellen! William -Mellen!” and the little old man shook his head and raised his hands -ceilingward, as though he saw the richest man in the world there and -were apostrophizing him. “You have imagination, but only one pair of -eyes. I see!” - -“You know him?” Grinnell asked. - -The Hebrew banker, at this question, instantly became merely a banker. -He said, briskly: “If bonds are too low, stocks are too high; much too -high. It would be well to sell some to those wise rich men who wish -to buy them; for the public is not buying stocks. Only the rich can -buy--and suffer, it may be, eh, Mr. Grinnell?” - -“I shall be glad to join you in such an operation, Mr. Herzog.” - -“Thank you, sir; thank you. You leave it to me?” - -“Yes, sir.” - -“Very well. It is possible you are rich; but it is certain your are -wise, Mr. Grinnell. First, we shall buy bonds for you. That is the -investment operation. For one hundred millions we may buy one hundred -and twenty millions par value, of the best bonds in the world. After -that will come the--ah--” He paused and looked at Grinnell. The young -man, his face still impassive, said: - -“Yes, sir. If you wish any more money--” - -“I will let you know, Mr. Grinnell. Come every morning at half after -nine. Please let me have your name and address. There is much I should -like to ask you; but bye-and-bye, you will tell me of your own accord. -And your lawyer is?” - -“Col. Gordon McClintock. You know him?” - -“Yes. I shall not need him. Come tomorrow morning. There is much to do. -Good-afternoon, Mr. Grinnell,” and Mr. Herzog shook hands warmly with -the young man. - -It happened as Mr. Herzog had said. The friends of the Mellens’s were -told in the strictest confidence to sell bonds for good and sufficient -reasons. They told their friends, also in strict confidence; and their -friends told their friends, and their friends their friends, even unto -the fourth and fifth generations, until there came the panic of the -millionaires, for these men, in the nature of things, had no poor -friends. Their aggregate sales were torrential, appalling. The -professionals were too frightened to buy or sell anything, unless it was -life insurance policies without the suicide clause. - -And the flood of fine investment issues rolled resistlessly over the -corpses of little speculators who bought them one day, thinking them -incredibly cheap, only to see them on the next day incredibly, fatally -cheaper, because the rich were selling! And the insane boom in stocks -waxed greater, madder, more stupendous! Because the Mellens were buying! - -It could not continue much longer. The Secretary of the Treasury came -to New York twice that week to confer with the great financiers, who -listened intently--and suggested nothing. The country at large fixed -its eyes on Wall Street and endeavoured to see clearly. The tide _must_ -turn. The public began to buy bonds outright--to buy a few bonds, pay -for them and then, frightened at its own temerity, doubtful of having -after all secured bargains, run breathlessly home and lock up its -purchase, and not look at the next day’s quotations for fear of finding -that the price of the same bonds had dropped farther. - -Still the public _had_ begun to buy. But not before Wolff, Herzog & Co. -had purchased for $117,000,000 bonds which a month before could not have -been purchased for less than $148,000,000, all for account of Mr. George -K. Grinnell; and had sold short 250,000 shares of stocks at an average -price of $190 per share, stocks which four weeks previously could not -have been sold at $125 per share, these for account of “Account G,” which -included equally Mr. George K. Grinnell, Wolff, Herzog & Co., of New -York; I. Benjamin & Co., of London; Stetheim & Sons, of Frankfort and -Amsterdam, and Goldschmidt Freres, of Paris. And because of these -operations the bond-market steadied and the stock-market ceased to -advance, and people plucked up courage and bought bonds and sold stocks, -until bonds began actually to rise slowly and stocks to decline steadily -and greater courage gained thereby. And because the public, which is -everybody, is greater than anybody, greater even than the richest man in -the world, the Paradoxical Panic was checked. - -There came a lull. After all, the public had but ceased to fear to buy -bonds. It must be made to fear not to buy them; for bonds still were -much too low and stocks very much too high. Wherefore, the Evening -Scold, which had been importuning Mr. Isaac L. Herzog for an expression -of his views, was at last able to publish an interview, double leaded, -in its front page, in which the great financier strongly urged investors -not to sell bonds but rather to buy. As for stocks, it was not wise -to buy them but rather to sell. Investors need not be anxious