When the warrant for the arrest of the great man had been served and he was admitted to bail2 to await his coming trial, there was a feeble rally in the market, but the rats quickly began to desert a sinking ship. The president under indictment had ceased to be a power. There was a wild scramble3 of his associates who were equally guilty to save their own skins. The press, which at first denounced Stuart, now boldly demanded the merciless prosecution4 of all the guilty. And they hailed the brilliant young District Attorney as the coming man.
In the meantime all kinds of securities continued to tumble. For six consecutive5 days stocks had fallen with scarcely an hour's temporary rally. Every effort of the bull operators, who had ruled the market for the two years past, to stem the tide was futile6. Below the surface, in the silent depths of growing suspicion and fear, an army of sappers and miners under the eye of one man were digging at the foundations of the business world—the faith of man in his fellow-man.
Each day there was a crash and each day the little financier and his unscrupulous allies marked a new victim. The next day the death notice was posted on a new door, and when the bomb had exploded they picked up the pieces and moved to a new attack.
In the midst of the campaign for the destruction of public credit which Bivens and his associates, the Allied7 Bankers, were conducting with such profound secrecy8 and such remarkable9 results, when their profits had piled up into millions, a bomb was suddenly exploded under their own headquarters.
The Van Dam Trust Company was put under the ban of the New York Clearing House. The act was a breach10 of faith, utterly11 unwarranted by any known law of the game. But it was done.
When the president of the company walked quietly into Bivens's office and made the announcement, for a moment the little dark man completely lost his nerve—cold beads12 of sweat started from his swarthy forehead.
"Are you joking?" he gasped13.
"Do you think I'd joke about my own funeral?"
"No, of course not, but there must be some mistake."
"There's no mistake. It's a blow below the belt, but it's a knockout for the moment. They know we are solvent14, two dollars for one. But they know we have $90,000,000 on deposit and we have some big enemies. They know that the group we have supported have smashed this market, and they've set out to fight the devil with fire. They're determined15 to force a show-down and see how much real money is behind us. We can pull through if we stand together."
The stolid16 face of the banker became a motionless mask as he asked:
"Are we going to stand together?"
Bivens sprang to his feet, exclaiming fiercely:
"Until hell freezes over!"
The banker smiled feebly for the first time in a week.
"Then it's all right, Mr. Bivens. We'll pull through. They'll start a run on us to-morrow. Five millions in cash will meet it and we'll win, hands down. We have powerful friends. Our only sin is our association with your group. We must have that five millions in the safe before the doors are opened to-morrow."
"You shall have it," was the firm answer.
With a cheerful pressure of the hand the president of the Van Dam Trust Company left and Bivens called his secretary.
"We turn the market to-morrow—orders to all our men. Knock the bottom out of it until the noon hour, then turn and send it skyward with a bound. You understand?"
"Yes sir."
With an instinctive17 military salute18 the secretary hurried to execute the order.
When Dr. Woodman returned home that night from one of his endless tramps among the poor, Harriet opened the door.
Something about the expression of his face startled her. For the first time in her life she saw in its gaunt lines the shadow of despair. He had aged19 rapidly of late, but the sunlight had never before quite faded from his eyes.
"What is it, Papa dear?" she asked tenderly, slipping an arm about his neck as she drew him down into his favourite chair.
"What, child?" he responded vaguely20.
"You look utterly worn out. Tell me what's the matter. I'm no longer a child. I'm a woman now—strong and well and brave. Let me help you."
"You do help me, baby!" he laughed with an effort at his old-time joyous21 spirit. "Every time I touch your little hand, you give me new life. Every note from your sweet voice thrills me with new hope. And I dream dreams and build castles and plan for to-morrow as if I were a boy. What more can a woman do? What more did God mean for a beautiful daughter to do for her old father?"
"Well, I want to do more, I want to share your troubles and help you carry your burdens."
"And so you shall, my dear. Some day your voice will thrill thousands as it now thrills my heart. You'll win fame and wealth for your father. You shall care for him in old age. And his pride and joy shall be to say to those he meets—'the great singer, yes, my daughter, sir—my little baby!'"
Harriet nestled closer.
"But I want to help now. I'm afraid I've been thoughtless and selfish. You look so miserable22 to-night. It cuts me to the heart."
