d a half."

Jadwin could not forbear a twinkle of grim humour as he saw how easily
Scannel had fallen into the trap.

"You're short a million and a half, then," he repeated. "I'll let you
have six hundred thousand of it at a dollar and a half a bushel."

"A dollar and a half! Why, my God, man! Oh well"--Scannel spread out
his hands nonchalantly--"I shall simply go into bankruptcy--just as you
said."

"Oh, no, you won't," replied Jadwin, pushing back and crossing his
legs. "I've had your financial standing computed very carefully, Mr.
Scannel. You've got the ready money. I know what you can stand without
busting, to the fraction of a cent."

"Why, it's ridiculous. That handful of wheat will cost me three hundred
thousand dollars."

"Pre-cisely."

And then all at once Scannel surrendered. Stony, imperturbable, he drew
his check book from his pocket.

"Make it payable to bearer," said Jadwin.

The other complied, and Jadwin took the check and looked it over
carefully.

"Now," he said, "watch here, Dave Scannel. You see this check? And
now," he added, thrusting it into Hargus's hands, "you see where it
goes. There's the principal of your debt paid off."

"The principal?"

"You haven't forgotten the interest, have you? won't compound it,
because that might bust you. But six per cent interest on three hundred
thousand since 1878, comes to--let's see--three hundred and sixty
thousand dollars. And you still owe me nine hundred thousand bushels of
wheat." He ciphered a moment on a sheet of note paper. "If I charge you
a dollar and forty a bushel for that wheat, it will come to that sum
exactly.... Yes, that's correct. I'll let you have the balance of that
wheat at a dollar forty. Make the check payable to bearer as before."

For a second Scannel hesitated, his face purple, his teeth grinding
together, then muttering his rage beneath his breath, opened his check
book again.

"Thank you," said Jadwin as he took the check.

He touched his call bell.

"Kinzie," he said to the clerk who answered it, "after the close of the
market to-day send delivery slips for a million and a half wheat to Mr.
Scannel. His account with us has been settled."

Jadwin turned to the old man, reaching out the second check to him.

"Here you are, Hargus. Put it away carefully. You see what it is, don't
you? Buy your Lizzie a little gold watch with a hundred of it, and tell
her it's from Curtis Jadwin, with his compliments.... What,