ailing and that he was not absolutely sure of being able to take them
up in time.

But, he reasoned, he had a working agreement with the city treasurer
(illegal of course), which would make such a transaction rather
plausible, and almost all right, even if he failed, and that was that
none of his accounts were supposed necessarily to be put straight until
the end of the month. If he failed, and the certificates were not in the
sinking-fund, he could say, as was the truth, that he was in the habit
of taking his time, and had forgotten. This collecting of a check,
therefore, for these as yet undeposited certificates would be
technically, if not legally and morally, plausible. The city would be
out only an additional sixty thousand dollars--making five hundred and
sixty thousand dollars all told, which in view of its probable loss of
five hundred thousand did not make so much difference. But his caution
clashed with his need on this occasion, and he decided that he would not
call for the check unless Stener finally refused to aid him with three
hundred thousand more, in which case he would claim it as his right. In
all likelihood Stener would not think to ask whether the certificates
were in the sinking-fund or not. If he did, he would have to lie--that
was all.

He drove rapidly back to his office, and, finding Butler's note, as
he expected, wrote a check on his father's bank for the one hundred
thousand dollars which had been placed to his credit by his loving
parent, and sent it around to Butler's office. There was another note,
from Albert Stires, Stener's secretary, advising him not to buy or sell
any more city loan--that until further notice such transactions would
not be honored. Cowperwood immediately sensed the source of this
warning. Stener had been in conference with Butler or Mollenhauer, and
had been warned and frightened. Nevertheless, he got in his buggy again
and drove directly to the city treasurer's office.

Since Cowperwood's visit Stener had talked still more with Sengstack,
Strobik, and others, all sent to see that a proper fear of things
financial had been put in his heart. The result was decidedly one which
spelled opposition to Cowperwood.

Strobik was considerably disturbed himself. He and Wycroft and Harmon
had also been using money out of the treasury--much smaller sums, of
course, for they had not Cowperwood's financial imagination--and were
disturbed as to how they would return what they ow