. So, prudently, under the brokerage
of his Sunday-school teacher, and guided by the tips of no less a man
than the controlling factor of stock-market finance, Edward Bok took
his first plunge in Wall Street!

Of course the boy's buying and selling tallied precisely with the rise
and fall of Western Union stock. It could scarcely have been
otherwise. Jay Gould had the cards all in his hands; and as he bought
and sold, so Edward bought and sold. The trouble was, the combination
did not end there, as Edward might have foreseen had he been older and
thus wiser. For as Edward bought and sold, so did his Sunday-school
teacher, and all his customers who had seen the wonderful acumen of
their broker in choosing exactly the right time to buy and sell Western
Union. But Edward did not know this.

One day a rumor became current on the Street that an agreement had been
reached by the Western Union Company and its bitter rival, the American
Union Telegraph Company, whereby the former was to absorb the latter.
Naturally; the report affected Western Union stock. But Mr. Gould
denied it in toto; said the report was not true, no such consolidation
was in view or had even been considered. Down tumbled the stock, of
course.

But it so happened that Edward knew the rumor was true, because Mr.
Gould, some time before, had personally given him the contract of
consolidation to copy. The next day a rumor to the effect that the
American Union was to absorb the Western Union appeared on the first
page of every New York newspaper. Edward knew exactly whence this
rumor emanated. He had heard it talked over. Again, Western Union
stock dropped several points. Then he noticed that Mr. Gould became a
heavy buyer. So became Edward--as heavy as he could. Jay Gould
pooh-poohed the latest rumor. The boy awaited developments.

On Sunday afternoon, Edward's Sunday-school teacher asked the boy to
walk home with him, and on reaching the house took him into the study
and asked him whether he felt justified in putting all his savings in
Western Union just at that time when the price was tumbling so fast and
the market was so unsteady. Edward assured his teacher that he was
right, although he explained that he could not disclose the basis of
his assurance.

Edward thought his teacher looked worried, and after a little there
came the revelation that he, seeing that Edward was buying to his
limit, had likewise done so. But the broker had b