over -fundamental business conditions. Speculators, on the other hand, had -before them a highly dangerous stock-market. - -It was the first and only interview any newspaper had ever been able to -obtain for publication from Mr. Herzog; and the _Evening Scold_ was so -uniformly ill-natured and impartially condemnatory that it was above -suspicion. It was ultra-Mugwump in politics, art, literature, finance, -and base-ball. The morning papers “verified” the interview and reprinted -it prominently on the next day. And into Wall Street poured hordes of -men, of all ages and political complexions--Jew and Gentile--of all -degrees of fortune, and of no fortune at all, but all of them men who -believed in Mr. Herzog’s integrity, and particularly in his sagacity. -There followed a Great Day. Mostly, the public bought bonds. The selling -pressure really was over by now, the enlightened millionaires being -practically bondless; so bonds rose quickly, unchecked. And stocks -declined, not so quickly, but every whit as steadily. - -Mellen read the Herzog interview in Dawson’s office. When he was done -with them, he carefully folded the newspapers and piled them neatly on -the table. It was an unfailing habit of his--that and saving the twine -that came with parcels. - -He arose, with a troubled expression on his face, and said to the -president: - -“Herzog is a very able man. I don’t like this interview. He speaks too -confidently.” Into Mellen’s eyes came the puzzled, indecisive look which -Dawson had seen there so frequently in the last few weeks, and so seldom -in the previous twenty years. - -“He has a considerable following,” admitted the president in a cheerful -voice, as though to keep his friend from dwelling too much on sorrow. -“They have been heavy buyers of bonds and heavy sellers of stocks. -That’s for Europe. They’ve sold us nearly all the sterling bills that -we needed for Grinnell’s drafts. Grinnell has practically drawn all his -money and sent it to London.” - -“I don’t like it, Richard; I don’t like it a bit. Perhaps we’ve been too -hasty; and yet--” He stared at Dawson unseeingly. “Where did he get -it?” His lips were dry; he moistened them with the tip of his tongue and -pressed them together. - -“William, every bullion dealer in the world has been interviewed. -Costello had twenty men in the West visiting the mines and smelters. We -have had reports from the Klondike, from the Transvaal, from Australia, -from mining engineers everywhere. We have even gone over the manifests -of vessels that have brought bullion here and to other ports this year. -Costello was twice in the laboratory. Since he promised to stop -depositing, Grinnell has been idle. The dynamo has not been running.” - -“But there must be a mine.” - -“I am certain the gold doesn’t come from any mine on this earth.” - -“He may have accumulated it.” The richest man in the world said this -without conviction. - -“Who gave him the money to pay for it?” asked Dawson, in an -intentionally controversial tone, because he vaguely feared his friend’s -doubts at this late hour. “And if somebody gave it to him, from whom did -the giver buy it? Not from any smelter, or mine or dealer in the last -five years. _That_ is certain too.” - -“Yes, yes; that’s it,” said Mellen irritably, because the answer would -not come. “Is he under surveillance still?” - -“Costello returned from the Pacific Coast Tuesday night, and I told him -not to lose sight of Grinnell for one instant.” The president approached -the ticker. - -“Hm!” he said. “Quite a rally in bonds.” From force of habit the richest -man in the world drew near. He passed the tape through his fingers -slowly; then he told Dawson: - -“I think we’d better help stocks go down.” Seeing a doubtful look in the -president’s eyes, he added: “Oh, we’ll get them back cheaper.” - -The door opened and Costello entered--he had instructions to walk into -Mr. Dawson’s private office without being announced, no matter who might -be there with the president. Dawson merely looked inquiringly at the -detective but the richest man in the world walked up to him quickly and -asked: “What is it, Costello?” - -“Did you see Mr. Grinnell’s marriage announcement in the _Herald_, sir?” - He looked first at Mellen, then at his chief. “It’s among the ads. in -the front page.” - -“No,” answered Mellen, turning toward the table, but Dawson had already -picked up the Herald. He read aloud, Mellen looking over his shoulder: - -_GRINNELL-ROBINSON.