human
He knows what we're up to, was the verdict of Tucker, a pudgy little man, with a voice at least an octave too low for his apparent bellows-power;
gpt
Yes, but how far?
human
Well, of course, a fellow like that, said Hildreth,
gpt
But we'll need his brains now and then, Hildreth, said Duncan,
human
That's a fact, said Hildreth;
gpt
We've been reading your articles with interest, Braine, he began,
human
A few months earlier, Hildreth had called that sort of thing
gpt
but he thought it best to be more circumspect now.
human
After all, he continued,
gpt
I'm to blame for it, you know, because I ought to have kept you better posted.
human
Would you mind telling me just wherein I have been misled?
gpt
Well, you see it's this way. We haven't got control of the Southern lines yet. Van Duyn disappointed us, and--
human
Yes--well?
gpt
Your saying we have secured control may bother us a little in the negotiations.
human
Did I say you had got control of the Southern lines? I don't recall it.
gpt
Certainly; you say, reading,
human
I see. Well?
gpt
Oh, I don't know as it need be very serious. It will pass as a careless newspaper statement.
human
Certainly. Call it that and lay it on my shoulders. Nobody will mind me. Well, what else?
gpt
Well, I ought to have told you that we haven't got a good ready yet to begin work on the new line from here to Columbia, and we haven't yet succeeded in buying a controlling interest in the Northern road,
human
You never told me, said Braine, but without any look of surprise at the information,
gpt
Didn't I? That must have been an oversight. Well I'll tell you now. I'll be perfectly frank, Braine, for we're all in one boat you know. Our plan was to sell Northern down to the breaking point on the strength of its being cut off from the river, and then, when the bottom dropped out of it, to go in and buy up a controlling interest, consolidate the road with the Central, and send the stock up again.
human
Why didn't you carry out the plan? asked Braine, with languid interest.
gpt
It looks like a very good one.
human
That's where the trouble lies. Somebody else sold the stock short on the quiet before we began, and he must have made a pile on the operation too, for the market was sold so deep that when we touched it, it tumbled to pieces like a barrel with the hoops off. And then when we began to buy on the broken market, we found another block in our way. Somebody had quietly bought while we were selling, and now holds a big block of the stock off the market. We've bought every share we can get, till we've sent the market up to where it was before the break, and even a little higher, but we can't get enough to control.
gpt
What do you mean to do about it?
human
We're waiting for the fellow to weaken, and that's where the trouble comes in. Your article will stiffen him up like thunder. You must admit that you were too previous this time, Braine.
gpt
Perhaps so. But what do you suggest now?
human
Well, we count on you to patch things up. Can't you get up some news about the thing, to knock out the impression you've made?
gpt
No, answered Braine,
human
Confound journalism! Hildreth could not altogether repress his irritation.
gpt
The whole game is at stake, my dear fellow, and you're one of us, you know.
human
Am I? How much? You've never told me.
gpt
We've just been talking that over, said Hildreth with eager confidence;
human
handing Braine a memorandum.
gpt
It's extremely liberal, you see, but we want to be as liberal as possible with you. We haven't forgotten how you served us at the pinch, and we want your brains hereafter.
human
My brains cannot be had at the price. I've been trying them a little, recently, and find they're worth more to me than you offer.
gpt
Might I ask, Mr. Braine, interposed Duncan, snapping his fingers against his knuckles,
human
Certainly, answered Braine;
gpt
You! exclaimed Hildreth.
human
You! Why, where on earth did you get the money?
gpt
You lent me enough. It don't take a great deal of margin to sell short with, on a falling market. By the way, I'd like to give you my check for the amount I owe you, and take up my note before maturity, if it's all the same to you. Besides I have some friends in New York who are pretty strong--the Van Duyns and others--sit still and hear me out, please, as the others rose in astonishment at the mention of that name.
human
As I was saying, I sold Northern short till the collapse came, and you will be glad to know that I netted a very comfortable profit when the stock tumbled from 73 to 37--just reversing the figures, which seems to me an interesting coincidence. By that time, Van Duyn and his friends had gone in with me in some plans I had formed. We thought, upon looking over the ground, that we could see a way by which the Northern road could force its way to the river in spite of the levee grant. In fact, I am pretty well convinced that the grant can be wholly invalidated if necessary. I hold conclusive proofs that the aldermen were bribed to make it. I thought if I asked to have it rescinded, all parties would probably consent rather than risk the submission of this proof to a grand jury.
gpt
However, that is aside. As I was saying, we thought Northern stock a good purchase at the price, so we bought it up to full recovery.