John Henry Smith Part 36

"I am only guessing that you bought, but of course it's possible you sold or went short. Please do not imagine I'm attempting to pry into your affairs, Mr. Harding," I added.

He sank back into his seat and for several seconds said nothing.

"Do you mind answering a few questions, Smith?" he said.

"That depends," I smiled. "Go ahead and ask them."

"Have you been dealing in N.O. & G.?"

"Yes."

"Buying or selling?"

"Buying."

"Outright or on margin?"

"On margin."

"How many shares have you an option on?"

I hesitated.

"Mr. Harding," I said, "in answering that question I a.s.sume that the information is confidential and that it will not be used to my disadvantage. Up to now it has been a secret known only to my brokers."

"You will lose nothing by telling me," Mr. Harding said, and I knew that promise was as good as his note at hand.

"My brokers have contracted for 45,000 shares of N.O. & G.," I said, handing him a list of my purchases with dates, amounts, and quotations.

He studied it for a while in silence.

"I thought you did nothing but play golf," he said. "Tell me; how did you happen to go into a deal of this magnitude?"

I gave him the details of the conspiracy as I had discovered them. It is not safe at this time to disclose them even in this diary. Mr. Harding listened with growing wonder on his face.

"My boy," he said, when I had ended, "if there is anyone in the country who should have discovered and taken advantage of the facts you have just told me, it is myself, but I never dreamed of them until you had purchased more than 30,000 shares of that stock. These dogs think I'm in Europe! They were told so. They think they have sold me out, and perhaps they have. I did not watch it as I should have done."

For a minute the train roared on past suburban stations, under viaducts, through echoing rows of freight cars, and over clattering switches. We were nearing the metropolis.

"Do you mind telling me if you are alone in this transaction?" he suddenly asked.

"I am."

"Do you wish to go in with me in this deal?"

"I do!" I replied without hesitation.

"Good!" he said, offering his hand. "We'll talk no more of this here.

It's not safe. Come with me to my office."

We reached his private office half an hour before the opening of the Stock Exchange. In five minutes the machinery of his wonderful system was in operation. Notes were dictated, messengers hurried away with them, men called, who listened to curt orders and vanished.

An hour pa.s.sed and he gave orders that no one should be admitted until further notice.

"N.O. & G. is stationary around 59," he said, offering a cigar. "The directors meet at noon. They will pa.s.s the dividend. They think to shake out your 45,000 shares and a lot more in small holdings. In all I own 35,000 shares, so that together we control 80,000 out of 200,000. I now propose to show these honourable gentlemen a trick which will give them something to think about for several weeks to come. I know a _gentleman_ who owns outright 25,000 shares. He is one of the heads of which you term "the conspiracy". It is not a conspiracy, Smith; it is business. He tried to sell me out and has failed as he will learn in a few minutes.

He will then sell out the men who implicitly trust him, as they would sell him out if they could see a chance to make money out of it. Do not talk of conspiracies, Smith! These honourable business _gentlemen_ down here are extremely sensitive, and you should be careful not to hurt their feelings."

We quickly came to an agreement by which our holdings were pooled. It was stipulated that he should have entire control of the operations from that time on, and after settling important details I suggested that I go to my broker's office and await developments.

"There's nothing you can do here," he said, as I arose. "Yes, there is, too," he added. "The folks are going to drop in here at about two o'clock. I'm going to be too busy to bother with them, and I foolishly promised to take them to the gallery of the Stock Exchange. You'll be worth more money then than you are now," he said with a grim smile.

"Take them over and show them how a real sheep-killing looks when the ewes are fat and the knives sharp."

I promised to call for them at two o'clock, and then went to the office of my brokers.

Carelessly glancing at the quotation opposite the letters N.O. & G., I saw that it had dropped to 56. The head of the firm approached me and asked me to step into his private office.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "Business is business"]

"The rumour is strong that the dividend will be pa.s.sed," he said.

"Which is preparatory to saying that you would like me to put up more margins, I presume?"

"Business is business, you know, Mr. Smith," he said, softly rubbing his hands.

"I have, antic.i.p.ated your caution," I remarked. Mr. Harding had warned me that an unwarranted demand for margins would be made, but confident of the integrity of my brokers I had doubted it. "I presume an extra ten points will satisfy you?"

He seemed surprised but said it would. I gave him a certified check for $450,000.

"Thank you, Mr. Smith. You will excuse me for requesting this, but business is business."

"So I am learning," I coldly observed, and this closed our interview. I was convinced that "the conspirators" had gotten into communication with my brokers, but of course I could not prove it.

As the noon hour approached, N.O. & G. sagged off to 53 on comparatively heavy transactions. It stuck there until over the various mechanisms for sending information came this simple announcement, "The directors of the N.O. & G. have pa.s.sed the regular semi-annual dividend."

The card boy of the stock board became busy. N.O. & G. dropped a point or more between sales, until it struck 47. I had small doubt of the outcome, but it is not pleasant to sit and watch the figures go up which hint at a loss of $45,000 every minute or so. I tried to look unconcerned, but doubt if I succeeded.

I knew that not far away a strong man was at the wheel, but the best of s.h.i.+ps go down. What if his plans had miscarried? I dared not think of it!

"Two thousand N.O. & G. at 48," called the watcher at the ticker. "Five hundred at 47-1/2; 1,000 at 47; 2,000, 400, I,500, 3,000, at 47. Looks as if someone has pegged it at 47!"

The entire market was declining in sympathy with the disturbing news concerning this standard property. "Twelve hundred N.O. & G. at 47-1/4,"

called the man at the ticker. "Three thousand at 48; 1,500 at 49; 5,000 at 50! Someone's after that non-dividend paying stock!"

Like a man in a dream I watched that stock start on its dizzy climb. In five minutes it had reached 55, and by leaps and bounds it soared to 70.

My brokers rushed to me with their congratulations. Did I wish to place any orders? Some strong interest undoubtedly was back of the rise?

I informed them I had purchased all I desired.

I am not indifferent in the matter of money. I am ambitious to possess it for the prestige it gives and the power it grants, but it is the simple truth to say that in those triumphant moments and in the subsequent hours the thought which held possession of me and which made me superlatively happy was the consciousness that so far as material a.s.sets were concerned I had a right to aspire to the hand of Grace Harding!