s of no use to approach
Kennedy, even through an outsider, as he is in Tandy's employ now, and
very deeply in Tandy's debt. I must explain that, as Stafford and I had
bought stock through agents of our own, we had kept our hands concealed
by leaving the several shares nominally in the hands of the men we had
employed to buy them and instructing those men to go on voting the stock
in whatever way Tandy wished. This made Tandy feel perfectly secure of
his control of the bank. Even if he had sold out half his own interest
he would have felt secure, seeing that all the floating stock was within
his voting control. You see I'm a rather good-natured man, on the whole,
and I never like to make a man feel uncomfortable unless I must. When
your trouble arose I thought I saw that there was nothing for it but to
make a strike for some of Tandy's own stock. I didn't much believe the
thing could be done, but I've seen so many miracles worked in my time
that I believe in them. You sent for Temple--and by the way, he's a
fellow that's built from the ground up--and I set him at work. I told
him what we wanted done and why, but I couldn't tell him how to do it,
because I didn't know. I gave him a free hand, and left him to use his
own wits. As they happened to be particularly good wits, he did the
trick within less than two days. He managed to buy Kennedy's four
shares, not from Kennedy, but from Tandy himself, so that now when the
stockholders' meeting comes, I'll march in, representing the two shares
that I'm known to own, and Temple will be with me, holding proxies for
all the rest of mine and Stafford's stock. We'll vote fifty-two against
forty-eight. We'll name all the directors, and they will make you
president at once. I'll put some shares in your hands to qualify you,
but you ought actually to own at least ten shares in your own right.
Have you got any money loose?"

Captain Hallam knew very well that Duncan had a sufficient deposit
balance in the Hallam bank to cover the suggested purchase, but he
wanted to forestall and prevent the expression of Duncan's thanks. Hence
his question, and hence, also, the look he cast in Mrs. Hallam's
direction, in obedience to which that gracious and sagacious gentlewoman
broke at once and insistently into the conversation.

"Now, if you two men have quite finished with business," she said, "I
want a small share of attention on my own part."

"Will you excuse me for a little while, Duncan," in