nd in case
he could get it together. The various street-car holdings were not asked
after. But what assurance had any one that Cowperwood could be so saved?
And could, or would get the money together? And if he were saved would
he give the money back to Stener? If he required actual money, who would
loan it to him in a time like this--in case a sharp panic was imminent?
What security could he give? On the other hand, under pressure from
the right parties he might be made to surrender all his street-railway
holdings for a song--his and Stener's. If he (Mollenhauer) could get
them he would not particularly care whether the election was lost this
fall or not, although he felt satisfied, as had Owen, that it would not
be lost. It could be bought, as usual. The defalcation--if Cowperwood's
failure made Stener's loan into one--could be concealed long enough,
Mollenhauer thought, to win. Personally as it came to him now he would
prefer to frighten Stener into refusing Cowperwood additional aid,
and then raid the latter's street-railway stock in combination with
everybody else's, for that matter--Simpson's and Butler's included. One
of the big sources of future wealth in Philadelphia lay in these lines.
For the present, however, he had to pretend an interest in saving the
party at the polls.

"I can't speak for the Senator, that's sure," pursued Mollenhauer,
reflectively. "I don't know what he may think. As for myself, I am
perfectly willing to do what I can to keep up the price of stocks, if
that will do any good. I would do so naturally in order to protect my
loans. The thing that we ought to be thinking about, in my judgment, is
how to prevent exposure, in case Mr. Cowperwood does fail, until after
election. We have no assurance, of course, that however much we support
the market we will be able to sustain it."

"We have not," replied Butler, solemnly.

Owen thought he could see Cowperwood's approaching doom quite plainly.
At that moment the door-bell rang. A maid, in the absence of the
footman, brought in the name of Senator Simpson.

"Just the man," said Mollenhauer. "Show him up. You can see what he
thinks."

"Perhaps I had better leave you alone now," suggested Owen to his
father. "Perhaps I can find Miss Caroline, and she will sing for me.
I'll wait for you, father," he added.

Mollenhauer cast him an ingratiating smile, and as he stepped out
Senator Simpson walked in.

A more interesting type of his kind than