--On Tuesday, September 12, by the Rev. DeLancy -Williamson, at his residence, Margaret, daughter of Thomas M. Robinson, -to George Kitchell Grinnell. Middletown, N. Y., and Youngstown, O., -papers please copy_. - -“Robinson?” said Mellen quickly. He answered an unspoken question of his -own: “But he hasn’t so much.” - -Dawson knew what he meant. He shook his head and said with a slight -frown: “I doubt if he has even ten millions. I know he sold out all his -Consolidated Steel during the boom but that couldn’t have been more than -five millions. I don’t think so.” He looked ill at ease. - -“We must see Grinnell at once,” said the richest man in the world, -speaking quickly. “If Robinson knows what Grinnell is doing--” He -checked himself with a frown. A great anger filled his very soul to -overflowing: Always Grinnell came before him--an obstacle to plans, -enveloped by doubt-breeding mystery, surrounded by an uncertainty -which, by not openly revealing dangers, made the young man a ceaseless -menace. - -“Mr. Grinnell is now at Wolff, Herzog’s office,” said Costello. “He’s -been going there every day for a week.” - -“I knew it!” said the richest man in the world explosively. He sat down -in an armchair and leaned back, breathing quickly. - -“We must make sure,” said Dawson. He sat down at his desk and took up -the telephone. Then he said to Costello: “Anything else?” - -“No, sir. He went into Mr. Herzog’s private office. The door-keeper told -me he was a very rich man and that he came there every day.” - -“Very well,” said Dawson, dismissingly. The detective left the room. -Mellen stretched his right hand toward Dawson and opened his mouth. -But he said nothing. His hand dropped and he stared intently at a paper -weight on the president’s desk. - -Dawson took up the telephone. - -“Let me have Mr. Herzog, at once,” he said sharply. A minute later he -said: “Herzog?--This is Dawson--Is Mr. Grinnell in your office?” Mellen -drew near and stood beside his friend. - -“Hello?” went on Dawson, with a tinge of impatience. “Is Grinnell--” - He turned to Meilen and explained, spitefully: “He says to wait a -moment--Hello? Yes. I’d like to see him--” - -“Tell him to wait for you there,” said Mellen, in a tone of command. -Dawson spoke into the telephone: - -“Well, if he’ll wait for me at your office I’ll run over at once. Very -well. Good-bye.” Dawson rose and, putting on his hat, followed the -richest man in the world who had already started out of the office -briskly. - -In Herzog’s office the old banker, at Dawson’s first question, carefully -placed his hand over the transmitter and said to Grinnell: “Dawson wants -to know if your are here.” - -“I cannot tell a lie,” laughed Grinnell; “I am.” - -A moment later Mr. Herzog said: “He says he will come over if you will -wait here for him.” - -“Very well,” replied Grinnell. He added: “I think this will close the -incident.” But Herzog shook his head--he was listening to Dawson and -couldn’t hear the young man’s words. - -The bank president and the richest man in the world walked more quickly -than was their wont, each busy with his own thoughts. The myopic -door-keeper at Wolff, Herzog & Co.’s, knew Mr. Dawson. He opened the -gate obsequiously and then hastened ahead and held open the door to Mr. -Herzog’s private office. They entered abreast. - -Mr. Herzog rose quickly and, walking toward them, extended his hand -to Dawson. Then he shook Mellen’s. Grinnell arose from his chair near -Herzog’s desk and merely said, “Good-morning, gentlemen.” - -Dawson bowed to him, and with his diplomat-at-a-reception smile, -replied: - -“Good-morning, Mr. Grinnell.” - -Mellen used the same words, and no smile. - -“Be seated, gentlemen,” said Mr. Herzog with a polite wave of the hand. - -“We came over to congratulate Mr. Grin-nell,” said Dawson. “We’ve just -seen the _Herald._” - -“Yes,” said Mellen grimly. - -“Oh, thanks,” returned Grinnell, very politely. - -“Herzog,” said the richest man in the world abruptly, “you have been -buying a great many bonds.” - -“We have bought some,” assented the banker, with much gravity. - -There was a pause. Grinnell glanced at Dawson, who was looking so -extremely unconcerned that the young man smiled slightly. Mellen, who -had been leaning forward in his chair, straightened himself and asked -curtly: “Why?” - -Mr. Herzog arched his eyebrows with a sort of amazed inquisitiveness and -said nothing, intending his silence as a snub. But he changed his mind -and said: “They were very cheap.” - -The richest man in the world turned toward Grinnell. Before he could ask -any questions the young man said pleasantly: “You told me so yourself. -Don’t you remember, Mr. Mellen?” - -“Did _you_ buy any, Mr. Grinnell?” Mel-len’s voice had a serious ring. -The young man’s face took on a boyishly confidential look. He said: - -“I bought some for my father-in-law. He had been waiting for them to go -down. So had I. You see, my marriage was to come off as soon as I had -invested his money.” - -Mellen’s eyes opened wide, and Dawson, in a very quiet tone, asked: “And -did you invest yours as well?” - -“It seems to me,” said