y
after his quarrel and break with Stener. He was a little too aggressive.
Was it not questionable whether--with such a record--he could be
restored to his former place here? The bankers and business men who were
closest to him were decidedly dubious.

But in so far as Cowperwood and his own attitude toward life was
concerned, at this time--the feeling he had--"to satisfy myself"--when
combined with his love of beauty and love and women, still made him
ruthless and thoughtless. Even now, the beauty and delight of a girl
like Aileen Butler were far more important to him than the good-will of
fifty million people, if he could evade the necessity of having their
good-will. Previous to the Chicago fire and the panic, his star had been
so rapidly ascending that in the helter-skelter of great and favorable
events he had scarcely taken thought of the social significance of the
thing he was doing. Youth and the joy of life were in his blood. He felt
so young, so vigorous, so like new grass looks and feels. The freshness
of spring evenings was in him, and he did not care. After the
crash, when one might have imagined he would have seen the wisdom of
relinquishing Aileen for the time being, anyhow, he did not care to. She
represented the best of the wonderful days that had gone before. She was
a link between him and the past and a still-to-be triumphant future.

His worst anxiety was that if he were sent to the penitentiary, or
adjudged a bankrupt, or both, he would probably lose the privilege of
a seat on 'change, and that would close to him the most distinguished
avenue of his prosperity here in Philadelphia for some time, if not
forever. At present, because of his complications, his seat had been
attached as an asset, and he could not act. Edward and Joseph, almost
the only employees he could afford, were still acting for him in a small
way; but the other members on 'change naturally suspected his brothers
as his agents, and any talk that they might raise of going into business
for themselves merely indicated to other brokers and bankers that
Cowperwood was contemplating some concealed move which would not
necessarily be advantageous to his creditors, and against the law
anyhow. Yet he must remain on 'change, whatever happened, potentially if
not actively; and so in his quick mental searchings he hit upon the idea
that in order to forfend against the event of his being put into prison
or thrown into bankruptcy, or both, he ou