e rested the tips of his fingers on the table and bent toward his
brother with a cold glitter in his eyes. Under the mockery of his
phrases a hot anger lurked.

"All right," said William. "Stay, then. But you can't hang yourself
around my neck. Understand that right here."

"You haven't heard all my story yet--"

"I've heard all I'm going to hear. I've heard enough to make me sick. I
hope nobody else in this town will ever hear it. It's worse than I had
ever imagined--you allowing that woman to support you! And it's
nauseating to think that you don't realize the rottenness of it. But you
seem to be incapable of any decent feeling about anything."

"Stop sentimentalizing and listen to me. I didn't come back here to
enter upon a new social career; I came back on business. You remember,
Will, that Sam came West when you and he were selling bonds in this
Sycamore Traction line on which I rode proudly home last night. I helped
Sam sell a pretty big bunch of those bonds out there. Sam could sell
anything--Sam was a wonder! and he planted a big bunch of those things
along the coast--my friends, you know. Sam's dead and gone now and I
ain't going to knock him--but Sam was an exuberant chap and he
overcalculated the cost of building the road. That was on the
construction company, but you and Sam were in that--same old game of
working both sides of the street. It was just a mistake in figures, of
course, but some of those people out there hear the road ain't doing
well, and they're friends of mine, Will, valued friends, and now that
Sam's gone it's up to you and me to take care of 'em--do you follow
me?"

"If that's what you're up to you've made a big mistake. That road's one
of the most successful traction lines in the West, and pays its bond
interest on the dot."

"Nothing easier; but I happen to know that the last payment was made
with borrowed money. Of course, only a little temporary accommodation,
but just the same it wasn't paid out of earnings. And, Will, you ought
to be mighty careful--you oughtn't to advance bank funds for such a
purpose; it's damned bad business; it's downright immoral; that's all!
But how about the bonds your construction company got--that nice little
margin between a fair profit for building the road and a big fat steal
at the expense of the bondholders? And you authorized the sale of bonds
at eighty to pay the construction bill, got ninety, and pocketed the
difference. Oh, you needn't get whi