so," declared Agnes. "Aunt Constance, I'm afraid you'll
have to finish your shopping without me. I must call upon Mrs.
Smythe."

Mrs. Elliston frowned her disapproval, but she knew better than to
protest. Before Agnes called upon Mrs. Smythe, however, she dropped in
at the manufacturing concern of D. A. Elliston and Company.

"Uncle Dan, how much money of mine have you in charge just now?" she
demanded to know.

"Cash? About five or six thousand."

"And how much more could you raise on my property?"

"Right away? About fifteen, on bonds and such securities. This is no
time to sacrifice real estate."

"It isn't enough," said Agnes, frowning, and was silent for a time.
"You'll just have to loan me about ten thousand more."

"Oh, will I?" he retorted. "What for?"

"I want to make an investment."

"So I judged," he dryly responded. "Well, young lady, as your steward
I reckon I'll have to know something more about this investment before
I turn over any money."

With sparkling eyes and blushes that would come in spite of her, she
told him what she intended to do. When she had concluded, Dan Elliston
slapped his knees in huge joy.

"You shall have all the money you want," he declared.

Upon that same afternoon Bobby started to buy up, here and there,
nearly the entire stock of the Brightlight, purchasing it at an
absurdly low price. Then he went to De Graff, to Dan Elliston, and to
others to whose discretion he could trust. His own plans were well
under way when the Consolidated Illuminating and Power Company
announced, with a great flourish of trumpets, its new bond issue. The
_Bulletin_ made no comment upon this. It merely published the news
fact briefly and concisely--an unexpected attitude, which brought
surprise, then wonder, then suspicion to the office of the
_Chronicle_. The _Chronicle_ had been a Stone organ during the heydey
of Stone's prosperity; the _Bulletin_ had fought the Consolidated
tooth and toe-nail; the already criminally overcapitalized
Consolidated was about to float a new bond issue; the _Bulletin_ did
not fight this issue; _ergo_, the _Bulletin_ must have something to
gain by the issue.

The _Chronicle_ waited three days, then began to fight the bond issue
itself, which was precisely the effect for which Bobby had planned.
Grown astute, Bobby realized that if the bond issue failed the
Consolidated would go bankrupt at once instead of a year or so later.
The newspaper, however, which wo