Grinnell, “that we are drifting toward family -matters--” - -“I beg your pardon,” said the president stiffly. - -“I understood,” the young man said apologetically, “that you wished to -speak to me on some business matter. I haven’t overdrawn my account, -have I?” - -“Perhaps we had better discuss this at the bank, Mr. Grinnell; if you -could come--” - -“I’m very sorry, Mr. Dawson, but I start on my wedding tour in an hour. -I have no business secrets from Mr. Herzog, so if it is a business -matter we may discuss it here. In all probability I would repeat our -conversation to him.” - -Dawson’s face flushed violently; his nostrils dilated unpleasantly. -Mellen’s face turned perceptibly paler and the lines of it became -harder. But his voice was steady and his manner almost matter-of-fact as -he said to the young man: “Then it is almost certain you are not going -to deposit too much gold hereafter at the Metropolitan Bank.” - -“I am not going to deposit any more gold at any bank, because--” - Grinnell hesitated. - -“Yes?” Mellen’s eyes were fixed on the young man’s face, is if he -thought every fleeting expression was as important as the words -themselves. - -“Because I haven’t any more gold to deposit,” finished Grinnell, very -calmly. - -“That is now. But will you not produce any more gold?” The richest man -in the world spoke very quietly and very distinctly. - -“I never produced any. I sold the Assay Office the last ounce I ever had -over a month ago.” - -“You must have obtained it somewhere, somehow,” said the richest man in -the world. His manner conveyed an impression of patience. “Did you buy -it?” - -“No, sir. I didn’t buy it.” The young man’s calmness was not theatrical -and it had a quieting effect. He paused an instant; then he went on: “In -fact, I had no gold of my own. It was all my father-in-law’s.” He turned -away and rose as if to go to the window. - -Mellen spoke sharply: “Mr. Grinnell!” - -“Yes.” He looked the richest man in the world straight in the eyes. -Mellen said rudely: “Explain yourself, sir!” - -“Mr. Mellen!” interjected Herzog. His voice conveyed a rebuke; but his -look was austere rather than offended. - -Grinnell frowned. He spoke to Mellen with impatience in his voice: “Mr. -Mellen, you have asked me many questions, which you had no right to -ask. I’ve not said anything about it before; but I tell you now that you -annoy me!” - -Mellen turned livid. “I--” he began. “Listen, please,” interrupted -Grinnell quickly, his face growing stem. “I am going to tell you about -that gold. That is, I shall tell if you do not interrupt me. I don’t -wish you to ask me any more questions--not one.” - -[Illustration: 0215] - -For many years no one had spoken thus to Mellen. But he answered -nothing; his eyes were fixed on Grinnell’s lips with a fascinated -stare. Dawson, unconsciously, had allowed a frown of intense interest to -contract his brows. Mr. Herzog’s head was bent forward as if not to lose -a word, his bright little eyes blinking furiously. Grinnell spoke very -clearly and deliberately: - -“My father-in-law, Mr. Robinson, two years ago at the height of the boom -thought the stock-market must collapse sooner or later: I became engaged -to his daughter, whom I had known ever since I was a boy. He naturally -talked over his affairs with me in a general way, though I am not a -business man.” He paused as if to pick his next words. A curious smile -flickered for a fraction of a minute on Mr. Herzog’s lips. - -“He wished to sell most of his stock holdings in various companies and -then buy bonds. But if stocks were too high, bonds were not low enough. -It was therefore decided to sell stocks at once, but to defer the -purchase of bonds until a more propitious occasion. That occasion came -last week. Mr. Herzog bought the bonds for him. That’s where _he_ comes -in.” - -The young man paused again. Mellen did not interrupt; he nodded twice, -not quickly at all, but in an acquiescent manner that invited further -revelations. Grinnell continued slowly: - -“Mr. Robinson had been a rich man for years, but I did not suspect how -rich until he had sold all his stocks, when he told me he had fifty-four -millions to his credit at his banks. To me this was so incredible that -it made me think a man with that much cash in bank might do other things -just as incredible. He is one of the unknown millionaires whom the -newspapers discover when their wills are probated. That fact, the -ignorance as to the extent of his wealth, also would help. As at that -time so many of our financial institutions were unsafe because their -officers were gambling in stocks and underwriting ventures, we -concluded to lose the interest on it and turn it into gold. Once we -had accumulated fifty millions in gold, the existence of which was -unsuspected by bankers or