a while
ago and, quite by accident, he discovered this shore property which, he
found out later, was owned by the Wellmouth Development Company. It was
ideal, according to his estimate--view, harbor, water privileges,
still water and surf bathing, climate--everything. He came to me and we
discussed buying it. Then we discovered that this Development Company
owned it. Fifty thousand dollars, the concern's capitalization, was
too much to pay. A trust company over here in your next town had
twelve hundred shares, but we found out that they knew the value of the
property and, if they learned what we were up to, would hold for a
fancy price. So, through this chap Pulcifer--we bought HIS five hundred
shares--we began buying up the thirteen hundred which would give us a
controlling interest and force the other crowd to do what we wanted. We
picked up the small holdings easily enough, but we couldn't get yours or
Hallett's. And for a very good reason, too. Ho, ho, ho! And old Loosh,
of all people! Ho, ho!"

Still Miss Phipps did not laugh, nor did she look at him. "By the way,"
he observed, "I presume my--er--relative paid you a fair price for the
stock, Miss Phipps?"

"He paid me twenty dollars a share," she said, quietly.

"Did he, indeed! Well, that is more than we've paid any one else, except
Pulcifer. We allowed him a commission--a margin--on all he succeeded in
buying.... Humph!... And I suppose Galusha paid old Hallett par, too.
But why he should do such a thing is--well, it is beyond me."

She answered, but still she did not look at him.

"He told you," she said. "He knew I needed money. I was foolish enough
to let him guess--yes, I told him that I had a hard time to get along.
He was interested and he tried to cheer me up by tellin' me he thought
you might buy that stock of mine. He couldn't have been more interested
if it had been somethin' of his own. No, not nearly so much; he and his
own interests are the last thing he thinks about, I guess. And then he
kept cheerin' me up and pretendin' to be more and more sure you would
buy and--and when he found you wouldn't he--but there, he told us the
truth. _I_ understand why he did it, Mr. Cabot."

The banker shook his head. "Well, I suppose I do, too, in a way," he
said. "It is because he is Galusha Bangs. Nobody else on earth would
think of doing such a thing."

"No, nobody else would. But thirteen thousand dollars, Mr. Cabot! Why,
that's dreadful! It's awful! He