our reports from Boston and the country show?"

"The same as yours. The people have simply gone wild. Calls come in
ceaselessly to me from Wall Street men. The hotel is so full of brokers
from out of town that they are placing cots in the big rooms. I went
down into the office just now to talk to them and was nearly mobbed.
Already they are talking of a premium of $40 to $60 per share, but if we
keep to the line we have laid down, I don't think we need fear bad
consequences."

We discussed other aspects of the affair, the intense interest developed
in Europe, and the effect of the excitement on the price of the metal.
As he started to go down to his office, Mr. Rogers said, as though by
way of an after-thought:

"Lawson, if the people are so hungry, why should we not take some
advantage of it?"

The suggestion, with all it implied, stunned me for a second.

"What do you mean, Mr. Rogers? Take advantage--how?"

"Would it not be well to let the subscribers have more than the amount
we agreed? Why not take more of this money than five millions?"

This was out of a clear sky, for there had not been the slightest
suggestion of a change of programme and I had rested in the certainty
that our plan insured the safety of all who had gone in on my say-so. I
choked down my excitement.

"Good God, Mr. Rogers, are you mad?" I exclaimed. "Don't let us depart a
hair from what we all in our cool moments decided was best. We are in
the field now. It would be sure ruin to try any new schemes at this
moment."

"You are rattled yourself, Lawson. There's no need for excitement. I
merely offered the suggestion. Everything is going well," he reassured
me, but the picture his words conjured before my mind disturbed me all
day. That he would dare do what he had suggested I did not credit, for
the assurances I had were too solemn to allow me to believe such
treachery could be meditated. Nevertheless I brooded over the matter,
and late in the afternoon ran down to 26 Broadway, ostensibly to hear
the latest news from the bank, but really to try if I could not look
into Mr. Rogers' head and see if the imps I had sighted early in the day
were still there.

Mr. Rogers was over with Stillman at the bank. In half an hour he came
in, and the excitement he labored under was plainly evident in his face.

"Lawson," he said, "no one has ever seen anything like this before.
Stillman is bewildered. He says it looks as though by to-morrow there
w