brokers or newspapers, it was obvious that -there were various ways in which the gold and the secret of it could -be made valuable. Mr. Robinson, lacking the excitement of active -speculation in stocks, and having retired from active business, was -quite willing to indulge in a few psychological experiments. I had -suggested various plans. He accepted one of them. So, we got the gold -together.” Grinnell made an end of speaking and looked at Mr. Herzog -meditatively, as if trying to remember whether he had forgotten -anything, and speculating on whether he need say anything more. Herzog, -oblivious of the presence of Mellen and Dawson, asked eagerly: - -“Yes, but _how? Where_ did you get that much gold?” It was the one thing -he could not guess. - -“There was only one way that I could see. We withdrew gold coin from -circulation, gradually, all over the country, but principally in San -Francisco. We spent two years at it. It took a great deal of care and -trouble. Indeed, that was the hardest part. As fast as we got it I took -it to my house, which I had bought for that very purpose, and melted it -into bars so heavy that no burglar could carry away one. I painted them -black and put them in the cellar, near the back wall. They were safe.” - -“Ah!” The sigh came from the Hebrew banker who now leaned back in his -chair and looked at Dawson. The president’s lips were slightly parted, -and the frown was still on his face, his eyes on Grinnell. Mellen’s face -had lost its tense look. He said, very quietly: “I see!” - -“I deposited the gold, as Assay Office checks, in Mr. Dawson’s bank, and -stopped calling on my _fiancée_. Later, I bought the bonds. I didn’t see -Mr. Herzog until they were cheap.” - -The president, his voice husky with anger, said: “Then you -deliberately--” - -“Don’t!” commanded the young man sharply. “Of course, I assumed that -business training and Wall Street practices did not kill the imaginative -faculty. That is what I had to work on. No financier can be great that -has not great imagination. And you gentlemen are great financiers. -If you will recall my exact words at the various times that I had -the pleasure of seeing you, Mr. Dawson, you will not find one that is -untrue. I made no assertion that was not justified by facts. I recall -every word because I studied them very carefully.” There was no -self-complacency in the young man’s manner. It was a trifle deprecatory -toward the end; the light in his eyes kept it from being humility. - -“You scound----” - -“Richard!” interjected the richest man in the world, soothingly. He had -already reckoned the extent of his enormous losses, for he would have to -buy back at high prices bonds he had sold at low, and he would have to -reverse the process in stocks. Grinnell, or his father-in-law, probably -had made fifteen or twenty millions through the mistake. Mellen’s -losses, because of the imaginative faculty, would probably be twice as -great. But gold was gold still, and therefore, he was not ruined. He -would retrieve the loss. He saw what he must do. - -He turned with a look of almost benignity to the young man and said -suavely: “Mr. Grinnell, I should like to have you come to see me when -you have time. You have told me a very interesting story. I should -like to see more of you. You are rich, but--” He stopped, to look -encouragingly at the young man. - -“Oh, no,” laughed Grinnell, “my father-in-law is. But even he is not in -your class.” - -“Come and see me anyhow. There is no telling what class _you_ will be -in.” In his mild earnestness and soft voice there was an unmistakable -promise. The young man did not answer. Dawson now smiled affably. - -“Mr. Grinnell, you are still one of our depositors, you know,” he said, -with an air of claiming family relationship. - -“Yes; to the extent of $342. I’ll give that to the detectives who--Oh, -no offence, Mr. Dawson. I’m sorry I must leave you. We married men have -trials.” He shook hands warmly with Mr. Herzog, nodded pleasantly to -Dawson and Mellen, and said: “Good-morning, gentlemen.” - -As the door closed on George Kitchell Grinnell, Mellen, thinking of the -new working alliance he must effect with Herzog in order to facilitate -the campaign of retreat and re-conquest, turned to the Hebrew banker and -said quietly, “Now, Herzog let us get down to business.” - - - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Golden Flood, by Edwin Lefevre - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GOLDEN FLOOD *** - -***** This file should be named 51943-0.txt or 51943-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/9/4/51943/ - -Produced by David Widger from page images generously -provided by Google Books - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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