"Nonsense, Baby dear," he broke in cheerfully. "I'm not miserable. I've really had a good day. I've spent the whole afternoon superintending the distributing of flowers among the hospitals. And I've discovered a curious thing—you couldn't imagine what it is?"
The doctor paused and laughed in his old playful way.
"What?" she cried.
Harriet clapped her hands with a moment's childish happiness as she had done so often when her father propounded23 one of his mysterious problems for her solution.
The doctor whispered:
"I've discovered that pinks are feminine and roses masculine."
"How?"
"Because the men in the hospitals all beg for pinks and the women for roses. It's curious. I never hit on the explanation before. Isn't it reasonable?"
"Yes, quite," was the sober answer. "But it doesn't explain the lines of suffering in your dear face to-night—I'm worried."
"But I'm not suffering!" he insisted with a frown. "On the other hand I'm cheerful to-night. I saved a kid's life with a flower. His father used to work for me in the old days. They asked me to come to see him. There was no hope. He had been given up to die. I gave him a fragrant24 white pink. His thin feverish25 fingers grasped it eagerly. In all his life he had never held a flower in his hand before. He pressed it to his lips, his soul thrilled at its sweet odour, and the little tired spirit came staggering back from the mists of Eternity26 just to see what it meant. He will live. It was the feather's weight that tipped the beam of life the right way. How little it takes sometimes to give life and happiness. And how tragic27 and pitiful the fact that so many of us can't get that little at the right moment!"
The joy and laughter had slowly faded from his face and voice as he spoke28 until the last words had unconsciously fallen into accents of despair.
The girl's arms slipped around his neck in a tightening29 hold and she pressed her cheek against his a moment in silence.
"Papa dear, it's no use trying to deceive me. I've the right to know what is troubling you. I'm not a child. You must tell me."
"Why, it's nothing much, dearie," he answered gently. "I'm worried a little about money. I've a note due at the bank and they've called on me unexpectedly to meet it. But I'll manage somehow. Don't you worry about it. Everything will come out all right. I feel like a millionaire among the people I've seen to-day."
"I'll give up my music, go to work and help you right away."
"Sh!"
The father placed his hand gently over her lips and the tears sprang into his eyes in spite of his effort to keep them back.
"Don't talk sacrilege, my child. Such words are blasphemy30. God gave me a man's body for the coarse work of bread-winning. He gave you the supreme31 gift, a voice that throbs32 with eloquence33, a power that can lift and inspire the world. Only when you are cultivating that gift are you working. Then you are doing the highest and finest thing of which you are capable. I should be a criminal if I permitted you to do less. Never say such a thing again unless you would make me utterly miserable."
He paused and took her cheeks between his hands.
"Promise me, dear—it's the one wish of my heart, the one thing worth working and struggling for—promise me that you will never stop until the training of your voice is complete, that no matter what happens you will obey me in this. It is my one command. You will obey me?"
There was dignity and compelling power now in the deep tones of his voice.
The girl felt instinctively34 its authority.
"Yes, Papa, I promise, if it will make you happy."
"It's the only thing I live for. I've never said this to you before, but I say it now and I don't want you ever to forget it. Now run along to bed and never bother your pretty head again about such things. I'll find food and a home for my baby and she shall live her own beautiful life to the last reach of its power. All I ask is that you do your level best with the gift of God."
"I'll try, Papa dear," was the quiet answer as she kissed him again and softly left the room.
Harriet had scarcely reached her room when Adams, the cashier of one of the Allied Banks, who owed the doctor for three months' rent, entered the library with quick nervous tread.
"I've big news, sir," he said excitedly.
The doctor looked up with a half bantering35 smile.
"You don't mean that you've got the whole of your three months' rent? If you have, break it to me gently, Adams, or I'll faint."
"Better than three months' rent," the cashier whispered nervously36. "I've a big tip on the stock market."
The older man grunted37 contemptuously.
"Yes, that's what ails38 you, I know. You've been getting them for some time. That's why you owe me for your rooms. That's why there's something the matter with your accounts."
"I swear to you, Doctor, my accounts are clean. My expenses have been so big the past year, with the doctor's bills I've had to pay, I simply couldn't live. The price of everything on earth has gone up fifty per cent. except my wages. I've bought a few stocks. I've made a little and lost a little. I've got the chance now I've been waiting for. I've a real piece of information from the big insiders who are going to make the market to-morrow."
