tree behind which they are hid. It is probable
that they are within the pale of the written law, but one would have the
same right to operate in gold bricks or green goods.

It may be that the action I have taken will spell my financial ruin, but
I propose to ascertain if a gentleman cannot take a modest flyer in Wall
Street without being marked as "a come-on," which is the term used by
those who rig the market.

If they get me it will be not for $20,000 but for $2,000,000. I propose
to make the fight of my life. I wonder what Miss Harding would think if
she knew I were engaged in a deal of this magnitude?

On Thursday I instructed my business agents to convert certain
negotiable assets into cash, and to arrange for an extension of my
credit with the banks. I now propose to follow N.O. & G. to the
bottom--if there be one--and if not I shall drop with my money into the
fathomless void of bankruptcy.

I called on my broker.

"I wish to get out," I said to him. "I will take my losses. This has
been an expensive experience to me."

"I do not imagine, Mr. Smith," he said, "that the loss of $23,000 will
seriously cripple you or disturb your serenity."

I made a gesture of despair.

"If that were all I would not give it a thought," I said. He looked at
me curiously.

"I hope that you are not long on this stock to any great extent," he
said.

"I should have said nothing about it," I returned, looking as distressed
as possible. "Please make no inference from my remark, and keep this
transaction entirely an office secret."

"It is not necessary to caution me," he quickly said.

The financial papers that evening recorded a rumour to the effect that
"The son of a late well-known banker and operator is said to be heavily
long on N.O. & G., and the slump in that stock during the closing hours
was probably due to his frantic efforts to close out an account
estimated at 20,000 shares."

I wonder where that rumour originated. This is the way secrets are kept
in Wall Street.

Prior to this I had commissioned Morse & Davis, brokers in whom I have
implicit confidence, to purchase 5,000 shares of the stock at or below
75. I obtained 79 for my original investment, and its sale combined with
the circulation of the rumour before mentioned precipitated a flurry in
N.O. & G. which sent it as low as 74 and a fraction.

[Illustration: "It is not necessary to caution me"]

Before the market closed I had my five thousand shares