e are rushing in, and the town's
doing splendidly. But prices, there's no denying it, are beginning to
sort of strangle things. They prevent doing, any more, what we did at
first. Kreuger Brothers' failure yesterday was small; but it's a clear
case of a retailer's being eaten up with fixed charges--or so Macdonald
told me this morning; and I know that frontage on Main Street is
demanding fully as much as the traffic will bear. And then our fright
over Trescott's gambling gave me some bad dreams over our securities. It
has bothered me to see how to adjust our affairs to a stationary
condition of things; that's all."

"Of course," said Cornish, "we must keep boosting. Fortunately society
here is now thoroughly organized on the principle of whooping it up for
Lattimore. I could get up a successful lynching-party any time to attend
to the case of any miscreant who should suggest that property is too
high, or rents unreasonable, or anything but a steady up-grade before
us. But I think we ought to stop buying--except among ourselves, and
keep the transfers from falling off--and begin salting down."

"If you can suggest any way to do that, and still take care of our
paper," said Jim, "I shall be with you."

"I've never anticipated," said Cornish, "that such a mass of business
could be carried through without some losses. Investors can't expect
it."

"The first loss in the East through our paper," said Jim, "means a
taking up of the Grain Belt securities everywhere, and no market for
more. And you know what that spells."

"It mustn't be allowed to happen--yet awhile," answered Cornish. "As I
just now said, we must keep on boosting."

"You know where the Grain Belt debentures and other obligations are
mostly held, of course?" asked Mr. Elkins.

"When a bond or mortgage is sold," was the answer, "my interest in it
ceases. I conclusively presume that the purchaser himself personally
looked to the security, or accepted the guaranty of the negotiating
trust company. _Caveat emptor_ is my rule."

Mr. Elkins looked out of the window, as if he had forgotten us.

"We should push the sale of the Lattimore & Great Western," said he,
"and the Belt Line System."

"I concur," said Cornish. "Our interest in those properties is a
two-million-dollar cash item."

"It wouldn't be two million cents," said Jim, "if our friends on Wall
Street could hear this talk. They'd wait to buy at receiver's sale after
some Black Friday. Of course