nate, therefore,
that just as they were beginning to acquire a standing as a solid and
sensible business concern, the Grain Growers' Grain Company should find
themselves driven into a corner, their backs to the wall, the focus of
pointing fingers and gleeful grins.

The fact that a salaried employee, not an officer of the Company, had
acted on his own initiative without the consent of the directors was no
excuse for a reliable business concern to tender as such. The first
question flung back at them naturally would be: "Then your 'Board of
Control' doesn't control, eh?" For although the Board of Control did
not know what their Manager was doing until it was too late to prevent
it, they should have known. That is what they were there for--to
protect the shareholders from managerial mistakes.

However, there they were. The only thing they could do was to fight it
out to a finish in the Pit and, if they survived, to see that no
similar mistakes occurred in the future.

All sorts of rumors were flying about the corridors of the Exchange,
gathering momentum as they passed from lip to lip, swelling with the
heat of the excitement until it was a general guess that the Grain
Growers must be loaded with anywhere between five and eight million
bushels of oats more than they had been able to sell.

It was only a guess, though, and a wild one. Many traders would have
given a good round sum to know exactly how the farmers' company stood
on the books of the Clearing House. Only the Clearing House and the
Company itself knew the true figures and the Clearing House officials
were men of the highest integrity who dare not be approached for secret
tips.

Thanks to the splendid export connection which had been built up in the
Old Country and to the equally solid financial relations with the Home
Bank, the farmers' agency was selling oats for export very rapidly. It
began to look as if they would get out from under the threatening
avalanche without much loss, if any.

The Company's old-time enemies apparently saw an opportunity to
undermine its credit at this crisis; for attacks began to appear in
print--accusations of speculation, of official negligence and so forth.
If the Grain Growers could be prevented from paying for the large
quantity of oats, delivery of which they would have to take on May 1st
to complete the export sales made during the winter--if they could be
made to fail in filling these export orders when naviga