aid no
attention whatever to Utah. One day I was surprised to notice on the
tape that the price of the stock was declining. I was puzzling over what
could have happened, when I received a sudden call from the Machiavelli
of the New York Bar, Samuel Untermyer. The set glare of his eyes, the
fervor of his hand-shake, told me that I had a volcano to deal with.

"Lawson," said he, "something came up the other day that led me to
investigate, and do you know, I have got to a point already where I can
put my fingers on people, outside of any one connected with 'Standard
Oil,' who own over 200,000 shares of Utah. If this is so, how can Rogers
and his crowd own the 150,000 shares they took away from us at millions
below the market? It seems impossible, but it looks as though we had
been buncoed--buncoed as no one outside a crazy-house was ever buncoed
before."

That steely imperturbability which is alternately the pride and pleasure
of Mr. Untermyer's friends, the glittering surface of which it is said
no cloud has ever shadowed or no gale disturbed, was fast losing its
distinction under the influence of the excitement that welled up in the
heaving bosom of the eminent cross-examiner; and excitement and he were
so remote, so studiously antagonistic, that I looked on and listened in
wonder for the outcome. An interesting situation was evidently fast
developing, and to grasp its possibilities one should know the attitude
of Mr. Rogers toward Mr. Untermyer. For this astute lawyer the "Standard
Oil" magnate has something akin to terrified admiration. Mr. Rogers has
said many times to me and to others among his associates that there is
but one lawyer in the United States whose cross-examination on the
witness-stand could afford him anything but amusement and recreation;
and this extraordinary exception is Samuel Untermyer. The bare thought
of being subjected under oath to the remorseless questioning of this
astute dissector and analyst of motives and actions brings him to the
verge of rippling chills. And here was this legal Nemesis on the
war-path and headed directly for 26 Broadway.

"What does it mean, Lawson?" His voice was in a court-and-jury key.

The opportunity was too good to miss. I could not help it. I said,
"Untermyer, you have another guess coming."

"Do you refuse to tell me anything about it?" he snapped.

"Tell you about it?" said I. "What could I possibly tell you about your
own scheme? You flatter me; you are