The doctor shook his head and looked at the cashier with humourous pity. The man was trembling from excitement he could not control.
"So you've really got it straight, this time?"
"Beyond the shadow of doubt!" he cried excitedly. "I want you to share with me the fortune I'm going to make."
He paused and breathed heavily, his eyes widening into an unnatural39 stare, as he continued:
"My God, if I only had ten thousand dollars to-morrow I could be worth a hundred thousand before night!"
The doctor leaned forward with deepening interest.
"You really believe such rot?"
"Believe it, man, it's as certain as fate! There can't be any mistake about it. At twelve o'clock the tide will turn and they'll begin to leap upward in the wildest market that's been seen in a generation. Doctor, you've been so good to me and I can trust you implicitly40. You're the only man on earth I've told. You need money. If you can raise five hundred dollars in cash you can make five thousand in six hours."
The older man's eyes flashed with sudden excitement, which he suppressed with an effort.
"Adams, you're crazy," was the gruff reply.
"I've got it straight, I tell you!" he went on breathlessly. "I got it from Bivens's private secretary. The little weasel has made millions on this break and he has been selling the market short for two weeks. To-morrow morning he is going to smash it for the last time and at noon throw his millions on the bull side. The market will go down three points on the break in the morning. It will jump five points in ten minutes when it turns the other way. There are stocks on the list that will recover ten points before the market closes."
"Bivens is going to do this?" the older man interrupted.
"Yes. I got it from the man who took his order."
"Then it's a trick. It's a lie. Take my advice and do just the opposite from what you understand. Bivens will sell out his partners in the deal."
"Man, he can't sell out!" the cashier insisted. "It's his own deal. He's in it for all he's worth!"
The doctor rose with sudden excitement.
"Adams, this is the first time in my life I've ever been tempted41 to buy stocks."
"You can't lose, sir."
"But I'm in desperate need of money. I've a note for three thousand due. I've two thousand dollars set aside to finish my little girl's musical studies. I've got to meet that note somehow and I've got to have the money for her. It looks like a chance. I'll go in and watch the market to-morrow."
"If it don't act exactly as I say—don't touch it. It if does, go in for all you're worth. If stocks start down as I say they will, sell short, cover at noon, and then buy for the rise. Don't listen to fools, just buy, buy, buy! You can sell before the market closes and make twenty thousand dollars."
"I'll drop into a broker's office and watch the market open any way, Adams."
The doctor seized his hand cordially.
"And I want to thank you for your thoughtfulness in coming to me."
"I wish I could do more, sir," the cashier said, with deep feeling. "I'll never forget your kindness to me the past three months. When the sun shines again, you'll hear from me."
"Oh, that's all right, my boy. Some men invest in stocks, some in bonds, some in real estate. My best investments have always been in the good turns I've done my neighbours. Good night."
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1
indictment
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| n.起诉；诉状 | |
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bail
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| v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人 | |
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scramble
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| v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料 | |
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prosecution
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| n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营 | |
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consecutive
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| adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的 | |
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futile
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| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
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allied
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| adj.协约国的；同盟国的 | |
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secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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breach
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| n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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beads
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| n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链 | |
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gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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solvent
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| n.溶剂；adj.有偿付能力的 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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stolid
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| adj.无动于衷的，感情麻木的 | |
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instinctive
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| adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的 | |
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salute
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| vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮 | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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propounded
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| v.提出（问题、计划等）供考虑[讨论]，提议( propound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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eternity
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| n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷 | |
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tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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tightening
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| 上紧，固定，紧密 | |
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blasphemy
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| n.亵渎，渎神 | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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throbs
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| 体内的跳动( throb的名词复数 ) | |
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eloquence
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| n.雄辩；口才，修辞 | |
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instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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bantering
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| adj.嘲弄的v.开玩笑，说笑，逗乐( banter的现在分词 )；（善意地）取笑，逗弄 | |
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nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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ails
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| v.生病( ail的第三人称单数 )；感到不舒服；处境困难；境况不佳 | |
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unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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implicitly
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| adv. 含蓄地, 暗中地, 毫不保留地 | |
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tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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