myself."

Felix tried by continuous winking of his eyes to express his despair.
He put his right hand into his vest, and in a low voice added:

"Perhaps when you see me stretched dead before you your aim will then
be accomplished."

Prince Waldemar broke into an irrepressible fit of laughter and
clapped Kaulmann on the shoulder.

"I beg of you not to act a farce for my benefit. You did not come here
to blow your brains out. Nothing of the sort; you came to sell me
something. You are a ruined speculator, but you still possess one
jewel of value, a wonderful black carbuncle which you found in the
coal-mine and got smoothly cut, which you have already sold at a great
profit, but which is now back on your hands. You are perfectly aware
that I desire to get this jewel if I can, that I am willing to offer
all I have for it; and this is why you have come here to-day. Let us
understand one another. I will treat with you. What is your price?"

The prince threw himself back in his chair, but he let Kaulmann stand
without again asking him to be seated.

The banker gave up his tragic manner, and resumed his customary cool,
hard, matter-of-fact voice.

"First of all, this;" and he laid his hand upon the pamphlet.

"Good! You shall have it--a thousand copies and the manuscript. You
can burn it, unless you care to keep it as a souvenir."

"Secondly," went on Felix, "you must abandon your conspiracy against
me. During the three days of raising the loan your bears are to keep
quiet; there are to be no manoeuvres. Thirdly, your name must appear in
the list of subscribers with a good sum after it."

"Good! We shall understand one another. Now listen to my modifications
of your proposal. On the first day when the shares of the new loan are
drawn I undertake to keep the bears quiet, but I shall take no shares.
On the second day I shall also keep quiet, but I shall not give you a
shove. On the third day I shall take one million shares, and from that
time I undertake to push your speculation as if I were your best
friend."

"And why not on the first two days?"

"I will tell you what is to happen on those days. This very day you
must go to madame and tell her that Prince Theobald's fortune is
sequestrated and that she can no longer occupy his hotel. Madame was
once generous enough to return to the prince his palace in the
Maximilian Strasse, together with all it contained. She will have to
repeat this act of renunciation and re